coComments related to fiLi

Absolutely brilliant! :)

2009-02-26T06:53:32.740+01:00

Absolutely brilliant! :)

מעניין.לא שמתי לב עד עכשיו.

2009-02-24T13:32:46.894+01:00

מעניין.לא שמתי לב עד עכשיו.

safrina - really depends on wh

2009-02-24T06:22:50.749+01:00

safrina - really depends on what you're into and how much time you have. Check http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/ for some of their highlights. There are some nice museums (History, Science, Coastal Defense) and parks (HK Zoo, HK Park), the Ngong Ping and Big Buddha are terrific, shopping at Monkok is always interesting and Ocean-Park/Disney-World are obviously great for families. Most of those are within the Central/Kowloon area.

Saurabh - It's easy to be nega

2009-02-23T15:01:46.241+01:00

Saurabh - It's easy to be negative but you haven't provided any alternative method to rank universities, which leaves your claim for Asian superiority unsupported. As long as Asian academics relies on western rankings rather than offer a valid debatable alternative, I'm afraid all you can do is ramble on...

Christy Li - Can't really reme

2009-02-23T03:53:46.354+01:00

Christy Li - Can't really remember what you're referring to, but - sure. I enjoy following your blog.

Fish - sure, I'd like that. Fe

2009-02-23T03:52:42.379+01:00

Fish - sure, I'd like that. Feel free to email me directly.

Liz - as sent it to you by ema

2009-02-22T22:02:20.771+01:00

Liz - as sent it to you by email through my friend : The Chinese Christian congregation in Jerusalem is close to the old city, and it's address is 25 Shivtei Israel. The weekly gathering is on Friday afternoons, around 6-7pm. Enjoy your visit.

Fish - no, I don't keep Kosher

2009-02-22T21:56:40.050+01:00

Fish - no, I don't keep Kosher. Some Israelis do, some Israelis don't, but when it comes to Taiwan, I'd say that there aren't many Israelis/Jewish there and that the few that are there are probably not keeping Kosher. With that said, Taiwan is probably one of the easier places to keep Kosher as the strict veggy Buddhaist places can be found everywhere and are generally clearly marked. There is some really terrific veggy food in Taiwan that you can trust a 100% is really veggy. The Taiwanese are very understanding when it comes to religious attitudes about food. If you're really after Kosher food, Landis Taipei still has a local Rabbi that imports food from abroad. If someone wants Kosher meat, that would probably be the best way to do it.

Very interesting...

2009-02-20T12:32:05.030+01:00

Very interesting...

Wen - A bit awkward, but I nat

2009-02-20T12:25:21.114+01:00

Wen - A bit awkward, but I naturally appreciated the gesture and their spirits. As for my mother's Hebrew song, I leave it up to her to decide if she wants it up on the net or not. ;)

Lucien - Yeah, I've heard a li

2009-02-20T12:22:59.991+01:00

Lucien - Yeah, I've heard a little about that side. It's interesting that most leading Buddhist organizations were started by relatively unknown monks from Mainland China that came here with the KMT and grew into being world known and extremely wealthy.

I'd say that's not very typica

2009-02-19T17:20:57.414+01:00

I'd say that's not very typical of Taiwan. I've been in Taiwan for a long time and I've rarely seen a girl wear anything daring (aside from Betelnut girls, ofcourse). There are always, naturally, exceptions.

Karen - yeah, I was taking my

2009-02-19T15:18:19.227+01:00

Karen - yeah, I was taking my mom around and we were on a tight schedule. I'd be happy to hear your (honest) impressions of the holocaust museum. You might want to tell them you're coming beforehand. Take a look at the New Years party they invites us to in a later post. Yijung - I'm sure there are some buses going there. The tourist office next to the train station might be a good place to ask. It's real countryside, endless rice fields and very simple folks. A nice get-away from the hustle of living in a city.

Michael - you guys make a real

2009-02-19T15:15:30.985+01:00

Michael - you guys make a really gorgeous couple. Great photos. (I just adore cross-cultural marriages :$).

Jean - it's a name.

2009-02-19T09:22:06.910+01:00

Jean - it's a name.

Anonymous - I wasn't there, a

2009-02-19T06:47:36.833+01:00

Anonymous - I wasn't there, a local friend took my mom to tour the place (hence "Wen"). She was very impressed. ^_^ I hope I'll have the chance to visit there next time I'm in Taiwan. Still a few places left I need to see.

Carrie - thanks. Yeah, all is

2009-02-14T10:45:50.144+01:00

Carrie - thanks. Yeah, all is well so far on the other side of the strait.

Eva - that's great. Thanks for

2008-09-09T03:21:08.450+02:00

Eva - that's great. Thanks for sharing that.

