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F-35有毛病美國全面停飛

《中廣新聞網》2018年 10月12日

accessed October 01,2018

https://tw.news.yahoo.com/f-35%E6%9C%89%E6%AF%9B%E7%97%85-%E7%BE%8E%E5%9C%8B%E5%85%A8%E9%9D%A2%E5%81%9C%E9%A3%9B-000609531.html

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造價30億最貴戰機-F35首次墜毀

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-----美軍剛剛在2018927日首次駕駛出任務的F-35 戰機(阿富汗轟炸神學士),次日於928日在美國境內南卡羅來納州墜毀。

----20181011日,美國宣佈F-35全面停飛檢查

----F-35四個月前,曾被以色列空軍駕駛出任務兩次。

----2006F-35首次試飛。其實延宕多年。

----2013313日,在下曾試 撰文登載於聯合報(請見貼圖)

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原稿奉上如下:

F35: 全能戰機或敗家驕子?
林中斌
名人堂稿件
2013.3.10修正稿 本文字數:1190 目標字數:1200

  三月一日美國啟動「預算減支」,衝擊政府運作幅度之大,史無前例。因行政資源緊縮,安撿人員不足,於是早上七點飛機出國要清晨一點到機場!
  全球首富如何落此窘境?請看美國研發最新戰機過程便知一二。
  F35是全世界最優良的戰鬥機:隱形、短跑起飛垂直降落、可在航空母起降。駕駛艙前無眼花撩亂的按鍵,只有單一卻萬能的觸控銀幕。F35可用於空戰纏鬥,空中對地面攻擊,偵察等,似乎無所不能。它是戰機飛行員的終極夢想。
  ○一年九一一恐怖攻擊後,美國開始研發。原訂成本兩千三百億美元,兩千八百架,一年交貨。現在成本已翻兩翻:四千億美元,架數降低至兩千四百架,交貨時間延至一九年後。它成了人類有史以來最昂貴的武器計畫。
  F35原來構想是用於與大國作戰,而不是用於打窮國叛軍。它的前身F22戰機性能極佳,花大錢研發,佈署在中東,卻從未派上一次用場,因為對手沒戰機。八百億美元造了一九五架,全白花了!如今,故事重演,但錢浪費更多。已有人說:「F35可能飛一次任務的機會都沒有。」
  此外,F35瑕疵一籮筐:航程不夠長、攜帶的武器不夠支持地面作戰、空戰時轉彎靈活性不足、降落航母所用尾鉤位置不對容易失誤、閃電擊中會爆炸、駕駛會缺氧而死(已發生)。目前,每三架試飛的只有一架未來半年可起用。此外,垂直降落尚未試過,炸彈飛彈武器也尚未發射過。更妙的是,它已研發了十年了,但其作戰軟體還在電腦設計中,因為藍圖每天要改十次,一週要改七天!
  未來,由於「預算減支」和建造問題,F35不排除交貨時間再拖,成本再增加。
  原先美國八個盟友參與投資,並預購F35。其中至少加拿大、澳洲、義大利現已考慮減買,其他國延遲下單。
F35計畫的失敗有以下五原因:
一、心態驕縱:美國太自信,認為錢多,F35各設計只求最頂尖,毫無節制。
二、選票壓力:建造F35提供十三萬員工就業機會,遍及全國五十州中四十五州。國會議員為選民謀職,極力推動 F35計畫。
三、球員裁判: 國會裡F35監督會中四十八位委員,許多又坐在國防部F35計畫委員會中,口袋裡收了不少製造商的競選捐款。如何能客觀審查?
四、集體決策:F35同時要滿足空軍、陸戰隊、海軍需要。結果顧此失彼,反而都不滿足,成了四不像:航程縮短、飛行時間受限、帶彈量減少。
五、構想過時:F35最初構想注重匿蹤,以保護空軍飛行員安全。但後來無人飛機崛起,人員飛行已無必要。而且感測器和電腦計算不斷進步,使偵破隱形戰機的能力與日俱進,隱形價值不斷降低。
  一九六一年,艾森豪總統下任演說特別警告要小心防範「軍工複雜勾結集團」(military-industrial complex)不斷花費國家財源的危險。
  去年秋天,權威期刊Aviation Week & Space Technology社論說:「F35計畫已經失敗了。」但美國防部內有人說:「F35計畫太大,失敗不起 (too big to fail)!」
  誰是美國最大敵人?一年六月美國最高職位軍人參謀聯席會主席Mike Mullen上將說:「我們最大的安全威脅是國債。」今年二月底,美國鷹派眾議員Justin Amash主張裁減F35計畫:「我們把國家搞破產了,陷大家於危險中。」他這所憂心的正是三月一日「預算減支」。

 

林中斌曾任國防部副部長,現為退休國際關係和戰略教授。



 

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Leadership in Turbulent Times

accessed Sep 11, 2018

 

這篇書評涵蓋美國四位領導國家度過激盪危機的總統的生平。對受挫折的年輕朋友,在下摘述幾點,敬請卓參

青年時期遭受的打擊和挫折對四位總統是必修之課。

●我們多知道林肯的最愛早死,他陷入嚴重憂鬱症,想自殺。

"Abraham Lincoln as a young man withstood a depression so severe that his friends moved all the sharp objects from his room."

●我(們或許)不知道老羅斯褔的愛妻和慈母在24小時內雙雙逝去!!老羅斯褔功業之外,出版國42本書,包括歷史、製革、賞鳥、環保等等。在他後來文武全才的一生中,再也絕口不提其亡妻!!

