Category: 沒有類 / Uncategorized

Blah…

I was feeling tired the middle of the afternoon yesterday, so I took a nap with Emily. Later we went out for dinner and I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable on the way back home. I went straight to bed and next time I woke up, I had a fever developing. It peaked at 38.7C (101.6F) in the middle of the night. By morning it had thankfully subsided. Now I have no fever but still achy. Hopefully that was the end of it, because I need to fly to the US tomorrow.

Avoid Ritek media

I’ve been a big fan of Ritek branded media, both for DVD-R/+R and CD-R for a few years now. It used to be a brand you could rely on for consistently good results, but that has been changing. I’ve been having problems making DVDs lately, and at first I thought it was one of my burners. But when I found I was having problems with BOTH burners, and that scans of the ‘good’ burns had very high error rates, I came to conclude that it was the media and not the burner. I went out to buy a few other brands of media today and burned a batch as a test. Those came out with NO problems and very low error rates. Looking around the web on sites like CD Freaks, it turns out that there’s a lot of complaints about Ritek quality declining lately. The sad thing is the bad spindle I bought is Ritek labeled, not an OEM brand like Ridata or another. The Ritek labeled ones are supposed to be only Grade A rated media. What has happened to you, Ritek?

I recommend not buying Ritek-made media from now on.

China Post editorial on ‘One China’

Yesterday’s China Post had a great editorial by Dr. William Fang entitled “‘One China with different interpretations’ is only option”. Unfortunately the China Post doesn’t include its editorials on their web site for some bizarre reason. But that editorial is pretty close to my current opinions.

The quoted part in the article title refers to what is called the ‘1992 consensus’ which is based on the ground rules for an ROC-PRC meeting in Singapore. While this ‘consensus’ itself has been argued to mean different thing by different people, the most common interpretation of it is that both parties believe there is one China, but each side has a different idea of what that means. Unfortunately this is still a bit vague. Here are some excerpts from Dr. Fang’s editorial:

“[PFP Chairman] James Soong said that ‘one China with different interpretations’ means the recognition of the current and historical status of the Republic of China.”

“Therefore it is suggested that the notion of ‘one China with different interpretations’ should, from now on, replace the vague and controversial ‘1992 consensus’ in talking about ‘one China.'”

“It is strongly suggested that the idea of ‘one China with different interpretations’ be included in the official joint statement signed by Soong and his Communist counterpart.”

“If the Communists really mean what the say in ‘adhering to the 1992 consensus,’ they should have no difficulty agreeing to do so in order to demonstrate their sincerity in respecting the sovereignty of the ROC.”

“Under this formula, both Taipei and Beijing can each claim itself to be the ‘sole, legitimate government of China.'”

“This is a mutually exclusive arrangement, but under it both are treated with parity, being equal political entities. This gives both sides what the want: one China for Beijing, and equality for Taipei.”

This may be hard for Beijing to accept, as they have spent over 30 years trying to convince the world that the ROC government is illegitimate, doesn’t exist, or is otherwise subordinate to the PRC government. If they are willing to accept that the ROC government is legitimate, then a great deal of progress can be made at resolving cross-strait issues. Thank you, Dr. Fang for a very clearly worded expression of this.

Dreams Come True WOWOW concert video

HD satellite channel WOWOW recently aired a concert video pieced together from Dreams Come True‘s Yokohama concerts in February as part of the recent DIAMOND15 tour. That concert video recently appeared on JPOPSUKI for download with Bit Torrent. The quality both of the file and the concert are excellent. I highly recommend it:

http://mullemeck.serveftp.org/jps_beta/index.php?page=details&id=4943
(registration required)

Interesting interview

There is an interesting interview in today’s Taipei Times with Lin Zhongbin (林中斌) that’s well worth reading. While I don’t agree with a few points, he has a very good understanding of the dynamics of cross-strait politics. It might help enhance your understanding by reading it.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/05/09/2003253811

Does the TSU read my blog?

After my comment on May 4 about pandas and wooden horses, this quote gets published in the Taipei Times:

“The pandas are a trick, just like the Trojan Horse,” Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Huang Shi-cho (黃適卓) said. “Pandas are cute but they are meant to destroy Taiwan’s psychological defenses.”

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/05/06/2003253338

Yet again reinforcing my opinion that the TSU is the kookiest party here.

Meanwhile, an interesting dynamic has developed after the Lien trip. The PRC is now coming under a lot of pressure, especially from the US, to talk to the elected ROC president instead of just the opposition party leaders. They are now kind of in a trap where they will have to do something, or they will look hypocritical.