Taiwan first female president inauguration - May 20, 2016
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Posted:May 19, 2016 8:40 pm
Last Updated:May 21, 2016 2:25 pm 203694 Views
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Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in as Taiwan's first woman president on Friday, with the export-driven economy on the ropes and wary Communist Party rulers in China watching for any move towards independence by an island it considers its own.
Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won parliamentary and presidential elections by a landslide in January on voter backlash against creeping dependence on China.
The DPP, which has traditionally favored independence from China, takes over after eight years under China-friendly Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou.
Wearing a cream blazer with dark trousers, Tsai pledged to defend the country and abide by the constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, as she took the oath of office, which was carried on live TV broadcast.
Tsai's inauguration speech at 11.10 am (0310 GMT) will be widely watched for any hint of anti-China sentiment, which could sour economic ties further.
"The favorable interaction will be broken," said Chang An-lo, a pro-unification leader, rallying about 400 supporters outside the DPP headquarters this week.
Taiwan's main index was up a bit in cautious trade ahead of her speech. It slid to over three month lows last week with foreign investors net selling shares this month so far on political and economic worries.
The trade-reliant economy, which counts China as its biggest trading partner, is struggling to shake off last year's recession as prolonged weakness in global demand weighs on Asian exporters.
China has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control. It is deeply distrustful of the DPP, whose charter includes a clause promoting "a sovereign and independent Republic of Taiwan".
Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists in China in 1949. China has pressured the new Taiwan government to stick to the "one-China" principle agreed with the Nationalists.
That allows each side to interpret what "one China" means. The Communists say they rule all of China including Taiwan, while the Nationalists maintain Taipei is the ruler.
Tsai has said she will maintain the status quo, but stops short of referring to "one China".
During the inauguration ceremony, performers will pay tribute to demonstrations that have been key to the DPP's rise, including the 2014 Sunflower Movement protests.
The DPP is distrustful of growing economic dependence on China and champions Taiwan’s own history.
Tsai, partly of aboriginal descent, will take the stage in front of the presidential office, a life-size replica of which Taiwan has said has been built in China and used for attack practice.
"We have emphasized ... our hope that both sides will continue to show flexibility going forward in the name of maintaining peace and stability," said Daniel Kritenbrink, senior director for Asian Affairs at the White House's National Security Council, earlier this week.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, but is also Taiwan's biggest ally and arms supplier.
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BBC: China ignore revolution anniversary
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Posted:May 16, 2016 9:16 am
Last Updated:Jun 12, 2016 8:51 pm 330973 Views
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The 50th anniversary of the start of the Cultural Revolution, which plunged China into a decade of chaos, has been met with silence in state media.
On 16 May 1966 Communist leader Mao Zedong began a campaign to eliminate his rivals. At the same time he called on Chinese youth to "purge" society.
Years of bloodshed and turmoil ensued, ending with Mao's death in 1976.
How to handle the era's contentious legacy has remained a challenge to China's Communist rulers to this day.
On Monday, the main state media outlets made virtually no mention of the anniversary, focusing on coverage of the South China Sea and other domestic issues. No official events were planned by the authorities to mark the 50-year milestone.
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Weekend joke - Stupid people can become politicians
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Posted:May 13, 2016 7:08 pm
Last Updated:May 16, 2016 9:59 am 320573 Views
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Two engineers were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking at its top. A woman walked by and asked what they were doing.
"We're supposed to find the height of this flagpole," said Sven, "but we don't have a ladder."
The woman took a wrench from her purse, loosened a couple of bolts, and laid the pole down on the ground. Then she took a tape measure from her pocketbook, took a measurement, announced, "Twenty one feet, six inches," and walked away.
One engineer shook his head and laughed, "A lot of good that does us. We ask for the height and she gives us the length!"
(hint: height is the same as length)
Both engineers have since quit their engineering jobs and are currently serving as elected members of Congress.
p.s. As a reminder, I am NOT the original writer of all the "Weekend jokes", so I am NOT responsible for them. Those "weekend jokes" are from my Las Vegas real estate agent.