●小羅斯福樂觀燦爛地笑容後,終身為小兒痲痹症所苦。

 

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潛艦國造?核四2.0

accessed Sep 12, 2018

 

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大逆轉"、美國教授遭北大解聘"

accessed Sep 12, 2018

 

兩則報導呈現此趨勢之兩面

 

1.大逆轉 陸留美人才83%海歸

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2.美國教授遭北大解聘驅逐 臨行之言 字字扎心!
連結https://www.secretchina.com/news/b5/2018/09/12/870651.html

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Jennifer Schuessler, “Calligraphy? Chicken scratch? Both, actually”

The New York Times International Edition,

July 19, 2018

accessed July 24, 2018

http://iht.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

 

書法表露人格。中西皆然。
左邊是7歲的小女孩一絲不苟的書信。她將統治日不落的大帝國。右邊是加速帝俄朝廷崩潰的"瘋僧"

Compare the handwritings. On the left is the tidy letter of a seven-year-old girl who would become queen ruling an empire that saw no setting sun. On the right is that of the "mad monk" who corrupted the Tsarist Russian court before it collapsed in 1917. (Queen Victoria vs Rasputin)

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We are living in a golden age of both fretting about handwriting and fetishizing it. Polemicists lament that cursive is going the way of the dodo. Meanwhile, oldschool devotees of pen and paper post their work on social media with hashtags like #snailmail and #penpal.

“The Magic of Handwriting,” an exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, might seem at first glance to be part of this nostalgia. Instead, it simply luxuriates in the humble, intimate and sometimes very messy traces that some of the great figures of history have left behind.

The show features some 140 items from the encyclopedic holdings of the Brazilian collector Pedro Corrêa do Lago, who got his start at the age of 11, when he wrote to prominent figures to ask for their autographs. Today, he owns roughly 100,000 letters, notes, receipts, manuscripts, signed photographs and other pieces documenting notable lives in the arts, politics, science and other fields.

During an interview at the museum, the loquacious Mr. Corrêa do Lago, 60, called his collection “a symbolic snapshot of Western culture over the past 500 years.” He also sees it as it the product a kind of madness. “It became an absolutely crazy project that drowned all the money I made,” he said, with a laugh. “I should be in a straitjacket.”

Here is a sampling of items from the exhibition, and the sometimes quirky, sidelong glances they offer at their creators.

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台灣每人每年吃肉60公斤

accessed July 23, 2018

 

*南韓吃掉51.5公斤,中國人49.8公斤。
*戰鬥民族俄羅斯人每年吃掉60.9公斤。
*這些數字尚不包括海鮮。
*臺灣有全世界密度最高的吃到飽餐廳。
*臺灣運動在教育中不受重視。運動風氣長年落後,雖然近來上升,但與歐美日本對岸相比,嚴重落後。
減肥大賺錢。
*感謝彭啟明博士獨立研究發現的數據。


林中斌 2018.7.23

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China’s Economic Outlook in Six Charts

IMF July 26, 2018
accessed August 10, 2018

 

《中國經濟前景的6張圖表》
今年726日,國際貨幣基金會發表 "中國經濟前景的6張圖表"
其中第二張圖表(下面附圖在下移為首張)標題是:
質量和數量
中國目前處於歷史的轉捩點。幾十年高速度成長之後,聚焦在高品質的成長。即使中國經濟成長減緩,到2030年可能將超過美國稱為世界上最大的經濟體。

全文請見
https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/07/25/na072618-chinas-economic-outlook-in-six-charts

感謝Frank Liu 提供資訊

林中斌 2018.8.23

p.s. : Why did IMF seem to differ in tone from Trump's White House which has avoided affirming the prospect of China's rise? Is it because, unlike World Bank which is led by an American, IMF is headed by a European? These days, the Europeans are not totally pleased by the U.S. President.

China’s Economic Outlook in Six Charts
July 26, 2018

2. A focus on high-quality growth. China is at an historic juncture. After decades of high-speed growth, the government is now focusing on high-quality growth….Even with a gradual slowdown in growth, China could become the world’s largest economy by 2030.

 

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"With Ships and Missiles, China Is Ready to Challenge U.S. Navy in Pacific"

New York Times, Aug 29, 2018

 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/world/asia/china-navy-aircraft-carrier-pacific.html

accessed September 10, 2018


這是一篇紐約時報對中國海軍驚人大躍進的報導。涵蓋面廣,資料的來源引據確實。是目前最完整的解放軍海軍現代化報告。

●2017 軍艦與潛艦總數:
中國 317:美國 283
2017
年,中國海軍已成全球最大。
今年3月,美國印太艦隊司令Philip S. Davidson上將說:"除了正式開戰之外,中國現在已可在各種狀況下控制南海。...未來即使開戰,美國沒有把握打贏中國"

“China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States,” the new commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Philip S. Davidson, acknowledged in written remarks submitted during his Senate confirmation process in March.....
“There is no guarantee that the United States would win a future conflict with China,” he concluded.

蘭德公司的專家Lyle Morris說:"中國在西沙南沙部署飛彈使得美國必須部署軍艦在它們射程以外,但中國飛彈射程愈來越遠,使得美國這招變為不可能。"

Lyle Morris, an analyst with the RAND Corporation, said that China’s deployment of missiles in the disputed Paracel and Spratly Islands “will dramatically change how the U.S. military operates” across Asia and the Pacific.

