Terrific Taiwan articles

Seeing as ghost month started this week, it seemed appropriate to give the route known as “The Graveyard” a write up. This road can be taken as a short cut from Nangang over towards Heping East Rd. and for me as I can do it in a loop in just under an hour, it’s perfect short run in the evenings.

My bike on The Graveyard Road with Taipei 101 just over the hill

In Taiwan, graves are typically built on hillsides and ideally near to water to take advantage of the good fengshui so most of Taiwan’s graveyards are located on the slopes of hills.

Unfortunately battling out for space with the scooters and cars is inevitable

I always start this ride at the Academia Sinica end in Nangang as it means I can more easily avoid riding on Xinyi road on the return part of the journey. I’ve ridden a motorcycle here for years and I’m quite used to the madness of Taipei’s traffic but on a bicycle, it seems so much worse and the less time I can spend on the busy roads the better!

To get to the beginning of this ride, I head along to the end of Zhongxiao road 忠孝路. There’s a T-junction here and I turn right onto the 109. 5 minutes down the road gets you to the university. Turn right again onto Yanjiuyuan Road 研究院路. Eventually at the junction shown below take a left to carry on on Yanjiuyuan, signposted as the China Institute of Technology 中華技術學院. From here the road is much more rural and there’s a lot less traffic.

Left for The Graveyard. Straight on for the Taipei Military Cemetary

The climb is fairly gentle passes by a number of farms and small temples. Watch out for the dogs the farmers keep, they can be as vicious as some of the stray dogs you encounter in the mountains here.

The highest point reached is around 190m and crossing over and heading down gives great views of Mucha, Maokong and the Zoo. To continue on towards Heping Road 和平路 keep to the right.

Mucha

On this day I managed to get to the top in time for another beautiful sunset. There’s been so many recently with very little haze in the evenings.

Sunsets over the graveyard

The road that cuts through the graveyard is narrow and winding which is good as it generally keeps the other roads users down the same speed and cyclists.

101 again in the distance

Eventually you come out onto Chongde Street 崇德街. Continuing on gets you to Heping and Jilong, where the Liuzhangli MRT station is located. It’s perfectly fine to do the graveyard in either direction

Snapped this one on my way home

View Larger Map

Since 2007 we've had periodic updates on a land reclamation project in known pink dolphin habitat at the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) plant at Mailiao, Yunlin County on the west-central coast. What follows are several recent photos from the reclamation site where trees are to be planted in a tree-planting for carbon gimmick. Destroying the marine habitat of critically endangered dolphins to plant trees on reclaimed land? Well, FPG was the winner of the infamous Black Planet Award for its shocking environmental track record. Last month two fires at the plant outraged local residents and caused horrendous toxic clouds that contaminated fields and fish farms.

Photo A (2008-08-08) shows a comparison of two photos taken of the same area. The top photo shows a dolphin in the area before reclamation work started in the autumn of 2007. The photo was taken in mid summer 2007. The lower photo shows the same area in August 2008. The area where the dolphin was is within the area between the two sea-walls. The approximate spot where the dolphin was is indicated with an orange arrowhead. FPG originally denied the existence of the pink dolphins in the waters around the plant but had to acknowledge their existence when researchers collected years of data and photographic evidence. Click to watch a film clip of pink dolphins swimming in the waters in the area where this reclamation project is taking place. The footage was filmed in the summer of 2007 shortly before work on the southern sea wall began.

Photo B (2009-03-05) shows the view from the shore looking out to where the dolphin in Photo A was. The area is now enclosed within the sea walls but still contains water.

Photo C (2010-07-16) is looking across the same area as in Photos A & B but from the base of the southern sea wall. The area is now being filled with sand and rocks.

Photo D (2010-07-16) is looking from the base of the southern sea wall towards the northern sea wall along the approximate former shoreline. The dolphin in Photo A was about midway between the two sea walls and just offshore.

Photo E (2010-07-16) is the view along the southern sea wall looking towards the tower which isn't visible now from this point.

Photo F (2010-07-16) shows the southern sea wall viewed from the pier. The tower is just visible to the left of the end of the wall. The former dolphin observation point used by researchers up until 2008 was just to the left of the trees.

Photo G (2010-07-16) shows sand being used for filling the reclamation area. In other reclamation projects fly ash and other such materials have been known to be mixed in with soil and sand. This raises concerns as to what exactly is being used as filler and is it free from toxins that could contaminate surrounding waters.

Photo H (2010-07-16) the end of the southern sea wall. The tower is clearly visible as are several ships. A flag marker for a fishing net is also clearly visible.

Photo I (2010-07-16) shows nets, fish traps and oyster beds in the channel south of the reclamation project. These pose a hazard to the dolphins. In September 2009 dolphin TW-03 drowned as a result of entanglement in fishing gear.

Photo J (2010-07-16) shows the view of another reclaimed area across the channel.

Photo K (2010-07-16) shows the view of another reclaimed area across the channel.

Photo L (2010-07-16) shows the view of part of the FPG plant from the pier.

Photo M shows a pink dolphin with the Formosa Plastics plant at Mailiao clearly visible in the background. The photo was taken just a few hours before the second fire in July at the FPG plant: Photo courtesy and copyright of FormosaCetus Research & Conservation Group.


Earlier reports:

Mailiao Reclamation Site - The Green Area ? (2007-09-30)

Pictures from Mailiao (2008-09-09)

Photos from Mailiao: more dolphin habitat gone ! (2009-03-06)

No explanation necessary. Read on and wince:
The National Immigration Agency selected a winning English-language slogan submitted by an 11-year-old fifth-grader from Keelung, reports said Tuesday.

In order to strengthen its service image, the government’s immigration department conducted a search on the Internet from May 14 to June 30 for the best Chinese-language and English-language slogans.

Fifth-grade girl student Yu Chieh won the English part of the competition with “NIA care what you care!”

Jury members from inside and outside the NIA selected a shortlist of 20 from the more than 300 entries received. NIA Director-General Hsieh Li-kung said the competition attracted participants from as far away as Nepal, Indonesia, the United States, India and South Africa. Each slogan was accompanied by detailed explanations as to its significance, he said.
300 entries and that was the best they could do?
_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

By Portnoy Zheng

Dr. Sun Yat-sen on every NTD 100

Does Dr. Sun Yat-sen deserve the title of “the Founding Father of Republic of China (R.O.C)”? Is he really a flawless idealistic political leader and the hero behind the revolution that overthrew Qing Dynasty? Being a shared historical icon between the mainland China and ROC (Taiwan), the myth around Dr. Sun has been under scrutiny in Taiwan where people do not identify themselves as “Chinese” anymore. The preparation of the 100th anniversary of R.O.C marked by a documentary project on Sun Yat-sen's life has stirred up the controversy, both on mainstream and online media.

Taiwan-Republic of China-is going to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2011 and the Taiwanese Government has set up the “Republic of China (Taiwan) Centenary Foundation” exclusively for the preparation of a series of activity and promotion. A major celebration ceremony and march will be held along with many other events, contests, and media promotion all around Taiwan, and Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s biographical documentary is among one of them. This NT$20 million (US$627,000) documentary project is sponsored by Council for Cultural Affairs and is going to be carried out by the Republic of China (Taiwan) Centenary Foundation.

The controversy started when Chou Yang-Shan (周陽山), a former legislator of Legislative Yuan and now a council member of Control Yuan, and Hu Fu (胡佛), a scholar of politics and council member of Academia Sinica, wrote a joint open letter [zht] to warn the Council for Cultural Affairs and the production team of this documentary project to “proceed with caution and carefully depict historical events” after Ping Lu(平路), a writer and advisor of this documentary, said that Sun was a figure who “even Vladimir Lenin would have ridiculed as naive and innocent.”