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Woman Caught Shamelessly Pinching a Loaf in Broad Daylight
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Posted:May 12, 2016 9:00 pm
Last Updated:Feb 21, 2017 9:31 pm 322738 Views
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Public defecation is a straight-up fact of life in mainland China. It’s something you’ll see on roads, public places, subways, airplanes, and even elevators. It’s not common in the USA (yet), but it might be soon.
Monterey Park, California, is a Taiwanese community that has seen a number of arrivals from Mainland China recently. They argue that the new immigrants are changing the face of the community. This was encapsulated last Tuesday, when a local resident Mrs Fang and her husband suddenly spotted a middle-aged Asian woman with her pants down, squatting and defecating on someone’s lawn without any regard for public decency. There’s no confirmation the woman is from Mainland China, but the community is speculating about her origin based on her behavior.
Fang told her husband to turn the car around for a second look, and her suspicions were confirmed. The woman, wiping up, unblinkingly stared back at the disbelieving Fang, nonplussed and shameless about her behavior. As Fang took photographs, the woman continued with her business, only pausing to turn her head away from the camera.
After wiping herself clean, she tossed the tissues on the ground, pulled up her pants, and then disappeared down the street.
Sylvia, who lives at the property, said she noticed the feces the next day when she went to walk her dog. She saw the used toilet paper and wondered if owners were starting to wipe their dogs after defecating.
She took it upon herself to clean up the mess, saying she didn’t want it to “affect other people”.
The website that broke this story, Chinese in LA, described the incident as being “extremely embarrassing for the image of Chinese people”, and reminded all residents of the Los Angeles suburb to maintain public decency.
Monterey Park mayor Peter Chan said the incident hurt the city’s image, and may impact whether others decide to move there in the future.
Source: World Journal, Chinese in LA,
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Queen caught on camera saying Chinese officials were 'very rude'
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Posted:May 11, 2016 8:58 pm
Last Updated:Jun 9, 2016 2:36 pm 337646 Views
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The “golden era” of UK-China relations appears to have lost some of its glitter after the Queen accused Chinese officials of being “very rude” to the British ambassador during President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to Britain last year.
During a garden party at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, a pool cameraman working on behalf of British broadcasters filmed her discussing Xi’s trip with Metropolitan police commander Lucy D’Orsi.
When D’Orsi was introduced as the officer responsible for security during the visit, the Queen was heard to remark: “Oh, bad luck.”
Later, the Queen told her guest: “They were very rude to the ambassador” – referring to Barbara Woodward, Britain’s first female ambassador to China.
D’Orsi complained to the Queen that Xi’s visit had been “quite a testing time for me” and claimed that at one point Chinese officials “walked out” on both her and the British ambassador, telling her “that the trip was off”.
“Extraordinary,” the Queen replied.
“It’s very rude and very undiplomatic, I thought,” the police commander concluded.
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Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, Lu Kang, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, declined to directly address the Queen’s comments or confirm whether the “golden era” was still alive.
“President Xi’s visit to the UK last year was a very successful one. Both sides have made great efforts for the success of the visit and the two sides highly recognised that,” Lu said.
But pressed by the Guardian to confirm whether the “golden era” – which he said had officially started with Xi’s state visit – was still ongoing, Lu replied: “Both sides have expressed the hope that they would implement the outcomes of President Xi’s visit and push forwards a steady and stable rise of the bilateral relationship. This requires the common efforts of both sides.”
Asked if that meant the special relationship was over, Lu said: “You can put my answers today together.”
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Weekend joke - Hillbillies vs. Taxidermist
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Posted:May 6, 2016 6:33 pm
Last Updated:May 9, 2016 3:28 am 323680 Views
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A guy walks into a bar in Arkansas and orders a white wine.
All the hillbillies sitting around the bar look up from their beer and whiskey, expecting to see some pitiful Yankee from the north.
The bartender says, "You ain't from around here, are ya?"
The guy says, "No, I'm from Canada."
