Taiwan Link Roundups

Weekly Links – November 26, 2009

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:34:01 -0800

Happy Thanksgiving! Short list today:

A Hungry Girl announces the 2009 Best of Taipei Restaurants Readers’ Favorites Poll.
Sunpluggers on Kaohsiung’s Solar Stadium [HT: Hear in Taiwan].
James Tung visits the Heritage and Culture Education Center of Taipei City.
Daniel Carruthers cycles up Xiaogetou.
Taiwan Flavors visits Jiufen.
Problems continue for the Taipei Wenhu MRT line - try changing the name again.
The Taiwan Link covers Bill Owens’s editorial advocating the abandonment of the Taiwan Relations Act.
Updates on independence activist Su Beng’s condition.

Weekly Links – November 19, 2009

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:37:07 -0800

Michael Turton with some inspiring thoughts on biking. He also posts links on Mondays.
Looking to get a tattoo? Carrie recommends Needle No. 8 Tattoo Studio.
Wandering Taiwan wanders through Danshui.
Craig and Darren with photos from a photowalk along Dihua Street.
Shu Flies goes to one of the coolest places in Taipei: Taiwan Storyland.
Rachel visits Puli.
Patrick Cowsill gets a credit card.
Jim does some sightseeing in Taichung.
Stu hikes to Tapung Fort.
Mutant Frog covers the recent American beef protests. One protester has gone so far to say that eating Taiwanese cow dung is safer than American beef.
INDIAC with the fifth letter on the erosion of justice in Taiwan.
The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato covers ramifications of opening Taiwanese universities to Chinese students.

EVENT: Basic Aid Music and Art Festival in Puli Nov. 20-22.

Daily Links, Nov 16th, 2009

Michael Turton — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:46:00 -0800

I snapped this picture of a couple in a string store winding some of the product, yesterday in Lukang. What's being unwound on the blogs today?

Mark interviews about a new Flickr tool and some excellent Taiwan pics.
Dan Bloom's interview of the girl who plans to kiss 100 Frenchmen.
As Ben points out, the constant iteration of "economics before politics" in the China negotiations is mere political theatre.
Steve on Puli's paper church.
Insider trading in the Taiwan stock market. Shocked, I tell you.
IslaFormosa on the discount airline Air Asia.
David continues his series on great Taiwan blogs.
Global Voices on Foreigners and banks in Taiwan.
J Michael on the passing of a friend of Taiwan, James Lilley. And on "Sorry, they're Chinese."
Taiwan Matters! on another open letter from the scholars to Ma on the erosion of justice in Taiwan.
Taiwan Baseball on MLB teams in Taiwan.
Craig with lovely Photowalk photos.
Horrible hamburgers in Taiwan.
Save the Taiwan Dolphins on Dolphins in the Taipei Times, with links
A discussion of China's new missile aimed at US carriers.
Taiwan, the alternative China.

MEDIA: Share your thoughts on Obama's visit to Asia via video with the NYTimes. NTU President says Taiwan students are slackers, not like in his day when they had to walk 40 kilometers to school in a typhoon every day, uphill both ways. With the election weeks away, vote buying is off to a rousing start. Taipei has 355 mental patients on the loose. The remainder are safely penned up in the legislature. The Korean model beats the West -- yes, it's true, one crisis proves that western models have failed. Taiwan and China ink the financial pact, can't wait to see how the KMT gave away the house this time. Enough concessions on Taiwan, says Japanese diplomat. Spineless president, spineless citizens, says Peng Ming-min. How to appease China without really trying. Another piece on Japan's approaching fiscal doomsday. John Tkacik argues for a free trade agreement between US and Taiwan, though the idea that the US could have sold 600K cars annually since 2004 in Taiwan is laughable -- in 2006 only 366K units were sold in Taiwan, in total. Philippines politician says RP should expand ties with Taiwan. I just love this headline: "Taiwan's environmental agency to stop illegal dumping" -- why is the EPA involved in illegal dumping? Another one of Peter Harmsen's excellent pieces on Taiwan for AFP, this one on baseball. One of the great things about writing about Taiwan in international publications is that you don't need to get any of your facts right.