Tim - Thanks.

2008-09-08T13:05:13.521+02:00

Tim - Thanks.

Cristy Li - your blog is very

2008-09-04T03:48:20.738+02:00

Cristy Li - your blog is very interesting and it's the first time I find something slightly similar to my blog in that it combines a bit of Taiwan, China and Israel (with US politics :P). I'm an Israeli in Taiwan, but I couldn't quite figure out your background. Would be happy to hear more about that. :)

cat - this where you and him w

2008-09-04T03:29:25.681+02:00

cat - this where you and him would have a long serious debate and he would, as any good green would, highly degree with you on what you call "commonest knowledge of history". You're a big fan of Wikipedia, right? here's about the Taiwan treaty : The Republic of China, however, enacted a separate Treaty of Taipei with Japan on April 28,1952 just hours before the Treaty of San Francisco went into effect, which acknowledged the terms of the San Francisco Treaty but added that all residents of Taiwan, the Pescadores were nationals of the Republic of China. Since the Treaty of Taipei did not come into force until August 5, 1952, almost 3 months after the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into force, whether the treaty of Taipei conclusively addresses the dispositon of Taiwan is disputed. Some supporters of Taiwan independence argue that the Treaty of San Francisco justifies Taiwan independence by not explicitly granting Taiwan to either the Republic of China or the People's Republic of China. This legal justification is rejected by both the PRC and ROC governments, both of which base their legal claims on Taiwan on the Instrument of Surrender of Japan which they argue incorporates the Potsdam Declaration and the Cairo Declaration. In addition, in more recent years supporters of Taiwan independence have more often relied on arguments based on self-determination and popular sovereignty. In any case, interpretation of history is in the eye of the beholder. You behold different things than Michael, but that doesn't make either of you wrong. What he does for Taiwan history and politics coverage is nothing but holy work. You can disagree with his green views, but you can't ignore his contribution.

Chloris - yeah, you like it? :

2008-09-03T03:57:23.216+02:00

Chloris - yeah, you like it? :$

Yuri - :) I'm sure that if we

2008-08-30T17:08:32.444+02:00

Yuri - :) I'm sure that if we look deep enough we can even find something in Korea, don't you think?

Rachel - I totally agree. Stil

2008-08-30T17:06:36.318+02:00

Rachel - I totally agree. Still, if you look it up on Google you'll find quite a few sites detailing some of those connections. The Japanese TV show does this line of research a bit of injustice. There is a whole line of research showing that many of the Jewish ceremonies are, ofcourse, Pagan, and the same naturally goes for Christianity and Constantine's suggestions of what it should be like. It's interesting...

vk - :D ;)

2008-08-28T15:32:05.216+02:00

vk - :D ;)

cat - I don't believe this cas

2008-08-28T09:36:50.086+02:00

cat - I don't believe this case has been exaggerated and over exploited, more than the Beijing 1989 and other government-civilian clashes within the region. The 228, in my view, has been devastating in that the Taiwanese were expecting to be freed from the Japanese rather than crushed by an even stronger dictator. Who CKS was fighting, why and what he brought with him from mainland is of no importance to Taiwan and the Taiwanese, as the shock and terror of the Taiwanese grew deep. Taiwan suffered de-facto dictatorship for over 30 years from an army and a leader they had little to do with before that. It's in the essence of the Taiwanese tragedy.

cat - yeah, I'm aware of the p

2008-08-28T09:27:03.110+02:00

cat - yeah, I'm aware of the problem, though I don't have any other good alternatives, and this name doesn't bother too many people. Some just think it's funny in a foreigner stupidity kind of way. :S :P

An - I believe special permits

2008-08-28T09:26:01.107+02:00

An - I believe special permits can be obtained for specific cases, like for academic collaborations and business ventures. If you have a second passport, you can ofcourse use that as well. Have a great time in Jordan :)

cat - as Taiwan's president of

2008-08-18T21:56:11.786+02:00

cat - as Taiwan's president often refers to the 1992 consensus as the basis for the Taiwan-China talks, it's no longer outdated, but the title used is misleading. My personal experiences, though from both living in Taipei and Tainan, are irrelevant. There are endless polls reported by Taipei Times and China Post about the Taiwanese perception of self identity and relations with China, and I imagine that what you suggest regarding the status-quo is somewhat true, although the reasons might be a bit different - I think it has little to do with feeling Chinese or Taiwanese and more to do with fearing China. If the China threat for war and for possible economic isolation wouldn't exist, I believe a big majority of Taiwanese would gladly advance beyond the status-quo towards independence. There are no polls to support such a claim, but I imagine all the Taiwanese I've talked politics with would agree, Green or Blue. This has also affected the two UN bids and the KMT boycotting those bids with the latest presidential elections. The fear of how China might react to a certain political move by the Taiwanese government directs public attitude towards that subject, and although China and the Chinese might see that as something positive in their Taiwan policy, I think it contributes to promoting exactly the opposite - the dislike for the Chinese and an enhanced reinvented national Taiwanese identity. I think the KMT being in power has to do more with DPP corruption and the Taiwanese economy than with Taiwanese attitudes towards independence, but that interpretation could easily be disputed.