Ping Lu was criticized as “Frivolous and insolent” by Chou, who also claimed to investigate into the historical facts of the documentary using the power of Control Yuan member. The editorial from Taipei Times on Aug 18 accused Chou's action a major threat to freedom of speech.

Indeed, history is full of controversy in particular when people's identification is at odd with the “official history”. Blackjack tries to differentiate between ROC (China) and ROC (Taiwan)denies Sun Yat-sen being the Founding Father of “ROC (Taiwan)”. For him, the regime of ROC (China) had ended 60 years ago under Chiang Kai-shek:

現在的「國父孫中山爭議」我認為「言不正名不順」，中華民國在台灣的「國父」應該是蔣介石，「戒嚴總統」蔣介石則是類似「洪憲帝制」的袁世凱。中華民國在中國早已「百年」，中華民國在中國是死於1949蔣介石之手，中華民國在台灣則是從蔣皇介石開始。

The “Founding Father Sun Yat-sen’s debate” is wrong at the beginning. The Founding Father of ROC (Taiwan) should be Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek “the martial law President” was similar to Yuan Shikai “the Great Emperor of Hongxian(洪憲)”. The regime of ROC (China) came to an end in 1949 under Chiang Kai-shek. ROC (Taiwan) was born when Chiang Kai-shek became the new emperor.

Ching Hung Lin points out that the controversy is a reflection of the China complex among Taiwanese:

國父建立中華民國時，台灣仍被日本統治，當國父奉安於南京中山陵，台灣依舊還在日本的殖民統治勢力下，對國父來說，從生到死，台灣從未是中華民國的一部分，至少在國父建構的中華民國下，台灣對於國父來說，是否只是當作日本的統治地？國父可曾想過把台灣從日本人手中收歸中華民國統治呢？

When Sun established the Republic of China, Taiwan was still under Japan’s rule. When Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum was built, Taiwan was still a Japan colony. During Dr Sun's lifetime, Taiwan was never a part of Republic of China, not at least under the ROC founded by Dr. Sun. Had Dr. Sun ever regarded Taiwan a part of China? or it was always owned by Japan? Had Dr. Sun ever thought of taking Taiwan back into ROC from Japan?

對國父這位偉人的冷熱反映與親疏感覺，可以判斷台灣人有多少中國情結，對於自己身為中國人有多少認同，在台灣土地上的任何一個人都可以捫心問問自己，到底我對國父有多熟悉？究竟這位開國元勳在個人印象中有多重要？還是，最後我們只剩下百元紙鈔上的共同印象？

The different degree of attachment towards Dr. Sun - the great hero - indicates the depth of China complex - how much they are identified themselves with “Chinese” - among Taiwanese. Everyone living on this land can pose the following questions to yourself: how well do I know Dr. Sun? Does this national figure really matter to you? Or he is merely an image in our NTD 100 paper money?

Samhain believes that Chou is being self-defensive:

我就說吧，周陽山這三研所出身的人，正是不自覺的在「自衛」。
因為，這一開拍，粉可能會把他們苦心經營百年的「神」給毀了。
讓這些人跳腳的「不合的史實」，才正是史實。嘿嘿。

I say, Chou Yang-shan, who was from the Institute of San-min Doctrine, is “defending themselves” without much awareness.
Because, once the production of this documentary began, the “god” that they painstakingly constructed for the past century will possibly be destroyed.
The “deviated historical facts” that agitate these guys are the real historical facts, hehe.

不說孫先生的私德部分。
就說公領域的部分吧。
中華民國建國後（或者說大清帝退位後），有幾強國「承認」這個新政權？？
沒啥大國要鳥孫中山，這是史實。

Let’s put aside Sun's private life first.
Let ‘s focus on his public face.
After the establishment of Republic of China (or after the last Emperor of Qing Dynasty stepped down), how many world powers did “recognize” this new regime?
No one bothers to pay attention to Sun Yat-sen, and this is the fact.

順便再一提，孫家後代，幾乎可說都是「外國人」，應該也沒人在台灣。
不管國民黨是不是流亡政權啦，
講白些，姓孫的都不要中華民國了，為啥我們不能不要啊？？

One more thing: most of Sun's descendants are “foreigners” now, and probably no one is based in Taiwan.
Put aside the debate of whether Kuomintang is a ruling party in exile or not.
To speak bluntly, if Sun’s descendants themselves don’t want ROC, why can’t we throw it away altogether?

Torrent digs deeper into the history and suggests that Sun’s myth was a conscious construct by Sun and people after:

孫文倒袁的二次革命失敗流亡日本後，將革命失敗歸咎於同志思想不純、不思團結，他在東京成立中華革命黨，強調對領袖個人完全效忠，入黨誓文如下：
………………..
一、實行宗旨；二、服從命令；三、盡忠職務；四、嚴守秘密：五、誓共生死。從茲永守此約，至死不渝。如有二心，甘受極刑。

After the failure of second revolution against Yuan Shikai, Sun was exiled in Japan, and he blamed the failure to his comrades’ impure ideology and lack of solidarity. He then established Chinese Revolutionary Party in Tokyo, demanding complete loyalty to the leader. The oath of joining the party is as follows:
—————-
1. Fulfill the principle; 2. Obey orders; 3. Respect your duty; 4. Keep secret; 5. Live and die together; From now on, I will follow my oath to death. If I don’t, I would accept the ultimate punishment.

這根本就是黑道歃血為盟，除了這種仿照傳統封建會黨的組織形式，還包括了「凡中國同胞皆有進本黨之權利義務」「凡於革命軍未起義之前進黨者，名為首義黨員……革命成功之日，首義黨員悉隸為元勳公民，得一切參政、執政之優先權利……凡非黨員在革命時期之內不得有公民資格。」連臨時約法中「中華民國人民，一律平等」的原則都完全拋棄，卻仍能妄稱護法。

This is just like member of the triad society drinking blood for the union. Besides such organization that imitated traditional feudal solidarity, the oath also included “Every Chinese people has the right and obligation to join the party”, “If you join the revolutionary army before uprising, then you are entitled to become one of the First Honorable Member…on the day of victory, the First Honorable Members will all be registered as Founding Citizens who enjoy all privilege of political rights……Non-party members cannot obtain citizen rights during revolution time”. Such oath completely abandoned the principle of “All people of Republic of China are equal” listed in Provisional Constitution, but he still claimed to have “protected the constitution”.

Youtien thinks Chou is just repeating old Kuomintang’s position and narratives, while the audiences are actually expecting something else:

問題是：觀眾可能並不想建立什麼客觀、真實的認識。現在是理想主義低潮已極的年代，人可能根本對此冷感，只預期相關論爭會再次流於打爛仗，以印證我對政治的鄙視；也可能自始便是為了踩國民黨、批台獨、反共或抬高文藝、貶抑政治等等好惡，來期待此民國百年紀錄片相關議題給我作註腳或批判材料。而能如學者所欲，詳細切實地看待孫文及歷史的人，已能自去多方閱覽，不必再等一篇文章、一部片給他啟蒙；另外，許多對意識形態已具免疫力的觀眾，也未必想追究國民黨的功過是非及民主政治的前途，而或更樂意探討孫文的情史、八卦以娛浮生。

The questions is: audience may not want to build any objective knowledge (of Sun). This is the era when idealism is at its lowest point, and people are probably indifferent to this issue. They just anticipate that the debate will turn into another muddy fight and will again prove their contempt against politics; they may also expect this centenary documentary of ROC to become a footnote or resources for trampling on Kuomintang, criticizing Taiwan independence and attacking the Communist Party. To uphold culture and art while depreciate politics. People who are serious about history and Sun can compose their own reading list from multiple sources, and they do not need to be enlightened by another article or film. By the way, for many audiences who are already immune to ideologies might not want to investigate Kuomintang’s merits and demerits or the future of democratic politics. Instead, they may be more interested in exploring Sun’s romance and gossips for entertainment.

