Keeping the Ship Afloat

ALEXANDER: You broke the ship. You broke the bloody SHIP!

Wow! Amazing things happening these last few days in the financial world, with markets going nuts all over. We ordinary joes have learned a lot about how our betters run the world -- we can't switch away from a fossil fuel economy because it will be too expensive, there's no money for education, our infrastructure is falling down, health care for every American is impossibly expensive and will result in a huge government bureaucracy: but hundreds of billions will be available immediately for saving financial firms -- run now by the government -- ruined by their own criminal greed. You look at the mess on Wall Street, and you can't really blame me for being skeptical when the Establishment says its China policy is on the right track.

Here in Taiwan, after the National Stabilization Fund management committee Wednesday said that the government would not activate the National Stabilization Fund, the government overruled itself and announced that in fact it would make the $500 billion fund available to shore up the stock market.

The government decided to activate the state-owned National Stabilization Fund (國安基金) yesterday, an overnight change made ahead of the stock market opening, but it refused to reveal details of how the fund would act.

“The economic fundamentals of this country are still stable, but in view of the sharp decline in the US stock market on Sept. 17 and possible volatility in international financial markets … conditions are right for the fund to enter the stock market,” the fund’s management committee said in a statement.

The press release was issued at 10:10am, just over an hour after the TAIEX had opened down 242.82 points from its close on Wednesday, a drop of 4.19 percent. The benchmark index gained as the day progressed, ending 158.92 points down from Wednesday at 5,641.95, a drop of 2.74 percent.

Meanwhile Savior Ma's magical healing powers being temporarily stymied by the Forces of Miasmic Darkness emanating from Wall Street, he called on Vice President Vincent Siew to save Taiwan:

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday assigned Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) to head an economic advisory task force charged with providing the Executive Yuan with recommendations on improving the economy.

Siew said he hoped the task force could meet soon, preferably next week, but that there were still many details to be worked out, which he hoped to finalize in the next couple of days.

Ma emphasized that the task force, which will meet bimonthly, will not be a decision-making body but a communication and consultation platform between the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan as well as local and international experts. It would not infringe on the executive power of the Cabinet.

The stock market here has assumed an iconic status here, all out of proportion to its actual importance to the economy. In a nation where cram schools broadcast the scores of their high achievers on neon signs outside the school doors, the stock market functions more like a perpetual midterm grade that the national economy must constantly pass, than an instrument to raise capital for local firms.

Meanwhile, out in the real economy, where the rubber of infrastructure spending meets the road of high materials prices, Polaris Securities announced that it expected growth to drop to 4.1% this year. Note that this estimate was based on the assumption that government spending would account for 36% of fourth quarter growth. President Ma expects that infrastructure spending will raise GDP 0.5% this year, but don't count on it: construction companies, already in an industry-wide crisis here, are balking on bidding because of rising prices for raw materials. If Ma doesn't get his infrastructure boost, growth will probably slip below 4%.

The recent visit by typhoon Sinlaku to our shores, leaving 12 dead and wrecked buildings and bridges, has highlighted one of the Administration's most urgent problems: the appearance it gives of being deaf, dumb, diffident, dilatory, and indifferent. Ma needs to shed the Confucian scholar-emperor role, and get out there among the people, and lead.

[Taiwan]

A Borrowed Voice: Glimpses

Out of a past in which the little people shook the halls of another power favored by the Establishment, hot off the presses, is Linda Gail Arrigo and Lynn Miles' amazing A Borrowed Voice: Taiwan Human Rights through International Networks, 1960-1980. It's some 480 pages long, and every page on it is crammed with fascinating and informative stories of the foreigners who came to Taiwan and spoke for a people who have been silenced by decades of oppression and political killings of the worst kind. They were the borrowed voices of the people of Taiwan.

I've put a couple of shots of the text, which is arranged in a very unusual, and I think, unusually attractive way. On one side, in green, are longer narratives about a person's interaction with the island -- and in white, more detailed accounts of the events they are discussing. Like a fugue, the stories interweave, dipping in and out of each other as different participants give their accounts....

This book is a gold mine of information, with photos, newspaper clippings, press releases, government documents, and other items accompanying the texts. Everyone will recognize the names: Richard Kagan, Lynn Miles, James Seymour, Michael Fonte.... along with many other names, like the brave missionaries who helped Peng Ming-min escape and the Maryknollers who defied their leaders in the Church to help the people of Taiwan. In addition to names English readers will be familiar with, there are also texts from Japanese who helped Taiwan's people against oppression -- the story of Japan's involvement with Taiwan in the postwar era is one that cries out for telling. A good start is made here. The book also shows that Taiwan was an issue for so many people of so many different political and social backgrounds, all coming together to oppose a very great wrong. A non-partisan issue. A lesson for our time, eh?

Told largely in the first person, the narratives, often strings of anecdotes, or small, suddenly remembered details, recreate the atmosphere of the time.... Linda Arrigo writes:

"At first I did not realize why Taiwanese people were generally so fearful, including the intellectuals with respected positions' gradually I understood that there were spies and infiltrators and secret government reporters everywhere. Even the intellectuals at Academia Sinica walked a thin line, trying to be convincingly relevant without incurring the wrath of the authorities. There were even some spies recruited from among the teenage factory girls I spent time with...some untrustworthy letter carriers got cold feet and threw the letters in the mail box. When the security agencies intercepted them, they sometimes mailed you back a photocopy, for intimidation effect."

I can't praise this book enough, nor can a tiny discussion like this illuminate the many nooks and crannies of this incredible work. You can enjoy a copy for yourself at a substantial discount from the Taiwan Bookstore (http://www.taiouan.com.tw) across from NTU in Taipei. Be quick; it's sure to sell out fast.

[Taiwan]

Daily Links, September 18, 2008

What are the blogs clinging to today?

Global Voices collects and translates local blog posts on the milk mess between Taiwan and China.

The Daily Bubble Tea points to the Taiwan B&B website.

Cristi Li points to Sen. Inhofe's support for a US FTA with Taiwan.

Hand Painted Cups Commemorating the "suppression of Taiwan" by Imperial Japanese forces.

A Canadian newspaper blog takes Stephen Harper to task for his non-support of Taiwan.

Steve Crook on bicycling from Fengyuan to Dongshih.

Tainted Milk, toxic pandas from Richard

Taoyuan Nights on Taiwanese banks.

Good news: Taiwan to adopt Hanyu Pinyin.

Red A analyzes bankruptcy pricing in China

Jerome comments on "fewer cases of China pressure."

Taiwan Airpower on the 1958 air combat from the US perspective

MEDIA: Asia Times on the deep connection between AIG and China. A remembrance service for the hundreds of POWs kept in Taiwan. The Solomons and Taiwan renew their agricultural agreement in pig farming, rice farming, poultry farming, and marketing. Gordon Chang comments on the Administration's refusal to sell F-16s to Taiwan. The UN once again rejects Taiwan even as another Canadian paper comes out in support of UN entry. US supports Taiwan's meaningful participation in UN. China-Taiwan cooperation against Japan in Senkaku Islands. Taiwan now second in IT competitiveness. Taiwan opens to China, and China doesn't know what to do. CNN Money reports Taiwan has $80 billion in exposure to the mess in the US. All Chinese milk products pulled from shelves in Taipei.

[Taiwan]

Georgia=Taiwan, Saakashvili=Chen...

Richard Bush and Kenneth Lieberthal, both probable future advisors to future President Obama, have another piece on the Georgia-Taiwan comparison, this time in the Wall Street Journal. The fundamental premises of this piece are similar to those of the Jeff Bader/Douglas Paal essay that I looked at a week ago, but WSJ has finally taken the important step of noting that one of the writers, Ken Lieberthal, has business interests in China, something the media almost never does. Kudos to WSJ for doing that! Please note that I have no objection to people having business interests in China, just to that fact being left out of their background when they comment on US-China policy.