The best American response, he added, would be “to find new and innovative methods” of deploying ships outside their range. Given the longer range of the ballistic missiles, however, that is not possible “in most contingencies” the American Navy would be likely to face in Asia.

過去10年,中國建造100多艘軍艦,此數目甚至超過許多國家的海軍總數。
The carriers attract the most attention but China’s naval expansion has been far broader. The Chinese Navy — officially the People’s Liberation Army Navy — has built more than 100 warships and submarines in the last decade alone, more than the entire naval fleets of all but a handful of nations.

 

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北京專權 窒息創新 前景看衰?

accessed June 1, 2018

名人堂的耕耘

 

花了兩天看資料,手寫9頁筆記,埋首筆電三天斟酌1,100字,於61日交稿,62日交修正稿,65日刊出。

卅多年前國外念博士時,教授說到「八十/二十」的原則。收尋到有關資料中,可用到寫出來的只有20%。其他80%無法在文字中呈現,但有助研究者了解大圖像,存入背景資料庫。

如今更覺自己不足,「八十/二十」的原則演化成「九十五/零五」的原則。

 

敬請賜教

林中斌 2018.6.5

 

北京專權 窒息創新 前景看衰?

林中斌

名人堂稿件

日期:20180601 本文字數: 1100 目標字數:1100

 

四月,美國總統川普制裁「中興通訊」。斷料、停工,在一月中它損失三億多美金,此錢可買三架先進蘇-35 戰機。

世界第二大經濟體中國,竟然不堪一擊原因顯然是:缺乏創新。

連帶論述是:北京限制自由,封閉資訊,窒息創新,抄襲甚至偷竊先進技術。無怪乎,中國成長已減緩,資金外逃,國債高築,前景看衰。

實際清況呢?

今年四月,中國科學家潘健偉被《時代》雜誌選入一八年世界百大人物,因為他領軍研發量子通訊在一六年「墨子號」衛星升空後已取得全球領先地位。而量子通訊可保密,有潛力打破美國以互聯網主導全球通訊的優勢。

根據去年十一月十六日Defense News報導,Google 母公司Alphabet總裁也是五角大廈「國防創新委員會」主席Eric Schmidt說:「到二廿年,中國將趕上美國。廿五年,他們將超越我們。卅年,他們將主宰AI。」

同月,每年兩次的「全球超級電腦五百強」TOP500比賽發佈排名。中國的「太湖之光」連續兩年四次居榜首,「天河二號」為亞軍,瑞士第三,日本第四,美國Titan第五。Titan速度僅為「太湖之光」的五分之一,曾攬冠軍多年直至一三年六月被「天河」取代。之後,「天河」連續六次盤居霸位。但它晶片購自美國英特爾,一五年受美國以國安理由鉗制。於是逼迫中國造出核心及晶片皆自製的「太湖之光」,一鳴驚人雄佔鰲頭。回顧八年時,中國尚無法擠入前一百名。九年來進步,何人料到?

「中興通訊」當年急於攻佔市場,懶於研發晶片。如今遭此挫敗,焉知非福?

其實,類似制裁「中興通訊」對中國經濟衝擊已不如前。中國七年對美國出口占中國那年GDP高達九點一趴;而一七年只占三點九趴,下降至約四成。十年以來,向美出口對中國經濟成長的重要性已大幅減低。

去年七月, IMF三度向上修改中國GDP 成長至六點七趴。根據的是:一六年起出口增加、人民幣強勢、股票市場上揚、外匯存底回升至三兆美元以上。今年一月北京公佈一七年GDP 成長為六點九趴,更勝於IMF預估,為七年來首度回升。

根據今年四月廿一日Economist分析,中國經濟比一五年大為改善,因為政府已開始正面迎戰根深蒂固的結構問題。於是,國債佔GDP的比率已穩定。資金外逃已受嚴控。人民收入成長已高於GDP成長。國家經濟漸趨成熟,服務業從廿年前佔GDP三成上升至一半。大投資項目如高速鐵路已開始賺錢。地方債務幾乎都花在橋梁、公路等基本建設而非空屋住宅。

今年三月廿八日《紐約時報》登載歐巴馬總統財政部顧問Steve Rattner評論:「過去四年,中國減少了三十二趴某種空汙微粒。同樣的成就,美國在一九七年通過Clean Air Act法案之後花費十二年才做到。北京治理模式在最短時間內把最多的人民拔離貧窮。人類歷史從未得有。」

「歐亞集團」總裁Ian Bremmer在去年十一月十三日《時代》雜誌發表專文「北京國家主導經濟體未來將勝出」說:「中國,非美國,是全球經濟最強的角色」。

 

作者為前華府喬治大學外交學院講座教授,曾任國防部副部長

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Katie Hunt, “China's ramping up pressure on Taiwan”

CNN May 29, 2018

 

●這報導中所引用在下淺見是根據昨天早上CNN記者電話的訪問。

●記者問的很詳細,寫的很謹慎。沒有加油添醬,沒有斷章取義。

●中斌回國廿三年,幾乎已忘卻之前在國外所習慣的記者訪問風格。

敬請賜教

林中斌 2018.5.29

Chong-Pin Lin, a former deputy defense minister in Taiwan, said he believes reunification is still a long-term goal for Xi. For now, he says, Beijing is focused on deterring Taiwan from making a declaration of independence -- something that would be a huge embarrassment for Xi.

