2007.11.16 5th Annual Global Strategy and Taiwan Strait Security Conference at National Chung Hsing University Part II

aite, after much rest, more than a day actually, here's the second part of my day last Friday~

moving on to the panelists now, I guess I won't bore everyone by going into the details of each panelist's paper and comments but just elaborate on the highlights, cuz I fell asleep in between the presentations from time to time as well~ for the conference, it was basically divided into 4 panels as follows:

panel 1: Strategic Environment and Conceptual Change Under Globalization

• paper 1: Discussion of The Development of National Terretorial Security From The Perspective of Non-Traditional Security Threats
• paper 2: State, Sovereignty and Security: The New Trend of International Security Theory
• paper 3: Comparative Analysis of The Implementation Results of Taiwan's Taiwanese Investment and Trades Policy Before and After Party Turnover
  

panel 2: Development of Regional Arms Race in East Asia

• paper 1: East Asian Aircraft Carrier Competition and Its Regional Security Meaning
• paper 2: The Role of Nuclear Weapons in East Asian Strategic Framework: Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and Stable Deterrance
• paper 3: Research on Submarine Fighting Capacity of Surronding States of Asia Pacific Under The Background of Chinese Maritime Power Emergence
  

panel 3: Re-evaluation of Taiwan's External Relations in the New Century

• paper 1: Challenge to The US Military Advantage in East Asia: The Struggle of China's "Anti-Intervention" Strategy and US "Anti-Anti Intervention" Counterstrategy
• paper 2: Asian Pacific Regional Architecture and Taiwan in the New Century
• paper 3: Taiwanese-US Relations Under The DPP Government's Internal Political Considerations and Manipulations
  

panel 4: Communist China's New Taiwanese Policy Direction and Its Meaning

• paper 1: The Meaning and Strategic Structure of China's "Three War" Strategy
  
• paper 2: China's "Propaganda War": Theoretical Development and Manipulative Model
• paper 3: Evaluation of China's Legal War Against Taiwan
• paper 4: Psychological Attack to Control Taiwan: Taiwan's State Construction and China's Psychological Warfare Against Taiwan

Without further boring whoever may be reading this note right now, I won't go into the details~ if you happen to be interested in any of the above articles, all in Chinese of course, I could get hold of a copy somewhere and send it out~

after listening to the first 3 panels and slipping out of the last one cuz I am thoroughly exhausted from all the quacking and yapping, overall, I'd have to say the most impressive presentations were those done by the profs at National Chung Hsing University, my school~ not being biased or anything, as I am at the school for only a lil' more than 2 months right now, I guess if one wants to put it in more neutral words, one could say that I understood more from what the profs at my school were talking about~ it's not that I didn't understand what the other's were saying (but seriously, I didn't for some of them) but a lot of the presentations were either too detailed so everyone needs to read the papers in advance to getting what the presenter is talking about, or they were too long that everyone fell asleep~ Zzz~~~ Overall, I best understood what Professor Tsai Ming-Yan, my prof on Foreign Policy, talked about while the other profs at my department such as Professor Yuan and Ju did a good job hammering away or lambasting some of the speakers~

2007.11.16 5th Annual Global Strategy and Taiwan Strait Security Conference at National Chung Hsing University Part I

Before I head off to sleep after a very long day today, perhaps the longest day of my life in Taiwan yet, I thought I should quickly jot some notes down~ hopefully, this wont take no more than 10 min cuz I have work tomorrow morning as well (sigh~) anyways, so here's how the day started~

