Diplomacy

I recently took a trip to Taiwan sponsored by the Taiwanese Government Information Office in the company of some 11 other journalists from around the world. Larry Luxner, news editor of the Washington Diplomat, was the U.S. contingent. Larry also runs his own photo service and has just posted some pictures from that trip online. […]

Taiwanese, Hakka and the kowtow

Vancouver Sun: Taiwanese stars take the stage
I love this headline. Why? Because according to Beijing’s barbarians in business suits–the Chinese Communist Party–there is no such thing as a "Taiwanese." So the Sun has either purposefully or inadvertently committed a very political act in defense of democracy by using "Taiwanese." From Chapter 2 of Forbidden Nation: […]

Exclusive! Politician gives birth to alien baby

Chen Shui-bian
Photo credit: Kevin Steel

In the middle of his opening remarks at the International Conference on “After the Third Wave: Problems and Challenges for New Democracies”, hosted by the Taiwan Thinktank here in Taipei, Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian started grousing about the local media, calling them irresponsible and noting that something like only one percent […]

Taipei tourist

Greetings from Taipei. It’s 6 AM here on Monday morning and I’ve just about recovered from the 12 hour Canada to Taiwan jet lag. Yesterday was spent touring museums and the countryside, guided by a protocol officer from the Taiwanese government. In a few hours I along with a delegation of international journalists will be […]