Summer Considerations

With that ever-present goal of achieving productivity over the summer break, I spent some time this afternoon on the HSR to Kaohsiung composing an essay I want to send to the Taipei Times. Joe further encouraged me to organize a forum of important business leaders to speak about the relationship between reading fiction and success in business & life. But where to begin. Joe says I should start with David's wife, whose boss is a major public advocate for the arts. This sounds very doable. How to begin?

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China Arrests Anti-Poverty Activists

At times it feels hopeless to imagine that the Chinese government will ever develop a sense of universal rights or even common decency. More proof of this from the following Associated Press article printed in the local Taipei Times newspaper on Sunday, February 08, 2009, Page 1. Days before China's human rights record comes under scrutiny before a UN panel, the government's grip on dissent seems as firm as ever. Government critics have been rounded up and some imprisoned on vaguely defined state security charges. Corruption whistleblowers have been bundled away, while discussion of sensitive political and social topics on the Internet remains tightly policed. On Friday, officers stationed outside a government building in Beijing took away at least eight people — members of a loosely organized group of 30 who had traveled to the capital from around the country seeking redress for various problems, almost all of them involving local corruption. One member of the group, Li Fengx...

"Invisible Nation" and the Indivisibility Difference

Invisible Nation will probably disappoint Taiwan audiences, largely because the documentary was produced for is intended for international audiences, though the film is pragmatically “for Taiwan.” Completed in 2023 and made available to the global documentary film circuit last year, Invisible Nation finally found its way to movie screens throughout Taiwan on June 13, 2025 — a Friday the 13 th release, to be precise. Produced and directed by Vanessa Hope , Invisible Nation was filmed with the cooperation and encouragement of Taiwan’s first democratically elected female president, Tsai Ying-wen (whose Administration of the Republic of China spanned two terms, 2016-2024). Hope could easily be understood as something of a “China hand,” though she would probably not be comfortable with the label. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Hope had been a scholar of international studies for the Council on Foreign Relations in her hometown of New York City. She also earned a doctorate from C...

Two Jackies is One Too Many

The two Jackies show their nervousness after a big thunderstorm. Yes, this Adoga has a couple of Indonesian myna birds, one of which is threatening to soil the keyboards even as we "speak." Problem is, only one of the birds is friendly enough to be a good pet, so it looks like in a couple of weeks the larger and more unfriendly bird will be returned to his original owner in Pingtung. Hand-raised, these birds are faithful to their "parents." I've seen them follow my friend around as he worked in his yard outside his house. He whistles to call them when they stray, and they return like well-trained dogs. He gave me these two "brothers," both of whom are n amed Jackie. Unfortunately, the Jackies are terribly aggressive to my other home-roaming pets, and today's attack upon my sparrow (rescued from a certain death as a hatchling kicked out of the nest) and bulbul (a trade from the bird breeder who couldn't keep my ailing baby dove alive) was especi...

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