Taiwan

Recently, I'm crazy about a singer.
He is good at singing. His name is Van.
I cry when I listen to Van's songs.

I like one of the song. The tittle is "Love Story". It is a beautiful love story. A boy waited for a girl .
But he knew that the girl didn't want him. He still waited and waited. It rained then. He thought that the star were laughing at him.

Yesterday, I was lauding Hau Long-bin for his willingness to work with people from opposite parties for the common good of the people. In the last 6 years, it has been obvious that most politicians have put their own parties first and the real long-term interest of the people last. It may be because their own political ambitions depends on how the party fares in elections, and they think that helping officials from another party, even if it's in the best interest of the people, will be detrimental to themselves.

This confrontational attitude exists across the political spectrum, but it has been especially acute among pan-blue supporters since they lost the highest executive post in 2000. I am very ready to admit that president Chen Shui-bian has many faults and that he has been a less than ideal president, but we must recognize that he has constantly been trying to extend olive branches both to the opposition in Taiwan and to the mainland Chinese leadership. He has made efforts to reach out to the other site, certainly because it was his interest to do so, but the Taiwanese people would have also benefited a lot if that olive branch had been accepted.

I would like to show my approval for former EPA chief Hau Long-bin for his political attitude. Recently, he has been criticized for having cooperated with people from different parties. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral hopeful Hau Long-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday denied being a "political chameleon.":

Hau, a former Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) chief, has vowed to raise the integrity of the KMT's primary and had previously declined to comment on any accusations from rivals.

Breathe a little easier at Guandu Nature Park:

Taipei has a vibrant cultural heart but little in the way of lungs, which is why the green expanse of Guandu Nature Park (關渡自然公園) is such a treasure.

An internationally recognized birding area, the park is home to over 830 species of animals, including 229 varieties of fowl.

It seems that the majority of people, economists and policy makers still view economic growth as the holy grail of social well-being. Whatever the news may be on other fronts, first and foremost the economy must be strong; and the way to ensure economic strength is by encouraging consumerism.

Headlines like "Weak consumption hits growth" are not surprising because growth and consumption are always a concern:

EPA to limit the use of substances found to cause infertility:

The Environmental Protection Administration plans to restrict the use of two substances in cleaners and detergents because they have proven hazardous to animals and humans, an official said yesterday.

Nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE or NPEO) are the two substances in question.

Thanks to the opposition party, the Human rights committee will be disbanded:

The Human Rights Advisory Committee and the Science and Technology Advisory Committee, both chaired by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), will stop functioning to show the Presidential Office's respect for the legislature, as well as its sincerity in maintaining a harmonious relationship with opposition parties, Chen said.

(...)The Legislative Yuan passed a resolution in January requesting that six non-institutional bodies set up under the Presidential Office be dissolved.

While our world is full of problems, there as still many people who are part of the solution. While there are still many abused or neglected children, among the real unsung heroes of today's society are foster parents who open up their homes:

When foster mother Sung Kan-mei (宋甘妹) in Miaoli County took in a sexually abused junior high school girl as a foster child, she wanted to give the child what she had always lacked -- a safe, stable and happy family.

However, it was not as easy as she had thought it would be.

Do you see the connection between this picture:

Viva erotica
A model wears boots and underwear with Brazilian motifs on Friday during the 10th Erotic Fair that is currently being held in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

...and the two stories that were published the same day, in the same newspaper about abuse and adultery??

For those who don't get it, the picture is 'newsworthy' because erotica 'sells'. Erotica 'sells' because it is on demand. It is on demand for the same biological reasons that marital abuse and adultery are common...

Yet another poll reveals that 80% of Taiwanese support for adultery remaining a crime

Despite efforts by local women's rights groups to promote the decriminalization of adultery in Taiwan, 79 percent of respondents to a survey released yesterday disapprove of the idea and believe that adultery should remain subject to criminal penalties.