The underlying premises of this article are the bogus ones of Mad Chen^©, provoker of worlds, the great bogeyman of US foreign policy. Bush and Lieberthal argue that if the US had not restrained Chen, he might have provoked a war with China. Yeah, my Dad used to hang garlic on the trees when we went camping, saying it would keep the bears away. And we never saw a single bear in our campsite, either.....

Yet in recent years, the basic dynamics of the two countries have been remarkably similar. Both have had politically skillful, democratically elected heads of state who were determined to consolidate the independent identity and sovereignty of the territory they ruled. Each confronted a major power -- Russia for Georgia and China for Taiwan -- that felt it had legitimate historical rights to curtail the full exercise of sovereignty by the feisty smaller government. And each appealed to the United States for support. The leaders of Taiwan and Georgia had reason to believe they had a strong ally in President George W. Bush, who had declared a robust agenda of promoting democracy and freedom. They were acting, they said, to realize the democratic aspirations of their people.

The problem is that the Georgia-Taiwan comparison is spurious -- Taiwan is a lot more like South Ossetia than Georgia itself. No one disputed the sovereignty of Georgia itself, at issue was the sovereignty of the breakaway region of South Ossetia --just as what is at issue here is whether Taiwan can enjoy its own sovereignty. Just to keep playing that game, South Ossetia even held a referendum on independence that was condemned by the western democracies, just as Chen Shui-bian had referendums that were (shamefully and cravenly) condemned by the western democracies. Onward and upward....

.....Georgia has become the scene of the most serious post-Cold War great-power conflict, while recent political change in Taiwan has greatly enhanced cross-Strait stability and provides reason for optimism about the future.

There is no reason for optimism about the election of Ma Ying-jeou -- unless your policy is to annex the island to China. But that is not the worst part of this piece.... first comes a substantial misrepresentation of US behavior:

But over time Mr. Bush moved to a more tempered approach that increasingly took into serious account Beijing's concerns as well as Taiwan's pleadings. He recognized that the most serious threat to Taiwan was conflict through miscalculation, as an independence-leaning political initiative by Taiwan's president Chen Shui-bian might provoke a Chinese military attack, whether justified or not. The Bush administration therefore developed a nuanced American policy that publicly put the United States squarely in opposition to any unilateral change to the status quo by either Beijing or Taipei.

Read that last statement carefully. The Administration's actual policy (nuanced policy, mind you!) was not opposition to unilateral change in the status quo by either side -- it was loud opposition to Taiwan's democracy on one side, and quiet acquiescence in China's military build up in other. This produced the obscene picture of US spokesmen using the same language to condemn Taiwan's democratic referendum on the UN -- which could never succeed -- as it did to condemn the Anti-secession Law, and more importantly, to scream at Chen Shui-bian in unseemly, exaggerated ways, while only whimpering now and then as China's military build-up made radical revisions to the status quo.

In other words, Bush's policy was not a preservation of the status quo but a response to China's change of it, and that response was to serve China's interests by hacking on Taiwan. But that is not the worst of this piece:

In Taiwan, by contrast, 2008 has witnessed the election of a moderate leader, Ma Ying-jeou, whose electoral prospects were bolstered in part by America's clear indications of its displeasure with the willingness of former president Mr. Chen to provoke China. Under President Ma we are seeing hopeful initiatives to stabilize cross-Strait relations in ways that hold out the prospect for improving Taiwan's economy, reducing the military threat from China, preserving Taiwan's democratic system of governance, and increasing America's capacity to work with China on the North Korea nuclear issue and other serious international concerns.

Here Bush and Lieberthal brag about how the US helped get a longtime democracy activist, independence advocate, and friend of the US removed from office, to be replaced by a pro-China, lifelong anti-democracy politician who patronizes the US, despises our regional ally Japan, and wants to see Taiwan annexed to China. In the topsy-turvy world of US Establishment China policy, progress is when you blow a hole in the security system you spent 50 years assembling and nurturing. And just this week China announced that it was beginning to train carrier pilots....

Skipping over the pro-forma claim "Chen provokes China," look at the other claims Bush and Lieberthal make:

Under President Ma we are seeing hopeful initiatives to stabilize cross-Strait relations in ways that hold out the prospect for improving Taiwan's economy, reducing the military threat from China, preserving Taiwan's democratic system of governance

What is there to say? The "initiatives" that Ma is taking in cross-strait relations are almost all DPP initiatives, though they were negotiating from a much stronger position than President Regional Administrator Ma. The ideas that Ma has offered independently, such as the diplomatic truce, have been failures to the present and appear likely to fail permanently - indeed, from what I have heard from individuals interacting with Chinese officials and scholars, there has been a uniform hardening of the Chinese position since Ma was elected. The Chinese simply do not see any reason to give Ma anything, and it appears likely that they will not. Perhaps things will change, but at this point there is no reason to suspect China will mature (see the recent letter on participation in UN special agencies from the Chinese government smacking down Ma). Mayhap the US will put pressure on it to make some cosmetic concessions, which will be trumpeted by one and all as progress.

In other words, political change here has not enhanced stability in the Taiwan Strait as Bush and Lieberthal claim -- instead it has introduced new instabilities and uncertainties by giving China the upper hand and sacrificing the interests of US allies Japan and Taiwan, as well as introducing the new and ominously opaque uncertainty: how far is Ma willing to go? But as we all know, the greatness of a realpolitik decision is measured by the number of friends it betrays....

Moreover, Ma is not the one running the KMT talks with China -- those appear to be in the hands of other politicians within the KMT who have long been negotiating through back-channels with China. Thus "stability" is an illusion -- no one really knows what is being said in the private KMT-Beijing talks, or what the limits are. Scary, eh? But at least there won't be any more of those dangerous and provocative referendums, which are so much like shelling civilians.

UPDATE: One thing I wanted to draw attention to is the tone of these recent pieces on Georgia and Taiwan. There's almost a defensive flavor to this stream of writing with its attacks on Chen and justifications for the Establishment's we've-brought-order-to-the-galaxy position -- as if, deep down, people know that what was done was not right.

[Taiwan]

Old Line "Corrupt" New Line: "Stupid"

Q: How is the Taiwan Stock Market like a Bathyscaphe? A: Because they both plumb the depths while threatening to implode! Yes, that one's mine, and I think I should get extra points for using the word bathyscaphe in a joke. But even as our stock market wipes out paper value faster than the ghost money burner at Lungshan Temple in Taipei, the Blue media is up to the task of assigning blame -- to Ma Ying-jeou.

KNN -- that's K as in Kuomintang, not K as in Klingon -- offers up another Blue media roasting of Ma Ying-jeou, who is being pretty regularly roasted in the media of whatever color. To wit:

Indeed, President Ma should be grateful. A crisis of governance has exploded during his first 100 days. He still has three years and over 200 days to make corrections.....

In retrospect, President Ma's plight may be the direct result of his career path. It has simply been too smooth, too easy. Apart from being indicted over the Top Executives’ Discretionary Fund Case, he has never experienced a major setback in his entire political career. He never experienced the pain Chiang Ching-kuo suffered during his exile in the Soviet Union. He never experienced the nail-biting factional clashes of the KMT Lee Teng-hui must have gone through. He never experienced the repeated election setbacks as Chen Shui-bian. He was quite young when he gained favor with Chiang Ching-kuo. He had little administrative experience at the ministerial level. Despite his lack of party experience, he was made KMT Deputy Secretary-General. During the intense struggles between the mainstream and non-mainstream factions, he deftly kept his head down. He was subsequently drafted by popular acclaim to run for Taipei Mayor. Ma Ying-jeou has never developed any irreconcilable enmities within the Blue Camp. Nor can he find any opponents who are his match in the Green Camp. Only when this darling of the masses ascended to the highest office were his character defects and personal limitations exposed, one after another.