Otter - Hmm... you know... I

2008-08-14T07:12:36.598+02:00

Otter - Hmm... you know... I once had a visitor from Australia who walked the streets of Jerusalem and constantly ranted "I don't understand why the Israelis don't care about their sidewalks. Can't they see that they're not straight and ugly?" to which I usually replied "I think you maybe see that all wrong. Israelis care alot about their sidewalks, but they -like- it to be this way. It might give them a feeling of humanity, informality or maybe even style. " :P Oddly enough, Israelis like this style of anchoring. It makes them feel relaxed. What you might call professional, they might call uptight and cold. Show me someone in Israel who works in a full suit. Yet I totally agree with the characteristics you're describing, especially the need to show off. :) Israeli media is a strange strange creature.

cat - The current constitution

2008-08-14T07:01:36.588+02:00

cat - The current constitution of the ROC has never been accepted by the Taiwanese people themselves, but rather inflicted upon them by a foreign power who ruled them with force for over 30 years. No Taiwanese that I know of, even those extreme blue, sees Mongolia as their own. Very few, extremely few, see China as their own, but there are a few that see China as their home. As for the so called (1992) consensus, thanks for quoting Wikipedia for me. It's exactly what I meant in my previous comment. But, since we're discussing this consensus, it's maybe relevant to note that it wasn't really a consensus but rather a title for political discussions that resulted in little actual consensus. It's one of those cases where the media reinvents history and is used as political maneuvers by parties with a certain political agenda. The "One China - two definitions" way still lives, especially in Taiwan's struggle to keep the 20+ countries on their side at the UN and with the annual attempt to "rejoin" the UN rather than "apply to be accepted", but even my KMT friends find that to be very outdated and somewhat irrelevant. I wonder how 4 years of more modern KMT rule would affect that.

cat - It's not important. It's

2008-08-14T06:40:54.472+02:00

cat - It's not important. It's just a feeling and since you asked... :P Your comments and our dialog are always welcome here. I hope you didn't feel anything otherwise. Us Israelis sometimes sin in being overly direct and sounding a bit aggressive ;)

Cat - and you wonder why I don

2008-08-13T02:08:56.926+02:00

Cat - and you wonder why I don't think you're Israeli... I wasn't trying to suggest all Chinese or all those studying English in China are fascists or nationalists, but what I was trying to suggest is that some of the methods presented are extreme. I have no problem with anybody calling paradise "army training camp" as long as it's not an army training camp. What that 11 years old girl went through in her English training camp is more than I had to deal with in the Israeli officers course in Bahad-1. I have no problem with loving your country and wanting to study English, but shouting out repeating motivational nationalist slogans with thousands of highly passionate others in an English class strikes me as something special. I'm not judging them, I'm not saying they're fascists, I'm not even sure they're nationalists. That last remark was sarcasm actually suggesting that I do - in a way - sympathize with their passion for trying to learn a new language. If anything, what I am trying to do is understand more about how things work and who the Chinese really are.

The white wonder - :O :O Dear

2008-08-02T22:10:40.311+02:00

The white wonder - :O :O Dear mother of God. That's some blog you have there. China Bounder meets Haravak, or something. I can't say that I've ever read something quite like it. Unbelievable, I'm speechless. As for Jerusalem - there might not be new buildings, but renovations over old ones are everywhere. Rehavia used to be a 1-2 floors neighborhood. During the last 5 years it's all risen to 4-5 floors of - as you point out - luxury apartments.

S - We all care about China ;)

2008-08-01T18:44:51.969+02:00

S - We all care about China ;) But, you know, from what I hear, they're growing in China too :P

marigel - still clueless with

2008-08-01T18:35:53.291+02:00

marigel - still clueless with all those links? what ever you're looking for just web search it or ask something specific. Currently, there is no host families program that I know of, but you can try the Buddy Program with Youth Travel Taiwan. Some interesting stuff there.

mim - convincing?

2008-08-01T17:34:46.391+02:00

mim - convincing?

tthssdc - I got my hands on 黄建

2008-07-20T10:54:18.931+02:00

tthssdc - I got my hands on 黄建为. I like it very much. Good stuff.