明乎此，再追問：半生流亡的孫中山，為何能讓那許多女子獻身？又為何能吸引那許多志士追隨？不乏疏漏的《三民主義》又為何得過許多人傾心信奉？循著「女人─革命─讀書」的線索，探究相關論著後，我們或許會發現：孫中山的確浪漫、天真且多空想，真誠、博愛卻又剛愎。但也惟因如此，他敢想、敢做、敢隻手為全中國擘畫未來，敢不顧一切娶朋友之女，敢大張旗鼓爭取到革命大義名分的最高位，將各路黨人包攬到自己的主義光環之下，摒斥異己而無愧。

Now that we know the audiences' expectation, the questions followed are: How could Sun have so many ladies fall in love with him as a guy who was in exile almost half of his life? How could he attract so many men of aspiration to follow him? How could the San-min Doctrine with so much mistakes to be believed whole-heartedly by so many? While we trace the hints of “Women–Revolution–Study” and research into related essays, we might find out: Sun Yat-sen was really romantic, naive, idealistic, sincere, merciful, and froward. And because of so, he dared to think, to do, to paint a future for China with his hands, to marry his friend’s daughter without any consideration, to overtly fight for the highest title in the revolution, to include diversified party members from different backgrounds into the aura of his doctrine, and to discriminate others without guilt.

如今，我們知道了這種性格的危險，看到了許多革命者得勢後的變質，更明白衝動不能解決問題、政治沒有簡單的解藥；但尚對政治與社會懷抱理想的青年，也就輒被質疑其品性、挑剔其知識，乃至連跨出一小步的自信也沒有了。對此，國父孫中山能給予今日青年久蟄之心的興奮，自然不是他被神化又被丑化的主義與事功，而當是其縱使全世界都冷眼嘲諷，仍敢一意幹到底的熱血精神。

Now, we know the danger of such personality, we see how many revolutionists changed after gaining power, and we therefore understand that impulse cannot solve problems and politics has no elixir. But for young people who still harbor ideals for politics and society, their characteristics are thus doubted and knowledge criticized, and so their confidence to taking a first step is gone. In this situation, Sun Yat-sen the Founding Father can give energy to our cynical youth today. Not because of his first mythologized and then uglified doctrines and contributions, but his hot-blooded spirit that went all the way to the end even though the world returned only scoffs, scorns, and taunts.

16 pink dolphin photos taken along the Changhua Coast on the morning of 22 August south of the Tadu River near the Changbin Industrial Park. Photos courtesy and copyright of Chang Hengjia, Taiwan Sustainability Union.




































For more, see the Taiwan pink dolphin video.

Also see:
Recent Pink dolphin photos

AP reports:
The United States said it will supply relatively low-grade radar equipment to Taiwan's air force, an announcement that comes less than a week after the island's president urged Washington to provide it with new F-16 fighter jets.

U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said Tuesday that the U.S. sale includes "defence services, technical data, and defence articles" for Taiwan's air defence system, and radar equipment for the island's Indigenous Defence Fighter jets.

Crowley did not put a monetary figure on the deal or identify the American companies involved.

The U.S. is obligated by law to provide Taiwan defensive weapons.

The US is not obligated by law to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons, but media outlets still keep repeating that claim. The sale would be in lieu of new F-16s; which the KMT Administration claims it wants (but fought against during the DPP Chen Administration). Instead, existing aircraft would get upgrades. Washington under both Obama and Bush has continued to be craven on that score.

A weakened Taiwan is an invitation to war in East Asia. Taiwan needs these fighters not merely to hold off China in an all-out, send-in-the-troops-in-fishing-boats scenario, but also in case of a limited war, such as a blockade. Taiwan's ability to break such a blockade on its own is a form of deterrence as well. Further, in the future Taiwan may have a government that actually gives a shit about the future of the island, and thus Taiwan need weapons to be a credible ally in likely future conflicts.

Note that I am not asking for the F-16s, I am merely observing. Washington has obviously lost its nerve, or else is waiting for Beijing to do something so heinous that F-16s become a rational and accepted response. Hopefully the latter, though I strongly doubt it.

Speaking of observing, one ominous trend that needs to be nipped in the bud is the rise of a more sophisticated pro-Beijing apologetics, such as that of Mark Valencia in the Taipei Times last week. I was traveling and couldn't respond but sorely wanted to. Given the startling pro-Beijing nature of the piece with its numerous omissions and distortions, I was kind of surprised to see that the Taipei Times even ran it. One thing it makes clear is that some of you edumacated types out there with Taiwan-related passions need to be submitting more commentaries!

Valencia is a scholar who has written at length on sovereignty issues involving China's claims to areas in its littoral. He writes from a pro-Beijing perspective -- for example, read this longer piece on the East China Sea disputes carefully. Note in his description of the dispute between China, Taiwan, and Japan over the Senkakus he never forthrightly states that China did not begin claiming the islands until after Japanese scientists said there might be oil nearby in 1968. I've already posted before how PRC and ROC maps pre-1968 either show the Senkakus as Japanese, or show them as next to Taiwan without being part of China. If there were any doubt on that score, I have a copy of a Renminerbao piece from 1953 that not only says the Senkakus are Japanese but also uses the Japanese names (in Chinese) to identify them. John Tkacik, who collects such things, wrote a couple of years ago:
In my collection of maps, I have a facsimile of plate 18 of the Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Fen Sheng Ditu (People’s Republic of China Provincial Map) of “Fujian Province, Taiwan Province” published in mimi (confidential) form by the Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Guojia Cehui Zongju (Headquarters, National Surveillance Bureau), Beijing, 1969, which identified the Senkaku Islands as the “Jiange Qundao” — using the Chinese characters for the Japanese name “Senkaku Island Group” — rather than the Chinese name “Diaoyu.”In other words, until 1969 China treated the Senkakus as Japanese. Valencia's Taipei Times piece contains the same telling kinds of omissions. Observe first that China's own actions are consistently omitted or downplayed. Consider:
However, despite US arrogance, offering to “facilitate” multilateral talks on the South China Sea disputes — which is what really infuriated Beijing — it is clear that China has been its own worst enemy in this matter. It refused to file a joint claim with Malaysia and Vietnam to the continental shelf in the South China Sea. It then filed an objection to their claim, and attached a map with its nine-dash line ambiguously claiming most of the sea.

It publicly categorized the South China sea as a “core interest” akin to Tibet and Taiwan, ie something it would fight over, and allowed its Ministry of Defense spokesperson Geng Yansheng (耿雁生) to say “China has indisputable sovereignty of the South Sea and China has sufficient historical and legal backing” to underpin its claims.

These actions and accompanying large military exercises in the area provided a diplomatic opportunity for the US and pushed the ASEAN countries into the US corner."China has been its own worst enemy." To say someone is their own worst enemy is to accuse them of something akin to klutziness, not malice -- it downplays the intent of their actions. Valencia also accuses the US of arrogance although it is China that has claimed the entire South China Sea and refuses to negotiate and said it would go to war with anyone who objected -- what could possibly be more arrogant? Finally "observe" (you can't because they've been omitted) that the reason Vietnam and everyone else has been pushed into the US corner is because of China's military build up, threats, and recent actions, such as regularly seizing Vietnamese trawlers. All gone.

Valencia earlier had stated:
The activities of the US EP-3 planes and Navy ships, the Bowditch and the Impeccable, probably collectively, have included the active “tickling” of China’s coastal defenses to provoke and observe a response, interference with shore-to-ship and submarine communications, “preparation of the battlefield,” using legal subterfuge to evade the consent regime and tracking China’s new nuclear submarines for potential targeting as they enter and exit their base.

