The Useless Tree

Taiwan

  • Confucius in the Schools… Taiwan Schools

    It seems that Taiwan's Ministry of Education, pushed no doubt by Guomindang party leaders trying to maintain cultural links to the mainland, have come up with a singularly ineffective educational and social policy: In February Taiwan’s Ministry of Education said… Continue reading

  • Religious Taoism Today

    When I invoke Taoism, I almost always mean philosophical Taoism.  I tend to avoid the other side of the tradition, religious Taoism, not because I disrespect it (I don't) but because I have not studied it sufficiently to feel comfortable… Continue reading

  • Confucius in Taiwan, again

        Thanks to the Western Confucian, I read an editorial in the China Post regarding a speech by Taiwan’s president-elect Ma Yin-jeou.  Ma apparently emphasized the importance of integrity and sincerity in the appointment of public officials: President-Elect Ma… Continue reading

  • Taiwan’s Presidential Election

        No big surprises here.  Ma Ying-jeou, the KMT candidate, appears to have won about 58% of the vote.  This is pretty much what was expected following January’s legislative elections.      We should be careful, however, in reading… Continue reading

  • Why the DPP Lost

         Two nights ago we went to dinner at the home of Mr. Yao Chia-wen and his wife, Chou Ching-yu. They were both present at the creation of the DPP, early front-line activists in the formation of a viable… Continue reading

  • Military Yin Yang

           Today we went to the National Defense University here in Taiwan to learn from the military men there.  It was a brand new campus, quite impressive.  We walked through a large and bright building and into a… Continue reading

  • Why the KMT Won Big

          Many good points came up this morning at the meeting hosted here in Taibei by the Institute of National Policy Research and LSE.  I will not attempt a full review of the various interpretations of the election results… Continue reading

  • Taiwan Election Results

         A surprisingly large victory for the KMT tonight.  The bottom line:        KMT     81 seats       DPP     27 seats      other     5 seats      This exceeds the pre-poll forecasts, the highest… Continue reading

  • Confucius and Chiang Kai-shek

        So what would a modern Confucian have to say about the wild re-decoration of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taibei, which I blogged about here?     At first blush, it would seem that filling the Hall… Continue reading

  • Campaigning in Taibei

       I have not forgotten about ancient Chinese thought in modern American life, but my distration with Taiwan politics continues for now (though I have some thoughts on how a Confucian might understand the re-design of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial… Continue reading