"Taiwan -- which is the second elephant-in-the-room
"In the early 1990s, the State Department refused to allow Americans born in Taiwan to have Taiwan named as their place of birth on passports. The official US policy held there is but one China and Taiwan is not a separate country. The Department's position was that allowing Taiwan on passports would adversely affect its interactions with China's communist leadership. In 1994, Congress passed a law instructing the State Department to permit Americans born in Taiwan to have their birthplace listed as Taiwan on passports. The State Department complied with the congressional directive despite vigorous communist protest.
My comment:
(a) When I learned of the case half a year ago when Supreme Court announced it would accept the case, I was unaware of the previous imbroglio over Americans' birth on Taiwan.
(b) What I was aware of at the time was
Roger CS Lin v United States, 561 F.3d 502 (CADC 2009), cert denied 130 SCt 202 (2009) http://law.justia.com/cases/fede ... 554-2011-03-24.html
(appeal from Lin v United States, 539 FSupp2d 173 (DDC 2008))
Note: This report merely expands on the last paragraph of
Jim Wolf, EXCLUSIVE - Arms Deliveries to Taiwan Lag: US Draft Study. Reuters, Nov 5, 2011 http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/idINIndia-60337720111104
("The commission, in its draft, recommended Congress enact legislation requiring the administration to accept a formal Taiwan request for 66 new late-model Lockheed Martin F-16 C/D fighter aircraft, a potential $8.2 billion deal")
, which was featured in my posting yesterday.
(4) Shan Li, Family-Run Business Has a Leg Up at Halloween; Sisters Melody and Amy Tsai help run Leg Avenue, a costume and lingerie company in the City of Industry that had $87 million in sales last year. Los Angeles Times, Oct 31, 2011. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-himi-tsai-20111030,0,5165655.story
("Originally from Taiwan, the Tsai family immigrated to Southern California in 1984 in search of financial stability")
Note:
(a) Industry, California http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry,_California
(b) sassy (adj; alteration of Saucy): "IMPUDENT" www.m-w.com
(c) For swap meet, see flea market http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flea_market
(Different English-speaking countries use varying names for flea markets. In Australian English, they are called trash and treasure markets, trash and trivia or (more commonly) swap meets; section 2 Origin)