as the heading suggests the 5th annual strategic conference of NCHU was held today after much preparation in advance~ filling in for the other guy whom I don't recall ever seeing and who never shows up in any of the classes I am in, I had to arrive at 8 o'clock sharp this morning to help with the setup~ although most of the setup was done yesterday, there were still some lil' things here and there that needs to be taken care of eg moving stuff around, showing ppl the way etc~ of course, the process always includes some chatting as everyone gradually flows in and gets ready for a busy day~ so at 9 o'clock sharp, the event was underway and everyone dressed in their finest attire drifted into the spacey air conditioned International Conference Hall on the 13th floor~ according to a task division schedule distributed to nearly everyone, I was responsible for tasks in the afternoon, therefore I glided into the conference room with everyone else to listen to the speakers~ Atena, a Romanian girl in my law class (the only Romanian girl in the department actually~) sat next to me, as I was "partly" responsible for being her personal translator (entertainer) today, for total boredom would probably set in after awhile as facial expressions and gestures of the speakers would serve as her only means of entertainment (and the occasional diagrams)~

anyways, so the conference was officially under way with much of the ppl seated~ after brief opening speeches by Professors Ju, Tsai and Sheng aka the current "Big Three"/"3C" (Chairman of Profession Class, Department Chair, Arts Faculty Chair), the keynote speaker, Professor Lee Zi Yi, an 82 yrs old retired veteran/professor of strategic studies, was up~ Professor Lee was quite frail looking with think dark rimmed glasses and tufts of white on his scalp~ however, he seemed like a smart and wise looking man~ so Professor Lee went on with his speech, quite slowly and with a voice so low that some of the ppl in the class think the guy might get a sudden heart attack or cough so hard that he'll collapse on the stage~ = = luckily, that didn't happen:P Professor Lee made some real interesting points on both parts of the conference subject today: global strategy and Taiwan Strait security~ here are the key points I grasped from the speech:

Global Strategy

the future of global strategy shall be guided by 3 considerations:

1) devaluation of the US dollar leading to strong economic impact for the world
2) energy crisis caused by the shortage of oil; the problem of distribution should be another more significant concern than simply the soaring of price of oil
3) upcoming US presidential election

Professor Lee offers the above 3 points as factors that should be considered when thinking about the current world~ he calls it another "new angle for thinking about world order"~

Taiwan Strait Security or Cross Strait Issue

Professor Lee thinks that a reflection on the historical issue between the CCP and the KMT is needed as a basis for potential solution of cross strait tensions~ Professor Lee elaborates on a story about his days working as a reporter when China was amidst a brewing civil war~ Professor Lee was a reporter at the 1946 legislative meeting of the parliament where Zhou En Lai (I forgot what post he held at the time but anyways,) was present as a speaker~ the CCP did not attend the meeting and nearly all the rest of the members were KMT, therefore, in a sense, as noted by the prof, the KMT was in total control of the meeting~ at the meeting, Zhou criticized the KMT for destroying previous political agreements with the CCP through manipulating the parliament and selling out China in order to justify its part in the progressing civil war and its separatist movement~ with that said, Zhou held the KMT responsible for a separated China and left the conference angrily after the statement~ If I recall correctly, Professor Lee said that many of his colleagues at the time, who were KMT supporters, were shocked and nearly all cried when hearing such comment~ according to the prof, the key point to draw from the brief anecdote is that the cross strait issue is not unlike the cases of Korea, Vietnam and Germany, where superpower intervention is the critical cause; the cross strait issue is a historical (interior) problem that should be dealt with from a historical approach~ the prof then points out that from Zhou En Lai's remarks, one may see that great tension exists between the CCP and the KMT, a historical problem that is the root of the existing cross strait issue~ regarding the 17th CCP Congress held recently, Professor Lee points out that CCP Chairman Hu Jin Tao's wisdom is that he is suggesting a potential historical solution for a historical problem~ according to the prof, in the past, the CCP undertook a less clarified approach to the cross strait issue, thus leading to unnecessary tensions and instability~ Professor Lee makes the suggestion that the Taiwanese leadership should carefully consider China's peace agreement proposal through historical reflections~

after Professor Lee makes his first point regarding Taiwan Strait security, he loudly exclaims with probably more than 80 % of his energy and spirit from within the following statement:

