Kev Lax is back!
Dear Johnny,
Wake up.
Spend some of your NT$20,000 a month Taipei Times salary on a trip to China and see what’s going on.
Problems, yes, but heading in the right direction, unlike Taiwan, which missed a chance to lead China’s economic miracle and in 10 years will be poorer than Anhui.
I don’t expect you will have much more chance to offer us your bollocks, so to speak, as I’m sure that the Taipei Times is on its last legs.
Kev Lax
Shanghai
Johnny replies: Kev, it’s really fantastic to get your letter and I’m so pleased that you have made it back to Asia after a period of recuperation.
I should direct readers to Mr Lax’ previous correspondence (Johnny Neihu’s Mailbag, June 16, 2007, page 8). The great news is that Kev seems to have taken my advice and undergone a course of Rogerian therapy after the trauma of being thrown out of Taiwan.
My only concern for you now, Kev, is that you might be overreaching a little from your translating expertise into economics.
That is to say: Hey, dude, have you actually been to Anhui Province?
Anyway, Kev, thanks for writing, take care and all the best. (By the way, don’t tell your girlfriends in Shanghai that there are direct flights to Taiwan now or they might disappear — and end up selling betel nut under a freeway overpass in Hsinchu County.)
India calling
Dear Johnny,
I am based in Mumbai, India, and just stumbled upon your latest piece. It’s absolutely terrific. Keep it up.
Debashis Basu
Editor and publisher
MoneyLIFE Magazine
Johnny replies: Well, it’s not often I get praise from the subcontinent. Many thanks for your kind words, Debashis.
After receiving your letter I did some thinking. Why not pack my bags and head off to India for a while? I could write a provocative column for MoneyLIFE Magazine.
But then I thought some more, and figured that if I made smutty jokes about India-Pakistan relations, the caste system, ethnic minorities, poverty and wealth, cricket madness and Bollywood I would probably end up being sent to Kashmir — permanently, if you know what I mean.
Still, it could have been a ripper of a column.
All I would have to have done is change my name to “Johnny Nehru.”
To The Honorable Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜): We would like to extend our sincerest regards to you for representing Taiwan at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Monday. The Taiwanese-American community was delighted to see that Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan speaker not only received an invitation to attend the event, but successfully made the trip to the US. We sincerely hope that you took this rare opportunity to share Taiwan’s achievements in freedom, democracy and economic development with delegations from other countries. In recent years, Taiwan’s economic growth and world-leading technology industry have been a source of pride for Taiwanese-Americans.
Next week, the nation is to celebrate the Lunar New Year break. Unfortunately, cold winds are a-blowing, literally and figuratively. The Central Weather Administration has warned of an approaching cold air mass, while obstinate winds of chaos eddy around the Legislative Yuan. English theologian Thomas Fuller optimistically pointed out in 1650 that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” We could paraphrase by saying the coldest days are just before the renewed hope of spring. However, one must temper any optimism about the damage being done in the legislature by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), under
To our readers: Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Tuesday to Saturday the paper will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at convenience stores. Subscribers will receive the editions they missed once normal distribution resumes on Sunday, Feb. 2. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 3, when our regular editorials and opinion pieces will also be resumed.
Young Taiwanese are consuming an increasing amount of Chinese content on TikTok, causing them to have more favorable views of China, a Financial Times report cited Taiwanese social scientists and politicians as saying. Taiwanese are being exposed to disinformation of a political nature from China, even when using TikTok to view entertainment-related content, the article published on Friday last week said. Fewer young people identify as “Taiwanese” (as opposed to “Chinese”) compared with past years, it wrote, citing the results of a survey last year by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation. Nevertheless, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would be hard-pressed
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