Small nation standing tall
Taiwan is still very unknown in the world. One reason is its uniqueness. It stands alone, hidden in the shadows of its neighbors. It is small, but still bigger than Hong Kong or Singapore, who somehow manage to be more expensive and more famous, despite their smaller size.
It is between two big countries who are also the second and third-largest economies in the world: China and Japan. It is cheaper living here than the US or Europe, but Vietnam and the Philippines are even cheaper than Taiwan. And [South] Korean pop culture is big now.
Shelley Rigger observes in her book, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse, that Taipei 101 is a tall building standing alone amid much smaller buildings.
She also says that Taiwan is a kind of reverse analogy: a lesser-known country alone among many countries that are more widely known.
Andres Chang
Taipei
Court corruption overcome
As a foreigner having lived in Taiwan since 1964 and having experienced legal battles at the Taipei court for more than five years, with an average of one court appearance a month, I completely agree with Taiwan Jury Association chairman Chang Ching (張靜).
A bulldozer started digging a ditch on our beach community private land without authorization.
Is there a more simple legal case? You prove the ownership of the land, take pictures of the ditch, ask the bulldozer driver to testify on who hired him and it is the end of the story.
Why did it take so long? I won because the National Security Bureau got involved. With them putting a magnifying glass on the case, the judges were afraid of being shown to be corrupt.
Corruption not only financial, but also political. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at the time were running the courts, like all of Taiwan.
In my case, political.
The chief of staff of the military was behind the defendant protecting him. An amazing place Taiwan.
Pierre Loisel
New Taipei City
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