Taiwan's Diplomatic Immunity + 'Ditch Taiwan'

choi

(1) Shih Hsiu-chuan, Talks Stall With US Over Arrest of Taiwan Official. Taipei Times, Nov 13 , 2011 (available now)
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/ ... 11/11/13/2003518179

Quote:

"After the US severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, the two sides signed the Agreement on Privileges, Exemptions and Immunities the following year. The agreement states that: 'Designated employees of each sending counterpart organization shall be immune from suit and legal processes relating to acts performed by them within the scope of their authorized functions.'

"A Central News Agency report yesterday said that 'NBC cited Cynthia Cordes, the prosecutor in charge of the case, as saying that as the US does not recognize the ­sovereignty of Taiwan, Liu does not qualify for diplomatic immunity.' [Taiwan foreign affairs official 令狐 榮達 Bruce] Linghu dismissed the reported statement, saying that if someone had said this, it was because of a 'lack of understanding of the situation.'

(2) Paul Kane, To Save Our Economy, Ditch Taiwan; If we end our alliance with Taipei, China might cancel a $1 trillion debt. New York Times, Nov 11, 2011 (op-ed)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/1 ... q=taiwan&st=cse

Quote:

"He [Obama[ should enter into closed-door negotiations with Chinese leaders to write off the $1.14 trillion of American debt currently held by China in exchange for a deal to end American military assistance and arms sales to Taiwan and terminate the current United States-Taiwan defense arrangement by 2015.

"The deal would eliminate almost 10 percent of our national debt without raising taxes or cutting spending.

My comment:
(a) Monterey Institute of International Studies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon ... ternational_Studies
(Founded in 1955 and formally declared a Graduate School of Middlebury College in 2010; private; located in Monterey, California)

Middlebury College itself is located in Middlebury, Vermont and founded in 1800.
(b) The US national debt (excluding that of state and local goverments) is $14,973 trillion as of Nov 9, 2011, according to Bureau of Public Debt, Department of Treasury.
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/
("See the US Public Debt to the Penny")
(c) Mr Kane asks too little.

Columnist Tim Harford a couple of years ago published a piece saying that the usual buyout of a private company, generaqlly speaking, costs five times the annual revenue of the company. Taiwan's GDP according to exchange rate is $430.6 billion (2010 est.), per CIA World Factbook (2011). So, at the time, I wrote a posting at Mitbbs.com that China might be want to buy out Taiwan with ALL its foreign exchange reserve, pending a vote in Taiwan (analogous to approfval of board of directors and then shareholders in merger and acquisition). My proposal was soon deleted from that web site.

(3) 连胡会强调九二共识 未谈和平协议与TPP. VOA Chinese, Nov 12, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... ting-133731178.html

(4) 中国维权人士在连胡APEC会场外抗议. VOA Chinese, Nov 12, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... stor-133737933.html
(前来抗议的都是中国公民: 广东韶关的王永利; 来自上海、山东、深圳等地的抗议者，包括艾福荣、葛丽芳、文新平等人; and 法轮功)

Note: the report cites
(a) Falun Gong Members Protest at Convention Center. Star Advertiser (Honolulu), Nov 11, 2011
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/133710428.html
("Honolulu police estimate that about 180 members of the Falun Gong religious movement ringed the Hawai'i Convention Center this morning, holding signs urging China to stop persecuting its members")
(b) Gordon YK Pang, Groups Raise Human Rights Issues. Star Advertiser (Honolulu), Nov 10, 2011
http://www.staradvertiser.com/ne ... _rights_issues.html
("About 50 members of the Falun Gong religious movement began staging a weeklong protest at Ala Moana Park Wednesday")

(5) 马英九：台湾在纽约国际运动会举国旗是活路外交成果. VOA Chinese, Nov 11, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... flag-133716818.html

Quote:

"台湾总统马英九对不久前参加'世界警察消防运动会'的台湾代表队说，台湾队持青天白日满地红的国旗参加开幕典礼，大陆方面没有小动作，这是他活路外交的正面效应。

“'2011年世界警察消防运动会'于8月26日至9月5日在美国纽约市举行，有来自70个国家的一万多位选手参加。马英九总统11月10日在接见台湾的'中华代表队'时表示，台湾是以奥运会模式参加，但在这届和上届比赛中，台湾方面都持青天白日满地红的国旗参加开幕典礼，而中国大陆也参与了本届比赛。

Note:
(a) The 2011 World Police & Fire Games
http://2011wpfg.org/

Wikipedia has a short page for World Police and Fire Games. But neither this or the above link mentions who or which nation participates
(b) 奥运会模式 means a special flag--instead of 青天白日满地红的国旗--for "Chinese Taipei."

(6)
(a) 日本拟宣布加入TPP协定谈判. BBC Chinese, Nov 12, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/si ... _tpp_talks_us.shtml
(b) 专家：两岸纳入TPP 近期可能性不大. VOA Chinese, Nov 10, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... -tpp-133644283.html

My comment:
(a) TPP is US-led.
(b) There is no way Taiwan will join TPP in the near future. For economic reasons. Failure of US beef import to Taiwan rankles Americans, but Taiwanese just do not get it.
(c) Like Japan (before today), in addition, Taiwan is not eager to join (though on the other hand Taiwan wants to join as many as organizations as possible)--both have tremendous trade barriers for agricultural products to protect domestic farmers.

But Japan's change of mind might force Taiwan to rethink its trade positions.

I of course is in favor of free trade, having lived in US for such a long time.