tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-159689972009-11-21T17:56:04.254+08:00A Western immigrant's perspective on politics in the Republic of China, Taiwan.Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-16319497518675944362008-05-21T09:28:00.006+08:002008-12-12T15:43:56.691+08:00

When I started this blog three years ago, 陳水扁 Chen Shui-bian had just been re-elected and the DPP was still in relative ascendancy. You’ll have to take me at my word when I say that the English-speaking blogs were generally pro-Chen and pro-DPP, a position that was shared by only half the voting population of the island of Taiwan, that with hindsight was the apex of Chen’s popularity. Occasional

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-28254163101275671312008-01-13T08:30:00.000+08:002008-12-12T15:43:57.287+08:00

Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha. Haha.

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1154358709284650172006-07-31T23:11:00.000+08:002006-07-31T23:13:08.906+08:00

From ESWN, confirmation came today that First Daughter 陳幸妤 Chen Hsing-yu, wife of disgraced First Son-Law 趙建銘 Chao Chien-ming have a taxpayer-financed housekeeper - to the tune of NT$2 million (US$ 375,000). The cover story is that their home is supposedly an official residence of the president. Riiiight.The receipts scandal is picking up steam, as it is becoming apparent that ROC President 陳水扁

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1154098301243467082006-07-28T22:51:00.000+08:002006-07-28T22:55:33.763+08:00

Yet another potential presidential scandal is brewing as news came today that the Ministry of Audit has sent NT$36 million (approx. US$1.1 million) worth of unsupported expense claims by the Presidential Office to the High Prosecutors Office for formal investigation. Accusations are flying again and fingers are pointing (again) at First Lady 吳淑珍 Wu Shu-chen, who is accused of collecting receipts

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1153835727555204682006-07-25T21:55:00.000+08:002006-07-28T22:54:08.686+08:00

The news channels and the China Post brought us the story of student 黎文正 Li Wen-cheng today. Li has been on a hunger strike for some 120 hours at 中正紀念堂 Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei. Li is striking for the resignation of ROC President 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian. The irony here is that student protests were once the hallmark of those who supported the DPP and Chen. Chen’s apparent response

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1153407395795390822006-07-20T22:56:00.000+08:002006-07-20T23:08:04.550+08:00

ESWN, a respected Hong Kong based blog on China, has posted a series of translations from the book Extraordinary Sayings (非常道) by Yu Shicun (余世存). With Chen’s recent ploy for sympathy by having his wife offer to divorce him, this quote from Part 2 stands out:In 1915, Sun Yat-sen and Song Qinglin (宋庆龄) fell in love with each other in Japan. Sun was opposed to the idea of a concubine and he

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1153150393218669822006-07-17T23:33:00.000+08:002006-07-17T23:33:51.116+08:00

Woe to the president of the Republic of China. Never mind the benefits of power that have been reaped by him and his; toss out the scandals dogging him, his wife, and his children; ignore his arrogant and reckless disregard for the welfare of the people of this island - forget all your values and support 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian, because his wife has ‘volunteered’ to divorce him in a pathetic ploy for

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1153148749738939362006-07-17T23:05:00.000+08:002006-07-18T11:40:32.633+08:00

A recent Taipei Times editorial blasted the KMT for hypocrisy and obsequiousness in turning its back on a pan-blue supporter in Mainland China who was recently detained for displaying a KMT and ROC flag in 重慶 Chongqing. Oddly enough, a web search did not uncover the claimed ‘wide coverage in the overseas Chinese-language press’ - as a matter of fact the Taipei Times and Epoch Times were the

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1152803045151227192006-07-13T23:04:00.000+08:002006-07-30T20:52:50.896+08:00

For those of you new to Taiwan, or looking for a quick introduction to the maze that is Taiwan politics, I’ve prepared a short modern political history of the ROC, PRC, China, and Taiwan. This in part a response to the heavily-slanted timeline that is currently at the top of a Google search for “Taiwan History”.If you’re new to Taiwan or just don’t want to wade through page after page of

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1152542400182998282006-07-10T22:33:00.000+08:002006-07-10T22:40:00.216+08:00

'Nuff said.[Taiwan] [ROC] [Taiwan Corruption] [Chen Shui-bian]

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1152540347073903782006-07-10T22:05:00.000+08:002006-07-11T19:04:20.293+08:00

Breaking news in Taiwan as ROC President 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian’s son-in-law 趙建銘 Chao Chien-ming was officially charged today. Although he is still under investigation in several other matters, he was charged with insider trading today by the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office, facing eight years in prison. Chen has been held since May 25th and missed the birth of his son while in custody last week

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1152260299281291172006-07-07T16:18:00.000+08:002006-07-07T21:14:44.383+08:00

Political news in Taiwan has been quiet over the past few weeks, with little of interest to comment on - 90 degree weather tends to sap even Taiwan’s politicians of the energy to fight.As expected, PFP chairman 宋楚瑜 James Soong’s pet motion to impeach the president failed miserably after KMT chairman 馬英九 Ma Ying-jeou poured some cold water on his efforts and mathematics prevailed. Ma managed to

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1150993604433522212006-06-23T00:26:00.001+08:002006-06-23T07:48:57.013+08:00

The pro-green Taipei Times has been trotting out a steady stream of editorials criticizing the motion to recall the president, with headlines that include “Don’t undermine our democracy“, ”Pan-blue recall bid a sick joke“ and ”When silence is not golden“. One might think that the island was under some real threat, rather than facing an attack on the hegemony of some unoriginal political

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1150380426924892832006-06-15T22:07:00.000+08:002006-06-15T22:24:06.690+08:00

