Taiwan: Still Makin' One Thing Into Another

With all the focus on our IT industry here -- and Intel with another $500 million investment -- it's good to recall that in Taiwan real men still bash metal:

According to statistics compiled by Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI), Taiwan`s machinery exports reached US$3.851 billion or NT$122.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 13.4% or 9.7% from a year earlier.

Noteworthy is that after Taiwan`s legislative and presidential elections, Taiwanese companies, especially high-tech companies, have significantly increased their investment in production equipment on the island, with imports of machinery amounting to US$4.796 billion or NT$152.5 billion in the first quarter, surging 29.1% or 24.8% respectively from a year earlier.

Thanks to explosively growing orders from Europe, India, Russia, Brazil and other emerging countries, Taiwan`s major machine tool makers have run at full capacity throughout the second quarter of this year.

Speaking of making one thing into another, Ian Johnson in WSJ has a very interesting article on how folk deities in Kinmen, once fiercely anti-communist, are now being refashioned with the expected influx of Chinese.....

At least that's what their representatives say. The keeper of the temple of Lee Kuang-chi'en, a colonel in the Nationalist army who died fighting the Chinese in the 1940s, says Mr. Lee now wants to return to his homeland in peace. Su Ai-chih, a 67-year-old retiree and spiritual medium, says a woman who was drowned by Chinese soldiers and turned into a goddess has even asked believers for help in reconnecting with her family on the mainland. "The goddess possessed me and told me that she wanted to go home," she adds.

Temple keepers, mediums and others representing Kinmen's dozens of deities are confronting changing times. Relations have thawed considerably between China and Taiwan in recent years. Although Kinmen and neighboring Little Kinmen are still dotted with 44 anticommunist temples, many living inhabitants are less interested in waging military or ideological battles against their giant neighbor.

Finally, JapanFocus, generally a repository of high quality stuff, has a great article on the China vs Taiwan chequebook diplomacy in the Pacific:

Several Pacific Island nation governments are willing to “go with anybody” as long as it is lucrative. Selling votes at the United Nations is a common occurrence. Micronesian nations, as well as many Polynesian and Melanesian ones, regularly support virtually any resolutions proposed by the United States. Francis Hazel, director of The Micronesian Seminar, remembers how one day a television crew from Israel besieged his office in the capital of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Pohnpei. "I wondered what they were doing in this city, which hardly appears on any world maps. Then I understood: the Israeli public was curious about this country which keeps joining the U.S., voting against all UN resolutions condemning Israeli actions in the Middle East."

But China and Taiwan are the biggest players in this game. They have been jockeying for position in the region with their willingness to work with any government in the region, no matter how corrupt or undemocratic, and to shower such friends with aid and grandiose gifts. China is, for instance, closely cooperating with the military government in Fiji. Government officials in the Pacific are being pampered and their incomes are boosted by countless lucrative trips to Taipei and Beijing, helping to support what is often described as a “per-diem mentality.” Kessai Note, president of the Marshall Islands, arrived in Taipei in June 2007 for a five-day visit (his sixth in the past five years), meeting Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian for a few hours, after which “the rest of his trip was private,” according to a report filed by the Asia Pulse news service.

Speaking of transformations, Taichung mayor Jason Hu is interviewed in Forbes, morphing from the Jason Hu we all know and love into a dynamic city mayor and foreign policy expert. Contemplating our rep for crime and corruption, the subway that still hasn't arrived, and the rapid changes in Kaohsiung, Taipei, Tainan, I-lan, and elsewhere in the last 15 years, all I can do is nod and go "uh-huh."

[Taiwan]

Chatting with Somebody: Professor Thomas Liou

With this post I'm initiating what I hope will become a regular feature on the blog every couple of weeks: Chatting with Somebody -- chats and interviews with local people who are involved in interesting things. This first one is with Professor Thomas Liou, Chairman of the Urban Planning Department at Fengchia University (pic, left). Hope you enjoy....

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DEVELOPMENT, BUREAUCRACY
TURTON....I have my casino development project, it's an urban planning project, and I run it past the Economic Development Commission first.

LIOU: Yes, you see it is just like the States. Within the government structures, each department actually is fighting against each other, because they have conflicting goals. If you have a project that is going to help the economy, like you might claim, you might want to go to the Economic Development Department first, to be recognized by them, so they will help you to fight against other bureaucracies to the permission you need. That's their job, right? And it's the same here. Within the city, if you want to build a casino......you go to the Economic Development Department and say "I have lots of capital, and I want to build a casino with all the attachments -- convention centers and whatever...once they recognize you as a big investor who is going to help Taichung's economy, it is their job to help you. They will even help you get through the environmental impact review process.

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
TURTON: But the environmental impact review process has never stopped a project in Taiwan, has it?

LIOU: No. Always, all the projects are approved, with conditions.

TURTON: But there is no oversight over whether the conditions are fulfilled....

LIOU: Exactly. I mean, I think this is a worldwide phenomenon.... And we are getting there, where we have civic actions, meaning that we have civic groups that are capable of monitoring the side effects of pollution. For example, here in Taichung, the Taichung thermal generation plant, when they built it -- ten or eleven years ago -- because of the resistance organized by civic groups, they have a so-called parallel monitoring system, meaning that the powerplant will issue their internal assessment report every year, and also, they will provide funding, $5-6 million each year, to outside groups, to have a parallel assessment. Those outside groups will hire professors from local universities in rotation -- Donghai University, Chunghsing University, Fengchia University -- they all have departments of environmental science. They will help the citizen groups to do assessment, and then every year they will have a big meeting where the internal assessment report will be compared to the outside assessment report to see whether there is any glitch in terms of impact on the environment. That's a very good system, functioning for more than ten years. But the key is: they provide the funding. That's a big corporation, Taiwan power company, they provide -- not a lot -- but at least sufficient, $5-6 million annually, so they can support the projects.

TAOYUAN FREE TRADE ZONE
TURTON: What about a development like the one down in Mailiao. Is that one providing funding for a similar system?

LIOU: (shakes head). I just wrote an editorial last night on the Taoyuan Free Trade Zone. You see, in the past, Taiwan, when people heard about Keelung Harbor, Taichung Harbor, Kaohsiung Harbor, those areas were seen by most Taiwanese as "rentier" -- an area that was forbidden. And also, the science park, used to be like a special district, with no contact with the outside world. However in recent years, at least after 2000, we have seen the harbor authority, the science park authority, opening up.

TURTON: In the last how long? Ten years?

LIOU: the last seven-eight years, only after the DPP was in power. You see, they forced them to open up. For example, here in Taichung Harbor, I was put on the management board -- for like, three months only -- to actually hear the report from the port authority. They had to report their revenue to us. They were very nervous, reporting their revenue! (laughter). We did see the opening up of the so-called "rentiers". But now we'll see the building up of brand new rentiers. People argue that, for efficiency's sake, for whatever reasons, for competitiveness, we have to have a streamlined process, so all the capital will come in. Well, I agree with that. We do need some streamlining process in order to accomplish better economic performance. But, the way they phrase the legislation, I see it more for land speculation than for economic performance.

TURTON: It seems a lot of development decisions are....driven by land speculation.

LIOU: (nods) It is not for industry per se, say for streamlining all the bureaucracy and regulations, so that the productivity of specific industry will increase. I don't see that -- only part of it. Mostly it is to take undeveloped area and make it developable.

TURTON: ...so the new free trade zone takes in a lot of undeveloped area...

LIOU: ...it's a combination of urban planning zone and free trade zone. So it is more powerful. Not just free trade, but urban planning district. Land for further development.

TURTON: So they expect to put in a residential area in the zone?

