2014 - 3rd Quarter
Taiwan Independence and the Name, Republic of China?
In the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, vexed with questions of family loyalty vs. her love for a Montague, Juliet asks the provocative question. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Her thoughts and interest of course go far beyond the relationship between nomenclature and the characteristics of flowers. In ...
Two Great Anomalies of Taiwan's Identity
The nation of Taiwan is again preparing for a big democratic election. This one will be held on November 29 and whether one calls it seven in one or nine in one, a lot is involved and at stake. Many feel that this election could be seen as a bell-weather for the coming presidential elections in 2016 as well as ...
High Class Mainlanders or Low Class Thieves?
One obviously cannot and should not tar all Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members with the same brush but two recent happenings continue to reveal the deep-rooted problems that Taiwan both had and still has with the KMT. The first of which is the shameless efforts of Kuo Kuan-ying to scrounge a few dollars more for his retirement fund; at first ...
More than Facts: Taiwan's Challenge of Finding National Identity
History is a challenging subject; it is facts and happenings, but it is a lot more. The selection, emphasis, and presumed causation of those facts as well as their interpretation and meaning are where the complexity and challenge reside. For Taiwanese two recent and concurrent events once again have illustrated the gigantic divide that it, Taiwan, must still overcome in ...
Zhang Zhijun's Ironic Visit
The visit of Zhang Zhijun, head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) has come and gone and it drew its share of attention. It was the first visit of someone at his level in cross-strait affairs and a step above the previous visits of Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS). Visits of the ...
Taiwan's Own 'Game of Thrones'
It's summer, and as numerous TV networks debate which summer re-runs will precede their fall series, HBO is already ahead of the game. Its extremely popular and highly lucrative series, Game of Thrones, has just completed its 4th season and is signed on for another two; this guarantees its expectant viewers many more dramatic action-packed episodes of struggles for power ...
The Leveling of the Political Playing Field in Taiwan
The November Nine-in-One elections draw near, and Ma Ying-jeou is staggering into the remaining years of his second and final term as president of Taiwan. For the past six years he has been working feverishly hard on both image and legacy. But now despite his efforts and Public Relations (PR) he faces an unexpected and unwanted result. Unknowingly, unintentionally and ...
The Soil of the Sunflowers, 4 decades, 4 books
The Occupation of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan (LY) by the Sunflower Movement is past. As the Ma government regroups, what repercussions there will be on those involved remains to be seen just as how much government transparency there will be in the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) also remains to be realized. Both are issues to watch. One thing is clear, ...