"Beijing is skillful at applying psychological pressure on Taiwan," he says.

 

Although Tsai has been "very prudent" since being elected in 2016 and tried to restrain the more radical wing of her party, says Lin, Beijing may feel that she will look to appeal to her base as mid-term elections near.

 

However, in Taiwan, some analysts fear that an erratic and unpredictable President Trump may use Taiwan as a bargaining chip to extract concessions in his dealings with China on North Korea or trade.

"Taiwan-US relations are pretty good right now, but we don't know what the future holds," said Lin.

 

CNN專文 中國升高對台灣施壓

中央廣播電台

黃啟霖

2018529 下午5:47

美國有線電視新聞網(CNN)今天(29)以「中國升高對台施壓(China's ramping up pressure on Taiwan)」為題,大篇幅報導北京正意圖加速孤立台灣,在過去一個月中,讓台灣數量已不多的邦交國再少掉兩國。

 

報導指出,台灣不僅在外交上受到中國打壓,跨國公司要如何稱呼台灣也承受中國的壓力。此外,中國軍方在台灣海峽大秀肌肉的情形也日漸普遍。

 

報導指出,中國和擁有民主制度、自己治理的台灣之間升高緊張,為華府在處理與北京關係時,增加了另一項隱憂,因為美國總統川普(Donald Trump)的政府已和中國在貿易、北韓以及南海問題上意見不合。

 

CNN指出,華府則對台灣表達更密切的支持,並將在6月間,美國事實上的駐台大使館落成之際,高調展現與台灣站在一起。

 

美國的新大使館是原來使館的3倍大。

 

◎中國如何持續對台施壓

 

多年來,北京一步步的縮減台灣有限的外交盟邦,但在一個月內先後挖走多明尼加共和國和布吉納法索,仍然是前所未見。

 

台灣指控北京施展「金錢外交」,也就是以金錢誘使友邦改投中國懷抱的策略。對越來越富裕、口袋越來越深的中國而言,此種戰略變得更為容易。

 

中國民用航空局最近警告44家外國航空公司,要在30日內將官網上的台灣標示列為中國領土。凡是未配合變更的公司,都受到北京的注意。但美國在55日直言批評,中國此舉為「歐威爾式的胡言亂語」(Orwellian nonsense)

 

不僅如此,日本知名連鎖零售商無印良品(Muji)在上海的分店,就因為把產品的產地標示為台灣,而遭到中國罰款。

 

此外,報導還指出,中國也連續第二年不讓台灣參加世界衛生組織(WHO)的年會,即使以觀察員資格出席都不允許,使得台灣2,300萬人被排除在全球防疫體系之外,無法取得有助於全球疾病疫情的相關訊息。

 

◎中國的目的

 

CNN指出,中國和台灣儘管有共同的文化,並同樣以中文為官方語言,但從1949年至今雙方一直處於分治狀態。

 

把台灣拉回中國,是過去70年來,中國統治者無法達成的夢想,如果習近平能夠做到,將成為他的巨大成就,而習近平現在有可能終身統治。

 

CNN引述台灣前國防部副部長林中斌表示,他相信,統一依然是習近平的長期目標;而現在,北京的注意力集中在嚇阻台灣不要宣布獨立,否則將令習近平非常難堪。

 

林中斌表示,北京很擅於對台灣施加心理壓力。

 

CNN指出,現任總統蔡英文所屬的民進黨,傳統上傾向支持正式獨立。而儘管蔡英文在2016年當選總統後一直非常謹慎,極力限制民進黨內的激進派系,但林中斌表示,北京或許覺得,蔡英文只是為了今年的期中選舉考慮。

 

不過,北京不是只有棒子,也有胡蘿蔔。今年2月,北京發布31項對台措施,讓台灣人更方便到中國大陸工作、做生意和讀書,其中包括老師和醫生。

 

◎美國的角色

 

CNN指出,台灣與美國的關係儘管屬非官方性質,但雙方關係顯然穩固。美國依據台灣關係法提供防衛武器。

 

美國國會不理會來自中國的壓力,通過台灣旅行法,並在3月間由川普簽署成為法律。這項法律的目的,在讓美國官員更方便訪台,也方便台灣官員訪問美國。

 

此外,共和黨聯邦參議員賈德納(Cory Gardner),以及和民主黨聯邦參議員馬基(Edward Markey),在25日共同提出跨黨派的「2018台灣國際參與法案」(TIPA),以確保台灣在國際舞台的空間,不會遭到進一步限縮。

 

這兩位參議員說:「這項跨黨派法案將協助確保主要國際組織,不會因為中國施展霸凌手段,就對我們的盟友台灣視而不見。」

 

不過,台灣部份分析家擔心,川普不穩定又難以預測,可能會利用台灣,作為與中國處理北韓和貿易問題時,迫使中國讓步的籌碼。

 

林中斌表示:「台美關係目前相當好,但我們不知道未來的情況會如何。」

 

China's ramping up pressure on Taiwan

 

Hong Kong (CNN) - Beijing's push to isolate Taiwan is gathering pace, with two of the island's few remaining allies switching allegiance to China in the past month.

Taiwan isn't just taking heat from China diplomatically. Multi-national companies are being pressured over how they describe Taiwan, with Beijing insisting they follow its line that the island is an integral part of China. Shows of force by the Chinese military in the Taiwan Strait, the narrow strip of water that divides the two, are also becoming more commonplace.

