Over the weekend, the KMT nullified Hung Hsiu-chu’s nomination and selected party chairman Eric Chu to lead the ticket in the Jan. 16 election. George Koo wrote a piece about it last week. I typically don't comment that much on populist politics since they are fleeting, shallow, and often end up, when on look back, just dust in the wind. Here are some of my takes: … [Read more...] about The Ouster of Hung Hsiu-chu
Opinion
Turning a Nobel Prize to a Chinese for Artemisinin Into a Eulogy for Traditional Chinese Medicine?
A couple of weeks ago, Tu Youyou became the first Chinese national to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine "for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria." (Tu had already won the Lasker Award a few years ago for the same work, and had described her work this way.) There were cheers and hopes that with the prize, more people would become aware of Traditional … [Read more...] about Turning a Nobel Prize to a Chinese for Artemisinin Into a Eulogy for Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Q&A with a Russian friend (see download links or attached PDF)
PDF attachment: Q&A with a Russian Friend Sometimes it is helpful for the Hidden Harmonies audience to remember that China is not alone in being demonized by the mainstream western (primarily US) media. Any country that doesn't "fit" neatly into the US "liberal-democratic" ideological dogma will naturally be painted as some kind of morally degenerate rogue state out to … [Read more...] about Q&A with a Russian friend (see download links or attached PDF)
Case Study on Democracy and Rule of Law: Japan and the World at a Crossroad?
Recently, the Japanese Parliament passed controversial legislation pushed by Abe to allow Japanese forces to fight abroad for the first time since 1945. Here is how Reuters reported it: Japan's parliament voted into law on Saturday a defense policy shift that could let troops fight overseas for the first time since 1945, a milestone in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to … [Read more...] about Case Study on Democracy and Rule of Law: Japan and the World at a Crossroad?
Good video on myths about “Syrian” refugees
If the West didn't fuel civil wars with arms (& bombs), perhaps they wouldn't need to cry crocodile tears when refugees start to flood out of those war zones? On a side note, once in a while, it's helpful to remember that China isn't the only society being demonized by the western media. … [Read more...] about Good video on myths about “Syrian” refugees