LIOU: Convention, residential, commercial, recreational...so that's why people say, if this special legislation passes, you're going to see a casino! Under the special legislation, it's doable. It's doable! They have the authority.

TURTON: Then everyone's going to want a free trade zone in their county, the Nantou free trade zone, the Hualian free trade zone....

LIOU: (chuckles) That's the ending of my editorial. If you really want to pass the special legislation for the airport district, ok, give every county one.

TURTON: How is the administration of that district going to be carried out?

LIOU: By a public entity.

TURTON: An elected entity?

LIOU: No. It's going to be an appointed entity, like a board. It's like, something more powerful than the state corporations like Taipower. It's going to be more powerful.

TURTON: A national-level geographic entity with an appointed board and an appointed supervisor....

LIOU:..and with some authority that allows them to be immune from 16 existing legislations. They are immune from the national property act, the urban planning act, even medical doctors...they can have their hired doctors from outside practicing medicine, legally.

TURTON: How are they fitting this into the existing framework of city/county/town/township?

LIOU: It is under the direct control of the Executive Yuan. It's a special zone.

TURTON: So it is like a cabinet-level zone.

LIOU: Exactly. You could say that. Roughly 6500 hectares. It's a bit larger than Beitun, about twice the size of Hsitun.[two areas in Taichung]. They are asking for 1200 hectares of land from the National Property Bureau -- they manage all the public lands -- they are asking for free use, the right to use the land to generate revenues without cost. 1200 hectares.

TURTON: Where are the revenues going to go?

LIOU: To the entity they are going to create. It's a no-cost operation. They want to set up a corporation with a huge base of land donated by the national government, and it will be semi-controlled by the national government, with the board members appointed by people from the same party. And they are going to lease all the land for all kind of development and receive revenues. The corporation manages the land, but ownership remains with the government. They have to hand in a certain percentage of the revenue to the central government. Working for the public good. It's still not clear, but they will probably pass it today. It's a joint committee, of transportation and interiors. Once they pass the joint committee, the draft proposal will be sent to the assembly for the second, third reading. They are going to pass it before May 20.

TURTON: Ooohhh. A gift to the incoming president.

INVESTMENT CAPITAL
TURTON: What kinds of laws will need changing for the massive foreign investment in land we're supposed to be getting?

LIOU: It's a given that you have to hand out incentives in order to attract capital...it's hard to disprove the idea that without incentives, no one will come. Business ask "give me the incentive, give me the special privilege." But...who are they? Are they the same kind of groups in the past? In the past we gave out incentives, and they did come, and they made a profit. When you tighten regulations, they decide they will move. That's how the system worked in the past. I think this society has come the point where we have to question the logic of that. Is that the only solution? Giving out more incentives? Do we have a choice about what kind of capital we prefer? Or we don't have a choice -- we're so dependent on capitalists. That's what puzzles me....for me it is more important to focus on: do we have a choice? Who is more qualified, more suitable, to receive the kind of incentives we are handing out now. I just don't buy the argument that we have to relax all the regulations for all kind of capitalists.

URBAN PLANNING INSTITUTIONS IN TAIWAN
TURTON: Last time I was here you told me there were three urban planning departments in Taiwan....?

LIOU: That's a long story. You have to go back into the postwar history of Taiwan, when Taiwan was still a member of the United Nations. We got support from the United States first, but then after 1965, the Taiwan government tried to get funding from the UN for development projects. So we got consultants from the States. Actually, they were stationed in Thailand, but they were sent to Taipei to advise our government on the importance of urban planning. You see, you needed urban planning at the time to get land from the private sector to build public projects. So at least you have to pretend that you are going to build something so you have to come up with some kind of zoning map, so the government can tell the private sector "we have to acquire your land." So we got help from the UN, essentially a guy from Columbia [Donald Monson], and they advised the government: you need a planning school, you need to have some kind of educational institution to train some planners. In 1968 they set up a grad school in Taipei, at National Chunghsing University. That was the first planning school, at the graduate level. Then National Taiwan University got interested in the idea -- they wanted to set up a department of urban planning. So they submitted an application to the United Nations for funding support. At that time we were still a member. But something lousy happened in 1971! [Taiwan’s UN membership was handed over to China] So the funding was taken away. But, on the other hand, National Chengkung University submitted an application to the government for the same purpose, to set up a department of urban planning under Wang Chi-cheng -- he was also the professor of architectural program there. He got his first masters from Rice in architecture and got his second masters in urban planning from U of BC. He was charged with setting up the new department urban planning at Chengkung. So you had a grad school in Taipei, one brand new department in Tainan. A year later the Board of Fengchia asked Professor Wang to come to Fengchia to set up a program. Fengchia was interested in getting the third one here in central Taiwan. In 1973 he came up. So that's why we call the planning program at Chengkung "our brother." So by 1973 we have a system, a planning education system whereby we can produce 100 planners per year.

TURTON: In total?

LIOU: National Chunghsing takes 20-30 grad students annually, and Fengchia and Chengkung annually produce 40-50 undergrads.

TURTON: They all go into the government?

LIOU: Before 1981, yes. In 1981 something happened. Before 1981 all the planning documents were produced by the government. They are the only authority allowed and charged with the mission producing urban planning documents. But somebody challenged that: why can't the private sector prepare the plans, and let the government review them? Why should the government be both the referee and the player.. So in 1981 the private sector was given the partial right to assist local government to take part in the system of local urban planning. So job opportunities opened up in the private sector. Before that it was either into the government or career change.

TURTON: So what kind of organizations are involved in urban planning?

LIOU: There is the Republic of China Urban Planning Institute that was established around 1968 that was initiated by members of the Legislative Yuan. So they do have a professional institute. Originally it was a small, one-man, two-man show. But nowadays it is a fair size, a couple of hundred members.

TURTON: They do standards development, stuff like that?

LIOU: They don't do that. They participate in hearings, research, membership and policy advisory.

TURTON: Think tank?

LIOU: Think tank? They don't have any permanent staff. If you want to call yourself a think tank, you must at least have some permanent staff! (laughter)

TURTON: Do they produce White Papers?

LIOU: They don't do that. They should, but they will not. The American Planning Association does do that. One thing they do which I admire the most -- they will provide lists of expert witnesses to speak on issues inside the court. They will ask members to speak as expert witnesses, sometimes free of charge. They will make a stand on specific issues, and they are very strong on that.

TURTON: In land cases they don't call on expert witnesses here?

LIOU: Sometimes they do, but very few. We don't have any professional court that specializes in land use conflict yet. You keep using 'land' but whenever you talk about land here in Taiwan, it's a different issue. Because the land office in Taiwan is very powerful. We do have a department of land management at National Chengchi University. They are the godfather of L-A-N-D. They existed from 1945. They have close ties, at first, with the sponsorship of the Land Bank. Those faculty are in the department of land management at National Chengchi University are the figures who -- in land use, land taxation, eminent domain...

TURTON: So any plan that you come up with has to go by them?

LIOU: Within the urban planning districts. We have 435 urban planning districts in Taiwan which account for 13% of the total land area of Taiwan. So 87% is non-urban land. Inside the 13%, it is mostly the jurisdiction of urban planning officers and authorities.

TURTON: Who are under local government?

LIOU: All of them are under local government, but local government cannot make the final decisions. Central government does. Within the ministry of the interior, they have the planning commission who makes the final decisions. You see, the local government is responsible for preparation and modification of the plans. They do have a planning commission, but they are not the entities that make the final decision. The national government, that's the final call. So it is very centralized.

TURTON: Tomorrow, I am elected mayor of Taichung. I look at the rivers that run through my city and I want to put in a whole plan -- boardwalks, cafes...