Few countries would tolerate such provocative activities by a potential enemy without responding in some fashion. These are not passive intelligence collection activities commonly undertaken and usually tolerated by most states, but are intrusive and controversial practices that China regards as a threat of the use of force.Actually, these are intelligence collection activities commonly undertaken by the Powers. During the Cold War Russian and US signals intelligence constantly tested each other in just this way. In fact they still go on today (Russians buzz US carriers). Valencia elsewhere refers to Chinese vessels behaving in similar manner towards the Japanese! And recent Chinese aggressive moves against the Japanese are omitted here (it goes without saying). Who can forget the Chinese sub that surfaced inside a US carrier group? Valencia can, apparently. Because everyone knows it is arrogant, threatening, and provocative when the US does it, but it is only klutzy when China does.

BTW, which Asian nation has the largest signals intelligence fleet?

In other words, Valencia omits any information that might cast Beijing in a negative light, including the whole context of the growing regional fear of China's aims (except for a single fleeting reference about China's aggressiveness toward conflicting claims at the beginning), and then gives us a selectively Beijing-centric view of affairs, complete with the telling us again and again how Beijing feels (but not how Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, or the US feel):

• and China’s angry response
• but are intrusive and controversial practices that China regards as a threat of the use of force
• which is what really infuriated Beijing
• If anything, it may have convinced Beijing that the die is cast. It could confirm its worst fears, that the US is stealthily trying to draw ASEAN or some of its members together with Australia, Japan and South Korea into a soft alliance to constrain, if not contain, China.
  
  Beijing’s struggle to break out of these constrants, politically and militarily, will set the stage for rivalry and tension in the years ahead.

The ending of the piece is quite sick: it would be unnecessary to "constrain" China through "soft alliances" if China were not an active and growing threat to many of its neighbors. No one talks about US "constraint" on Japan or Taiwan or Malaysia because those countries are not a problem for their neighbors the way China is. More and more China is reminding me of Japan in the 1930s, which had no trouble getting the resources it needed to continue both its economic expansion and its war in China, but nevertheless complained that it was encircled. Similarly, China has no trouble getting access to the resources it needs for growth within the current system -- just as Japan does today. There are no constraints on China's growth, as the last two decades should make clear. All this military expansion is simply unnecessary and counterproductive. In the final analysis, it is clear China does not want military expansion to grab resources; what it wants is resources to support more expansion. Just like Tokyo c. 1939.

In the Japanese case the war against the US is conventionally explained as a war for oil and other resources, in which Japan was "forced" to engage because the US cut off its oil and it couldn't leave China or end the fighting there. In 1940 after Japan moved into French Indochina the US placed its first serious sanctions on Japan, but did not cut off oil for fear of provoking Japan. In 1941 Japan further moved into the French colony, and the US responded by shutting off the oil. Conventional explanation says that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of the oil cut off, since it planned to Dutch Indonesia and British Malaysia to grab their oil and other resources.

However, during the debates in Japan over what to do, an often neglected event occurred. The equivalent of the minister for natural resources informed the cabinet that the oil cut off was no problem. All Japan had to do was wait a year or two, and he could have a coal-to-oil program using the plentiful supplies of Manchurian coal at Japan's disposal (just as Germany did in WWI, the technology was old hat by 1941). Japan could have as much oil as it wanted. No war was necessary. Nobody listened.

Japan insanely attacking the US and setting its people back a generation in progress. The US insanely attacking Iraq, and persisting in its lost cause in Afghanistan, blowing up its budget and cheating its own people at a time of desperate need. China now engaged in a needless military build up to annex territories of its neighbors, reducing its ability to increase its own living standards and heading for needless war that will further impair the progress of its people.

Stop the insanity. And please, stop shilling for it too.
___________
Daily Links:

• Heritage argues that the 2010 DOD report on China downplays Taiwan
• David finds some good links on Taiwan's indie music scene
• My Several Worlds on urban regeneration in Taipei
• Mekong River water, the US, and China
• Global Voices on ECFA
• Ma's investment project tour moves around the nation.
• Nothing to do with Taiwan: Six Keys to being excellent at anything and Using UV light to see the original colors of greek statues
  

_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

Two new reports from the Heritage Foundation -- on Taiwan's neighboring nation that wants to rapaciously annex Taiwan. And to think that there are still all those foolish dreamers in the KMT that romanticize a fictitious "re"unification with (read - annexation by) China.

• New from the Heritage Foundation on China's military versus Taiwan's military

• China's continues to oppressively violate its own people's human rights... (Topics covered: 1. Tiannanmen Square Suppression; 2. Political and other extrajudicial killings; 3. Treatment of Tibet; 4. Judiciary, Legal and Political Prisoners; 5. Arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home and correspondence; 6. No free speech; 7. No free press; 8. No freedom of Assembly; 9. No freedom of religion; 10. No Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons; 11. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigations of Alleged Violations of Human Rights; 12. Discrimination, Societal Abuse, and Trafficking in Persons.)

What an horrible government and what an oppressed society.

The other day, I looked out our living room window -- and saw Spiderman here installing window boxes in our neighbors' stairwell (they of the mysterious, mostly empty apartment building). There was nothing between him and a five-story plummet to the ground besides the window box he was caulking (I guess he felt pretty confident about his own work!).



One thing that constantly surprises me about living in Taiwan is how lax safety regulations are across the board. Opened potholes are marked with a couple orange cones; other than that, pedestrians are allowed to walk right next to them. People load so much stuff onto their scooters that I wonder how they don't topple over into oncoming traffic. Food court restaurants hand customers hot pots over an open flame or bibimbap in sizzling bowls to carry through crowded seating areas.

This was all very new to me because I come from a fairly litigious culture where a favorite retort is "so sue me!" When I first got here and people said good-bye by telling me to "慢慢走," I didn't think they were saying "take your time." I thought they were literally saying "walk slowly"... as in "walk slowly, the sidewalks here are very uneven and we don't want you to slip and sue us."

Anyway, Spiderman caught Taroko George's attention.







I bet you are wondering why anyone needs window boxes in their stairwell. Behold!



Our neighbors wanted to give their cat, who has the run of the place, a couple of nice perches to people watch. I wish this photo wasn't so grainy, but if someone living across the street caught me pointing a telephoto lens in their general direction, things might get a little complicated.

Here is a short video of our own little fur beast, chasing his tail, bouncing around and trying to destroy my camera:



Taroko George punched me in the head today. No window box for you, you little psycho!
******************************************************************************************************************************************************** If you are not reading this post on shuflies.blogspot.com, www.shuflies.com, a RSS feeder or Taiwanderful, there is a good chance that this content has been stolen. Why anybody would want to steal my content is beyond me, but please let me know at theflyingshu [at] gmail [dot] com.

By I-fan Lin

The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China was signed on June 29, 2010 by the Strait Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (semi-official representatives for Taiwan and China). Later on August 17, the Legislation Yuan of Taiwan approved this agreement.

The process seems smooth and efficient at the surface, but the story is not simple. Many Taiwanese have poked around under the rock of ECFA and questioned the rationality behind the agreement.

The story of ECFA began two years ago. In 2008, Ma Ying-Jeou, the president candidate of Kuomintang (KMT), was elected as Taiwan’s 12th president. After Ma sworn into office as president, his office proposed to sign CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) with China. platocast explained how CEPA evolved to ECFA:

馬政府一開始說要跟中國簽CEPA…大家一細查，發現全世界只有香港跟中國有簽CEPA，台灣的主權被踐踏至極。馬英九政府怕了，才改成說要簽CECA，大家又發現這換湯不換藥，痛罵馬政府，於是馬英九在二月底一急之下說改簽ECFA。

In the beginning, Ma’s office proposed to sign CEPA with China…After some background check, we found only Hong Kong and Macau signed CEPA with China. Therefore, signing CEPA with China would give away Taiwan’s sovereignty. Due to the blame, Ma’s office changed their mind and proposed to sign CECA with China. However, we found CECA was similar to CEPA and blamed Ma’s office again. At last, President Ma proposed to sign ECFA in Feb (2009).

