New Taipei City so happy

"New Taipei City so happy" is printed on the banner.

It is amusing in what way English is used here in Taiwan in advertisements. Well, they get the message across somehow. Although Taipei, being dominated by the ethnic Chinese here in Northern Taiwan is still a gray, depressing area of concrete almost without green and with hardly any sidewalks, the city has surely improved since 2004, when I arrived here.
In 2004, the space between two buildings was often used as a nice little garbage dump and in the moist environment mosquitoes could breed well and an ugly smell was penetrating the roads and buildings. Also people used their front yard or their balcony occasionally as another private garbage dump, where rotten foodstuff was sending a corpse-like smell into the air. Most of that has vanished since the SARS epidemic a while back as the city started to clean up, probably afraid of new sicknesses developing itself in the midst of the city.

It is getting better, yet there is still a lot to be done. Says the wise-ass foreigner.

The two politicians are from the pro-Chinese Kuomintang party which is said to be heavily engulfed with organized crime in Taipei, but actually the opposition is no better. Still democracy here is better than the dictatorship they have on the other side of the Taiwan strait. So I hope those two take the boxing gloves off. Can't really tidy up stuff wearing such gloves.

Formosa betrayed

My favorite movie review site is rogerebert.com and recently Roger Ebert has also reviewed the movie "Formosa Betrayed" which deals with our beloved little island called Formosa or Taiwan or (speaking of the political organization) you might call it "Republic of China" or "ROC" or "The Roc*k" or whatever.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100317/REVIEWS/100319985

The movie takes places in the 80's, when Taiwan was still a dictatorship under rule of the KMT party and Chiang Kai Shek's son Chiang Shin Kuo (no idea if the spelling is correct) was at the steering wheel. He gets worshiped as some kind of freedom hero here in Northern Taiwan nowadays, where people follow the KMT with great majority. All he did was to make it a little more difficult to get into the jails and Gulags and a little easier to get out. Well, that's something, isn't it? He was married to a Russian lady and when she died recently (little Chiang is long dead) some people here were crying!

Deadly affairs in the presidential palace: Formosa betrayed (this is not from the movie though:-)

Well, even though the little dictator's son may have been a hero there was a quite gruesome story on which this movie is based: An exile Taiwanese living in the US had reported (newspaper?) about an extra-martial affair of the President Chiang Jr. and consequently he was murdered by thugs sent over from Taiwan. I don't know what the movie exactly says about this story, but Mr. Ebert calls it a "thriller with a mission" and doesn't rate it too high. He is asking one interesting question at the end of his review:

Why did we promise to defend Taiwan with nuclear weapons but refuse to recognize it as a sovereign nation?

Well, movies like this are interesting even if you don't watch them just because they lead to such questions.

Taiwan being steered towards China, next step (judical system)

The China-friendly KMT party, which rules Taiwan since 2008, is taking another step in changing Taiwan's (formerly rather Western style democratic) system to make it more China-compatible. New laws in Taiwan will put defense attorneys in a dangerous position. As in China as well, Taiwanese attorneys are will be "with one foot already in jail" if the new proposals for adjustments to the criminal code of Taiwan will become law. See here: http://www.usasialaw.org/?p=2630
One example: if a defendant claims his pre-trial testimonial would have been coerced by the police and the court subsequently rejects it, then his attorney(!) can see jail time for "obstruction of justice". And there are many more opportunities to charge the attorney with obstruction of justice. Guilty as charged will be the new rule of thumb in Taiwan soon.

Political punching bags

Don't miss this one: yet another fight in the Taiwanese parliament. This time about the "Local government act": http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1244255/Taiwanese-MPs-massive-brawl-parliamentary-debate.html#ixzz0d2FFwWrm
Can't really tell from the images who is winning...

This may be funny, but as this discussion (http://forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=85372) indicates, the new "local gov. act" allows KMT (this party rules Taiwan currently) officials to stay in power in their local town hall offices even if they do not get reelected. Sounds like the pro-Chinese KMT government is looking for new ways to circumvent democracy in Taiwan to prepare for a union of Taiwan and China.

One KMT politician complained he was bitten by a member of the opposition. Yeah, sharpen your teeth guys!

Local Elections in Taiwan: pro-Chinese could defend their position

English: Good news for Beijing, the ruling pro-Chinese KMT-Party could basically defend their position in the local elections, even if the (pro-independence*) opposition DPP made some gains. The pro-DPP Taipei Times makes the gains of the DPP look bigger though (LINK). Obviously the DPP still has not recovered from the mega-corruption scandal of its last president Chen. The way to reunion with China is paved with votes.

*Note: Taiwan is already an independent democratic Nation.

Funny note: in one village, all three candidates were from the KMT, there were no other candidates there, and all three are in jail for vote-buying. Could be from a Star Trek Ferengi episode.... http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/12/08/2003460442

Deutsch: Die prochinesische regierende KMT konnte bei den Kummunalwahlen in Taiwan von diesem Wochenende ihre Position im Westentlichen verteidigen, wenn auch mit Verlusten. Einen massiven Rutsch nach Unten gab es nicht, womit klar ist, dass sich die oppositionelle DPP, die für die Beibehaltung der schon vorhandenen Unabhängigkeit des demokratischen Taiwans eintritt, sich noch immer nicht von ihrem Mega-Korruptionsskandal vom letzten DPP-Präsidenten Chen erholt hat.