LIOU: then you don't have to go through the central government. That would be a minor modification, just decoration. Local government can decide to do that and the mayor can make the final call, but he is running the risk....that kind of work does not need permits -- but actually they do. Any alteration of the landform or landscape needs a permit. But in the last ten years, the beautification projects, pedestrian projects. Actually, those projects all need permits. But because they were all done by the local governments, they didn't ask themselves for the permits. The permitting process was never engaged. They should have engaged the Permit Office to give them the permits. You see, they added to and altered the landform....

TAICHUNG DEVELOPMENT
TURTON: So what kind of changes can we expect in Taichung then? Are we going to get massive investment and development here?

LIOU: I never expect that. Projects and fantasies. I think we are seeing changes at the grass roots level. We are seeing more and more communities willing to stand up for their identities, to fight for their rights. So we are going to get better. But if you focus on big projects, big casinos, big investment, well, I just don't see that. For example, we've been talking about the mass transit system for ten years, and we are still talking.

TURTON: Why are we still talking? We could have completed it by now.

LIOU: Yeah! You see, for those who speculate on the transit station areas....the longer you speculate: they are going to break the ground! (hand makes rising gesture). They have passed the environmental impact report! (hand rises higher). The line is going to be built! (hand rises still higher). They have approved the budget! The line is going to be opened by 2012 (hand rises higher). Pieces and pieces of news, they just keep adding up.... But when the race was over, when Ma was elected, Jason Hu [Mayor of Taichung] told Ma that Taichung didn't want an elevated system, it wanted an underground. So they are going to take at least two more years to study the issue. (laughter). Two more years. And they are going to get more money in order to build those two lines. We just keep waiting. You see, originally they had an MOU with the high speed rail, they had to build a transit system.

TURTON: You mean for every city on the line?

LIOU: No. When the central government signed the BOT, one of the conditions of the agreement was that they would build a green line from the train station to the HSR station. That was only true of Taichung....

TURTON: ....What can we look forward to with the new administration?

LIOU: Taichung County government offices are encouraging consolidation of the city and the county. But that's not the view of the city, which wants only the city for special status like Taipei and Kaohsiung. The county government wants to become a special status area, which means you get more money. Right now, there is roughly $300 billion allocated by the central government to local governments. Out of that, the city of Taipei and Kaohsiung get 43% of the allocation. The other -- 39% went to the other city and county governments. Taipei County became a quasi-special status county, and is now fighting for more money. The city, especially the city of Taipei, how can they give up the privilege? The combo of Taichung City and County has nearly 2.6 million people, while Taipei City, with 2.6 million, has an annual budget of $150 to $160 billion each year....while Taichung City and County get only $600 to $700 million, about half.

THE FUTURE
TURTON: What about the future? Where is Taiwan going?

LIOU: For me, I'll keep working on public exhibit of planning information. Disclosure of whatever we are working on. Wherever I go, I ask -- did you open this information up for public examination? It's my belief that the reason planning failed in the past is because it was so locked away from public review. This made the public suspicious of urban planning. The only way to is unlock those urban planning decisions, is to have more disclosure of information and urban planning decisions, so the public can examine any contents, or any draft, or urban planning decisions. Students can use them in their research. I think essentially, that is one thing I would like to do.

TURTON: How green is urban planning in Taiwan?

LIOU: It's still very traditional. This semester we have Professor Michael Bristow, a visiting professor. He's preaching about climate change: what do we have here in Taiwan?

TURTON: ....I was going to ask that next....

LIOU:....we haven't addressed that yet. We have some planning thoughts. That's not enough -- we need action. We have some kind of semi-White Paper. I think action is what is needed now. We haven't had a chance to implement the strategies yet. For example, we're proposing protection of environmentally sensitive land from development. We proposed a land banking system that will cut it off from any speculation or development. Form a consortium of government and private groups. We have the thought -- but we don't have the action yet. In fact we proposed that to some of the losers in the election -- don't just focus on the election, but do something for the public interest. But most of them appear to view politics as their career. They don't do that.

TURTON: So there's no connection between the progressive movements and the party...

LIOU: ....once they get in office, there's no progressiveness.(Laughter). It's very frustrating. Very frustrating.

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Notes: The interview was done in English and recorded. I stupidly forgot to take a picture of him, profuse apologies! UPDATE: Money error correct -- thanks to the commenter who spotted that. Also added spaces per next recommendation. Pic of Dr. L on the way.

[Taiwan]

Daily Links, April 18, 2008

The remains of part of a Dutch-period wall at Fort Zeelandia, Tainan.

What's remaining on the blogs today?

David on Formosa has a great post on the world summit of the indigenous peoples in Taipei.

A-gu has been reporting on the race for the DPP chairmanship. Latest is three way race between 70 year old Trong Chai, 82 year old Koo Kwang-min, and 51 year old Tsai Ing-wen -- two older activists and one younger professional. I was kinda hoping Tsai would at least be considered. But it is apparent that the DPP is a mess and will not be cleaned up soon. Tell me again about those constraints on Ma Ying-jeou...?

Local reporter Michelle Weng complains about her family background appearing in the paper.

Jerome on the high cost of pandas for our "depressed" economy.

Todd A finds some totally hot betel nut girls on display.

Everyone was talking about the Shanghai stock market bubble and Taoyuan nights points out that it has collapsed....question is, will we see a slowdown in growth like that after similar bubbles in Japan and Taiwan were pricked?

Michael K visits the tea master of Hukou. With pics. He also did a small performance on Saturday at the Thai New Year festival, for which I took a ton of pics. Only a few are up so far.

Kerim looks at Taiwan's health care system, which has been in the news lately.

Mark writes on his buyout of another school.

Black Lawyer writes on Black sinologists. Great stuff.

Into crafts? JulieK in Taiwan has great suggestions. Freeflying in Taiwan has great pics of flying...

Goodbye, Hao Chr! Back to the USA, thus endeth a Taipei restuarant blog

EVENTS: Urban Nomad film fest begins Friday, April 25. Information on venues, films, and times is available on the urban nomad filmfest blog. Looks like it is going to be a blast!

Mark Forman, a formidable presence on the net and longtime Taichung expat, launches Big In Asia, a new website with podcasts and other information to connect here to there.

MEDIA: Dealing with China's quality fade, the propensity of suppliers do reduce quality over the lifetime of a deal.... Jim Mann predicted in The China Fantasy that the rising middle class in China would support the repressive state. He just didn't realize how fast that would happen with today's scary youth: "Of the 29 ethnic-Chinese intellectuals who last month signed a widely publicized petition urging the government to show restraint in the crackdown, not one was under 30." Implications for Taiwan: frightening. Wonder what will happen when development hits a snag... Taiwan, more enlightened than some democracies I could name, may amend the law to protect reporters who refuse to disclose sources in court...Ting Yi-tsai, always good, has a great piece on the Hu-Siew political theatre at the Boao forum.... in the Saipan Tribune, a piece on what a great place Taiwan can be for first-time travelers. My 'rents had exactly the same impression. We're not doing too badly folks....some of the clashes over the proposed Taoyuan airport free trade zone are on display in this report....

WAY COOL: The most published author on the planet? Electronic content amalgamation systems may change publishing in our time....

[Taiwan]

Why Educational Reform Is A Failure

The latest story making the rounds concerns a large "bilingual" private school in the Taichung area and how it allegedly took advantage of the regulations to lever the children of the rich into college, without real work.