Although Taiwan’s government started to work on ECFA in Feb, 2009, the contents of ECFA were hidden from the public until it was signed by the Strait Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait in June, 2010. The blackbox process worried the opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and they called for a debate about ECFA with the president. Under the pressure, a televised debate between President Ma Ying-Jeou and the chairperson of DPP, Tsai Ing-wen, was held and aired on April 25th, 2010.

blackrain was disappointed that Ma failed to clarify the doubtful points in ECFA that were addressed by Tsai in the debate.

蔡英文的幾個質疑，加深了 ECFA 的可疑程度。例如：
。農產品開放項目將達到六、七百項之多，馬英九完全迴避這部份的補救措施
。馬英九完全不答有哪些產業會受到衝擊，或是他所宣稱的 17 個受影響的產業是什麼，加深了更多人的疑慮
。蔡英文點出馬英九靠攏財團、以及貧富差距的公義問題，馬英九完全無法回答
。蔡英文成功地反擊了馬英九所宣稱的「急迫性」，馬英九無法化解

What Tsai Ing-Wen questioned deepens the doubt toward ECFA. For example
(1) There are 600-700 agriculture products listed in ECFA, but Ma avoided answering if the government has prepared for the impact.
(2) Ma did not answer the question regarding the industries that will be influenced by ECFA or the details of the 17 industries that he claimed will be influenced by ECFA, which deepened many people’s suspicion.
(3) Tsai pointed out that Ma benefits the big firms and ignores the problems of the poverty gap and social justice, but Ma could not answer this question.
(4) When Tsai controverted the urgency (of signing ECFA) claimed by Ma successfully, Ma could not explain.

Later the DPP distributed a video below on YouTube, accusing ECFA, as CEPA, will cause social injustice:

Here is ESWN's transcription of the video:

(Cantonese voice-over)

There are lots of rich people in Hong Kong. Reports speak of the averarge income in Hong Kong, but I don't get it. There are more and more poor people; everybody works longer hours; eight out of ten street sweepers are university graduates; senior citizens have to scavenge in the streets. Actually, is the Chief Executive sent over from Beijing? It does not matter what CEPA is. It can't be a bad thing to let the people of Hong Kong make more money. But it shouldn't be this way. The rich eat shark fin, whereas the poor cannot even have a single vermicelli noodle?

(in written words) After Hong Kong signed CEPA, it has become the city with the largest wealth inequality in the world. We don't want an ECFA that let the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Martin oei, who have lived in Hong Kong for more than 30 years, commented on this video,

若然簽了ＥＣＦＡ，今日香港，便是明日台灣，甚至情況會更慘。不少香港人，看完民進黨廣告後，都認為廣告反映了他們心聲，特別最尾一句，為何貧民連粉絲都沒得吃？

If Taiwan signs ECFA, Taiwan will become what Hong Kong is today. Many people in Hong Kong think this video, especially the last words, reflects their feelings: why we poor people do not even have vermicelli noodles to eat?

After the debate, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) requested to hold a referendum on the question: “Do you agree that the government signs ECFA with China?” However, this referendum was rejected by the Referendum Review Commission.

The decision made by the Referendum Review Commission reminded Taiwanese the problem of having this commission in their government. subing said,

公審會頂多有權力做程序審查，也就是說檢查一下連署人數足不足夠，有沒有作假，該送的文件有沒有到齊…根據台灣的公投法，公投要成案最後大約要87萬人連署，這21個人有什麼資格實質審查87萬人的意願？這根本就是違反民主基本原則，也違憲。

At most, the Review Commission should be only authorized to review the process, e.g., check if the number of people cosigned is enough or if all the documents are submitted…Based on the Law of Referendum, we will need 870000 people to cosign the referendum to pass it. Why do these 21 people (in the commission) have the right to judge the intention of these 870000 people? What this commission did violates the basic rules of democracy and violates our constitution.

Despite the dispute, ECFA was signed by the semi-official representatives for Taiwan and China on June 29, 2010. After the articles of ECFA were finally revealed, they stimulated a lot of discussions. For example, KuanMom criticized the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee mentioned in article 11,

(ECFA)第11條所成立的「兩岸經濟合作委員會」(*)，完全不受任何台灣立法機關的監督，空白授權給海基海協指定任何人選， 全權負責協議的執行、解釋、爭議處理、後續所有協商的速度及廣度。ECFA第11條完全不提該委員會如何組成?對誰負責?由誰授權?受誰監督?經費何來?設置在哪?

(*)雙方成立「兩岸經濟合作委員會」（以下簡稱委員會）。委員會由雙方指定的代表組成，負責處理與本協議相關的事宜。

The 11th article (in ECFA) mention setting up the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee (*), but it does not mention how the Legislation Yuan of Taiwan can supervise this committee. In other words, the committee members assigned by the Strait Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait without appropriate authorization will handle the execution and explanation of ECFA, the arbitration of disputes, and all the following negotiations. The 11th article in ECFA does not mention how the committee will be organized, who it should be responsible for, where its authorization comes from, who will supervise it, the funding source of it, or the location of it.

(*) Temporary translation of this article based on the available Chinese version: Both sides should set up the ‘Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee’ (abbreviated as the committee). The members of this committee are assigned by both side, and these members will be responsible to the processes related to this agreement.

Despite the dispute, ECFA was sent to the Legislation Yuan. hehe complained about the process,

從媒體上，我們只看到了大肆報導某立委肢體衝突，但真正的暴力，恐怕是整個會議過程毫無程序正義的多數暴力。
坦白說，我個人對於ECFA簽不簽，並沒有太大的堅持，我也相信多數人和我一樣，希望的只是在一個民主程序下、透過多方意見的討論形成共識；縱使不能形成共識，至少也在各種意見可以得到充分表達的情況下，政府可以更周延的考量到不同立場或生存的人，可能受到的衝擊，而得以有好防範措施。
然而，影片中國會決定將ECFA等相關法案（其中牽涉可能數十、上百的法律條文）逕付二讀的過程，不禁令人懷疑，這樣的立法程序，我們還能期待什麼？

From the media, we only see the physical confrontations between some legislators. However, the real violence is the tyranny of the majority in the meeting without any justice.
To be honest, I do not have a strong opinion regarding signing ECFA or not. I believe most people are like me, and what we want is a consensus that is reached by discussions from different perspectives and following the rules in democracy. Even if we cannot reach a consensus, we hope the government can benefit from these discussions and protect those who will be influenced by ECFA.
Nevertheless, in this video, the way ECFA, which may include tens or hundreds of articles, was passed make us doubt that what we can expect with this kind of legislation process.

Well, we all know what will happen if we poke around the rocks–some very nasty things live under rocks.

Check out this story: Oklahoma Strengthens Relations With Taiwan Province...

The state of Oklahoma and Taiwan Province reaffirm their sister-state relationship which has stood for the past 30 years.

During a ceremony in the Blue Room of the State Capitol Governor Henry and Taiwan Province Governor Jung-Tzer Lin reaffirmed their agreement which promotes trade and friendship.

Governor Henry says last year alone Oklahoma exports to Taiwan came to $16.3 million.

“But that agreement, again, is more than just about trade. That’s been beneficial to both of our peoples, but it has also enriched the lives of both of our peoples.”
I have to admit, this exchange has enriched my life with a bit of entertainment. "Taiwan Province Governor Jung-Tzer Lin" is actually the former mayor of Hsinchu, now currently a minister without portfolio. He is apparently head of the Provincial Council which runs the now-defunct government, streamlined out of existence back in the 1990s, all of which are appointees of the President (see Wiki for details -- don't they have that in Oklahoma?). Congrats to Oklahoma for re-affirming its relations with less than a dozen people! I think they should next sign sister-relations with Fujian Province, ROC.