This ratcheting up of tensions between China and the self-governed, democratic island opens up another fault line for Washington in its dealings with Beijing, with the Trump administration already at odds with China over trade, North Korea and the South China Sea.

Washington has signaled closer support for Taiwan and a high-profile demonstration of solidarity comes in June when the United States opens a new complex to house its de facto embassy in Taipei that's three times the size of the original building.

Here's what you need to know about the potential flashpoint.

 

How has China been piling on the pressure?

 

While Beijing has been chipping away at Taiwan's shallow bench of diplomatic allies for years, the loss of two -- Burkina Faso and the Dominican Republic -- in the space of a month is unprecedented.

Taiwan accuses Beijing of "dollar diplomacy," enticing countries to switch allegiance with cash or other incentives -- a strategy that's become easier as China's grown richer and its pockets deeper.

Beijing has also focused its attention on companies that don't toe its line on Taiwan. Some 44 airlines were recently warned not to list Taiwan separately from China on their websites and given a deadline to comply, a move the US government has described on May 5 as "Orwellian nonsense."

Most recently, Japanese retailer Muji has been fined for coat-hanger packaging that described Taiwan as a country.

China has also prevented Taiwan from attending, even as an observer, the annual meeting of the World Health Organization's decision making body for two consecutive years, a move that excludes the island's 23 million people from information that helps prevent outbreak of global diseases.

No target is too small. In the small Australian town of Rockhampton, tiny fish-shaped Taiwan flags featured on a children's art project displayed in public were painted over, reportedly at the behest of Beijing.

 

What's China's goal?

 

China and Taiwan -- officially the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, respectively -- separated in 1949 following the Communist victory in a civil war that saw the Nationalists flee to the island.

The two sides have been governed separately since, though a shared cultural and linguistic heritage mostly endures -- with Mandarin spoken as the official language in both places.

Bringing Taiwan back to the fold has eluded China's Communist leaders for nearly seven decades and would be a huge achievement for President Xi Jinping, who now has the option to rule for life.

Chong-Pin Lin, a former deputy defense minister in Taiwan, said he believes reunification is still a long-term goal for Xi. For now, he says, Beijing is focused on deterring Taiwan from making a declaration of independence -- something that would be a huge embarrassment for Xi.

"Beijing is skillful at applying psychological pressure on Taiwan," he says.

President Tsai Ing-wen's Democratic Progressive Party has traditionally leaned in favor of formal independence from China, compared to Taiwan's other main political party, the Kuomintang, as the Nationalists are known locally.

Although Tsai has been "very prudent" since being elected in 2016 and tried to restrain the more radical wing of her party, says Lin, Beijing may feel that she will look to appeal to her base as mid-term elections near.

However, it's not just about the stick for Beijing. China has also been encouraging integration. In February, China's Taiwan Affairs Officer revealed 31 new measures to promote exchange and cooperate with Taipei, many of which make it easier for those from Taiwan to work, do business and study in mainland China, including teachers and doctors.

 

How does the US fit in?

 

Despite their unofficial nature, Taiwan's ties with the US, which provides arms to the island under the Taiwan Relations Act, appear strong.

Defying strong pressure from China, Congress passed the Taiwan Travel Act, which US President Donald Trump signed into law in March, by unanimous vote in both houses. It aims to make it easier for US officials to visit the island and Taiwan officials to visit the US.

Another bi-partisan bill aimed at ensuring Taiwan's space in the world stage isn't diminished further was launched on Friday by Republican Sen. Core Gardner and Democratic Sen. Edward Markey.

"This bipartisan legislation will help ensure that major international organizations do not turn a blind eye to our ally Taiwan simply because of China's bullying tactics," the senators said.

And when the Trump administration opens the new American Institute in Taiwan, as the unofficial embassy is called, on June 12, it's possible that high-ranking members of the Trump administration will attend.

However, in Taiwan, some analysts fear that an erratic and unpredictable President Trump may use Taiwan as a bargaining chip to extract concessions in his dealings with China on North Korea or trade.

"Taiwan-US relations are pretty good right now, but we don't know what the future holds," said Lin.

 

What's Taiwan doing about it?

 

Taiwan has long been used to operating in China's shadow.

In 1971, the Republic of China was forced to withdraw from the United Nations after a motion was passed recognizing the People's Republic as the only lawful representative of China to the UN. Many other countries followed suit, including the United States, which switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing 1979 but has maintained unofficial ties with Taipei.

Its unofficial relationships, especially with the United States, ultimately carry greater weight than its smaller, formal allies. Taiwan has representative offices, which act as de facto embassies, in more than 100 cities and a passport issued in Taiwan allows visa-free access to 148 countries, compared to 70 for China.

Many people in Taiwan barely bat an eyelid when a diplomatic ally is lost -- seeing the money the government spends on maintaining and cultivating these small countries as a waste.

What will be key is if Beijing's pressure has an impact on the island's more powerful allies, like the US, EU or Japan or on the companies that do business there.

As Beijing has ramped up pressure, Taiwan's government has been more vocal in calling out Beijing's tactics.

It has publicly criticized some companies who have bowed to Beijing's pressure. And Tsai warned of a red line in a statement issued last week in the wake of Burkina Faso's decision to ditch Taiwan.

"China's efforts to undermine our national sovereignty are already challenging Taiwan society's bottom line. This we will no longer tolerate," said President Tsai.