A wise friend of mine once pointed out that the reason colleges do not move to a competitive entrance system where they compete against each other for the best students is that such a system would quickly become massively corrupt, given the desire of locals to graduate from the college with the best name. People would pay large sums of under-the-table cash to ensure that their kids got into National Taiwan University or National Chengkung University, a process already underway in the high schools and junior highs, where it is rumored that access to the top class may be acquired by gifts of money or by influence.

Tracking by competence in Taiwan's schools is forbidden under regulation by the Ministry of Education (MoE), though the practice is widespread, and winked at, at the junior high and high school level. The best students, likely college bound, are placed in one class and given the best teachers. Thus, when one reads of studies that say that Taiwanese students are better than other students at this or that, it is wise to take them with some skepticism, since it is generally not made public which class at the local high school was "randomly" selected to take the test (if you were the principal, which one would you pick?).

In some cases this tracking by competence makes sense -- in my daughter's elementary school the English courses are divided into two groups, the fast and slow, based on prior experience of English. This makes it easier to teach the kids, since abilities are not so disparate. But one influential parent complained and her kid, a total incompetent in English, was placed in the fast class based on her clout locally, to loud groans from her fellow students. The parents at my daughter's school demanded tracked classes in other subjects, but the school refused, citing regulations.....

In any case, the private high school in question was already famous among local foreigners due to allegations of a poisoning case in which the son of a rich and powerful man poisoned a foreign teacher over some trivial reprimand. According to the tale, the child was not punished because of the position of his father, and the teacher was told if she made a fuss problems would be made for her. The rich are different....

The latest episode involved an education reform aimed at rural areas, to offset the advantages enjoyed by urban students, called fan xing. Under the fan xing system, kids from rural areas and from small towns can enter college without taking the test -- through a simple interview, and based on their grades over the last three years.

The school is located in an area covered by the fan xing reform. In the most recent college application, it nominated 30-odd students through the system -- a clear abuse of the intent of the system if there ever was (it is a mystery why such a thing was permitted to occur in the first place). Naturally and inevitably, all were alleged to be children of the rich and powerful. Complaints were made to the MOE because many of the students were well known to be blow-offs with poor grades, and because the other parents who expected to abuse the reform didn't receive their expected benefit. The MOE showed up to investigate, and many of those nominated admitted that their grades were poor: "Damn! Didn't think I had 95 in English! I thought the teacher gave me 65." The school blamed the foreign teachers, who, it said, gave low grades which it had been forced to 'adjust' upward -- surely the first time in Taiwan history that a school complained its foreign teachers were too tough. According to news reports, further investigation uncovered the interesting coincidence that only the nominated students had their grades adjusted, hoi polloi were stuck with the low grades they actually received.

No wonder the Ministry faces so many problems....

[Taiwan]

Thursday Media Roundup

First, the good stuff. The island's own Jon Adams has a strong post in a FEER blog about the missiles that those statesmen in China point at the radical corporate lawyer Presidents in Taiwan. He writes:

Fortunately, such scenarios are extremely unlikely. In the next few years, it’s the missiles’ role as a bargaining chip that could be the most important.

Mr. Lin says Mr. Ma’s demand that China withdraw its missiles before peace talks can begin was just an opening negotiating position. The missile issue is not necessarily that big an obstacle, he said. “Ma had good reason to up the ante—you never start at a low point, you start as high as you can go,” said Mr. Lin. “I don’t think the high demand by Ma will be an obstacle to Beijing and Taipei talking.”

One key is that Mr. Ma is talking about “withdrawing” missiles, not dismantling them. As Taiwan’s defense minister has emphasized, the missiles are on mobile launch vehicles that can easily be moved. Even if they were rolled inland, they could be moved back in a crisis. A “withdrawal” would therefore be mostly symbolic, with China displaying a less aggressive military posture and winning public-relations points in the process.

Still, there’s another hurdle. Chu Shulong, of Beijing’s Tsinghua University, says he thinks Beijing will likely raise the issue of U.S. arms sales to the island if Mr. Ma pushes for a missile rollback. “The mainland side will link Ma’s demand for a withdrawal of missiles targeted at Taiwan to Taiwan's purchase of arms,” said Mr. Chu. Beijing could demand, for example, that Taiwan halt at least some arms purchases in return for a partial missile pullback.

Adams always does excellent work, and somehow manages to wade through all the political minefields in China-Taiwan relations without managing to blow himself up. Kudos to him for a very readable and informative piece, which shows how the "informality" of blogs is an asset in presenting complex information.

The Christian Science Monitor has a pretty good piece on the Taiwan-Tibet-China situation, that calls for concessions on China's part. As A-gu pointed out, Veep-elect Siew was greeted at the Boao Forum by the Vice-governor of Hainan Province -- someone of equal status, one vice-island-leader to another....although the sentiments are good, the editorial can't resist one last reference to Mad Chen:

The Dalai Lama seeks only full autonomy for his people within Chinese rule while the newly elected leaders of Taiwan are happy with the island's ambiguous status as de facto independent but still officially part of "one China" (someday). Taiwan's president-elect, Ma Ying-jeou of the Nationalist Party, plans closer economic ties with the mainland and, unlike outgoing President Chen Shui-bian, won't agitate Beijing with moves toward official independence.

Poor Beijing, tortured by the wholly evil and all-powerful Chen Shui-bian. Luckily Ma Ying-jeou has arrived to cure cancer, raise the dead, usher in a 1,000 year reign of peace on earth, and remove all the calories from dark chocolate. *sigh* I doubt any of these editors will ever realize how thoroughly they have been used by Beijing.... still, the article's heart is in the right place.

Lots of people sent me the opening paragraph to an article in the Wall Street Journal from Apr 15:

There's a welcome outbreak of pragmatism on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Saturday's meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Vice President-elect Vincent Siew of Taiwan was the highest-level session between officials of the two Chinas in almost 60 years. What happens next will be a test of Beijing's imagination.

It's funny to recall that Siew is not actually an official of the Republic of China; he's a private citizen at the moment. The reference to the Two Chinas, which many people described in terms not fit for a family blog, was not so much misguided as ominous. Folks, we are going to see a general rollback in the way Taiwan is portrayed -- all those struggles to get "Taiwan, Province of China" out of websites and so on are going to take a huge hit. References to "the Two Chinas" in WSJ are only the beginning of a long downhill slide. It goes without saying that the article does not mention the ongoing and behind-the-scenes talks between Beijing and the KMT that go back years. I wonder what it will take to get those mentioned in the international press?

Why were there US carriers deployed to the waters around Taiwan during the elections? Bill Geertz at the Washington Times informs us....

The American military officials said U.S. fears had been heightened shortly before the election, in which a pro-independence party's presidential candidate was defeated, because U.S. intelligence agencies determined that Chinese mobile short-range missile units within range of Taiwan had been moved to a heightened alert status.

The activity was interpreted as a signal that China might try to intimidate the Taiwan government and people with missile test firings, as occurred before their 1996 presidential election, or in the worst case, an actual attack. China has between 900 and 1,000 missiles deployed within range of the island that Beijing considers a breakaway province.

Scary eh? What was China up to? China was simply out to convince US officials that Mad Chen was for real:

Chinese officials described the Taiwan Strait situation as "increasingly dangerous" during one such military exchange in 2007, the report said.

"Chinese officials assessed as 'high,' the risk of an 'incident' occurring during the time between the March 2008 election and the May 2008 Taiwan presidential inauguration, and called on the United States to make more direct and open statements opposing the referendum [on United Nations membership] at higher levels than the United States has previously issued," the report said.

Yes, there really is a serious possibility that Chen Shui-bian, an unpopular lame duck president would foment a pro-independence incident when the military, legislature, the county magistrates, the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary, the universities, and the media are all pro-KMT, and the island's most important ally, the US, hates him..... A Wag the Dog incident fomented by China -- that perhaps is a possibility.