I wonder if Lin gets a separate salary as head of the "provincial government."

The KMT program of confusing others about the actual status of Taiwan continues.

Meanwhile, where was the US State Department? Shouldn't it have taken the Oklahoma state government aside and told them that US policy is that the status of Taiwan is undetermined?
_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

The following MFCU press release highlights the issue of non peer reviewed science that the [Taiwan] Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and so-called developers like Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan Power Company and Kuokuang Petrochemical seem so keen on favouring while ignoring the credible peer reviewed publications, findings and recommendations of both local and international experts.


PINK DOLPHINS:
WHERE’S YOUR MAMA?!
Press conference

Time: Monday 23 August 2010 10 am
Place: NTU Alumni Association Conference Rm 3C
No 2-1 Chin-nan Rd. Sec. 1 Taipei

The conservation of the unique Taiwan population of the Indo Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis), also known as the “pink dolphins”,“Chinese white dolphins” or “Matsu’s Fish”, has long been the focus of attention of international scientists and conservation organizations. However, none of the relevant environmental impact assessment reports for development projects in or near the dolphins’ habitat has been approved by the international community of cetacean experts, nor have survey and research teams hired by the developer published on the impacts of the project in international peer-reviewed journals.

One has to wonder: does this group of researchers that takes on almost all the research projects from both government and industry really understand the pink dolphins? Or are they just lending their “academic credentials” as a stamp of approval for the development projects?

The team, lead by someone once given the title in the media as “Dolphin Mama” due to her very public position on conservation, has benefited from a slew of research projects ever since the pink dolphins started gaining public attention due to the research activities of international scientists (starting in 2002), the highlighting of the issue to the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) by local environmentalists (starting 2005), three international conferences and workshops convened in Taiwan (2004, 2007, 2009) by the aforementioned scientists and environmentalists, the formal petitioning to the Executive Yuan in January 2008, the establishment of the Eastern Taiwan Strait Sousa Technical Working Advisory Group (ETSSTWAG) which has offered assistance to Taiwan’s government, industry and researchers (January 2008), the declaration by the IUCN that the unique Taiwan population is critically endangered (August 2008) and a number of internationally published and peer reviewed journals and reports appearing nearly every year since the population was scientifically confirmed by a team of international scientists in 2002.

However, although the Dolphin Mama has been receiving research projects from government agencies (Forestry Bureau, Fisheries Agency) as well as developers (Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan Power Company and Kuokuang Petrochemical) since 2005 including what is estimated to be well over 100 million NT$, however the results of the studies have not been been subject to peer review by cetacean experts.

This inevitably brings up questions and concerns over the quality of the research and the reports. Most recently the group, in representing Kuokuang Petrochemical developer, all but ignored what the international community believes to be the major impact of the project on the dolphins – land reclamation. Instead the group has been devoting itself to raising a number mitigation measures such as luring the animals to go around the construction site by feeding them fish and proposing many more research projects and other studies, while giving short shrift to the opinions of the international community and even making claims of “politics” playing in the decisions of the IUCN which resulted in this unique population’s designation of CR or critically endangered, the last step before “extinct in the wild”.

By refusing to stand up for the dolphins and insisting on rigorous scrutiny of the impact of the reclamation on their habitat, these “experts” are not only abdicating their duties as scientists, they also appear to be abandoning any idea of conservation for the dolphins.

At the press conference we will announce a recent international publication that discusses the serious impacts of the Kuokuang project on the survival of this population of dolphins. We have also invited Taiwan’s “teacher of teachers” when it comes to cetaceans, Professor YANG Hong-chia, who recorded sightings of the Indo Pacific humpback dolphins in Taiwan waters as early as 1963. Professor YANG will talk about how the deteriorating condition of our oceans around Taiwan for the past fifty years affects the Taiwan pink dolphins.

Host organizations: Matsu’s Fish Conservation Union (Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association Taiwan, Taiwan Academy of Ecology, Taiwan Sustainability Union, Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, Wild Bird Society of Yunlin, Changhua Coastal Protection Union), & Changhua County Environmental Protection Union.

Contact: GAN Chen-yi 0928926180

Amid mounting apprehensions surrounding the emergence of China as a major military power, defense experts continue to focus their attention on Washington’s reluctance to sell Taipei advanced combat aircraft. A small group of military specialists, however, argues that another long-neglected system could prove a superior deterrent to Chinese aggression: submarines.
For almost a decade, the issue of submarines has been subject to the political vagaries of the triangular relationship between Taipei, Washington and Beijing, as well as disagreement over their utility and high cost.

Mark Stokes, executive director at the Project 2049 Institute, is a strong proponent of submarines for Taiwan.

“The key thing about submarines is their inherent stealth and potential lethality,” he told the Taipei Times. “They represent one of the few capabilities that would be difficult to take out in a first, disarming first strike, especially if on patrol.”

According to most scenarios, a Chinese attack on Taiwan would open with missile salvos against Taiwan’s military targets, including airfields and command-and-control centers.
This analysis, published today in the Taipei Times, continues here.

A few days ago, I watched Rebels of the Neon God, Tsai Ming-liang's (蔡明亮) beguiling debut feature film. Tsai, who was born in Malaysia in 1957 and has lived in Taiwan since the late 1970s, is now regarded as one of the country's most talented filmmakers.

Rebels of the Neon God was shot in 1992, and the outdoor scenes were flashbacks to the Taipei I experienced when I first arrived in Taiwan. No mass rapid transit system, just crowded buses; messy construction everywhere; grim apartment blocks; everyone smoking; and flotillas of scooters ridden by helmet-less commuters. YouTube clips from the movie can be found here and here.

The only other Tsai movie I've seen is The Wayward Cloud (2005), which didn't do much for me. This trailer (with French subtitles) will give you an idea why it attracted controversy.

This government-sponsored site has a lot of information about Taiwanese cinema.

Yet another Taiwan government-sponsored food contest. *sigh* Is the choice of food political? Outdoor activities are likely to create environmentalism, which businessmen hate, while local history and culture are anathema to the KMT.

Anyway, what's on the blogs?

BLOG:

• Drew rips Giant's new marketing to women concept as sexist and essentializing. Not to mention stoopid. Just consider Fixed Gear Girl Taiwan: hot chicks on hot bikes. Giant, you suck! Drew also has an awesome one on biking and the future.
  
• J Michael on the re-opening of the question of subs for Taiwan
• Is there a middle ground between annexation and independence? Stephen Nelson thinks not.
• More land purchases to save the Changhua wetlands.
• Dixteel says DPP needs more military experts.
• Cremation site for 1895 battle dead in Keelung
• Taichung area MAAG from the 1960s and 70s.
• Time to address driving standards
• China and US debt at the Peking Duck
• Taiwan Link on Obama denying me my F-16s! We're never going to get them, and I doubt that the Ma Administration even wants them. It's all just a minuet....
  
• Taoyuan Airport to institute food review. Finally.
• Mutant Frog on George Psalmanzar, the fraud of formosa
  

MEDIA:

• China's dam diplomacy: "At the turn of the 21st century, 22,000 of the world’s 45,000 large dams spanned Chinese rivers. Between 1949 and 2000 in China, construction of large dams proceeded at a rate of more than one per day."
• AU Optronics CEO cannot leave the US due to price-fixing investigation.
  
• Taiwan News on the new Sun Yat Sen film and democracy
• New national health insurance system to get vote in Dec
• In 2010, foreign laborers run away at a rate of 1,000 per month.
  
• China and the Commons
• Time to end US ambiguity on whether it will defend Taiwan?
  
• China: Playing our game.
• Fourth nuke plan draws fine.
  
