iPhone is Heading to Taiwan November 30, 2008
Posted by jasonbarber in China, Taiwan.add a comment
It is no suprise that the iPhone is making it’s way to Taiwan, it is already in 5 other Asian countries. BUT this is still big news being that this is the first country for Apple to enter that uses a Chinese character database. If you think really hard I bet you can figure out what Chinese character using country China would really like to get into. I know mainland China already has tens of thousands of iPhones but now they are coming in Chinese, legally!
Check out a couple of these links to articles:
Past Taiwan President Jailed For Money Laundering November 11, 2008
Posted by jasonbarber in Politics, Taiwan.add a comment
I personally can’t say much being an American. Being financially corrupt is pretty much a given in politics, and presidents have been caught doing much worse. But I also have to say that this news is pretty embarrassing for Taiwan, for Asia and especially for president Shuibian Chen.
Just check out the picture to the right. Is President Chen 9 years old?
His presidency has been written-off as a joke by most Taiwanese as he basically did a good job at nothing other than instigating any and every fight he could with China, do nothing to help the economy, infrastructure or educational systems because he was, as mentioned above, trying to see how far he could push china before they started strafing the northern coast line with missiles. The Taiwanese government used to proudly be able to make a claim as one of the least corrupt nations in Asia if not the world. At least for a brief period of time during and directly following president Jingguo Jiangs run as the first freely elected president of Taiwan. (Interesting fact being that President Jiangs father, Jiang Kai Shek as the west knows him, was one of the most corrupt leaders Asia, as well as the world has ever seen!)
I guess that is besides the fact. My favorite part of the article is when Chen “…held his cuffed hands up for journalists to see and shouted “Political persecution! Long live Taiwan!” My only response being that Taiwan would live a lot longer if people like you would stop embezzling government funds. (Estimated at least $21 million USD) Oh, and I am skipping the “innocent until proven guilty thing, because no one believes you are innocent regardless of what the outcome of the ensuing trial turns out to be.
See the whole AP article at cnn.com here.
Mainland envoy starts historic visit November 3, 2008
Posted by jasonbarber in China, Taiwan.add a comment
If you read an article from the China Daily like this one linked to here it would seem as though the visit of a 60 delegation team from the Mainland to the island of Taiwan has been a smashing success. If you watch or read any Taiwanese news outlet you would see a different story. For lack of a better word there are a lot of “Pissed-off” Taiwanese citizens right now. They already (probably incorrectly) blame new President Ma Yingjiu for being “worthless” at improving the economy, but now a lot of Taiwan’s 23 million people would swear that he has made a pact with Satan himself to secretly hand Taiwan over to China. (Also probably incorrect.)
First an excerpt from the article linked to above by the China Daily and my analysis/response:
TAIPEI — Beijing’s top envoy on Taiwan Monday called for “solving disputes through consultation, and replace confrontation with cooperation”, as he arrived for a historic visit to the island… I am bringing the good wishes of the mainland’s 1.3 billion people to Taiwan’s 23 million compatriots…”
First I thought it was incredibly bold for the envoy to continually use the word “compatriot” throughout his address. The definition of compatriot is “somebody from the same country as another person,” or “a fellow member of a group or organization, especially a military or political one.” Talk about a terrible choice of words. I am also pretty sure by saying “solving disputes through consultation, and replace confrontation with cooperation,” he meant “doing exactly what China says,” “and to replace confrontation with complete and utter humiliating submission.” Clearly a buffoon wrote this speech. I watched it live myself and it indeed was a pathetic “robotic-like-memorized-schpeel” of propaganda that only the Chinese could come-up with.
I am a huge proponent of cross strait economic cooperation, but I swear watching the ignorant and egocentric Chinese government try and deal with the fiery and belligerent Taiwanese is like watching two grade-school students out “Childish” each other. They should hire AQI, and I am not kidding.
Some Taiwanese politician literally put a price on the head Envoy’s literal head of 10,000 NT if someone could hit him with a raw egg. I personally would have chosen a stick of butter, but I think “butter sticking” people is strictly an American teenager thing, and I am not sure if I remember seeing butter in stick form in Taiwan anyways.
China is making such great strides towards becoming a world power, I just hope they don’t mess things up with the Taiwan issue. I also hope that by the time China finally figures out that Taiwan is not nor never has been a part of China, that the people of Taiwan will recognize the people of China not only as neighbors but as literal family members. (They are all ethnic Chinese after all. Well at least most of them.) I love Taiwan and would stand in front of an army tank for them in a flash. But I also would stand-up for China and the wonderful people that make-up that country any day as well. (I dont’ just say that, I stand-up for China all the time) I just hope the two sides realize just how much they need each other before it comes to the point where I need to step in and intervene. I have been back to the gym lately you know!