Although there seems to be little commentary in the media that points out that China may well judge that Ma will not fight -- and may thus invade, looking for the easy win. Amid the dozens of articles this week on Ma's call for regular flights between China and Taiwan, and the move to make the Yuan a fully convertible currency, Ma the Destabilizer is one role no one has assigned to the world's most handsome leader yet.

Finally, in addition to media reports in today on the proposed free trade zone around the Taoyuan Airport (free trade zones around Taiwan ports of entry have long been a favorite panacea -- Cargo Cult style -- proposed by local legislators), Reuters reports on the visit of Chinese investment moguls to our fair island in search of investment opportunities....

According to the announcement, the group will visit Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan's two largest cities, as well as other popular development areas. But a spokeswoman at Phoenix, which is also sending an affiliated real estate unit, said the itinerary had yet to be finalised.

Ma, who will take office on May 20, has said he favours opening up the commercial property market to mainland investors. He also wants to allow investment in housing as long as properties are held for at least five years to avoid speculation.

Although the outgoing administration of President Chen Shui-bian started to open up Taiwan's property market to mainland investors, it put up so many restrictions that most would-be investors stayed away.

Self-ruled Taiwan and China, which claims the island as its own, remain political rivals since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. But despite that rivalry, economic links between the pair have thrived, with China now Taiwan's biggest trading partner and favourite investment destination. Taiwan has become a popular investment ground in recent years for foreign real estate buyers who believe markets such as China and Hong Kong have become overpriced.

I'm curious to see how local property laws will have to evolve to accommodate the influx of foreign investment.....

BONUS: for those of you wanting to see Taiwan's dollar diplomacy in action, read this article from a St. Lucia paper on donations of Taiwan computers by the local Taiwan embassy that somehow morphed into donations from a particular local political party to area schools....

The Embassy confirmed that only the computers they have donated to government bore that particular sticker, as all other donations were monetary. In response to questions surrounding the reasons afforded by government in their request for the computers, the Taiwanese Ambassador said: "Once I send you the present I will not ask you if you are going to eat the cake or sell it to someone else."

[Taiwan]

In and Around Tainan

Another week with three days spent in photogenic Tainan -- only this time I brought my son down with me to enjoy the sights and keep me company. (As always, clicking on any picture will take you its Flickr page and my photos of Taiwan; click on read more to see more!).

Media: Health and Labor and Democracy in Taiwan

On NPR there's a very positive article on our health system.

So the patients are safe from bankruptcy. But the system itself is under strain. Chang says that Taiwan spends 6.23 percent of its GDP on health care, compared to 16 percent in America.

So the United States spends too much on health care, and doesn't even cover everybody. But the Taiwanese don't bring in enough money to pay for all the services they offer.

"So actually, as we speak, the government is borrowing from banks to pay what there isn't enough to pay the providers," Cheng says.

Taiwan's politicians are reluctant to increase premiums: they're afraid the voters will punish them.

So that's the problem here. And frankly, the solution is fairly obvious: increase the spending a little, to maybe 8 percent of GDP.

Of course, if Taiwan did that, it would still be spending less than half of what America spends.

Americans in Taiwan almost universally laud the health care system here.

Meanwhile the growth of indentured servitude in the world economy is discussed in a recent Newsweek article sourced in part from Jonathon Adams and Ron Brownlow here in Taiwan...

And national regulations on migrant labor often codify existing problems. For example, when Taiwan passed regulations on guest workers, its aim was to prevent them from qualifying for citizenship. Caps on what Taiwan-based labor brokers can charge have not stopped brokers abroad from charging up to $14,000 per recruit.

Indeed, funding pay-to-work schemes is now big business. Led by Chinatrust, Taiwan's largest private lender, several banks have begun extending credit to migrants at 19 percent annual interest. That's about what they would pay for credit cards, but labor
activists have attacked these loans as financial support for the exorbitant broker fees. A Chinatrust spokesperson says the loans are not only "fair and transparent" but also prevent workers from relying on "loan sharks in rural areas" who would charge much higher rates.

The article is long, detailed, interesting, and infuriating..... The failure of the DPP to implement more progressive labor policies here is just one of many examples of its general failure to embrace progressive policies across a range of issues...

Finally, a Japanese diplomat in the Online Japan Times muses on what KMT control of the executive and legislature might mean...

Previously, I had been apprehensive concerning the future of Taiwan's freedom and democracy. Democracy cannot be realized unless both the governing and opposition parties have a common vision concerning the ground rules for maintaining a democratic system.

Democratically electing a Nazi-like party that has a totalitarian view of the state means choosing to end democracy through democratic means. In Taiwan's case, as well, electing a government that consents to the one country, two systems arrangement means the end of freedom and democracy. Even though 10 years have passed in Hong Kong, a popular election has yet to be held. But that really is a trivial issue. The problem is that Hong Kong will enjoy freedom only for a duration of 40 more years. Whether the time that freedom is assured is 50 years or 100 years, it is still a promise to throw away the freedom of one's grandchildren.

I was concerned about a similar situation developing in Taiwan. Chinese President Hu Jintao made a proposal for peace talks with Taiwan. Whether such talks materialize through peaceful means (though inevitably under military and economic threat) or by the direct use of forces, Taiwan will eventually lose its freedom if, under such pressure, the president accepts the one country, two system solution. And I thought that a KMT president would be more prone to accept such compromise, and that a DPP government was a safer choice until that possibility completely disappeared. If the possibility of Taiwan accepting a one country, two system solution completely disappeared, I would not be concerned about Taiwan's future even if a change of government took place as a result of its democratic setup. The results of the latest presidential and legislature elections gives me hope that perhaps Taiwan might have already reached this stage.

[Taiwan]

To Change China?

In the run-up to the 2000 Taiwan election, the Washington Post featured a short piece by a reporter named John Pomfret, an interview with then-presidential candidate James Soong. Pomfret presented Soong, at that time a lifelong opponent of democracy, as a democratic reformer. I responded with a short letter protesting this mischaracterization of Soong's political career, which the Post duly printed.

Fast-forward to 2008, and Pomfret has established himself as a major Beijing correspondent. There is no question of his abilities or wisdom in interpreting China. Yet as his recent blog post in the Washington Post blog section shows, Pomfret is like almost every other Beijing correspondent when it comes to writing on Taiwan, displaying an unerring ability to reflect Beijing's propaganda themes rather than develop a rich and independent perspective on the island's politics. This problem will only worsen as Taiwan is re-subsumed into the idea of "China" as KMT-CCP links grow over time and the island's identity is smothered....

Pomfret's main idea is that Taiwan offers a democratic model that can change China, and that the meeting between Vice-president Elect Vincent Siew and China's leader, Hu Jin-tao, is A Really Good Thing. As he says:

This is good news, but not just for the economy of the region. It's also good news for those who care about the preservation of the world's only majority-Chinese democracy (Taiwan) and the prospect of political change in China.

Why? The reasons will be drearily familiar to readers who have come to know and love the media bogeyman Mad Chen^©, the Wrecker of Worlds. Pomfret's accusations are basically a run-down of Beijing/KMT talking points:

....So Chen resorted to a policy of what the Chinese liked to call "creeping independence" which basically meant seizing every opportunity to enrage Beijing....

...The keys to Taiwan's security and - critically - to the preservation of its full-throated democracy, [Ma] argued, are good relations with Beijing, not the constant tension Chen seemed to crave...

....means that after eight years of failed leadership by President Chen Shui-bian, who bungled the island's security and its economy....

