2011 - 4th Quarter
"The Mapping of Taiwan, Desired Economies, Coveted Geographies" Completes Taiwan Tetralogy
Most works on Taiwan try to fit the many aspects of its diverse past under one roof, too often ending up belittling one, championing another and cheating a third in that effort. Even if they claim or pledge neutrality and a pervasive ambition to cover all, to a close reader their rhetoric eventually betrays them. This tetralogy presents four crucial ...
Why Taiwan Cannot Afford to Waste Another Four Years on Ma
As Taiwan's January 14 presidential election approaches, one idea is becoming more and more clear; Taiwan cannot afford to waste another four years with Ma Ying-jeou as president. Despite measured hopes and claims, predictions on Taiwan's GDP for the coming year continue to fall; they have now dipped into the 3 per cent bracket. This indicates that the so-called up-coming ...
The United States Once Again Meddles in Taiwan's Democratic Elections
It is a shame that despite protestations of neutrality, someone or someones in the United States executive office once again are trying to meddle in the presidential elections of Taiwan. Since Taiwan is a democracy, this makes such meddling all the more shameful. ...
Taiwan's Yani Tseng Is Named Female Athlete of the Year
Kudos are in line for Yani Tseng of Taiwan; she has been named the Female Athlete of the Year by the US Sports Academy in conjunction with USA Today and NBC Sports. The Male Athlete of the Year is No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic. ...
Taiwan's 2012 Legislative Yuan Will be Totally Different
Whatever the outcome of the upcoming January 14 presidential elections, one thing is certain; Taiwan's 2012 Legislative Yuan will clearly not be in for the same old, same old. Let's start with basics; remember back in 2008 when Ma Ying-jeou won with some 58 per cent of the vote. In the Legislative Yuan, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) got some ...
Lies, Lies and More Lies? Part III, the KMT's Standard Excuse Comes Out
As carpetbaggers and a diasporic army on the run, the KMT used their guns on a defenseless and disarmed Taiwanese to create a one-party state which they ran by White Terror and military rule for over forty years. They made billions off of the country. This also has always given them a self-righteous sense of entitlement to justify any and ...
Lies, Lies and More Lies, Part II, How Much is Ma Ying-jeou Responsible for?
A second batch of attacks in the KMT smear campaign on Tsai Ing-wen are the accusations leveled by Christina Liu, Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) of the Ma government. Minister Liu claimed that Tsai Ing-wen's involvement with the TaiMed Group violated the law because of later profits; unfortunately Liu was in error about the dates ...
Lies, Lies and More Lies?--Part I, Is the KMT Resorting to Old Tricks?
As the election date of January 14 draws near and the presidential race gets hotter and hotter, it seems that the KMT is resorting to smear tactics once again. Why so? Well one reason is the resurrecting of the old absconded money claims. Anyone who has been in Taiwan for some time would remember when the KMT accused Lee Teng-hui's ...
As the WorldTurns: Taiwan, China and the World of Control Freaks
There is nothing like being on one's home course. After being behind in the opening rounds, Taiwan's Yani Tseng came from behind and in the final round shot a four-under 68 to win the Swinging Skirts TLPGA Invitational in Taiwan yesterday. It was a brilliant finish to a brilliant year and in cold, chilly, and rainy weather. Good for her. ...
Taiwan's Elections as the World Turns, Promises, Promises
Trying to explain why Ma did not deliver on or reach his touted 6-3-3, the Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu told the legislature that with four years of a strong domestic demand, Taiwan's per capita income could, (note she said "could")reach the desired US$30,000 in four years. She of course failed to say that it "could" continue to ...
Taiwan's Yani Tseng Finishes a Great Year
I was happy to see when I was recently in the States that the newspaper, USA Today, spoke of Yani Tseng as from Taiwan. There was none of the usual "crap" that one sees saying that she represents Chinese Taipei or that she is from China etc. etc. She is from Taiwan, a separate country from that one across the ...
Why Does Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou Not Want to End China's Civil War?
A frequent joke that comes up in the United States is when those who are from the Southern States are at a party with those who are Northerners and the Southerners claim that the Civil War never ended. It happens when discussions turn regional and political; thus someone will inevitably say, "Save your Confederate dollars my friends, the South will ...
No Progress in Anti-Corruption Under Ma Ying-jeou. Diane Lee's Case Contributes?