David - :) I would imagine you

2008-07-20T09:54:04.579+02:00

David - :) I would imagine you have far more resources to do the one on NCCU :)

Miguel - if you weren't so qui

2008-07-19T16:38:32.845+02:00

Miguel - if you weren't so quick on the "just do your homework" trigger, you might have noticed that there are . This list is for comprehensive universities that include all fields of studies, and it has nothing to do with my personal preferences towards those universities, I quote the leading world rankings as they are. The "just do your homework" is a good advice I recommend you try and follow yourself next time.

Cat - Heh. I have no idea ...

2008-07-15T16:11:39.245+02:00

Cat - Heh. I have no idea ... ;)

Gideon - the Taiwan scholarshi

2008-07-08T11:00:19.948+02:00

Gideon - the Taiwan scholarship is alway available for undergraduates for up to 4 years. Quite a scholarship. See details in this link : http://www.moetwdc.org/English/Taiwan%20Scholarship.htm In other universities, you'd have to check their websites. I know some do have support for international students.

Ah-Ben : That sounds interesti

2008-07-08T06:40:01.552+02:00

Ah-Ben : That sounds interesting, I would be happy for a copy of the paper once you're done writing it. It is a very interesting phenomenon, and the suggestion that this is global makes sense. Yet, I think the parties play fair in the democratic game - they do what they were elected to do and promote the ideas that they should promote, but it's the media and the common people that are failing to balance this out. Whenever you see the media in a democratic country wholeheartedly supporting one notion without any sound of controversy, then it means something isn't functioning right. Since we're talking about the economy, about policies, about stats, which are never absolute truth and are always arguable if not questionable we should always expect a discussion on what's going on rather than silent agreement. The KMT has done an unbelievably good job in promoting the following ideas - one, the Taiwanese economy isn't doing as well as it should, two, it's the DPP president's fault rather than the KMT legislative yuan, and last, that the KMT president will do a much better job. The failure to publicly discuss those ideas, I'm afraid, is shared with the DPP and the public media.

Adam - the US issue is a sensi

2008-07-08T06:29:29.049+02:00

Adam - the US issue is a sensitive one. The so-called military support to both Israel and Taiwan are questionable to the same degree, and the point that you're making about US using political connection and almost forced aid to better their arms industries is at the core of things. The US sells and supports sides it best suits it, regardless of any policy, sometimes arming both sides, sometimes just waking up one day and switching sides. If the Israelis were to depend on American aid in any of the wars with the close neighbors, I'm not sure Israel would still be here. As for Taiwan, the US policy regarding Taiwan is nothing short of a tragedy. Moral nakedness is a very soft word to describe the injustice of the current situation, regardless of whether one supports the so-called "Taiwan independence movement".

Cat - I won't argue about the

2008-07-08T06:23:07.513+02:00

Cat - I won't argue about the differences, they're quite apparent, although it is the fact that Taiwan and China share ethnicity that is in the core of the Taiwan national identity issue. The Chinese people may be, although some disagree, brothers, but the current Chinese and Taiwanese governments are very much apart. Many different nations share ethnicity, but that doesn't legitimate claims by either side. If anything, the ethnic claim makes it an even more difficult case, although there was no real aggression between China and Taiwan as there was in the Middle East. The statements made about the US, although perceived common truth by most people, are as problematic. The US politics has done so much irreversible damage to Taiwan that the positive influences of such a "sponsorship" are questionable. I would argue the same for Israel, on various issues, although it would be even harder for an outsider to sympathize with. Last, this is not MY article. I bring it as is with the needed restrictions. It is meant to raise a discussion, as it has with you. I do not agree with many of the points made as is, although there are some points I find interesting. Quoting an article doesn't mean I ssee it as ultimate truth.

Chris - just like it says on t

2008-07-05T16:07:45.557+02:00

Chris - just like it says on the post. Click the right big button. That's all.

test

2008-07-04T22:00:50.466+02:00

test

Congratulations, you truly nee

2008-02-21T04:41:24.722+01:00

Congratulations, you truly needed one, promoting our little Tainan/Taiwan to the world. Looking forward to seeing the new results.

Yeah, heard about it through t

2007-11-10T03:21:17.593+01:00

Yeah, heard about it through the blogging conference. Neat. How, I wonder, am I suppose to track those ads' performance if there's no channel support?

Ryan - yeah, the second option

2007-07-31T04:54:48.891+02:00

Ryan - yeah, the second option. I don't want to tag the words, I just want all the sensitive words replaced automatically by the plugin without me having to worry about anything. Just like smileys... You think you can pull that off for me?