We've beaten to death here Beijing's successful isolation of corporate lawyer and democracy supporter Chen as a "radical' for using referendums and democracy, while the media refrains from similar criticism of Beijing for its missile build-up and threats to plunge the region into war over Taiwan's democracy. I'll skip the economic lecture about the 'bungled' economy; readers will know what the more complex reality is.

This brings up the real question. Is the "warming" a good thing for Taiwan and for democratic prospects in China. Pomfret argues "yes." It almost makes a kind of sense, but that is only because everything important to assessing the answer to that question is missing from the Pomfret's discussion, as it generally is from media presentations on the Taiwan-China relationship.

Pomfret's presentation omits a number of key facts. For example, Pomfret never tells the reader that the KMT and Beijing have been coordinating policy to suppress the island's democratic development for the last few years. For example, after the most recent KMT Chairmanship election, the new Chairman, Wu Po-hsiung, immediately announced a visit to Beijing. Pomfret also leaves out Ma Ying-jeou's long career as a anti-democracy stalwart, and his ideological beliefs about China. Also missing are the chilling invocations of Singapore's one-party state as a model for Taiwan by a number of major KMT politicos, including future President Ma.

What happened in Hainan Island was a bit of political theatre aimed at the global media -- Vincent Siew was seated with the satraps of Hong Kong and Macao, a clear indicator there! The real negotiations are ongoing between the two parties behind the scenes, and have been for many years.

When representatives from two parties that share a pro-China ideology and despise democracy meet, the long-term prospects for democracy dim, not brighten. Neither the Chinese Nationalist Party in Taiwan nor the Chinese Communist Party in China has any interest in deepening or broadening democratic development in Taiwan. On the contrary, both have powerful vested interests in a hollowing out of democracy on Taiwan. If Taiwan's democracy really does have the potential to effect positive political change in China, you can be sure that it will be a priority of Beijing's leaders have that democracy neutered.

What does that suggest? The sad fact is that as long as the KMT is running Taiwan, China is far more likely to change Taiwan than Taiwan is to change China.

[Taiwan]

IA Forum Roundtable on Taiwan Independence

The International Affairs Forum in Tokyo, an organization of the US Center for International Relations, sponsored a forum with commentaries from six scholars on Taiwan Independence... The forum asked: "The Chinese government has said repeatedly Taiwan is an 'inalienable part of China.' Yet polls in Taiwan have indicated strong support for the country to join the United Nations under the name Taiwan. Can, and should, the international community do more to support Taiwanese independence, and what would be the consequences of doing so?"

Six scholars responded with a variety of standpoints. For example:

Reviewing Taiwan’s separation from mainland China over nearly six decades, we see two contradictory trends. The first is long-term reunification, imposed by Beijing as the only option for Taiwan, and the sine qua non for normal relations with any country. With the post-Mao reforms and economic growth, as well as emotional ties, a significant sector of the Taiwan population accepts eventual convergence. The second trend is Taiwanese nationalism, which responded to its multi-cultural reality and vast political and economic differences with the mainland. As aggregate economic disparities decrease and Taiwan’s economic dependency on China increases, the objective desirability of unification grows.

It is great that the IA Forum chose to focus on independence as a question.

[Taiwan]

A Forum for Constraints

The conventional wisdom is accurately portrayed by Keith Bradsher of the NYTimes in an article on Vice-President Elect Siew's meeting with China's bigwigs at the recent Boao forum in China...

Mr. Siew and President-elect Ma Ying-jeou will take office in Taipei on May 20 with a strong electoral mandate to reduce the hostility that has existed with Beijing for most of the past six decades. But Taiwan’s leaders and officials on the mainland each face strong domestic pressures not to make too many concessions too quickly or too easily.

Those domestic pressures are likely to limit their room to maneuver and force them to pursue limited agendas at first, focused on issues like tourism and charter flights, political analysts said.

Ma wants talks rapidly after he takes office on May 20. Because of the massive pressure on Ma from investors who expect to make big $$ when Chinese money floods in -- if it floods in -- and the expectations of locals -- Ma must make a deal.

Thus, I think the "constraints" argument is weak, especially by comparison with the pressures on Ma. Ma's KMT controls the military, the judiciary, the police, the bureaucracy, most major businesses, etc. Where is the constraint on Ma? The threat of street demonstrations? I think that he can buy off most objections simply by making the money flow; if promises of cash can get him elected.... and let's not forget, the real dealing is going on in the negotiations between the KMT and Beijing that no one is writing about....

There was a minor flap about Siew using the "Tai Bao Zhen" -- the document issued to Taiwanese who travel in China. Bruce Jacobs, the well known Taiwan scholar, said that Siew's was not actually stamped, a concession by Chinese authorities. Siew was criticized by the pro-Taiwan types for selling out.....

AP writes of the meeting, looking at the economic aspects:

[Ma's]His goals for Taiwan include 6 percent annual economic growth, a jobless rate no higher than 3 percent, and per capita income doubling in eight years to $30,000. The economy grew 5.7 percent last year, though the average for Chen's eight-year presidency will probably be less than 4.5 percent.

The core of Ma's economic program involves public and private investments in a number of long-term infrastructural and industrial projects - investments that could well push Taiwan's budget deficit farther into the red.

At the forum, Siew invited the cash-rich Chinese to invest in some of the projects. Taiwanese officials said they expressed some initial interest.

Ma has also promised to bolster Taiwan's flagging tourism industry - an area that could generate immediate revenues, if Beijing agrees to a large-scale tourist outflow. According to Ma's plan, 1 million Chinese would visit Taiwan each year, generating $1 billion in revenues.

"Taiwan's high-tech and other exports could suffer a decline amid the global economic slowdown, but the drop would be partially offset by tourism," said Norman Yin, an economist with Taiwan's National Chengchi University.

Chinese tourism needs better air service to flourish, and the extension of existing holiday charter service to weekends - endorsed by Hu - seems a good step in that direction. Ma has also promised to push for the launching of regular commercial flights, though he does not believe they can start before the second half of next

Here's one use for Chinese money above -- getting it to invest in projects in infrastructure projects in Taiwan.

It's interesting how Taiwan's tourism industry is "flagging." Where do these writers get this crap? Is there no Google in the AP offices? The China Post recently reported:

In 2008, the number of tourist arrivals, as of yesterday [5 Apr], posted an annual growth of 14.29%, twice the target growth of 7 percent.

Of the inbound tourists so far this year, those from South Korea recorded the highest annual increase of 42%, followed by a 35% gain for those from Hong Kong and Macao, and a 27% surge for tourists from Malaysia.

Given the sharp growth, the number of inbound tourists is expected to not only exceed the historical high of 3.72 million recorded in 2007, but also break the 4 million mark to hit a new high this year, according to the Tourism Bureau.

In other words, our tourism hit a historical high last year and is booming this year. But according to AP, it is "flagging."

[Taiwan]

Bringer of Peace

See my eyes, I can hardly see.
See me stand, I can hardly walk.
I believe you can make me whole.

Longtime Asian scholar Ezra Vogel has a very mixed piece in the Boston Globe that combines a couple of quite truthful observations on the US attitude toward Taiwan with some disgusting deification of Ma....first the good part:

The United States has a "one China policy" and recognizes the government of Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China but does not recognize Taiwan as part of China, for it considers that the status of Taiwan has not been determined. The United States does not recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, but it maintains unofficial relations with the "people of Taiwan" and supplies Taiwan with weapons to defend itself.

As unbelievable as it may be, although the United States has opposed the use of force to resolve the Taiwan problem, it has never explicitly declared that it would support an agreement reached peacefully by the two sides. Some mainland Chinese leaders still believe the United States wants to block reunification to slow down China's rise.