• Japanese ammo dumps in Penghu to be named historic sites.
  
• The ROC government makes another stupid claim to the Senkakus.
  
• The NCCU prediction markets on the municipal elections: Taipei：http://xfuture.org/cda_ trade_chart/multiline_chart_ data/1807, Xinbei: http://xfuture.org/cda_ trade_chart/multiline_chart_ data/1808, The Chung: http://xfuture.org/cda_ trade_chart/multiline_chart_ data/1809 Tainan: http://xfuture.org/cda_ trade_chart/multiline_chart_ data/1810 Kaohsiung: http://xfuture.org/cda_ trade_chart/multiline_chart_ data/1811
• 2010 DOD report on China
• Some light reading of papers on cross-strait relations at the EU-China and the Taiwan question conference.
• Jamestown Brief has more light reading on PLA hawks vs doves, and on China-Syria-US.
• Taiwan News rips Cross-Strait Economic and Cultural Forum
• China now buying Asian debt
• A Golden Period ahead for Taiwan, says Robert Cutler in Asia Times.

_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

After three weeks of traveling around the island working, I was itching for a little vacation time. What better place than the playground of Taiwan, Kenting? My friend Jeff Miller came down to Kaohsiung to keep me company for a couple of days of absolutely glorious light and sun.

Jeff and I planned to meet in Pingtung county just across the Kaoping Bridge, at the junction of 189 and 1, to take 189 through Pingtung. On the way out of town I met this bird at the hardware store where I attempted to purchase some hex wrenches.

Threading one's way through Fengshan to Pingtung is always a hair-raising experience.

The new bridge.

Jeff meets up at 1 pm. We turned down 189 for Chaozhou and points south.

Pingtung flatlands.

A Duck farm.

We followed 189 south through Chaozhou in Pingtung, which has some charming traffic circles that are death on bicyclists. And well marked, too.... nothing can confuse a couple of educated guys with forty years experience in Taiwan faster than local Taiwan road signs.

You could roll a marble from Pingtung city down to the sea.

Laying plastic on a field.

These telephone poles actually follow an old Japanese narrow gauge rail line; the rails are still extant next to the road.

Finally, nearing the coast. Fangliao, the last major station. Two days later we would end up here....

The mountains here aren't so tall, but still lovely.

We stopped to rest and shoot these hardworking fellows trying to pull over one of those machines for oxygenating water in fishponds.

Our excitement mounted as we realized the weather was going to be a gift from the bike gods.

We took a few pictures of this ruined resort. Both coasts are littered with such remains.

The bike gods sent us a rainbow.

A side street in Fenggang.

Ever since I started biking, I've wanted to bike this stretch of coast.

Aquaculture: the fish are imprisoned in nets in the ocean, where they are fed and raised until ready to eat.

Jeff threads his way through the traffic. Friday evening in Kenting!

Once we hit Checheng we decided to turn inland down 199 to the Sichuanghsi Hot Springs. The sky was unbelievable.

The Fuji does a wonderful job with scenery shots.

The old man and the moon.

Nearby peaks.

A small herd grazed beneath the rushing clouds.

The moon at evening.

A place to rest? Here in front of this temple I waited for Jeff. That twenty minute ride up from Checheng had been mindblowing...

We stayed at this small lodging for $1000 for a large double bed room, clean, and no one else staying at the place.

In the morning Sichuanghsi town was silent.

Over the hills it looked like rain.

7-11 for breakfast.

We stopped at the small park for the Mudan (shihmen "stone gate") battlefield memorial. Everywhere we went we met groups of cyclists out enjoying themselves. We had plenty of friendly chats, one of the best things about riding in Taiwan.

A quick walk up the stairs brought us to the memorial, erected by the Japanese to commemorate the 1874 Mudan incident.

The views from the top are excellent. The battle is named for the gorge a little way up.

The gorge. We climbed up here intending to follow 199 to 199A and head down to the east coast, but it started to rain. Since this was vacation, we decided not to get in a manliness contest with the bike gods and turned around and headed back to the coast.

Jeff fights a slow leak.

As turned down this road, we left the rain behind.

The views improved immediately.

Just a perfect day for a ride.

We followed that little road until we hit the main road, and then went into Hengchun town. Here's the old gate, which some of you may recognize from Cape No 7.

Part of the city wall is still extant, a phenomenon rare in Taiwan.

We grabbed a coffee and amused ourselves watching the vehicles attempt to negotiate the narrow streets. I fell in love with Hengchun instantly; it has a real lazy coastal town feel and has not become overwhelmed by kitsch tourism like Kenting Street.

The south gate.

A Hengchun street.

We turned on to another minor road heading for the coast.

Along the way we passed through the local communities.

We got directions from this friendly and outgoing woman.

After a short climb through some Taiwan soldiers out playing RED vs BLUE, we dropped down to the coast road just north of the Aquarium, an awesome place for a visit if you are in the area. We then turned off into the small town of Houwan.

The road was flat and lined with vegetation. There was a bike path but it appeared to be used largely as a parking lot.

We stopped in the tiny fishing port of Shanhai for lunch.

The port.

Two little girls were at play right in front of the seafood place where we chowed down on oysters and sashimi.

Yum.

Leaving Shanhai, we saw big ships....

...and little ones.

We rounded that little peninsula on the west side of Kenting and came upon Houbihu, and entered the world of tourists.

The beach by the nuke plant, with three wind machines, which appear to serve the exact same function for the nuke plant as the zoo animals painted on incinerator smokestacks.

In Kenting town, the cars were starting to flow in, and the vendors were starting to set up.

Amy's, where we had dinner.

It's a stampede!

Lots of great stuff on display.

Lots of great displays.

Can't get enough of that color.

Can't get enough of that color.

Dinner at Amy's. Yum.

Setting up for the crowds.

Waiting to be grilled.

Just off Kenting street are several streets full of places to stay.

Sunset. Kenting becomes a madhouse.

Dad teaches daughter.

Jeff and I settled down in front of the Starbucks/Coldstone/7-11 complex (my, has Kenting changed over the years!) to take advantage of the lack of open bottle laws and absorb the crowd madness.

Everyone posed in this spot.

Coldstone was having a free ice cream giveaway.

Another day, another moon. We stayed at Water Space near the Caesar Park, $1260 for a spacious room with two beds -- plenty of room for bikes. Bathrooms not attached, however.

In the morning it was raining, the kind of stubborn rain that just won't give up. We headed out to Eulanpi to the End of Taiwan to take a few pictures, where it miraculously wasn't raining.

On the way back we decided to bag our planned ride to the east coast because it was obviously too wet, and to return home instead. Stopped by the big bus park to ask the drivers -- can we toss our bikes on your bus? Response was invariably: there's no room. Subtext was: your bikes are too dirty for our clean bus. So we headed back 40 kms to Fangliao along the coast in the drear and drizzle hoping to ship the bikes to Taichung and Keelung, and take the train home.

Fangliao was soon reached. Naturally, as soon as we had purchased tickets, the skies cleared. The railroad guys in Fangliao said we couldn't ship our bikes out of Fangliao but we could put them on the 2:45 for Kaohsiung.

Exciting Fangliao.

We rolled our bikes up to the platform....

...and soon our train arrived. 240 kms of beautiful Taiwan roads under our tires, we headed off to Kaohsiung to ship our bikes and thence to the HSR, ending one of the most relaxing weekends I've had in months. Hope to see you on the next ride.

Trip Map on Google. Not certain about the section from Hengchun to the coast on Day 2.

_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

Joseph Bosco, China-Taiwan specialist, writes in the LATimes, arguing that it is time to end the US ambiguity on defending Taiwan, because it encourages China to attack:
Neither Beijing nor Washington wants war, but as long as China believes the U.S. will ultimately abandon democratic Taiwan to avoid it, the danger of conflict increases.