"In 1949, IF THERE WAS NO TAIWAN THEN THERE IS NO REPUBLIC OF CHINA (ROC); NOW, IF THERE IS NO R.O.C THEN THERE IS NO TAIWAN!!! x 10~~~"

at that point, more than half of the audience who were sleeping or dozing off bounced right awake and focused on the speech 'til the end~ I was a bit baffled myself and even Atena, who didn't understand the language, seemed to be struck with a sudden shock and concentrated on the man with bulged eyes~ yes, such is the impact of a frail old man: the ability to surprise the audience...

anyways, the key point to note here is that the current Taiwan, under whatever name the international community recognizes the state (the CCP denies the existence of Taiwan as a state), needs to retain its identity/title of ROC in order to negotiate with China on an equal status or status on par with CCP between governments (對等身份)~ such is the case when Chiang Kai Shek first negotiated with Chairman Mao bak in the days of the civil war~ the reason behind the strong advocacy for Taiwan to keep its name "ROC' is to maintain Taiwan's stake, perhaps the only stake, for entering negotiations with China eventually~ from China's point of view, according to the peace initiative recently proposed by Hu, China wants to negotiate under the status quo~ what's the status quo? the status quo is the division of China and the ROC across the Taiwan Strait~ therefore, if Taiwan really forgoes the title ROC, a policy direction of the current DPP government, Taiwan will give up its "only" stake or basis for entering into negotiations with China, with the implication that even if China is willing to condescend to make friendly gestures towards Taiwan and bring both ruling governments back on the negotiation table, China has no way in realizing its initiative as Taiwan has unilaterally altered the status quo~ the only possible solution when the peace initiative is lost is war~ Professor Lee also makes the point that due to its economic advantage, as recently as 20 years ago, the Taiwanese government could buy off the CPP government with 50 billion NT~ however, due to China's gradual rise as a dominant economic power in recent years, the Taiwanese government could no longer buy off the CPP government even if it metes out 100 billion NT towards China~ this point reinforces the prof's main point that Taiwan needs to maintain its title and identity as "ROC"~

the speech ends with Professor exclaiming the phrase,"VETERANS NEVER DIE!" I actually got laughed a little when I jotted down the phrase in my notes~ Atena just gave a puzzled look~ well, the reason for the laugh is that the prof said the words as if he's willing to die with his words... some pretty strong words showing A LOT OF determination, too much perhaps, to carry out a task for a fragile looking 80 years old...=)

anyways, it seems that after an hour of hammering away on my keyboard, I've been only able to get through only the keynote speaker...I haven't even talked about the panels yet! anyways, I guess I'll leave that 'til tomorrow some time, when I have more time on hand~ extreme exhaustion setting in right now... Chow!

世間人》母債900萬 25歲孤女認命扛

25歲孤女謝任坪，出社會領到的第一分薪水遭查扣，才知道她「繼承」母親留下的龐大債務。自小和她相依為命的90高齡祖母謝劉完妹，也於不久前辭世。命運百般作弄，謝任坪沒怨天尤人，只希望大家對她說「加油」。

家住苗栗縣公館鄉下的謝任坪，對父母親的印象很模糊，靠著謝劉完妹打零工拉拔長大。雖然家境清貧，她卻堅持升學，「因為我認為讀書是唯一可以改善處境的機會。」謝任坪說。

她知道祖母供不起她念書，因此一天只睡4、5個小時，清早到學校打掃、中午幫老師打文書資料、晚上在牛排店打工，加上姑姑等親友接濟，她不需貸款，就自力完成桃園縣私立清雲科技大學企管系的學業。

連打三分工並未影響課業，謝任坪每學期成績都在前三名；前年畢業，系主任還幫她找到兩分不錯的工作機會，但為了就近照顧祖母，選擇回鄉工作。「沒有祖母就沒有我。」謝任坪說。

沒想到她出社會領到第一分薪水，就被查扣1/3，連郵局的500多元存款也不保。銀行人員在電話中告訴她，謝任坪的母親、父親先後於民國85年、92年過世，母親生前的債務由她繼承。謝任坪原以為是詐騙集團，後來才確認是真的。