"We will simply redouble our resolve and continue to engage with the world."

undefined

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Rob Schmitz, “Taiwan Loses 2 More Allies To China And Scrambles Jets To Track Chinese Bomber Drills”

National Public Radio May 25, 2018

 

"War of paralysis"

 

But Taiwan's former deputy defense minister, Chong-pin Lin, disagrees that China would launch such an aggressive military attack of Taiwan. "If Beijing really wants to use military options, it would be a war of paralysis," says Lin.

 

Taiwan Loses 2 More Allies To China And Scrambles Jets To Track Chinese Bomber Drills

It's not easy being in charge of foreign relations of a country most of the world refuses to recognize.

 

Taiwan lost another ally on Thursday. The West African country Burkina Faso became the latest country to cut ties with the island. After the Dominican Republic, that's two in less than one month. And like other countries, including the United States, that for decades have broken diplomatic relations with Taiwan, they did so for one reason: to please China.

 

The Chinese government refuses to maintain diplomatic relations with any nation that recognizes Taiwan and has long pressured countries to sever ties with the island.

 

For Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, it's hard not to feel cornered.

 

"When we look at the rest of the world, every other country has the right to enter into diplomatic relations with other countries," Wu says in an NPR interview. "They have every right to participate in international activities or international organizations. But Taiwan is in a situation that it is being blocked by China to do all those things."

 

Despite the fact that Taiwan has its own democratically elected government, its own military and its own flag, the Chinese government regards the island as a renegade province that belongs to China. Today, fewer than 20 countries have formal ties with the island, down from about 30 in the 1990s.

 

Yet while China has long used diplomatic and commercial might to isolate Taiwan, it has also recently displayed its military strategy. Last month, China conducted a live-fire drill in the Taiwan Strait for the first time in two years. That was soon followed by bombers, surveillance aircraft and fighter jets from China's air force that have been circling Taiwan on a semiregular basis in recent weeks.

 

China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang was quoted by the Global Times tabloid as saying the purpose of the drills was "to reaffirm that we have strong determination, confidence and capability to destroy any type of 'Taiwan independence' scheme in order to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

 

But military experts offer different takes on what it may mean: Some view the drills as routine exercises, but others say this could be a glimpse of future plans for invasion.

 

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was angered by China's latest moves, including its poaching of Burkina Faso, one of Taiwan's last allies in Africa and the fourth country to ditch Taiwan since the president took office in 2016.

 

"The series of outrageous maneuvers from China intended to diminish Taiwan's sovereignty has crossed a red line for Taiwanese society," Tsai told reporters.

 

On Friday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it dispatched fighter jets to shadow Chinese bombers carrying out a drill around Taiwan.

 

If nonviolent means don't work

 

Capt. James Fanell, a former deputy intelligence head for the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, says none of Beijing's military displays surprise him.

 

"The things that I was seeing in the classified world and the things that I saw in my job all indicated that timelines had been given to the People's Liberation Army to be prepared to have the capacity to take Taiwan by military force if need be starting in 2020," says Fanell.

 

Beijing's goal is to ensure that Taiwan is unified with China by 2049, the centennial of what the Communist Party calls its liberation of China, Fanell says.

 

"They prefer not to use force," he says, "but they've also planned to use force and they bought and purchased and developed military capability to use just in case the nonviolent means doesn't work."

 

Fanell, who is now a fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, believes China will try to take Taiwan peacefully over the next decade, using economic incentives and pressure. If that doesn't work, he believes a military invasion is likely by 2030.

 

"If you can mentally take pictures of what we've seen in Syria in recent weeks, with towns destroyed by missile strikes, think about that in a place like Taipei," Fanell says of a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan's capital city.

 

"War of paralysis"

 

But Taiwan's former deputy defense minister, Chong-pin Lin, disagrees that China would launch such an aggressive military attack of Taiwan. "If Beijing really wants to use military options, it would be a war of paralysis," says Lin.

 

If it attacks Taiwan at all, Lin predicts Beijing would more likely use electromagnetic pulse weaponry — much of it currently believed to be in a prototype stage in China — that emits bursts that disrupt computers, Internet signals and radio communications.

 

Yet Lin questions the need for Beijing to take Taiwan in this manner. China's leaders would prefer to use diplomacy, psychological warfare and economic influence to gradually unify Taiwan with mainland China, he says.

 

In a speech in March, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said it is the "shared aspiration of all Chinese people" to realize China's complete reunification, threatening those who tried to stand in the way with the "punishment of history."

 

But it was what happened right before this speech — the elimination of presidential term limits for Xi — that gives Taiwanese Foreign Minister Wu a clue that invading Taiwan may not be high on the leader's agenda. "What we see is that Xi Jinping seems to be accumulating more and more power for himself," Wu observes, "and it reflects just one thing: that is that he doesn't have enough sense of security."

 

Economic pressure

 

Wu thinks Xi's power grab shows a leader who is not confident with his control over China's own problems — issues that will distract him from Taiwan. But Wen-Cheng Lin, a former senior adviser to Taiwan's National Security Council, says China is using other ways to pressure Taiwan. "China wants to drain Taiwan's finances and talent," he says. "Taiwanese companies are allowed to be listed in the mainland. Young Taiwanese talent is encouraged and incentivized to work in the mainland."

 

And China's government has put restrictions on mainland tourists going to Taiwan to put the squeeze on the island, too.

 

At Taipei's popular Palace Museum, a tour guide who only gives her surname, Lai, for fear of retribution for criticizing her government, says Taiwan's tourism industry has tanked since China began putting economic pressure on the island.