No one will deny that President Ma is a man of moderate character, who seldom speaks ill of others, and who is uncorrupt. That much we know. He is not a President likely to embezzle money and transfer it overseas. He is not a President likely to engage in empty boasting on pirate radio stations after he commits a crime. He does not have a First Lady who lusts after power and money. That said, a good President must be more than just a good person. We cannot simply turn the affairs of the nation over to a person who is elected as the model of those who have merits or have done good things.

.....................

Who among those in high office does not want to be loved by the people? Who does not want to be proud of his political achievements? Who does not want a place in history? But as the famed German sociologist Max Weber put it, politics is a calling. Ruling a nation is hardly as easy as Ma Ying-jeou imagines. A few more photo ops of you jogging and selling moon cakes are hardly going to convince people you are doing your duty as President. The people have limited patience for a President who constantly makes apologies. President Ma must not waste any more time with public relations, in an attempt to repair his image. He and his team must engage in a little more self-introspection. What President Ma needs is a little less show, and a little more go.

Fortunately this is his first year. He can still save the day. Eventually, however, he will run out of chances. We can't believe that years from now President Ma will want people to remember him and reluctantly sigh, saying, "He was a good man, but a stupid President."

There's lots to talk about here, but I'd like to point out that the China Times conception of the Presidency is that it "rules the nation." Not leads it. Big diff.

More interesting is contemplating exactly what the Blue media hopes to accomplish by hacking on Ma in this way? To save the party from its President? It's not our fault! We didn't realize he was so stoopid! It's not our policy, it's our president!" The new conventional wisdom promulgated by the chattering classes is that Ma is stupid. Unprepared. Naive.

Meanwhile Typhoon Sinlaku highlighted the real problem when it laid waste to a major bridge between Taichung and Miaoli county, which collapsed even as the police were trying to close it. Three cars made it onto the bridge before the police could act. One poor driver was on his cellphone at the moment the car was deposited to its doom below. Six people are missing.

The collapsed bridge does not point the finger at Ma, but at the organization he is serving as a very convenient scapegoat for: the legislature. The bridge was apparently due for maintenance but then funds were slow coming out of the KMT-controlled legislature during the Chen years. Then there was the problem of illegal gravel digging, which wrecks riverbeds and threatens the structures that span them. And of course, Taiwan's local governments are broke.

From my perspective, the problem isn't Ma, but the legislature, which appears to lack leadership in areas vital to the nation's progress. And beyond that, there's the construction-industrial state that is constantly investing in spraying concrete all over the landscape in new projects, but not putting money into the less sexy act of maintaining and improving what is already in existence. The media spotlight needs to leave Ma, who, after all, is at the mercy of economic forces beyond anyone's control, and to illuminate other problems in Taiwan's governance....

[Taiwan]

Nixon-Kissinger Exchange on Taiwan

Some fascinating stuff is out there now. Here is an exchange that gives an interpretation of the Shanghai Communique that is wildly at variance with how that Kissinger is typically portrayed on Taiwan:

+++++++++++

Nixon: I noticed in the Washington daily news summary, the editorial, they made it to be critical of the fact that there was no mention of the Taiwan Independence Movement [in the Shanghai Communiqué].2 Let me ask, is the Taiwan—that source is interesting because that’s a more conservative paper. But is the Taiwan Independence Movement, is violently opposed to Chiang Kai-shek; violently opposed by the Chinese; and violently opposed to the Japanese, isn’t it? Am I wrong? Or the Japanese—

Kissinger: Well the Japanese haven’t taken a position on it, but it’s—

Nixon: What in the hell is the Taiwanese Independence Movement all about?

Kissinger: It’s not a significant movement now. It’s violently opposed by both the Chinese Governments. Chiang Kai-shek had locked up the leader of the Taiwanese Independence Movement, and he’s now in this country as an exile.3

Nixon: I know.

Kissinger: And we had major problems with Chiang Kai-shek when we let him in here.

Nixon: That’s right.

Kissinger: So—

Nixon: And with the Chinese in the PRC.

Kissinger: And with the PRC. But I noticed somebody must be feeding that because The New York Times, which never used to give a damn about Taiwan, had an editorial about that last week too.4

Nixon: On the independence movement . . .

Kissinger: Yeah.

Nixon: Do you think it’s out of State? Or could there be somebody pushing the Taiwan Independence Movement? That’s so goddamn—have you ever heard of the Taiwan Independence Movement?

Kissinger: No.

Haldeman: No. Not enough to matter.

Kissinger: I can’t speculate.

Nixon: But we haven’t, the other thing, I didn’t see anything in the State Department papers indicating that we ought to support the Taiwan Independence Movement.

Kissinger: Absolutely not.

Nixon: Did we?

Kissinger: No.

Nixon: There’s some kind of flap on it. Did Rogers raise that in his—

Kissinger: No. Well, they raised it at—

Nixon: At the end?

Kissinger: Well, they raised it at the end. At the end he raised it.

Nixon: He raised it at the end? What did he say—you ought to take note of this?

Kissinger: But he never raised it in the preparatory papers they gave us, never. At the end he did raise it among 500 other nit-picks.

Nixon: What 500?

Kissinger: Well, 18, 15. But in this catalog of nit-picks there was the Taiwan Independence Movement. But our formulation doesn’t even preclude, it states it has to be settled by the Chinese themselves. Naturally the Taiwanese are Chinese.

Nixon: Are Chinese.

Kissinger: If they want to secede, that’s their business.

Nixon: Well—

China, March–December 1972 849
848 Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XVII
1 Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation No. 532–17. No classification marking. The editor transcribed the portion of the conversation printed here specifically for this volume.
2 Possible reference to Milton Viorst, “Has Anyone Asked the Taiwanese?”, Washington Evening Star, March 11, 1972, p. A–5.
3 Reference is to Peng Ming-min. See Documents 65, 91, and 178.

[Taiwan]

Defense Round-up

Some important defense stuff out there, unfortunately behind firewalls... First, Defense News reports on the new cruise missile....

Next year, Taiwan will begin producing its first land attack cruise missile, the Hsiung Feng-2E (Brave Wind).


First to come off the line will be a 600-kilometer variant that completed test-firings in 2004. An 800-kilometer variant, which wrapped testing this year, could be canceled due to warming relations with China.


“This is basically a tactical weapon designed for use against military target sets, particularly air-defense fire units and command-and-control facilities,” a Taiwan defense analyst said.

“The missile’s relatively small warhead size and the rather limited number of missiles planned for procurement clearly suggest that this is not a counter-value weapon.”

That would seem to soothe U.S. fears that the HF-2E could be used as a “first strike” weapon, something Taiwan agreed not to develop. “I think much of the U.S. concern over Taiwan’s development of something like the HF-2E has been the irresponsible rhetoric that certain Taiwan politicians — often on both sides of the aisle — used when discussing the weapon and its purpose — for example, threatening to attack Shanghai or the Three Gorges Dam,” the analyst said.

“The U.S. finds such behavior even more destabilizing than Taiwan’s possession of a land-attack missile capability per se.”

Production of the HF-3 antiship missile will probably begin next year, reports Defense News. Max Hirsch of Kyodo reports on the arms freeze, with a nifty quote from the ever quotable John Tkacik:

Included in the alleged freeze are pending deals on some 90 military helicopters, including 30 Apache attack helicopters, defensive missile batteries and plans for conventional attack submarines.

