Frenemies: China and Taiwan

choi

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The two frenemies: China and Taiwan. Globe and Mail (Toronto), Dec. 29, 2009.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/the-two-frenemies-china-and-taiwan/article1401058/

Note: millstone (n): "either of two circular stones used for grinding (as
grain) 2 a : something that grinds or crushes b : a heavy burden"
www.m-w.com

In the last sense, millstone is usually used in the phrase "{like} a
millstone around one's neck." This article merely adds "economic" before "
millstone" and drop "neck" from "its"--Taiwan's.


----------------Separately
The January/Februrary issue of Foreign Affairs are now online, where an
article* is summarized in Table of Contents as "Bruce Gilley, assistant
professor at Portland State University, praises what he sees as Taiwan’s
recent Finlandization and encourages the United States to support the
process."
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/discussions/news-and-events/januaryfebruary-issue-now-online

* Bruce Gilley, Not So Dire Straits; How the Finlandization of Taiwan
Benefits U.S. Security.

My comment:
(a) Predictably, many in Taiwan hit the roof upon seeing red: the word "
Finlandization." See

曹郁芬、蘇永耀 and 彭顯鈞, 台灣芬蘭化．傾中嚐惡果 美學者籲美排除台灣盟邦.
Liberty Times, Dec. 30, 2009.
http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2009/new/dec/30/today-t2.htm

(b) Foreign Affairs, a bimonthly, is (since 1922) published by the Council
on Foreign Relations (CFR) that was founded at New York City in 1921.

(2) 台湾:非政府组织遭中国打压被要求更名. VOA Chinese, Dec. 31, 2009.
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/taiwan/tai-wan-ngo-20091231-80407512.html

(3) 美强烈回应台湾拟禁部分美牛肉. BBC Chinese, Dec. 30, 2009.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2009/12/091230_taiwanusbeef.shtml

My comment:
(a) Joint Statement From USTR, USDA On The Proposed Passage Of An Amendment
To Taiwan's Food Sanitation Act. Dec. 29, 2009.
http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2009/december/joint-statement-ustr-usda-proposed-passage-amendm
(b) I am for free trade. And I have lived in US for a quarter century. Like
other Americans, I eat beef, including ground beef. As a biologist, I simply
do not think American beef is harmful to our health. And so many people in
America has had it for years without a single case of suffering from human
form of Mad Cow Disease. Having said that, I think DPP is irresponsible to
use this as an issue to pull the rug from under Pres. Ma, as the latter did
Chen Shui-bian(when and after Chen was a president). What surprised me this
time is that KMT legislators band together with DPP colleagues, to change
law and therefore block import of offal and some American beef. It seems to
me that Mr. Ma, who took the KMT chairmanship a month ago, is facing
rebellion within his own party, many of whom wants the head of his closest
aide 蘇起. I never likes 蘇起, although I know little about him. In my
opinion, he is immoral. However, if Legislature of Taiwan can block beef
import, it theoretically can also reverse any of all nine China agreements
pushed by Pres. Ma. (I hate those agreements.) I wonder why it has not been
done, and whether it will be done in the future. In any event, there appears
a yawning chasm within KMT!  


(4) 江陈会余波引发国民党内心结. VOA Chinese, Dec. 28, 2009.
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/taiwan/20091228-ChenYunlin-KMT-80197702.html

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