 

"Our government has been asking us to learn Thai and Vietnamese to cater to Southeast Asian tourists instead, but these tourists can't boost our economy."

 

Nobody, says Lai, can impact Taiwan's economy like China can.

undefined

 

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名作家期勉哈佛生

accessed June 6, 2018

成名的作家阿迪契說:"承認自己是以憤怒來掩飾內心受傷,不是一件容易的事。"

20180606 名作家期勉哈佛生:保持誠實.jpg

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Ruchir Sharma, “The Millionaires Are Fleeing”

New York Times June 3, 2018

*2017年,12%百萬富翁離開土耳其,16%離開委內瑞拉,2%離開印度,2%離開俄羅斯。3,000(以前吸引百萬富翁)離開英國。4,000(201612,000離開,更多)離開法國。

*0.2%百萬富翁,9,000移民美國。川普效應?

 

The Millionaires Are Fleeing. Maybe You Should, Too.

 

Tracking the rich has become a voyeuristic global industry, a form of celebrity worship. But it can also provide serious clues about where countries are headed.

 

When a country begins to fall into economic and political difficulty, wealthy people are often the first to ship their money to safer havens abroad. The rich don’t always emigrate along with their money, but when they do, it is an even more telling sign of trouble.

 

Since 2013, New World Wealth, a research outfit based in South Africa, has been tracking millionaire migrations by culling property records, visa programs, news media reports and information from travel agents and others who cater to the wealthy. In a global population of 15 million people each worth more than $1 million in net assets, nearly 100,000 changed their country of residence last year.

 

In most countries it is fair to assume that any millionaire exodus is composed mainly of locals, and not foreign investors, because the wealthy classes will be dominated by citizens or longtime residents. In 2017, the largest exoduses came out of Turkey (where a stunning 12 percent of the millionaire population emigrated) and Venezuela. As if on cue, the Turkish lira is now in a free fall. There were also significant migrations out of India under the tightening grip of its overzealous tax authorities, and from Britain under the cloud of Brexit.

 

On the flip side, slowing outflows can be a welcome sign, and in 2017 the biggest shift for the better came in that caldron of anti-rich hostility, France.

 

Equally surprising was the lack of change in the United States, where the arrival of a billionaire president did not seem to attract or repel millionaires. A net total of 9,000 millionaires migrated to the United States last year, but they represent a drop in the ocean of five million American millionaires.

 

Just like the less wealthy, millionaires seemed unsure of America’s direction under an unpredictable president who offers tax cuts and deregulation for the rich, but also bashes foreigners and occasionally talks like a pitchfork-waving populist.

 

Britain and France appeared to be trading places as magnets for wealth. For decades the rich had been drawn to Britain by circumspect banks, loose regulations and the comforts of London. Until 2016, Britain had a sizable influx of millionaires every year, but the flow suddenly reversed last year with a net exodus of 3,000, amid fears that as Britain exits the European Union, London will fade as a financial capital. It did not help that in 2017 the government raised taxes on foreigners who buy property.

 

France had long been seen as the anti-Britain, a left-leaning bastion of prying bureaucrats and high taxes that scared off the wealthy, despite the charms of Paris. But the growing exodus of millionaires peaked in 2016 with a net outflow of 12,000, then slowed sharply to just 4,000 last year. The most likely reason: the May election of Emmanuel Macron, the youngest president in French history, who promised a lighter-touch bureaucracy less hostile to business and lowered wealth and capital gains taxes.

 

Granted, displaced millionaires get little if any sympathy, but no country gains by losing the talent and capital of its wealthiest residents, particularly not emerging countries like India. Stunningly, India in 2017 suffered a net loss of 7,000 members, or 2 percent, of its millionaire population. That exodus came despite global optimism about India’s growth prospects and matched the flight from the stagnant and sanction-battered economy of Russia, which also lost 2 percent of its millionaire population.

 

This unusual flight from India’s high-growth economy may be driven by the elite’s growing concerns about an official anticorruption drive and “tax terrorism” — unlimited authority given to tax officials to target the rich. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has lately begun catering to the nation’s deep socialist streak, wielding state power to flush out and tax hidden pockets of wealth.

 

In the worst cases, bouts of capital flight can gain momentum until the value of the currency collapses, plunging the nation into crisis. Balance of payments records show that 10 of the last 12 major currency crises, dating back to the Mexican peso meltdown of 1994, began when residents started sending money abroad, which was typically two years before the currency collapsed. Often politicians blamed “evil” and “immoral” foreign speculators for these crises, but it was the locals who first saw trouble coming.

 

Right now, this forensic accounting offers clear evidence of looming financial difficulty in only one major country: Turkey. Starting early last year, affluent Turks began effectively moving large sums of money out of the country by exchanging their lira bank deposits for dollars and euros, while foreigners continued to buy Turkish assets.

 

The 12 percent decline in Turkey’s millionaire population last year was by far the largest of any major economy, and second only to the 16 percent decline in Venezuela, with its small, hyperinflationary economy. Turkey’s millionaires appear to be fleeing both deteriorating financial conditions marked by very high inflation, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown on his critics, including those in business.

 

Millionaire migrations can be a positive sign for a nation’s economy. The losses for India, Russia and Turkey were gains for havens like Canada and Australia, joined lately by the United Arab Emirates. Owing largely to the stability and glitter of the most famous emirate, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates in 2017 had a net inflow of 5,000 millionaires, increasing the size of its affluent population by 6 percent, the largest gain in the world. Britain was among the millionaire havens until 2016, but may continue losing ground until it can resolve the uncertainties raised by Brexit.