A June report in the Washington Post quoted a U.S. government insider as saying the freeze came at the request of Ma for fear the deals, if allowed to proceed, would derail his plans to bury the hatchet with rival China.

Ma, of the ruling Nationalist Party (KMT), took office May 20 on the back of vows to improve ties with Beijing, which claims Taipei as its own and has vowed to bring the self-ruled island under its political fold, by force if necessary.

The Ma administration, for its part, has denied reports that it requested the freeze, while the U.S. State Department denies that such a freeze even exists. Proponents of the deals, however, generally place the blame on Washington.

''President George W. Bush, personally, has denied Taiwan the defense systems it needs to maintain even the semblance of a military balance in the Taiwan Strait, and part of the rationale in Washington is, 'Well, President Ma is making such good progress in his talks with China, let's not stir things up,''' says John Tkacik, a former diplomat and official at the Heritage Foundation, a U.S. think tank.

The United States is legally obligated to provide defensive arms to Taiwan -- an obligation that Washington is ignoring to appease Beijing as the latter's political, economic and diplomatic powers increase, Tkacik says.

''The State Department,'' he adds, ''has evidently decided that Taiwan's future security is much better entrusted to China than to the United States.''

The Taiwan-US defense conference is being held this September 28-30, with a big topic being the freeze. Defense News has another piece on it:

"The Defense Industry Conference is the most important private event reviewing U.S.-Taiwan defense and security issues each year," Hammond-Chambers said. "Senior representatives from Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of State will give keynote speeches at the event."

So far, the conference has not identified officials from Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense attending the conference. There are unconfirmed reports that Chen Chao-min, Taiwan's minister of national defense, will attend and give a speech.

"In addition, a high-caliber group of leading U.S. and Taiwan experts will address many important topics and will engage our attendees in an informative dialogue on shared issues and concerns," Hammond-Chambers said.

Confirmed U.S. speakers include Paul Wolfowitz, former U.S. deputy secretary of defense, now chairman, U.S.-Taiwan Business Council; Randy Schriver, Armitage International; Mark Hall, director, Information Assurance Policy & Strategy, U.S. Department of Defense; Capt. John Figuerres, chief, Northeast Asia Policy Division, Strategic Planning & Policy Directorate, U.S. Pacific Command; and John Anderson, chief, Technical Section, American Institute in Taiwan (the de facto U.S. Embassy).

Nongovernmental Taiwan speakers will include Fu S. Mei, director, Taiwan Security Analysis Center; Alexander Huang, professor of strategic studies and director of American studies at Tamkang University; Lin Chen-wei, director, Department of International Affairs, of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party; and Michael Tsai, former minister of national defense, now honorary deputy chairman, Institute for Taiwan Defense and Strategic Studies.

Session topics this year include long-range planning for Taiwan's future military needs, military modernization and the drive toward an all-professional force, and indigenous production and industrial cooperation.

Breakout session topics include the implications of the weaponization of space and China's space program, as well as Taiwan's current and future space programs; network and information security challenges and cyber-war preparedness from both a U.S. and a Taiwan perspective; and the implications the U.S. presidential election could have for Taiwan.

And if you get the chance, read this article in WaPo about China, the fading of NASA, and US international status. It's incredible to me that after 8 years of damage and destruction to virtually every aspect of the United States, that anyone is voting Republican this year.

[Taiwan]

Announcements, Sept 16

Lots of stuff happening...

There's a session on Austronesian Taiwan at an upcoming Anthro conference...

Call for participation and feel free to circulate... Session on Austronesian Taiwan and other Austronesian Margins, Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania (ASAO), Santa Cruz, CA, February 10-14, 2008

Austronesian Taiwan and other Austronesian Margins
Organizer: Kun-hui Ku

Due to their colonial history, Austronesian speakers in Taiwan were largely unknown to scholars outside of that island until recently; consequently studies of Austronesian Taiwan have been marginalized and left out of academic regional traditions in both Asian Studies (in spite geographical links) and Pacific Islands Studies (in spite of linguistic, genetic, and to a certain extent cultural links). Recent archaeological and linguistics debates about the Austronesian homeland and the dispersal of Austronesian speakers helped to boost the visibility of Austronesian speakers in Taiwan in wider academic arenas. This session brings together scholars who are interested in the study of Austronesian Taiwan placing this in dialogue with the wider literature on Oceania.

In addition, we will question conventional Pacific Islands culture area distinctions by using a broader Austronesian lens to stretch their customary limits, and we invite scholars working in other "marginal" areas of the Austronesian world to join us.

Please contact Kun-hui Ku by October 10, 2008 if you are interested in participating in the session.

Kun-hui Ku, Institute of Anthropology, National Tsing-Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang Fu Road, Hsinchu, Taiwan 300, ROC.

++++++++++++

The Fullbright scholarship has a Taiwan program. Check it out: http://www.cies.org/award_book/award2009/country/EasTaiTW.htm

++++++++++++

Papers from the fifth annual conference on Sino-European Relations and Cross-Strait Relations are online at this link. These include papers on Europe and the Cross-Strait situation, as well as the recent elections here.

++++++++++++

David Reid of David on Formosa flipped me the media announcement for the Taiwan blog awards. I am not in the running for this, and neither is David.

Media release
15 September 2008
for immediate release
Announcing the 2008 Taiwan Blog Awards

Taiwanderful has announced the 2008 Taiwan Best Blog Awards. The awards are for English-language blogs related to Taiwan in eight categories. Registration will take place over September, voting in October and the results will be announced in November.

There are hundreds of bloggers writing about Taiwan in English. The English language bloggers in Taiwan contribute some of the most comprehensive up-to-date information about the real Taiwan on a wide range of topics, from travel through politics to culture. The blogs combine personal commentary, photography and video. The blog awards are intended as a tribute to these devoted bloggers. Their blogs are a unique form of promotion for Taiwan.

Full details of the awards available at http://www.taiwanderful.net/blog/taiwan-best-blog-awards-2008

For further information contact
David Reid
e-mail: reid.david@yahoo.com.au

Gilad Feldman (Fili)
e-mail: filination@gmail.com

David is available for interviews in Taipei.

++++++++++++

And Dems Abroad are having a Happy Hour at Carnegie's.

Democrats Abroad Taiwan
Oct. 3rd Happy Hour at
Carnegie's Taipei

Come meet fellow Dems, enjoy a beverage or two, and get some
pointers from newsmeister extraordinaire David Chard on great
sources of the latest info about what's going on stateside and what's
really going on with the campaigns!

Where: Carnegie's Taipei, No. 100, AnHe Rd. Sec. 2; Tel: (02) 2325-4433
When: October 3rd, starting from 6 p.m.

For planning purposes, please let us know if you can come and
how many will be with you: democratsabroadtaiwan@gmail.com

++++++++++++

Finally, FAPA announces the latest issue of Taiwan Communique (#120) is out:

We are pleased to let you know that the new issue of our Taiwan Communiqué (no. 120) is off the press! The first article focuses on the new political landscape in Taiwan, and describes the reactions of many Taiwanese -- as exemplified by the massive turnout at the August 30th rally -- to the policies of the Ma Administration. We also present an analysis of the implications for US policy by Julian Baum, a veteran reporter on developments in Taiwan.

We then give a brief summary of the Visit to Washington of DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen. We subsequently turn to the question whether US arms sales to Taiwan are “frozen” and summarize the developments on that issue over the past three months.

The following topic is a The KMT’s recent UN-bid, which we describe as “meaningless” participation. This is followed by a brief article about former President Chen’s admission that he wired campaign funds overseas, and the question whether in Taiwan’s poisonous atmosphere, he can get a fair trial.