第一筆債務30多萬元，謝任坪與銀行協商，同意降到10多萬元，她分期付款兩年多，終於在今年初償清。但緊接的債務一筆筆來，她算一算繼承母親的債務高達900多萬元。

「我根本還不起，但還是要過生活。」謝任坪說，從小到大，她的淚已流乾，但人間處處有溫暖：「我的同學、老師、教官、系主任及親友、長輩都是我的爸爸媽媽；關心的人都是我的兄弟姊妹，我不是一個人。」

雪上加霜的是，謝劉完妹今年9月住進苗栗的護理之家，謝任坪擔心祖母牙齒不好，吃得不夠營養，費時熬魚肉稀飯，哄阿嬤張口，一匙一匙餵食，但祖母還是不敵老邁，10月初與世長辭。

苗栗縣「大溫暖」計畫提供急難救助金兩萬元，協助謝任坪辦理祖母的後事。社工員林俐儂很感慨：「任坪不向命運低頭，她是我看過最樂觀的人。」

「很多人都說我堅強、樂觀，其實我只能這樣做了。」謝任坪說，大家對她說「加油」，就是給她最大的支持了。

11.12.2007自雅虎奇摩轉貼

Kim Tae Hee LG Cyon Banana Phone CM

New Kim Tae Hee cm! even though the phone wouldnt really make one fall (who would want to step on a phone like that?) but I guess the creativity is there~ however, isn't the banana phone kinda going retro? I mean, the handle of cable phones are shaped like a banana....

anyways, check this new cm out!

近期簡報

哇~又是好一陣子沒來留言了~差不多一個月有了吧~ 最近開始正式在學校的辦公室兼差~從最基本的泡茶、裝單槍、裝報紙等開始做起~今天也有去上班，雖然有點突發狀況，但基本上還好~凡事起頭難，希望以後能駕驅就熟囉~ 薪水還是沒入帳，希望星期一能看到帳戶多個5000元出來~ ^^

好了，其實工作與學校以外還是有其他活動啦~像剛剛才剛去中友百貨看卓文萱!^^ 看到後覺得本人和照片有差，有點照片比本人好看的感覺~雖然如此，卓文萱還是超可愛的啦~^^我發現卓文萱其實不高，算普通身高吧~160左右~可以用嬌小可愛來形容~說到嬌小可愛就不能不提到韓國的寶兒了~其實大家注意看可能會發現卓文萱和寶兒其實還有幾分神似呢!尤其是卓文萱笑時隆起的雙頰，我個人是覺得像極了寶兒幾年前略帶嬰兒肥的時候，超可愛的!^^

卓文萱身著黑色大夾克唱了三首歌:幸福氧氣、手心和甜甜圈~雖然有點小感冒但唱得還是不錯啦~"手心"有給它飆上去~^^卓文萱的"甜甜圈"有點蘇慧倫差不多十年前和酷龍和唱"圈圈"的味道，夾帶著一點電子的曲風~卓文萱繼續加油囉!希望她能成為第二個寶兒!XD

兩個星期前和我哥逛到新光三越的時候，有看到名模白歆惠為某保養飲料站台~白歆惠不愧是名模，真的是超高的~應該不只一百七吧!但那天有那位女主持人反而讓我覺得她比白歆惠正~白歆惠的臉部比例可能讓我覺得怪怪的吧~=S

同天晚上和我哥晃到了逢甲夜市，在那兒吃了炸蝦~並沒有特好吃，可是比日本料理店便宜很多，還算可以接受吧~夜市外圍開了30年的唱片行學生之音要結束營業了!可能是因為唱片業真的太不景氣了，大家荷包又緊縮，唱片越賣越少~唉~雖然如此大家聽到好唱片還是要支持正版喔，唱片業才能長長久久!

可是也因為快關了，全部唱片大出清，讓我這個職業樂迷可以藉機大肆搜刮~我花了差不多700左右買了差不多二十幾張專輯吧!有些是市面上買不到的試聽片，具有蒐藏價值喔!有空我再把這些戰利品一一傳上來囉~我計劃明天再去逢甲搜括一番，趁還有機會時...