Premier Liu calls for shoppers to boost economy (Taipei Times
19.10.08 p. 3)
Premier Liu, in the midst of Taiwan's teetering on the brink of economic, social and environmental bankruptcy, stole his cue from George W's comment after 9/11 encouraging Americans not to grieve or reflect, but to consume ("Get down to Disney World in Florida," he urged just over two weeks after 9/11. "Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed.") Wow, what leadership. We never had it so good.
Editorial: Wang Yung-ching: to the very end (Taipei Times 19.10.08 p. 8)
Joining in the incessant blather taking place in Taiwan's media over the death of "one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Taiwan" is an editorial in the Taipei Times talking about the man who is responsible for greater environmental destruction and social disruption, not to mention economic and political corruption, than anyone else in the history of Taiwan. Although I may be seen as inviting his thugs to beat me up again, I say, "How do we love thee Formosa? Let us count the ways!".
Labor regulations should be relaxed for Air City: MOTC (Taipei Times 19.10.08 p. 3)
In the most densely populated country in the world (Bangladesh is not two-third's mountains) we can't seem to shake our love of crowding more and more people into our stressed island. First it was the foreign bride trade, much of it illegal and a cover for slavery, but controlled by well-connected business people, then foreign labor so that we now have nearly 600,000 victims of commodified international marriages or working for employers that are so incompetent that they can not figure out a way to give Taiwanese decent wages and have to depend on government welfare. In the same proposal by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (the ministry with the highest budget and not coincidentally the highest rate of corruption), the quota for hiring Indigenous peoples is proposed to be lowered from 5 percent to 1 percent.