Monthly Archives: May 2015

Geopolitical identity [Master Chen says] Divide and Conquer The strategy of divide and conquer has been used successfully in Singapore to achieve social harmony.   Singapore’s “meritocracy”, “integration of people”, the quota systems in housing, and “social democracy” are misunderstood by … Continue reading →

Multilingualism vs monolingualism and multiculturalism vs monoculturalism Multilingualism versus monolingualism and multiculturalism versus monoculturalism mark the linguistic and cultural differences between the utterly failed policies of the Chinese Communist regime in Xinjiang and the tremendously successful linguistic and cultural harmony … Continue reading →

Historical revisionism on the Chinese mainland Upon the 100th anniversary in 2011 of the Revolution of 1911 that brought about the Republic of China, the first republic in Asia, aka the “min guo” era or the era of “nationalist China”, … Continue reading →

Chinese mainland “locusts” and Chinese tourist “invasions” Why do the people of Hong Kong refer to the Chinese mainland visitors to Hong Kong as “locusts”? Locusts are gregarious swarming grasshoppers.  When they swarm, they cause devastating economic loss. Pregnant Hong … Continue reading →

Three stages of “bardo” “Bardo” or the “in-between state” following death has three stages, according to a Tibetan monk.  Authenticity of neither the “monk” nor his “theory” has been verified.  His “theory of the three stages of bardo” however is … Continue reading →

Foreigners residing in South Korea At the end of April, 2015, there were 1,813,000 foreigners in South Korea.  This was an increase of 12.6% from a year ago, including 917,000 Chinese or 50.6% of the total, 142,000 Americans at 7.8%, … Continue reading →

Japanese views about China and Taiwan A survey says that 73% of Japanese believe China’s impact on the world is negative while 90% of Chinese mainlanders believe Japan’s impact on the world is negative, and while 3% of Japanese believe … Continue reading →

A Latin bride who is a Taiwanese Taoist temple keeper Foreign brides who lived with their monolingual Taiwanese mothers-in-law Thirty years ago in 1984, a Caucasian woman of South Africa married a Taiwanese man from a very remote village in Taiwan.  … Continue reading →

Multiculturalism There are several  Taiwanese television programs that show what true multiculturalism, religious pluralism, harmonious cultural diversity, inspirational personal success stories, stories of a true melting pot culture, cultural globalization and linguistic assimilation are.  One is called “Taiwan is my … Continue reading →

Don’t open the damn emergency exit door on board or in flight! On March 14, 2015, at 17:50 hours at the Urumqi Airport, a passenger seated in row 15-E opened the emergency exit door on board Urumqi Airlines flight UQ2505. On … Continue reading →