Weiterlesen: Ein deutscher Journalist empfiehlt in seinem Taiwan-Blog einen Spiegel-Artikel über Taiwan und die Beziehung zu China. Sehr interessant.

Lustig: In einem Dörfchen sind alle drei Kandidaten (dort traten nur drei KMT-Kandidaten gegeneinander an, sonst niemand!) wegen Verdacht auf Stimmenkauf in Haft genommen worden. Könnte aus einer Star Trek Ferengi-Episode sein ;-)
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/12/08/2003460442

Island for Sale (ad?)

EDIT: Damnit, wee here from the Taiwan information ministemisery have made spelling mistakes again....

Further reading: horse and tiger exchanging messages

Ludigel says...

The German Spiegel maganzine is writing: "There is an Arabian sense of humor since 9/11" (Link: http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/gesellschaft/0,1518,625461,00.html)

LUDIGEL says: I thought 9/11 was Arabian humor.

China slowly sneaking in...

ENGLISH: (German below, Deutsch unten!)

Let's hope this is just a story made up by the (non-China-friendly) opposition: LINK

The story from the Taipei times asserts, the Taiwan government would prepare to have mainland China policemen (so, police officers from the People's Republic of China) being stationed in Taiwan.'

The Orks are coming! (photo from company server, but not so cute this time)

Oh, great times ahead. Our pro-Chinese president Ma already made an economic union with China and next step will be "political talks". Well, I really hope this isn't true, I really really would not want to live in a country where I have to deal with Mainland China police.

And I have an allergy. You know, once they put these electrodes on me I get a skin irritation and tingle there.

That song starts playing in my head again "Hit the road, Jack...."
With the People's Police and the People's liberation army (I guess that might be next) coming, I guess it's time for a farewell party for our little Taiwan democracy.

Was fun with you. Will miss you. Sort of.

[Right now this might be a scare of the opposition and not true. But I guess it will only be a couple of years to become reality]

Further reading: recommended read on China and Taiwan


German, Deutsch:

Scheinbar plant die chinafreundliche Regierung Taiwans, chinesische Polizisten in Taiwan zu stationieren, sicher der Anfang vom Ende der Demokratie. Statt meinen eigenen schon resignatorischen Beitrag mühevoll zu übersetzen, lest einfach DIESEN HIER, von Klaus, einem hamburger Journalisten, der Taiwan gut kennt.

New orders from Bejing! Praise the regional administrator!

New orders from Bejing! Praise the regional administrator!
No, it is premature to post such statements yet, however the recent editorial of the pro-KMT (the KMT is Taiwan's present governing party and became pro-Bejing recently) newspaper "The Chinapost" might indicate the tide of time is changing soon: LINK

In this weird article (please keep in mind, this is a Taiwanese newspaper writing about Taiwan), the editor has the strange thesis, Taiwan (which is actually called "Republic of China" by its formal name) would never have been meant to be a democracy, but rather a republic. The whole way of deducting this is strange, the logic of the article seems to be twisted to the point of being insane. It seems the author did not even understand the fundamental definitions of a republic or a democracy and seems to think, both might be mutually exclusive or whatever.

"waiting" Click to enlarge, photo: Ludigel

The article ends with the suggestion to preserve Taiwan (the Republic of China) as a republic and not as a democracy, as it was meant by its founding father Dr. Sun Yat Sen. A strange statement as Dr. Sun Yat Sen was an advocate of Chinese democracy and often in combat about this with his successor Chiang Kai Check.

Is this satyric? Is this an ironic post of a disgruntled editor in chief? Or did the staff of the Chinapost receive .... new orders from Bejing?

"Hey guys, let's write a nasty article against democracy, after all we will reunite soon!"

Whatever... or the editor had been smoking the wrong mushrooms again...

Surreal Taiwan

homepage teichert-online.de( ) , Formosablog(X), Techblog( )

Taiwan street dog rescue ( )

surreal Taiwan: click to enlarge (photo Ludigel)

Taiwan seems surreal to me at times. The former president is in jail after having stolen a lot of state assets (wife and he have confessed recently a part of the illegal money transfers to Switzerland), he is shown on TV where is recently has developed a silly "duck walk" as an exercise in the jailhouse park. His wife who seemingly did not have her hair done for quite a while playing the martyr, sitting in her wheelchair and making a cry face to the camera, but wearing a huge diamond ring on her finger. Her daughter being chased on the streets by Taiwanese press mobs, even in New York City, always red-eyed, shouting at the press and seeming like a nuke before the explosion. The daily chubby guy always at lunch time on TV accusing the family of the ex-president of the crimes we all know about, a comical look in his eyes as if he doesn't take the whole thing serious. One time someone really took away his hair piece, he obviously is bald beneath it. Everybody chasing him, having the scalp in his hand.

Meanwhile we have the new president Ma ("Horse" in English) selling out the country to China, he avoids even calling it "Taiwan" and calls it a region of China instead. But the old president wasn't any better. Taiwan is fun, best is to have a good laugh and not take things too serious.

Surely, Peking style capitalistic-communism with authoritarian rule will be funny somehow as well...

click to enlarge (photo Ludigel)