The Report from Washington in this issue looks at the Republican and Democratic campaign platforms and asks ”McCain vs. Obama: what’s in it for Taiwan?”

We close with not one but three Book Reviews of recent publications:
1. The “One China” dilemma, edited by Peter Chow,
2. Humanity at Stake, by Abraham Young, and
3. A Borrowed Voice, edited by Lynn Miles and Linda Arrigo

Below you find the table of contents. The full publication is attached and also available in PDF-format on our websites at www.taiwandc.org and www.fapa.org .

The hardcopy will be sent out in about a week to those who are on our mailing list.

Best regards,
Gerrit van der Wees, Editor, Taiwan Communiqué

++++++++++++

[Taiwan]

Cold Times at 85C

Dragonflies cavort at a local temple as angry skies announce the advent of typhoon Sinlaku.

I have to admit that scams mesmerize me, and UDN (here, here) reported on an appalling one today....

Everyone knows 85C, the local coffee chain that rocketed out in the last few years, establishing stores in small towns that Barista and Starbucks had turned up their collective noses at, and even colonizing far-off Sydney with a store.

Down in Tainan two of the branch stores hit upon an ugly scam that can't possibly be unique to those two businesses. Virtually every major business on the island has a collection box for the receipts right there next to the cash registers. These are supposedly given to charitable organizations, who then use them to win money in the receipt lottery. These two 85 stores, however, took the receipts, fished out the big ones, and then presented them to the tax office as receipts for canceled orders -- which lowered their incomes and saved them thousands of Taiwan dollars.

The tax office became suspicious and sent operatives to the stores, who purchased items worth NT$500 and put the receipts in the charity box. However, before they did so, they photographed them. Busted!

85C has been in trouble over the years for other issues. A while back they got sued by a youth employment advocacy group for not paying the labor insurance for some of their young employees, which also claims that they underpay their workers. 85C sent them a legal warning over the latter claim. Then there was the issue of "future cakes" at the end of last year -- if you went into certain stores after 8 pm, it was said, you could buy a cake with the next day's date on it.

Whatever the case, I'll never look at those ubiquitous collection boxes the same way again. Sad.

[Taiwan]

China's growing financial clout and Taiwan

Sinlaku: I went out around 9 am this morning, local time. Traffic seemed normal for a rainy Sunday and businesses were open. It is raining heavily, though with intermittent breaks, and there apparently was very little wind here in central Taiwan: no rice crushed by microbursts, no large downed tree limbs, no blown over trucks. Hope everyone is OK. The north was hit harder as the eye skirted it on its way to points west....

A spate of reports recently discusses the way China used a $300 billion bond purchase to change Costa Rica's mind about who it recognized... The Financial Times first has the call...

In January this year Safe [China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange] bought $150m in US dollar-denominated bonds from the government of Costa Rica as part of an agreement signed last year under which the Central American nation cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan (after 63 years) and established relations with the People's Republic of China.

The agreement, signed on June 1 2007 by Yang Jiechi, China's foreign minister, and Bruno Stagno Ugarte, foreign minister of Costa Rica, explicitly links the foreign policy switch to China's purchase of $300m in government bonds and a grant of $130m.

In an exchange of letters from January this year between Fang Shangpu, Safe's deputy administrator, and Costa Rica's finance minister, Safe promised to buy government bonds under the terms of the 2007 agreement, but included a clause demanding Costa Rica take "necessary measures to prevent the disclosure of the financial terms of this operation and of Safe as a purchaser of these bonds to the public".

With China's massive foreign reserves at $1.8 trillion and climbing, and Safe now the world's largest investment fund, it is a safe bet that Beijing's clout will only grow. As another FT article observed,

How do you spend $1,810bn? That is the question facing China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The world's largest investment fund, it has grown by $400bn this year alone. Having reserves far in excess of what it needed for insurance and currency interventions, it rightly decided to diversify and set up the China Investment Corporation, the country's $200bn sovereign wealth fund. As the Financial Times reveals today, however, Safe itself has been investing abroad. Its foreign equity positions are greater than those of CIC. This raises questions for the developed world and China.

Safe conducts its activities in secret and there is no public oversight or accountability. People think that is ominous, but in a way I take heart: you can be sure under those conditions that it will be quietly and thoroughly looted by its overseers, as well as run with growing incompetence and arrogance. Safe opened a Hong Kong subsidiary to take positions in Western blue chips, as yet another FT article describes:

According to Chinese media reports that officials in Beijing confirmed as largely accurate, Safe has also used a shadowy Hong Kong subsidiary to build stakes of less than 1 per cent in numerous companies listed in the UK, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Unilever, Tesco, British Gas, Cadbury, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays Bank, as well as in other markets.

While some western politicians worried about the transparency and strategic and political intentions of CIC, Safe was building offshore equity positions that now exceed the $90bn (€65bn, £51bn) total that CIC has to spend abroad, according to estimates by people in Beijing familiar with Safe's operations.

CIC was set up specifically to enhance returns on a portion of China's more than $1,800bn in foreign exchange reserves and has publicly and repeatedly said its investments are decided on a commercial basis, not influenced by political concerns. Safe, on the other hand, barely makes any public statements, has never revealed its investment criteria and takes great pains to disguise the investments it makes all over the world.

A Taiwan MODA spokesman observed yesterday that Taiwan just couldn't afford to play tit-for-tat with a sovereign wealth fund whose total assets are six times the size of Taiwan's GDP:

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said yesterday : “The truth of why Costa Rica broke up with us has finally been revealed.”

“It just goes to show that if we had continued to engage in a hostile diplomatic race with Beijing, Taiwan would unquestionably have been crushed,” he said.

Chen said for the year 2008 to 2009, MOFA’s budget has been roughly earmarked at US$1 billion (NT$30 billion).

“There is no way that we would be able to allocate one-third of our annual budget on cementing ties with just one country,” he said.

The article noted that China had agreed to purchase $150 million in government bonds in Jan of 2008 with another $150 million in purchases due in Jan of 2009. The smarmy nature of all this is illustrated by the fact that the deal is being handled by a bank founded by the former Costa Rican ambassador to China, who remains a shareholder in the bank. Taiwan's aid donation, I've heard, similarly vanished into the pockets of officialdom.......

With clout like this, Taiwan's diplomacy would be in trouble even if it were not being run by an administration that is staging a retreat from the position that Taiwan is a sovereign nation and who, as a piece in today's Taipei Times by a longtime KMT stalwart observes, has positioned himself as nothing more than a regional administrator...that growing lack of a positive and aggressive foreign policy is probably the reason Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said this weekend that China pressure on Taiwan is actually falling, with fewer incidents recently. What is there to have "incidents" about if you don't have a foreign policy?

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single nation in possession of a sphere of influence, must be in want of a rival. US officials, looking at our own financial disarray thanks to the license to loot that deregulation represented, appear to be viewing the Communist investment house with great trepidation. As well they should.

[Taiwan]

Paper on Parade: Should the US Grab Taiwan?

Normally in this feature I discuss recent academic papers, but my friend Jerome Keating gave me a copy of this wonderful article from the Saturday Evening Post of August 13, 1949, entitled "Should We Grab Formosa?" by Darrell Berrigan. Berrigan, a longtime newspaperman in Asia (article on the war in China from Berrigan), was an interesting fellow whose life was cut short by an execution-style killing in Bangkok in 1965 (article on his death, scroll down toward center).

The article, written a few months before Chiang Kai-shek's defeat and retreat to the island, gives a picture of an island under occupation, and of course, of the extensive looting....

Under the attack of the mainland locusts the island's economy slipped lower and lower, and took the people's living standard -- always high than on the mainland -- with it. For the first time in history rice had to be rationed here. The mainland businessmen were hoarding rice for speculative purposes.