Note the two key facts of US foreign policy: (1) Taiwan's status is unresolved and (2) the US has not declared as a matter of policy that it will support a "peace agreement." Vogel, like everyone in the Establishment, believes that Ma will "bring peace" which has become the latest euphemism for "sell out Taiwan." Vogel then gives his advice:

The United States should declare categorically support for any agreement that Taiwan and Beijing reach peacefully and actively encourage both sides to reach agreements.

Perhaps that is OK as far as it goes, but what does Vogel write about the architect of peace?

The election of Ma Ying-jeou provides the best opportunity to defuse the Taiwan situation since Beijing and Taipei representatives met in 1992. It is not clear when another such opportunity will arise. Mainland officials have said that if Taiwan agrees to preconditions they are ready to carry on dialogue with Ma Ying-jeou.

Ma Ying-jeou is extraordinarily well-prepared for the job. A strategic-thinking Harvard Law School graduate and former secretary to President Chiang Ching-ku (son of Chiang Kai-shek), formerly a leader of national unification work, charismatic politician, he has been thinking about this opportunity for three decades. He has made it clear that he will not discuss unification, which the local Taiwanese public is not ready to discuss, but he will discuss closer cooperation. He will also strengthen military cooperation with the United States to be able to negotiate with the mainland from a position of strength.

Just today in the Taipei Times an editorial commentator complained about the intoxicating deification of Ma Ying-jeou....

The presidential election was just three weeks ago, and certain media outlets have already begun Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) deification. The editorials in some newspapers have complimented Ma for having a good physique and for working out daily.

They have also called him wise and said that he has learned a great deal from his wisely chosen companions.

Not only has this kind of sycophantic praise become an Internet joke, embellishments made by television stations are even more jaw-dropping: Ma is frugal, squeaky clean, full of filial piety, sincere, loyal to his party and patriotic to his country, adept at negotiations, as charming as former US president John F. Kennedy, and radiates gentleness from his double-lidded eyes.

With such a fine husband, even Chow Mei-ching’s (周美青) way of tying her shoelaces is extraordinarily sleek. Needless to say, the beauty of their daughter, Lesley Ma (馬唯中), and her many talents, are also praised.

The presidential cult of personality isn’t new. Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was known for having deduced great wisdom from observing swimming fish in his childhood: no wonder he became the saviour of his people, as well as a military strategist, politician, philosopher, educator, thinker, calligrapher, and artist all rolled into one.

It would have been difficult for his son and heir, Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) to have been anything less than magnificent.

The economic miracles, political liberalization and his Ten Major Construction Projects, are all credits to his name; whereas the Taipei Tenth Credit Cooperative corruption scandal and the murders of Chen Wen-chen (陳文成) as well as Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) and his family, are swept under the carpet to prevent harm to his achievements.

The internet joke, a friend told me, is that Ma is now "God Ma" (神馬). The Leader Cult is latent in the theology of the KMT, and in its Leninist political structure; it is overt in the claims that Ma is a savior and only he could "save" Taiwan. It is also profoundly anti-democratic. Just wait until Ma makes 12 holes in one in his very first round of golf....

Still, one expects it of the local pro-KMT media, but of a US Establishment scholar? Ma is not merely smart, he is "extraordinarily well-prepared." This is....a bit of an overstatement. I especially like the "he has been thinking about this for three decades" line. Hard to argue with a qualification like "thinking about it for three decades"...

INTERVIEWER: So, do you have any experience operating heavy lifting equipment?
APPLICANT: No, but I've been thinking about it for three decades.

Maybe I'll try that line on Farah Fawcett-Majors, heartthrob of my adolescence...

FARAH: Why should I hop in bed with you?
MICHAEL: Well, I've been thinking about it for three decades....

Just another example of the ugly trend of deifying Ma that is becoming commonplace in the international media -- not to mention Chiang Ching-kuo, who ran his father's security state and oversaw the deaths of thousands of people. But why speak of the ugly past, when it is so much easier to idealize it?

Two other things caught my attention. First, we are also told -- very slickly -- that China will negotiate with Ma if he fulfills "preconditions." This throwaway sentence contains all the key issues: the precondition is Taiwan's acceptance that it is part of China. This directly contradicts Vogels statement that he will not negotiate on unification. How can that be? It is the only coin he has to offer. Ma cannot "ease tension" without giving on that issue, because the tension is caused by China's desire to annex the island.

Second is Vogel's assertion that Ma will strengthen military relations with the US. As I have noted, the long-term plan to move Taiwan into Beijing's orbit almost certainly calls for better relations with the US, for the same reason that an adulterous husband acts especially sweet toward his wife. Another implication is that the previous President screwed up military relations. The reality is the opposite: the KMT blocked the arms purchases in the legislature, as everyone knows, and roiled defense relations with the US -- and the US also strangled military contacts on its end. None of that was Chen Shui-bian's fault. But Vogel gives credit to Ma the Savior: there is nothing His Healing Touch will not improve.

[Taiwan]

Help with 1980s uniforms

A friend of mine is doing some research on uniforms for a movie about the early 1980s Taiwan. Anyone have answers? He wrote:

+++++++++++

I need help in several matters. I am trying to find the answers in materials I have here but some information is not available. Can you , or a colleague help me and the film? A good educated guess is o.k we want to be as realistic as possible. But this is not a documentary.
Here are the costume questions. I will send pictures soon. But some can be answered without pictures. For instance, what exactly did the insignia look like on the white helmets?

the research I have done I am looking at four different kinds of uniforms for this movie:

Metropolitan Police
Military Police
Army
Army "Class As" (w. lapel rather than the BDU that the soldiers are wearing)

I need to get a handle on insignia for all of them:

larger groups at demonstrations:

Metropolitan police
military police

also regular street and riding tanks into town (that might be regular army) if these insignia are different. In the states the army is so big and from so many different places there is a dizzying number of patches, as I'm sure you know.

[Taiwan]

Lafayette Case Resurfaces

The Lafayette case, the kickback scandal involving France, China, and the KMT, is a still limping along. Last year it surfaced briefly when the Swiss returned some money to Taiwan. Now the day before President-elect Ma Ying-jeou is sworn in, the district court plans to call as witnesses reactionary right-wing heavyweight politician Hau Pei-tsun, father of the current Taipei mayor, and former President Lee Teng-hui in a related case, along with 20 other former officials. Hau was hauled in for questioning before and more or less blamed Lee. Of that, I wrote earlier:

Back in 1989-91, when the procurement decision was being made, newly-minted President Lee Teng-hui and longtime KMT stalwart Hau were struggling over just who controlled the military. Hau's reference thus is imbued with surpassing irony: Lee could not have made the decision, because in the period 1989-1990 he did not control the military; Hau did. In fact, in January of 1988, when Chiang Ching-kuo died and Lee ascended to the Presidency, a hardline faction of mainlander officers threatened a coup. The intervention of James Soong, who mediated the crisis, enabled Lee to retain power. The early years of Lee's presidency were thus overshadowed by the conflict between Hau, point man for this faction (the "non-mainstream faction"), and Lee representing the Party Machine and the mainstream KMT factions, over the direction of the KMT, and the shape of the government. Lee moved Hau out of his position as Chief of the General Staff, into the post of Minister of Defense, and finally to the position of Premier in May of 1990. Hau was appointed to that position because of the continuing threat of hardliners who wanted to run Hau as an alternative Presidential candidate in the March 1990 election, and because the previous premier, Lee Huan, had sided with the hardline mainlanders against Lee Teng-hui (he was a close associate of Chiang Ching-kuo). In fact Hau would eventually run as the Veep on an alternative ticket with Lin Yang-kang in 1996.

