Taiwan is pretty quiet. The earthquakes have been minor so maybe the two tectonic plates this island straddles may just be turning over in their sleep. Just off the coast nearby, sorta close in on the mainland, and really far away from the island, things have been a bit more exciting.
Apparently, the Chinese and Taiwanese Air Force have been playing chicken in the air space over the strait, again. The Chinese have complained and the Taiwanese have blown them off. I guess diplomacy has taken to the air, literally.
In other real diplomacy, an N. Zed lawmaker was upset after having suffered a rebuke from the Chinese diplomatic corps for having been invited and then having the temerity to actually attend the inauguration.
That guy is just got to start doing something about his thin skin. It happens in D.C. all the time. In fact, the People’s Daily has noted the latest such instance. It had to do with US weapons sales to Taiwan.
Finally, church goers have been rounded up over the year in Anhui Province. Zhao Wenquan
… was detained in the village of Hegou in the eastern province of Anhui on May 9 after more than 4,000 people attended the festival, a crowd ten times larger than at most church gatherings, the U.S.-based China Aid Association reported.Zhao, who is over 60, has been charged with disturbing social order and organizing an illegal religious gathering, said the group, based in Glenside, Pennsylvania. Another dozen leaders in Zhao's church are in hiding, it said.
But, there is some good news. The People’s Daily is still riding high on the Iraqi prison scandal. Curiously, there was no mention of the arrests in Hegou.
I guess an editor can’t cover every little thing. Besides, the writing has improved.
Maybe he ought to think about blogging. He could call himself Beijing Bill.
Or, if the author is a she, perhaps Beijing Betty.
You know, something catchy like the Japanese did with Tokyo Rose.
"Beijing Bill." I like that! Would it kind of be like "Baghdad Bob," I wonder? Hm.
Posted by: Mad Minerva | May 26, 2004 at 08:28 PM