With ROC President 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian’s popularity in a nosedive, both sides of the political divide in Taiwan are looking to the future for some sign of hope. Unfortunately, the silver lining in this cloud is proving hard to find. The DPP’s seemingly endless Taipei mayoral election problems point to stormy waters ahead.Former 謝長廷 Premier Frank Hsieh has been the expected candidate since nearly

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1150122240483364882006-06-12T22:24:00.000+08:002006-06-15T22:16:37.460+08:00

In a confusing, if not confused, response to the talk of presidential recall going around, embattled ROC president 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian claimed in an e-letter that the recall was an 'oppression of justice’. Chen’s rhetoric accused the KMT of such classics as "naked political interference in the judiciary process," "oppression of the justice system," and of conducting a "Chinese cultural revolution

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1149950443600950332006-06-10T22:40:00.000+08:002006-06-10T22:51:20.703+08:00

This isn’t a photoblog, but I came across this interesting image spray-painted on a wall in the 師大 Shi-Da night market area today.And the newest fad in Taipei, and perhaps in Taiwan, are ‘2260’ T-shirts. 2260 is First Son-in-law 趙建銘 Chao Chien-ming’s prisoner number. I’m not sure what exactly the symbol is supposed to represent - perhaps the frustration and outrage over the scandal, which

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1149783915249194142006-06-09T22:10:00.000+08:002006-06-09T22:10:54.150+08:00

KMT legislator 邱毅 Chiu Yi has effectively been prevented from giving a speech in China, after making public comments. Chiu is apparently something of a hero on the mainland, where he is credited with exposing the corruption that dogs the administration. He’s been labeled by some as the ‘king of exposes’ and seems to be in the news just about every other day with some new tidbit. He’s not liked

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1149518381257404702006-06-05T22:39:00.000+08:002006-06-05T22:51:36.616+08:00

With the arrest of First Son-in-law 趙建銘 Chao Chien-ming dogging him, current ROC president 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian has ‘ceded his powers’ to Premier 蘇貞昌 Su Tseng-chang. Chen’s made big deal out of giving up his powers - powers that he doesn’t even have. Poor A-bien is going to go hide in a corner of the Presidential Building feel sorry for himself. Plus he’s going to self-criticize some more (that’s

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1148912579550953972006-05-29T22:22:00.000+08:002006-05-29T22:30:12.943+08:00

While the arrest of current ROC president 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian’s son-in-law 趙建銘 Chao Chien-ming is dominating the headlines, a second, more confusing scandal has come out involving the hapless, scandal-plagued 高速鐵路即將通車 Taiwan High Speed Rail project. From what I can make out, the high-speed rail will pass through the Souther Taiwan Science Park and make a lot of noise. The Ministry of

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1148486196283127532006-05-25T09:45:00.000+08:002006-06-10T22:44:04.596+08:00

Current ROC president 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian’s son-in-law 趙建銘 Chao Chien-ming was brought in for questioning Wednesday morning in connection with the stock scandal and hasn’t been released. Mom’s house was raided this morning. He’s now in the Taipei District Courthouse, likely in front of a judge facing a request for detention, a precursor to formal charges being filed. UPDATE: Chao was formally

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1148484330642489082006-05-25T00:25:00.000+08:002006-05-24T23:43:45.156+08:00

The Government Information Office recently launched a staggeringly clueless campaign for international recognition of Taiwan through the WHO, ahead of the annual meeting of the organization this week. ROC president 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian’s idea-bankrupt administration continues to rely on a ‘guilt-based’ foreign policy approach with little regard to its repeated failures in garnering international

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1148305377062539352006-05-22T21:42:00.000+08:002006-05-22T22:09:27.496+08:00

With ROC president 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian's return from his leisurely jaunt around the world, Jerome Keating has begun an online protest of the ‘unequal treatment’ Taiwan receives from the US. Other pro-green bloggers such as Michael Turton have expressed their support, and the Taipei Times mimics the letter in a recent scare-mongering editorial. The Carnegie Foundation presents one of the

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1147966322100285942006-05-19T18:03:00.000+08:002006-05-22T21:57:38.756+08:00

Priceless phrases today as the DPP’s legislative caucus turned on current ROC president 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian’s son-in-law, 趙建銘 Chao Chien-ming, who is embroiled in a stock scandal. They refused to defend Chao, saying, “They just like to twist the law in order to obtain bribes,” and that no DPP lawmakers could defend the family because no one knew the truth. Long gone are the days of blind faith

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1147691864699091122006-05-15T19:17:00.000+08:002006-05-15T19:22:54.380+08:00

Oh, the hapless Chen family is at it again. Current ROC president 陳水扁 Chen Shui-Bian must be pulling his hair out at the welcome home present that his son-in-law just gave him. Ever-vigilant KMT Legislator 邱毅 Chiu Yi, in one of those news conferences that Chen has been ranting about, accused Chen’s son-in-law, 趙建銘 Chao Chien-ming, of insider trading. Prosecutors have started investigating in the

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15968997.post-1147346571254186812006-05-11T19:22:00.000+08:002006-05-11T19:26:58.970+08:00

Experts say KMT chairman 馬英九 Ma Ying-jeou’s opposition to the recent discussion about a constitutional amendment may deepen division between him and Legislative Yuan president 王金平 Wang Jin-pyng, a pan-blue ‘heavyweight’ who lost the KMT chairmanship election to Ma last year.DPP supporters are gleefully shouting ”fire“ at the smoke, desperate for some break in the rising tide of support for the

Taiwan's Other Sidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09502176430536810488noreply@blogger.com3