MEDIA STUPIDITY: ^&#%^&!@#%!!! BBC, Reuters, AFP, and other news organizations breathlessly report the KMT propaganda on "new questions" in the assassination attempt on Chen, without a word of skepticism or any revisiting of things like the CIB's refutation of absurd claims that the shooting was staged. I tried to think of a witty thing to say here, but in the face of the world media exhibiting a collective IQ of 13, snark shrivels. ADDED: BBC images from the shooting.

RECOVERING: Send warm thoughts my friend Dan Bloom's way, he is getting over a recent heart attack.
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[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!

Weekly Links – November 12, 2009

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:24:46 -0800

David introduces some great Taiwan blogs.
Darren gets the Daily Someone back up to date: Part I and Part II.
Shu Flies takes a look at plus-size clothing stores in Taipei.
Neil Wade goes river tracing in Hualian.
The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato on his experiences with Chinese tourists in Taiwan.
Letters from Taiwan with three examples of illogical legal cases.
The Battle of Fisherman’s Wharf looks at how Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands were ceded to Japan.
Hear in Taiwan with the story of the Hsinchih Trio.
Wild at Heart covers the expansion of science parks.

EVENTS: Taiwan Band Festival Nov. 14 in Taipei. Dihua Street Photowalk led by Craig Ferguson Nov. 15. The 2009 Nantou Flower Festival will be hosting several events this month and next month.

Daily Links, Nov 9, 2009

Michael Turton — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:56:00 -0800

The island's best food? Perhaps in terms of flavor/value, it's the Vietnamese and Thai places that cluster around industrial districts. Here's the $60 shredded papaya at the Vietnamese place across from the industrial processing zone in Tanzi just north of Taichung.

I'd love to be blogging more, but I've just been swamped, it's never been like this before.

BLOGS:

Lin Yi-hsiung to lead march around Taiwan demanding referendum on ECFA sell out.
Ben excellently responds to my post on education.
Wild at Heart on the EPA's approval of the expansion of the science parks.
Michael C rides Yangmingshan
J Michael travels with parents in Taiwan and looks darkly upon spetznatz possibilities here.
Big in Asia with great black and white pics.
Jerome looks at soft power for Taiwan
The Real Taiwan looks at one of the stages in expat life: setting up your own marketing company through better English. Does this stage come before or after the one where you plan to open a mini-golf place?
Taoyuan Nights looks at worsening economic predictions.
Taiwan Matters! with a great piece on the Berlin Wall and democracy here.
The 1973 edition of Taiwan Report, given to newcomers in the US armed forces in Taiwan.
Nigerian 419 scam, dead Chinese spy variant.
Global Voices looks at Taiwan: issues of identity.
Told ya Taiwan Gold Medal is the stuff.

This week President Ma was in Nantou with Premier Wu Den-yih, stumping for local politicians. Premier Wu has old Nantou connections and is a canny political player in local politics. He was featured here on this sign forming "public construction's iron triangle" (as the sign says) with two local candidates. No other national KMT figure was on a sign with any local KMTer, and President Ma was conspicuous by his absence. Nothing shows his decline in popularity better: in 2004 Ma was on many local candidates' signs. The sign also signals that with the close connections to the Premier, public construction funding will flow into Nantou to feed and water local patronage networks.

MEDIA: Taiwan's Supreme Court strikes down hugely unfair law under which it was legal to buy the services of a prostitute, but illegal to be one. Excellent piece from former AIT head Nat Bellocchi on Obama's coming visit to China. Chinese diplomat says US and Chinese reps are negotiating a "new intellectual framework" for US-China relations. Peng Ming-min, longtime democracy campaigner here, warns Ma that a Nobel for a peace agreement would be a sellout. Taitung Shaman school thrives. WSJ says Taiwan exports may resume growth in November, good news if true. Taiwan grounds nine Mirage fighters due to lack of parts. Taiwan's consumer prices fall, again. KMT buries 2-28 museum opening in 100th anniversary of ROC celebrations. Quake last week followed by 100 aftershocks. Taiwan Food show has special halal section.

The cute sign for Nangang ("south port") in landlocked Nantou far from the ocean, next to an advertisement for a local politician.

VIDEOS: Want a demure pair for work? An awesome pair for play? Try this inflatable bra.

Two candidates for the Nantou County Council. The top one identifies her as a KMT candidate for the council for Yuchih, Shuili, Hsinyi, and Jiji, and says: "Caring Even More, Going an even greater distance to serve" while the bottom booms out: "Busting up clan politics!" and "nepotism".
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[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!