Commodity speculation by Nationalist businessmen would reach a crescendo the following summer with the expectation that China would invade -- but Chiang would be saved by the Korean War. As the brilliant journalist I. F. Stone pointed out in his masterful The Hidden History of the Korean War 1950-1951, just 56 Nationalist Chinese held half of all global soybean futures as the Korean War began -- and others in bed with them in soybean futures included one Cold War hawk in the Senate by the name of McCarthy. But that is a tale for another day....

Berrigan's article contains a discussion of the collapse of bureaucratic rectitude under the Chiang regime....

"Before you can talk to an official these days," a farmer told me, "you have to give him money. I hate to say this, but they are all corrupt. Every one."

The farmer's harsh judgment, held by thousands of Formosans, is unquestionably an exaggeration. But there is no doubt that corruption is widespread. An entire region I visited was without water -- its rice and sugar cane dying in the fields -- because the farmers higher up on the canal had bribed the officials to let them empty the canal for their own use....

Berrigan also provides descriptions of the tension in everyday life, where....

...In carrying out their duties the soldiers have intensified the hatred the Formosans have developed for their mainland brothers. They patrol the streets of the cities tensely, obviously afraid of the idling Formosans, lunging at the islanders with fixed bayonets at the slightest provocation.

Not only was the situation on the island desperate, but treason was rampant. Berrigan reported that there were so many pilot defections that no one was permitted to fly without a wife and child on the island and aviation gas was strictly limited, while the coast guard cutters patrolled in pairs in case one defected. Formosans Berrigan talked to warned him of the secret police and of "disappearances in the night." Berrigan also observed that the islanders were planning another revolt, and wrote of their "island nationalism." In 1949.

Berrigan argues that the US should take possession of Formosa, a move he claims the islanders would support. He also notes that the Formosans repeated to him a statement made by State Department spokesman Michael McDermott:

"...to the effect that 'the disposition of Formosa must await the Japanese treaty.' The Communists, of course, claim that the US is trying to take over the island. Propaganda like that makes the islanders very happy."

How things might have been different, if we had grabbed Formosa...

I've placed images of the four pages of the article in my Flickr account. If you download the original size it should be easy to read the article, which is long and detailed. The images are large (~2400 x 1600) and will take a moment to download.

Page One Original size.

Page Two Original Size.

Page Three Original Size.

Page Four Original Size.

Don't miss the many interesting ads and cartoons from a bygone age.....

[Taiwan]

Daily Links, September 12, 2008

The sixth shoe seller shop's salesgirl is slick....

As Typhoon Sinlaku casts its long shadow over Taiwan, what's being hocked on the blogs today?

Laorencha has a post running down something near and dear to my heart: indian food in Taipei. Ok, so it isn't great. But it is still enjoyable.

The Foreigner abuses the China Post for its absurd predictions about Chen Shui-bian.

The Times says Taiwan is a "Chinese territory"?

The beautiful blog Biking in Taiwan with more great stuff.

Black Lawyer says the US and Russia have taught China an important lesson.

2008 Taiwan blog awards (Fili's original post). I wish to rule my blog out too. Also from Fili, his article on the Chen Shui-bian scandal. In Hebrew.

Save the Dolphins blogs on the idiocy of building dams to deliver subsidized power to subsidized money-losing heavy industries while destroying wetlands to do so.

DPP poll says 66% believe Ma is heading toward unification. Only 66%?

Scott Sommers comments cogently on the PHD student at a local uni I blogged on last week.

Taiwan Defense Command has an old report on Taiwan in several installments.

Claudia Jean has a great comparison of Taiwan and China.

Mad Minerva on former President Lee's rip of Ma's China policy.

Ni Howdy does the Penghu, and the islands manage to survive.

Good things abound in the day markets.

MEDIA: Next magazine claims Chen Shui-bian asked for asylum in France. Chen denies this. Just prior to the arrival of Tsai Ing-wen, DPP Chairman, in Washington for her talk at the Heritage Foundation, National Security Council Chairman Su Chi, the Ma appointee, visited DC to hobnob with US officials. John Pomfret on the arms issue in the Washington Post blog. Aside from the thoughtless, pro forma hack on DPP China policy, it's a fairly good overview of the arms issue. Taiwan Journal has some good articles this month, including one on how rising prices are hurting Taiwan's political lifeblood, public construction. The US has quietly cleared more defense stuff, in this case, work on the engine for Taiwan's own IDF. The new Foreign Policy White Paper is expected to signal a shift away from dollar diplomacy. Hilariously, Malaysia sent us a horde of MPs, ostensibly on an ag research mission, to get them out of the country for a critical vote. The Malaysian bloggers, who apparently had a big impact on the last election, are going crazy. Many media organs reporting on the economic stimulus package worth $6 billion US (I'll be blogging later). Hey, if the economy sucked for 8 years under Chen as the pro-China trolls ceaselessly claim, where was the stimulus package then? The redoubtable Ting-yi Tsai in WSJ says Taiwan and China to hold talks on daily flights in two months. The DPP slams Ma Ying-jeou for his "Taiwan region" comment. Moody's says Taiwan's relationship with China will be crucial for its economy. I agree -- let's diversify out of there as soon as possible. More great stuff from the Commonwealth this month, including a piece on Taiwan's inflated housing prices and another on ordinary people leaving Taipei. Nukes, India, China.

Taiwan's streets: there's always a naked woman somewhere.....

EVENTS: in Kaohsiung, the Baracktoberfest:

Where: (07)286-2829 高雄市建國三路169號地下室B1(高雄中學正門對面)
Next to Kaohsiung Main Train Station -- a two-minute walk
JianGuo 3rd Rd #169 B1
When: Saturday, October 4th, starting from 7 p.m.
Prices: Cover: NT$250 Beer:NT$50
http://baracktoberfest.site40.net/ has details and the map

+++++++++++++

in Taipei...Urban Nomad sends around....

哈囉朋友與損友們︰
Hello friends and freaky people!

管他颱風不颱風，這個週末城市遊牧影展要連續大慶祝。台

北雙年展的免費開幕派對第一、二、三部曲都會在週五、六、日舉行，還有現場音樂表演。從星期五開始，城市遊牧影展就會在台北啤酒廠開始放映一些很酷的影片，有實驗片啦，有滑板片啦，有的沒的的。來到啤酒廠時，往空啤酒瓶的方向走，可以看到上萬了，那裡就可以找到我們了。
This weekend is bursting with activity starting with an Art Opening/Mini Concert on Friday evening at the Taiwan Beer Factory. Urban Nomad will be there projecting videos from our collection of art vids and other funky skate/surf stuff. Look for us to be surrounded by a pile of audio/video equipment and approximately 10,000 empty beer bottles.

The NOMAD just got in touch....all saturday activities canceled due to the typhoon.

朋友們
Hi Friends,

今天晚上是唯一的一天!!!!
TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!

明天星期六的派對因為颱風而取消掉了，至於星期日，

我們就還不確定了，意思是今天晚上是唯一的雙年展開幕 party! 趕快穿好衣服，到啤酒廠跟我們一起狂歡。
Tomorrow (Saturday)'s party is canceled. The typhoon has gotten the better of us. Sunday don't look good either. We're going to tear down the house tonight at Taipei Beer Factory. It's covered, so no rain there! Get your yellow socks ready because that's the the color of the Biennial this year. We will update you about Sunday when we know for sure.

現場表演還是7:30pm開始，晚上見!
Live bands start performing at 7:30pm tonight. Be there or be... square. Oh, did we mention it's free cover?