It is time for U.S. clarity on Taiwan; strategic ambiguity has run its course.

Washington should declare that we would defend democratic Taiwan against any Chinese attack or coercion, and that we also welcome Taiwan's participation in international organizations (starting by inviting President Ma Ying-jeou to Honolulu for the December meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group).

In return, Taiwan must forgo formal independence for now, even though that result is ultimately consistent with American values.

In exchange for China's renouncing force, Washington should also pledge not to recognize formal Taiwan statehood and discourage others from doing so, while also insisting that China's use of force would trigger instant recognition.
Bosco's ultimate outcome is a formalized status quo guaranteed by US force of arms. We already say that we welcome Taiwan's participation in international organizations, so no particular gain there. The problem is that Bosco's American foreign policy community all support the current ECFA/financial integration sellout, on the assumption that (1) everyone will make big bucks and (2) there will be peace. Perhaps the US ought to examine how getting more integrated with China has not led to more peaceful relations between Beijing and Washington.....

PIC: Cool double rainbow over Chiayi last week.
_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

A few weeks ago, it was widely expected that Xu Tiancai 許添財 would follow Yang Qiuxing’s 楊秋興 lead and launch an independent bid for Tainan Mayor. He has instead postponed making an announcement again and again, to the point that it is starting to look doubtful that he actually will run. So while I don’t know what Xu will eventually decide, I’d like to address the reasons that this is not an easy decision for him. Why is Tainan different from Kaohsiung? Why not run?

Let’s start with the parallels. In both Tainan and Kaohsiung, the DPP is expected to easily win a two-way race. Both are in the south, both have been governed by the DPP for over a decade, and both featured divisive primaries in which a two-term incumbent executive lost. From the Taipei-centric vantage point that most observers share, they are almost identical.

Of course, they are actually quite different. Kaohsiung is much more urbanized and industrial. Tainan is much more rural. The urban areas are less urbanized and make up a smaller percentage of the total population than the corresponding urban areas in Kaohsiung. In contrast, the “rural”[i] towns in Tainan are smaller, more rural, more farming, have lower education levels, and have less population mobility. Tainan is much more homogenously Min-nan. Kaohsiung, by contrast, has significant populations of mainlanders (including many affiliated with the military), Hakkas, and aborigines. Politically, the current Tainan County is overwhelmingly pro-DPP, Tainan City and Kaohsiung County are moderately pro-DPP, and Kaohsiung City is about even. As such, the new Tainan City is much more solidly pro-DPP than the new Kaohsiung City.

The races, as revealed in the polls, are shaping up differently, too. In Kaohsiung, the KMT candidate is stunningly weak. The KMT should be able to muster a decent showing there; I’d say that any respectable KMT candidate should be able to defend 40% of the vote. Huang Zhaoshun’s黃昭順 polls (below 15%) suggest that she is far, far below that number. In Tainan, the KMT candidate is doing much better. Guo Tiancai 郭添財got 19% in a recent poll. Since the KMT base is smaller, with a minimally acceptable target being perhaps 35%, Guo is much closer to respectable among the KMT electorate. From Hsu Tiancai’s point of view, this difference is critical. Yang’s strategy in Kaohsiung is to raid the KMT’s pot of votes; the KMT pot in Tainan is (a) much smaller and (b) less vulnerable. Moreover, while Yang is clearly in second place in Kaohsiung, the polls in Tianan show Xu to only be tied with Guo for second place. In other words, while Yang can tell KMT voters that he is the only viable option to defeat the DPP, Xu can’t quite make that argument. In fact, he has to worry about that argument being used against him.

Organizationally, Xu is not in as good of shape as Yang. Xu has wavered for so long about whether he will run that potential allies have already drifted over to the DPP candidate. Of course, his inner circle is still there, but the next layer of the campaign team might have to be rebuilt significantly. With only three months to go, that is a daunting task. Financially, Yang is probably also in better shape. A recent magazine cover featured Yang’s five most important backers. Two were very rich. One was Terry Gou, the richest person in Taiwan. (Increased reliance on this connection might also have something to do with Yang’s recent epiphany about the benefits of closer economic relations with China.) Xu Tiancai probably doesn’t have these kinds of financial resources to draw on. Tainan, after all, isn’t quite the economic powerhouse that Kaohsiung is.

We also have to think about the former president. Xu has been very close to Chen Shuibian since the early 1990s, when Xu was one of the core members of Chen’s Justice faction within the DPP. Chen sent out very strong and clear signals during the primary that Xu was his preferred candidate. While that wasn’t enough to win the primary, Chen is still a major pillar of support for Xu. This is another reason that Yang’s strategy of raiding KMT votes won’t work for Xu. There is far too much animosity among KMT supporters toward Chen to ever think of building a coalition encompassing both. Xu would have to run on the other side of the DPP, positioning himself as the candidate most wary of China (or as the candidate who “loves Taiwan” the most). There might be enough voters in that part of the spectrum in Tainan for a viable campaign, but it’s not obvious that these voters, presumably the most anti-KMT crowd, would be willing to inflict such a blow on the DPP. At any rate, Xu is looking at a very different type of campaign than Yang.

On the other hand, running this sort of campaign wouldn’t necessarily imply political suicide for him the way it does for Yang. Xu would still be on the same side of the political cleavage. While Yang is burning all his bridges to his former DPP supporters, Xu would still look to them like someone who is still “right” on the big issues, if somewhat misguided in how to get there.

If Xu did run, Yang’s presence might work against both of them. Xu would be trying to label the DPP as wishy-washy moderates, while Yang would be trying to paint them as extreme ideologues. They might both fail.

In sum, Xu might still decide to run, but his calculus is very different from Yang’s and there are very good reasons for his caution.

[i] Personally, I think it’s crazy to consider any township with a population density less than 1000 people/kmt2 or a population of less than 50,000 people to be “rural.” To me, there is very little in Taiwan that is actually rural, but that’s obviously subjective.

Yi-wei Chen, the 2010 Miss Globalcity Taiwan winner.

Miss Yi-wei Chen, a 19-yr-old university student from Taichung, Taiwan, was crowned the 2010 Miss Globalcity Taiwan, a beauty and talent competition that has participation in over 100 countries. The beauty and talent competition took place on Saturday, August 21st, in the Tayih Landis Hotel in Tainan, Taiwan, and featured 25 finalists from all around Taiwan. The pageant also featured a competition for the 2010 Mrs. Globalcity Taiwan. The competition was attended by the Mayor of Tainan, a Who’s Who of sponsors, and guests. The pageant will be televised later in the month by ETTV in Taiwan.

One of the most notable aspects of the competition was the commitment taken on by all participants, judges, and sponsors to sign the Earth Charter, to be “green” at home and helping others in their cities understand how to help the environment. The Miss Globalcity Pageant co-founders, Fifi Chang and Jonas V. Ron, adopted the charter, known as “We Can,” for their organization in 2005, and their efforts have spread throughout Taiwan.

Pageant co-founder Fifi Chang congratulated the winner.

After the event concluded Saturday night, Mr. Ron, the CEO, stated, “I am very happy how far the pageant has come, especially compared to the struggles we had during our first year. In our fifth year, most of our sponsors are publicly-traded companies, and we are getting good attention.”

The 5 pageant finalists

The 2010 Miss GlobalCity Taiwan shared her feelings after the event, “I feel so happy and excited. This is so unexpected. First, I just want to return home and spend time with my family and get some rest.”

After catching up on well-deserved rest, Miss Chen will represent the Pageant, travel, and uphold the commitment of the “We Can” charter. She will especially enjoy sharing with school children what can be done to help protect our earth and environment.

The site of the 2010 Miss Globalcity Pageant Taiwan, the Tayih Landis Hotel Tainan.