The bartender says, "What do you do in Canada?"
The guy says, "I'm a taxidermist."
The bartender says, "A taxidermist? What in the hell is a taxidermist? Do you drive a taxi?"
"No," says the Canadian "A taxidermist doesn't drive a taxi, I mount animals."
The bartender grins and hollers, "It's okay boys. He's one of us."
p.s. As a reminder, those "weekend jokes" are from my Las Vegas real estate agent weekly. Please don't take those jokes too seriously.
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My eyesight - Astigmatism
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Posted:May 3, 2016 4:20 pm
Last Updated:Jun 23, 2016 4:18 pm 328475 Views
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To all the bloggers:
I hope you can use either "Bold" or larger size for your blogs or when responding my blogs because my eyesight is weak that caused by "Astigmatism" due to my age.
I have seen optometrists but been told nothing they can do for me until when I have cataract surgery and replace by lenses. So far, I don't have cataract yet, so I have to compromise with my glasses on and off. I have near-sighted plus astigmatism in recent years.
For younger bloggers, you may NOT know the difficulty of astigmatism. I will appreciate if you can either enlarge the size or "bold" your blogs. Thank you.
Astigmatism - When the cornea has an irregular shape, it is called corneal astigmatism. When the shape of the lens is distorted, you have lenticular astigmatism. As a result of either type of astigmatism, your vision for both near and far objects appears blurry or distorted.
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Weekend joke - Truly Blond .....
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Posted:Apr 29, 2016 7:01 pm
Last Updated:May 10, 2016 10:06 pm 330053 Views
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A blonde has become dreadfully overweight. She goes to the doctor and he decides to put her on a diet.
"I want you to eat normally for two days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. Next time I see you, you'll probably be 5 pounds lighter."
The blonde returns after 2 weeks, but upon weighing her it turns out she lost 20 pounds.
"That's amazing!" Said the doctor, "and you followed my instructions?"
The blonde nods, tiredly. "I'll tell you, I thought I was going to drop dead that third day."
"From hunger, you mean?" Asked her doctor.
"No, silly, from the skipping!"
p.s. As a reminder, I am NOT the original writer of all the "Weekend jokes", so I am NOT responsible for them. Those "weekend jokes" are from my Las Vegas real estate agent.
Aqua Aerobics class
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He is back again ......
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Posted:Apr 24, 2016 9:57 am
Last Updated:Jun 7, 2016 4:16 pm 326342 Views
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I have received this creepy guy emails for 13 times using 12 different user's names, from Berlin, Germany. He likes to pretend he is U.S. Army General or U.S. Marshal. His age can be 55, 56, 58, this time he is 44. I have deleted him from view my profile, blocked his emails, view or commenting my blogs, ... each time he emailed me. In order to avoid him, I took out my primary photo, changed my user's name. However, I still received his email (see below). Asia Friendfinder won't allow me to reveal his email address.
marshalino
Hi Dear,
My name is John W. Nicholson. the current Us Army General,, I came across your profile today and i become interested to be your friend, i am honesty, caring, and i"m seriously looking for a life partner, Please i will like you to contact me through my email address (xxxxxxxxxx at outlook dot com ) I HAVE SOME THING VERY IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU,
Thanks
Yours Friend
General John,
4/23/2016 5:40 pm
I called Asia Friendfinder to report this crazy German guy and his profile has been officially deleted 2 minutes after my call. marshalinomarshalino
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weekend joke - Too many to count ...
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Posted:Apr 22, 2016 11:15 pm
Last Updated:Sep 8, 2024 10:18 am 311961 Views
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A guy walks into a crowded bar, waving his un-holstered pistol and yelled, "I have a .45 Colt Auto with eight rounds in the clip and one in the chamber and I want to know who's been sleeping with my wife.!?"
A voice from the back of the room called out, "You didn't bring enough ammo!"
p.s. As a reminder, those "weekend jokes" are from my Las Vegas real estate agent weekly. Please don't take those jokes too seriously.
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