星期五 9/12
@ 啤酒廠 Beer Factory–台北市八德路二段85號 #85 Bade Road, Taipei
7:30pm 夾子小應 Xiao Yin from Clippers
8:20pm 拷秋勤
9:05pm 好客樂隊The Hohak Band


Cheers,
城市遊牧影展
Urban Nomad

等等，週末還沒結束。星期日是我們城市遊牧影片正式開演，地點在台北市立美術館旁的公園，露天的電影院，還可以烤肉，看月亮吃月餅。
And on Sunday, we cool it down with cookout and a screening in the Taipei Art Park. We hope you can hang cuz it will be a weekend to remember.

星期五 9/12 (啤酒廠 Beer Factory–台北市八德路二段85號 #85 Bade Road, Taipei)
7:30pm 夾子小應 Xiao Yin from Clippers
8:20pm 拷秋勤
9:05pm 好客樂隊The Hohak Band

星期日 9/14 (中山美術公園 Taipei Art Park–中山北路三段市立美術館旁 (Next to TPE Fine Arts Museum at MRT Yuanshan)
7:30 洪子健的短片 Short Films by James Hong (35 min)
8:10 跨越 Crossing the Line - a 2008 docu about the last defector American in North Korea. (94 min)

城市遊牧影展 Urban Nomad
http://urbannomadfilmfest.blogspot.com

五、六派對 Art Opening/Concerts this weekend
http://blog.roodo.com/slurpeerevolt/archives/7120767.html

台北雙年展 Taipei Biennial
http://www.taipeibiennial.org

+++++++++++++

And the Bushman is having a bash....

Bushman's Blogtoberfest, 2008

2008-10-25
(時區： 台北)
Hukou, Taiwan (地圖)

The biggest blogger event ever! Every English blogger is invited to attend.

++++++++++++++

Republicans: The View is a Taiwan blog, not my personal blog or an Obama blog. If there is a McCain event you want publicized, by all means send it to me for posting.

Readying the World Trade Center for another exhibition....

SPECIAL: DPP Chairman Tsai Ing-wen's talk at Heritage is online. Enjoy! I have included the text of the 2008 State Department cable on Taiwan in my post on it below, and updated that post. This is revolting -- there is no need to go to these lengths! The State Department is denying that there have been any changes in China policy....

MONEYMAKING OPPORTUNITY: LotusBlossom posted this in the LIVING IN TAIWAN forum at www.forumosa.com...

NT$300 Reward Offered for Reporting “Squids”

The EPA promulgated revisions to the In-Use Motor Vehicle Air Pollutant Report and Reward Regulations (使用中汽車排放空氣污染物檢舉及獎勵辦法) on 23 June 2008 to increase people's motivation and willingness to report polluting vehicles (locally referred to as “squids” for their trail of black smoke), and to provide a substantial reward for informers. The Regulations have been changed to authorize local competent authorities to appraise reports and rewards. From 1 January 2009, NT$300 will be allocated for each case reported in accordance to the rules.

Currently, EPA methods to encourage citizens to report vehicles suspected of polluting include seasonal awarding of medals, prizes, certificates of merit, banners, and plaques. Environmental agencies were responsible for looking into reported cases and verifying suspected polluting vehicles. A gift or souvenir worth up to NT$50 was offered as a reward. Those who had reported polluting vehicles frequently conveyed that this compensation was insuffi cient or impractical.

A more substantial reward is now offered to encourage informants to include a photograph in their reports. The revision authorizes the local competent authority to decide whether the reported photo can convincingly show that the suspected vehicle is polluting the air. If such a photo can be produced, regulations provide for a reward of NT$300. For tax purposes, reporters that receive this reward are required to leave their ID number with the environmental agency.

The new regulation will take effect on 1 January 2009 to provide adequate time for allocating the budget to support this policy. To prevent people from making false reports and causing problems or unnecessary disputes for reported citizens or authorities checking into cases, it has been added that polluting vehicles must be reported within 30 days of discovery. For more information, please call 02-2311-7722 ext. 2786.

Why not give up your lousy teaching job and your appallingly low salary and sit by the side of the road all day and report squids? Just do the maths. That's good money, huh? In fact, if you pick a major artery, you might just get away with a p/t gig and still go home with a respectable tax free income?

Go here for the link: http://www.epa.gov.tw/en/NewsContent.as ... NewsID=727

Apologies for the length of this post! Have a great weekend!

UPDATE: Just went out and panned Sinlaku moving in...a gusting rain is already beginning here in central Taiwan...

[Taiwan]

Text of China's UN smackdown of Ma

Here is the text of the entire letter from China on Taiwan's participation in UN specialized agencies, smacking down Ma:

++++++++++++

Letter dated 18 August 2008 from the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General With reference to the letter submitted by Nauru, the Gambia and a very few other countries on 14 August 2008 on the so-called "Taiwan’s participation in the activities of United Nations specialized agencies", I have been instructed to solemnly state China’s position as follows:

1. By raising the so-called proposal on "Taiwan’s participation in the activities of United Nations specialized agencies", Nauru, the Gambia and a very few other countries intend to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan". This is a violation of China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and interference in China’s internal affairs, and is thus firmly opposed by the Chinese Government and people. Such practice runs counter to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations as well as the constitutions and statutes of specialized agencies of the United Nations system. It is also detrimental to the prevailing good momentum in the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

2. There is only one China in the world. No matter what changes occur in cross-Strait relations, China’s adherence to the one China principle will never change. For historical and other reasons, the mainland and the Taiwan region are not yet reunited, but the fact that the two sides belong to one and the same China has never changed. As China is the shared homeland of the Chinese people across the Taiwan Strait, the 23 million Taiwan compatriots are important components of the Chinese nation, and people on the two sides of the Strait share the same blood and destiny.

3. The United Nations and its specialized agencies are intergovernmental organizations composed only of sovereign States. This is clearly stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations and the constitutions and statutes of the specialized agencies. The so-called "principle of universality" is also based on sovereign States. As a part of China, Taiwan is not a sovereign State. The claim by a very few countries that specialized agencies should allow the Taiwan region to "participate" in their activities under the "principle of universality" is unfounded. Since 1993, the General Committee and successive sessions of the General Assembly have rejected the motion on the so-called "Taiwan’s participation" or "membership" in the United Nations tabled by a very few countries each year. Since 1997, the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) and successive sessions of the World Health Assembly have also rejected the motion tabled each year by a very few countries on Taiwan’s "membership" or "participation" in the World Health Assembly as an observer. Facts have amply proved that the Taiwan region is not eligible to "participate" in the activities of specialized agencies.

4. The Chinese Government attaches great importance to the well-being of the 23 million Taiwan compatriots and understands their aspiration for and feeling about participating in international activities. The Chinese Government is never opposed to commercial and cultural exchanges and cooperation between the Taiwan region and other parts of the world. In 2005, on the basis of the one China principle, the Chinese Government reached with the Secretariat of the World Health Organization a memorandum of understanding, which provides facilitation to medical experts of the Taiwan region in their participation in WHO technical conferences and activities. The Taiwan region has unfettered access to health and medical information of the World Health Organization. The Chinese Government has also adopted a fully flexible and constructive attitude towards Taiwan’s participation in multilateral activities in organizations such as the World Trade Organization and APEC.

5. Since March this year, thanks to the concerted efforts of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, cross-Strait relations have shown a good momentum of improvement and development. Under the new circumstances, we will firmly adhere to the theme of peaceful development in cross-Strait relations, and continue to enhance our exchanges and cooperation in all areas. It is true that there are still some outstanding questions left over from history and some of them are hard nuts to crack for the time being. But we anticipate that the two sides will make joint efforts, under the one China principle, towards the establishment of a framework for peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and strive for a new prospect in the relationship.