I have two reviews of the case, a short one here and a very long one here. Note that it was the visit of current VP-elect Vincent Siew to France in 1990 that apparently sparked the sale and the subsequent scandal. Siew has also been questioned in the case, as he was Minister of Finance at the time. Ma Ying-jeou called for a halt to the questioning when he was Chairman of the KMT.
The timing of the court date is interesting, and some have speculated that anything that comes out might overshadow Ma's big day the next day. Highly unlikely. Hau has already been questioned to no avail, and Lee Teng-hui, following his post-presidency wish to play power behind the throne for somebody, anybody, is giving advice to Ma. He isn't likely to embarrass the new regime either. If anything does come out, it is more likely that Ma's swearing-in will overshadow it, which may explain why it was scheduled for that day in the first place.

The Swiss admitted this week that the amount of money they hold in the case is double what was previously admitted.

Swiss authorities said Thursday that $900 million (?572 million) belonging to Taiwanese citizens remained frozen in Swiss bank accounts linked to the alleged corrupt sale of six French frigates to Taiwan in the 1990s.

In 2006 I noted:

In 1990 and 1991 Lee and Hau were still struggling for control of the government. Hau, the premier, and a conservative mainlander, argued that Taiwan had a parliamentary system in which the Premier should hold the power, while Lee pushed for a Presidential system that would concentrate power in the Chief Executive. Lee shoved through six constitutional amendments during the 1990s, and every one increased the power of the President. At that time too Hau had just come from being head of the military, the former chief of staff, and had enormous influence over military affairs. Lee had him moved from that post to the Minister of Defense, to decrease his power. It seems unlikely that if Hau was in charge of the purchase, Lee Teng-hui got anything out of the deal. The DPP has publicly claimed this, and a Control Yuan investigation also backed Lee and demanded that Hau be impeached -- though several impeached officers claimed Lee knew (Lee was also implicated in a similar kickback scandal over the Mirage Fighter purchase in the 1990s, though that decision also occurred before he gained influence over the military). Perhaps the current legislative freezing of the Control Yuan is an attempt by the Blues to stop the Lafayette investigation, since it touches on so many major mainlander political figures, most importantly Hau and Soong. Other military figures, mostly mainlanders, were impeached over the scandal.

Almost all the alleged beneficiaries and alleged participants are still in the government and other positions of authority, formal and informal. Those who are wont to claim the KMT has changed, should take note....

[Taiwan] [China] [France] [KMT]

Daily Links Apr 12, 2008

The massive copper processing facility on the NE coast.

What's being processed on the blogs today?

The Foreigner blogs on the former AIT director Therese Shaheen saga. Shaheen popped in the day before the election, and the pro-KMT media blew up her visit, saying that she would pronounce on the Ma green card issue. Of course, she didn't. Then the following the day the KMT brought in Doug Paal, the former AIT director, and did their own dog-and-pony show on the green card issue.

That's Impossible! blogs on the possibility of Chai Trong-rong running for DPP Chair (news article). And whither Ma?

Thirsty Ghosts on the continuing deployment of US carriers to the area after the election.

Matsu Fish Council is holding training sessions on Dolphins this weekend and next weekend.

Taiwan Environmental Protection Union calls on Ma to care for the environment. The DPP massively disappointed on the environmental front, one of the reasons so many former supporters turned on it.

Maddog notes how Chinese missiles continue to alter the status quo.

Michael K practices with a Thai band.

EVENTS: Taipei Tea Exhibition, Apr 9 - Jun 15. AmCham Taichung's April dinner meeting will be the 22th...

The April dinner meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 22 at the Windsor Hotel. Our guest speaker will be Robert Wang, Deputy Director of AIT (The American Institue in Taiwan). He will speak on Economic potential under the new administration. Happy Hour begins at 6:30 with dinner at 7:00. Cost is 700NT for paid members and 750NT for non-members. Please rsvp to coordinator@amchamtaichung.org or phone 0917-396103 with any questions and/or rsvp's by April 18th.

....and the annual chili cook off in Taichung on the 19th:

The Chili Cook-off starts at 1pm on April 19th on Soho Street in Taichung (25-8 Da Ye Rd. Taichung). There is a $250nt donation to anyone that wants to try the chili. Everyone who donates will be able to taste all the chili and then vote for the chili that they believe has the best taste.

Sunday the 13th in Taoyuan there is a major Thai bash at Taoyuan stadium there. The Bushman has information on his blog. He'll be playing there, and I'll be behind the lens.

MEDIA: The pro-Green Taiwan Thinktank blasts Siew's visit to Chinese economic forum. Yet another of the millions of articles praising Taiwan for electing Ma because Ma is good for the market. Inflation is now on the rise in Taiwan. In their first phone call, US and China defense officials discuss Taiwan. A Taiwanese officer says the US will sell 66 F-16s to Taiwan. Monsters and Critics, where the articles are always pro-KMT, has a gag-me-with-a-spoon encomium of Ma up. Leave a nice comment. The Economist, like so many publications, believes Ma will be constrained....by domestic politics. That could mean anything. Stephen Nelson has another good piece in Asia Times, on Ma and the Chiangs. NPR on China's military and the US. Another analysis of the election, with a blurb from my "strongly pro-DPP" blog.

[Taiwan]

Economic Tips and Tricks

My friend Jim passed me this article from an online Japanese paper on Taiwanese and Chinese firms registering Japanese names as trademarks.

Chinese and Taiwanese firms also have submitted applications to Chinese authorities to use Japanese regional brands including Matsusaka-ushi beef and Naruto Kintoki sweet potato as trademarks, a JETRO official said.

The Japanese local specialties have been designated by the government's Patent Office as regional brands to stimulate local economies.

Once a name is registered as a trademark, one cannot newly register the same designation unless the original trademark holder officially surrenders ownership of the brand name.

An official of the Beijing JETRO office warned that Japanese regional brands should urgently check into whether they should lodge protests with Chinese authorities to protect their trademarks that Chinese or Taiwanese firms have already registered or are planning to register.

Last month, the Kagoshima prefectural government filed a complaint with Chinese authorities against a Chinese firm that had registered the name Kagoshima as its trademark.

According to the Beijing JETRO official, as of the end of December, Chinese or Taiwanese firms had registered 36 of Japan's 47 prefectural names as trademarks, with the name Kyoto seeing the greatest number of registrations at 93.

Most companies using Japanese brands are Chinese firms, although individuals also did so.

By using Japanese brands as trademarks, Chinese firms can benefit free of charge from name recognition to raise their products' prices when marketing them in China.

Anyone out there remember back in the day, when Japanese firms used unscrupulous patent strategies to attack US firms.... Got no sympathy for the Japanese....

Speaking of East Asian economies, last week the Taiwan CEPD prepared a report on Taiwan's economic achievements under the two Chen Administrations (online in PDF, Chinese). The report notes that while South Korea average better economic growth over the entire period, 2000-08, from 2004-07 Taiwan beat South Korea in economic growth. Just another example of how much more successful we'd be if could only imitate South Korea..... the Taipei Times also pointed out another aspect of the report:

Wu said overall expenditure on research and development-related sectors went up from 1.98 percent in 1999 to 2.58 percent in 2006.

“Although the government increased budgets earmarked for technology development each year, the growth rate was limited by the legislature. The proposed budget was cut by 8.7 percent in 2005 and another 7.9 percent in 2006,” Wu told a press conference following the meeting.

As I've repeatedly noted, the KMT dominated legislature screwed Taiwan and put the onus on Chen Shui-bian. Here is yet another example....

[Taiwan]