Letters from a tense Thailand

By Kevin MacCash (listen to his music here) Jan 23. Phuket is like Detroit. A city they built for a population that isn’t coming anymore. A faded beauty. Since the protests started the people are coming less and less and since they declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and

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Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim tackling some tough questions

By Trista di Genova / The Wild East, political beat The Breakfast Club really outdid itself this time, inviting DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-Khim (蕭美琴) to speak at its monthly gathering on July 27. Hsiao discussed the life and work of Taiwan legislators and addressed major issues facing the foreign community,

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Corruption of secretary-general undermines entire Ma administration: opposition

By Tsuei Hsiao-hu / The Wild East / Politics Tuesday, 3 July, 2012 With his face covered by a gauze mask, an expressionless Lin Yi-shih (林益世) was spirited by cover of night into the back seat of an unmarked police vehicle among a crowd of outraged onlookers. Members of the

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A Chance to Meet Congressman Honda in Taiwan

The Wild East / news staff A good congressman is rare. It’s also exceedingly rare for US Congressmen to visit Taiwan. And it almost never happens that ordinary people can meet good congressmen in Taiwan. But there will be a confluence of these factors on Sunday April 8, when Democrats

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Why is the US twisting arms over beef imports to Taiwan?

This is a question on everyone’s mind these days: Why is the US so seemingly desperate to dump its offal onto Taiwan consumers, with or without the ‘leanness’ (growth hormone) drug, ractopamine? It would seem that substantial U.S. economic interests as well as the Taiwan government’s attempts to safeguard future

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‘Horse eats Grass’ (馬吃蔡): Ma gets re-elected

POLITICS / The Wild East As W.E. predicted, KMT President Ma Ying-jeou won a fairly close election against DPP challenger Tsai Ing-wen. With a 74% turnout rate, Ma won with about 780,000 votes, or 4-5 percent over Tsai, 51.5% to her 45.6%. In Tsai’s concession speech, she resigned as DPP

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Predicting who will be Taiwan’s new president

POLITICS / The Wild East Tomorrow is a big day for the people of Taiwan. There is no such thing as a ‘vote from abroad’ here, so all 23 million people, if they want to vote, must travel to their hometown. This makes it difficult for some to vote, particularly

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Chinese Python Swallowing the Taiwan Frog

OPINION / By Linda Arrigo (permission to republish; originally here) The New York Times editorial, “To Save Our Economy, Ditch Taiwan”, has raised my hackles – I always warned Taiwanese independence advocates that the US would sell them out, and here it is literal. I have not been following the

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THE SOCIAL ORIGINS OF THE TAIWAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT: THE MAKING OF FORMOSA MAGAZINE, 1979

THE SOCIAL ORIGINS OF THE TAIWAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT: THE MAKING OF FORMOSA MAGAZINE, 1979 by Linda Gail Arrigo original July 1981; revised March 1992 PREFACE This article was completed in July 1981, and is reproduced here slightly abridged but unaltered in substance. Written for a Taiwanese-American audience that idolized the

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Obama's 50th Birthday Mixer Aug. 4th @ Carnegie's

Come meet some kindred spirits and cool compatriots at this birthday party! Democrats Abroad Taiwan will be hosting a birthday party to celebrate President Obama’s 50th on the mezzanine at Carnegie’s from 7-9pm Thursday Aug. 4th. The event is open to all, and there is no cover charge, although donations

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