As an internal affair of the Chinese people, the participation of Taiwan compatriots in international activities should be resolved through consultation by the Chinese people across the Taiwan Strait. We are fully confident that, so long as the two sides work together in a spirit of "building mutual trust, putting aside differences, seeking common ground and striving for a win-win result", we will surely be able to create conditions and find an appropriate solution through consultation.

6. The Chinese Government urges Nauru, the Gambia and a very few other countries to observe the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, especially the principles of respecting State sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and comply with the constitutions and statutes of specialized agencies. We urge them to stop doing things that undermine China’s interests and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, and refrain from creating obstacles to the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. We hope Member States will continue to adhere to the one China principle, appreciate and support the efforts made by the Chinese Government to maintain peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, and work concertedly to safeguard peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole.

I have the honour to request that the present letter be circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under item 112 of the provisional agenda.

(Signed) Wang Guangya
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations

++++++++++++++

Ma's policies to gain international space appear to be destined for failure, at least at this point. But observe how both the PRC and Ma use the same language in referring to Taiwan -- "Taiwan region" and "Chinese people on both sides of the Strait" etc. Scary.

[Taiwan]

Domestic Situation: KMT

Paul turned back to the Emperor, said: "When they permitted you to mount your father's throne, it was only on the assurance that you'd keep the spice flowing. You've failed them, Majesty. Do you know the consequences?

Aussie scholar Bruce Jacobs has written a review of the KMT's internal politics that discusses some of the problems Ma faces:

President Ma must reform the KMT
By Bruce Jacobs 家博

Wednesday, Sep 10, 2008, Page 8

In the second televised presidential election debate, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) expressed regret that his party had not reformed during its eight years in opposition. After the presidential election, I wrote an op-ed in this newspaper arguing that reform of the KMT remained an urgent issue. Today, more than five months later, the KMT still remains unreformed, but party reform has become even more urgent.

The KMT center, and not the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has become the most important opposition to the Ma government. For example, on July 10, the China Times, one of Taiwan's most "blue" journals, attacked Ma's leadership in a damning editorial. Four days later, the Kuomintang News Network, a KMT English-language Web site, circulated a full English translation around the world.

Such KMT attacks on Ma and his government have become commonplace and the most severe strikes come from KMT legislators elected on the party list such as Chiu Yi (邱毅) and Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱). One example of KMT legislators refusing to listen to Ma was their refusal to pass all of his nominees for the Control Yuan despite the KMT's overwhelming majority in the legislature.

In principle, I agree with Ma's desire to "separate the party from the government" (黨政分離). But this policy has not worked. With such old, conservative men as KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung, former chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) in charge, the KMT irresponsibly nominated unsuitable people for the legislative elections.

Again, take Chiu as an example. After the 2004 presidential election, Chiu got on a truck and rammed it into the Kaohsiung District Court, a crime that was video-recorded, televised and for which he served a jail term.

Why did the KMT nominate a convicted criminal high on the party list where his election was a certainty? KMT officials said Chiu was rewarded for sacrificing himself for the party. In fact, Chiu and the other critics are beholden to the old conservative men, not to the KMT.

Rather than let the old conservative men run the KMT, Ma should have played a more active role in the nominations. If he had, there would be much less opposition now as many of those now attacking Ma would have failed in their bids to become legislators.

In nominating his Control Yuan list, Ma should have personally met with KMT legislative leaders, noted that his list was carefully constructed to represent different sectors and demanded that the legislature pass all (or none) of his nominees.

Ma's failure to discuss the issue personally meant that the legislature picked off several somewhat green nominees. He failed in his effort to be a president of all the people, as well as losing face, because he could not control an overwhelmingly KMT legislature.

There is only one solution. To move out the old conservative men, Ma must become the new KMT chairman. In an effort to reform, he can bring in some younger people who believe in reform to help implement it, such as Taoyuan County Commissioner Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Chiayi Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) in such roles as secretary-general or vice-chairman.

This must happen very soon as the new team needs to be able to ensure that the nominees for county commissioner and mayor next year are truly interested in reform.

As the opinion polls show, Ma's presidency is in serious trouble. He has fallen from a high of more than 58 percent of the votes to less than half of the people expressing satisfaction with his government. Some aspects of this decline relate to his foreign and China policies, which seem to differ from his campaign speeches. But, the Diaoyutai (釣魚台) turmoil, for example, would have been much easier to manage had wild KMT legislators not helped create an atmosphere of increasing tension.

Clearly, gaining control of the KMT is much more than a domestic matter. And it is vital to the maintenance of Taiwan's democratic health. President Ma, please act soon!

There's a lot going on here. First and foremost, Ma was chairman of the KMT before for 18 months from 2005-7 and made absolutely no reformist changes. I think Ma learned his lesson about purification back in the early 90s when he was Justice Minister and attempted to go after corruption. President Lee apparently canned him for that. I am highly skeptical that Ma will ever be a reformist about anything, let alone his own party -- recall that Ma never called for political reforms during the martial law era. He converted to democracy only after it was politically safe for him to do so.

Second, this isn't just a KMT issue; it's a governance issue. I wondered aloud several times prior to the election whether the legislature would cooperate with Ma after he because President, because it has so much power. The ROC constitution was never meant to be more than the candy coating over a one-party state and the ROC presidency is not inherently powerful. Previous presidents derived their authority from their position as Party Chairman and as Party leaders with personal networks at their command. The local media have reported several times on Ma's distance from the rest of the KMT. Hence, even a vigorous and activist president might have trouble gaining ascendancy over the legislature, simply because he doesn't have the constitutional authority. It doesn't help that the Speaker of the legislature is Wang Jyn-ping, one of Ma's bitterest political rivals.

Finally, the issue of reform is bound up with the source of KMT power: money. The KMT has power because it distributes central government cash to its local networks through the construction-industrial state, and through the irrigation, fish, and agricultural cooperatives to the rural areas (as I recall both Speaker Wang and current KMT chair Wu came out of the ag cooperatives system). The legislature resolutely blocked reform of the agricultural cooperatives during the two Chen administrations. "Reform" that aimed at integrity, transparency and financial probity would seriously impair the KMT's local patronage networks. It is hard to believe that President Ma could make such a program a reality. No, I suspect that Ma is like the Padishah Emperor in Dune: he was permitted to take the throne with the understanding that the spice would continue to flow......

[Taiwan]

Ma interviewed by Jerome Cohen in NYU Law pub

Ma's former mentor at Harvard, Jerome Cohen, interviews him for an NYU publication. The questions are softball, and some of the answers will make you laugh out loud:

How has the advanced legal education of the kind you got at NYU influenced you as a leader?

My studies taught me about the ideas of constitutional democracy—freedom, human rights and rule of law. Those are probably the most important that have influenced me in the days since I left the United States.

There is no record of Ma supporting democracy until a decade after his return to the US -- he opposed the lifting of martial law, opposed the repeal of anti-dissident laws, and served the dictator and mass murderer Chiang Ching-kuo as his private secretary. This remark is pure cant.

One of the great things about Ma is that he is always promising what the DPP administration has already been delivered:

Back in the 1970s, when you were a student at NYU, we couldn’t get mainland people to come to the States.

And now people from Taiwan and the mainland are on university campuses everywhere. One of my campaign promises was to let [mainland] university students come to Taiwan. I would like to see more young people cross the Taiwan Strait so 20 years down the road we will see them as the leaders of their respective societies. Education is the best way to bring the two sides together.

Let Chinese university students come here? That's a DPP innovation -- in my PHD classes at NCKU we had two last year. Note Ma's thinking -- the "two sides" must be "brought together." Why? The answer is obvious....

There's more in that vein. I won't say "enjoy".....

[Taiwan]