In a recent publication of the Corruption Index of Countries, it was noted that Taiwan had not made any gains in its anti-corruption efforts. This was true despite the fact that Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou touted the fact that his anti-corruption campaign would be one of the main thrusts of his first four years. For those who watch Taiwan closely ...
Taiwan as the World Turns: the Three Pigs and the KMT Dominated Control Yuan, Pettiness at its Best.
November has been termed the month of the "three pigs" in Taiwan, or the month of the "Great Piggy Bank Kerfuffle" What is at issue here is that a short while ago, three young children, inspired by their grandparents support for Tsai Ing-wen wanted to donate their piggy banks to Tsai's campaign fund. "Not So!" stated the Control Yuan, the ...
Taiwan: A Harsh Look at Four Years of Smoke and Stagnation Under Ma Ying-jeou
As Taiwan's presidential election approaches, hardly any Taiwanese need to be reminded of Ma Ying-jeou's infamous and miscalculated pledge of 6-3-3 of 2008. So now with the 2012 election two months away, and the 6-3-3 promise and other unfulfilled promises under his belt, Ma is crafting a new promise; he is promising a Golden Decade. A Golden Decade? The full ...
Ma Ying-jeou's FIT Program not Open to All Chinese Subjects (Dalai Lama and Ai Weiwei Take Notice)
As Ma tried to salvage his infamous and mis-calculated 6-3-3 promise, one of the methods he used was to open Taiwan up to visitors from China. That was supposedly going to contribute great dollars to Taiwan's income, but even before it happened those that did the math realized that the monetary gain even at the full amount of visitors would ...
"Dump Ma to Save Taiwan," Why These Words Are Gaining Momentum I
As the January elections approach, more and more Taiwanese are beginning to listen to what Lee Teng-hui had said some time ago. "It is time to dump Ma to save Taiwan." Dump Ma? Yes that is what was said, but why. ...
Yani Tseng, a Woman Unafraid to say She is Taiwanese
The world's number one woman golfer, Yani Tseng, recently won her 12th LPGA at Sunrise Golf Course in Taiwan. Winning #12 was good, but winning before a home crowd was even better. This victory was particularly sweet not only for her but also for all Taiwanese who were conscious of the fact that Ms. Tseng had been offered some US$10 ...
Issues People Face with Accountability for Elected Leaders: a Sidebar from Warren Buffet
Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the US debt ceiling: ...
Taiwan, Once Again the Nation Depends on its Citizens and not its President
Taiwan is currently hosting an LPGA tournament, and it seems that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is insisting that the nation not fly its national flag at the golf course. Since it was flying, one Chinese golfer packed her bags and went home. Poor thing. A second PRC golfer had dual citizenship so she played under her second country. ...
Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou, When Apologies Are Not Enough
I remember listening to Ma Ying-jeou explain why his 6-3-3 policy failed miserably; his advisers simply missed the boat, made bad evaluations, and caused Ma to make a false promise. Is a man responsible for the poor judgment of his advisers? Technically, Ma did not make the judgment that 6-3-3 was achievable in his first term. (Note that after it ...
Taiwan, the Travails of President Ma Ying-jeou and His 400 policies??
As Taiwan's presidential elections draw near, all Taiwanese have to ask themselves the one basic question, do they feel that they are better off than they were four years ago? Are jobs better? Has your income gone up? Are houses easier to buy? Have you had a decent raise? How is your standard of living? Are prices going up? ...
Taiwan, the Travails of President Ma Ying-jeou and His 400 policies??
As Taiwan's presidential elections draw near, all Taiwanese have to ask themselves the one basic question, do they feel that they are better off than they were four years ago? Are jobs better? Has your income gone up? Are houses easier to buy? Have you had a decent raise? How is your standard of living? Are prices going up? ...
Taiwan's Indigenes Plan a Symbolic "Mgaya" Headhunt on the ROC
No doubt spurred on by the success of the recent movie "Seediq Bale" Taiwan's indigenous people are planning a symbolic "Magaya" headhunt of the Republic of China (ROC). As Taiwan prepares for its Double 10 celebrations, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is trying to emphasize the disparity and mis-representation of what is called "A Spectacular Century; Republic of China." ...
Foil to Ma: The Unexpected Role of Taiwan's James Soong
James Soong continues to play cat and mouse games in Taiwan politics. Aside from a potential motive of self aggrandizement, observers ponder what thoughts, game plans and strategies are running through his mind nowadays. He already has the required signatures needed to declare himself as a presidential candidate, but he has forestalled an official declaration until the end of October. ...