 

Savvy locals are also the first to return when a country’s fortunes begin to turn for the better. In seven of the last 12 major currency crises, residents started bringing money back earlier than foreigners.

 

More broadly, economists and politicians might rethink the blame they heap on “immoral” foreigners in periods of capital flight. They assume global money managers are more sophisticated than provincial locals — but those longtime residents are in fact quicker to spot and respond to trouble in their own backyards. They might also assume that residents are more loyal than foreigners. But the drive to protect one’s assets often trumps patriotism.

 

Millionaires move money mainly out of self-interest, to find more rewarding or safer havens. There aren’t a lot of them, but they can tell us a great deal about what is going wrong — and right — in a country’s economic and political ecosystems. Leaders who create the right conditions to keep millionaires home will find that all of their residents — not just the wealthy ones — are richer for it.

20180604 The millionaires are fleeing.jpg

 

 

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東亞列國:和縱新局 (Balance in FluxEast Asian Power Dynamics)

May 19, 2018

以下是2018.5.19淡江大學國際會議的主題演講。
This is a keynote delivered at the annual international conference organized by the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies. (more notes in English follow those in Chinese)
題目是 東亞列國:和縱新局 (Balance in FluxEast Asian Power Dynamics)
感謝淡大戰略所李大中所長邀請。
中斌原先願意以英文提報。李所長考量提升收聽效果,以及與會外賓皆懂中文,傾向用中文。中斌遵照辦理。

敬請賜教。
林中斌 2018.5.23

●The topic was "Balance in Flux East Asian Power Dynamics".
●The keynote began by challenging two mainstream views.
1. North Korea turns to the U.S. to foil China
2. China is increasingly isolated in East Asia
●Recent foreign policy adjustments of China's neighbors have suggested a re-evaluation of these mainstream views.
●Two factors are offered to explain the new trend.
●One is President Donald Trump's "America First" policy and his policy unpredictability.
●The second is Beijing's grand strategy of "Dominating East Asia without War" characterized by "extra-military emphasis" and "struggle without breaking" 
(Beijing's grand strategy was first presented October 4, 2004 at the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference, Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas, Scottsdale, Arizona. See Chong-Pin Lin, " Win with Wisdom: when wrestling with a giant"
以智取勝 Taipei: Global Defense Magazine 2005 p.v)
(For "Struggle without Breaking", see Chong-Pin Lin, "Behind Rising East Asian Maritime Tensions with China: Struggle without Breaking" Asian Survey Vol.55 Number 3, May-June 2015 pp.478-500)

Chong-Pin Lin May 23, 2018

 

 

 

 

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Keith Bradsher, ”China takes a victory lap”  

Mark Lander and Ana Swanson, “Infighting stalls drive for trade agreement”

 

2018.5.23 ,國際紐約時報登載兩篇調查。

--中方這圈貿易談判"賽跑"贏了(China takes a victory lap)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/business/china-trade-trump.html accessed May 24, 2018

-- 美方內鬥阻礙了達成貿易協定(Infighting stalls drive for trade agreement)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/us/politics/trump-trade-china.html accessed May 24, 2018

-- 要點是川普先硬後軟。因為他同時想要川金會,和逼迫北京讓步的美中貿易協定。於是他拿不定主意,猶豫了。

-- 中方戰略前後一致。

-- 美方內鬥嚴重。商務部長Steven Mnuchin的聲明幾小時後被自己人貿易代表Robert Lighthizer 公開推翻。

--中方內部一條鞕。中方政策決定加快。以前需一天的,現在只要一小時。

-- 最後雙方聲明沒有數字。讓中方過了。

林中斌 試摘譯 2018.5.24

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談判桌大翻轉 美國衰老 陸年輕

旺報 2018.05.23 P.A6

風水百年轉。

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Thomas Friedman, "Is the U.S. Becoming Like China"

International New York Times May 11, 2018 p.11

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/opinion/us-china-more-alike.html

 

"世界是平的"作者在紐約時報發表短文"美國變得像中國了嗎?"

*"...in both Beijing and Washington, self-censorship, and biting one's tongue, is more rife than ever-- but for different reasons. In Beijing it's so you won't get arrested. In Washington it's so you won't get into a fight. In both cases, the net results are fewer people talking truth across ideological lines."

"在北京和華府,言論自我省察以及有話不敢說比過去都嚴重,只是原因不同。在北京是為了怕被逮捕。在華府是為了怕和人爭鬥。但最後結果都一樣:願意和政治看法不同的人對話的愈來愈少了。"

*“In the 466 days since he took the oath of office, President Trump has made 3,001 false or misleading claims, according to The Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president. That’s an average of nearly 6.5 claims a day.

I suspect President Xi has a far higher truth batting average in his public statements than President Trump.”

"川普上任466天以來,發表過3,001件錯話或謊言, 平均每天6.5件。"

*"I suspect President Xi has a far higher truth batting average in his public statements than President Trump."

"我懷疑習主席公開發言裡說實話的成分高於川普總統。"

*"But Trump clearly wants us to act like China: 'Don't show me your values. Show me your money and arms purchases."

●川普明顯的要美國學中國:別跟我說你的價值和信念是什麼。給我看你的錢,告訴我你要買什麼武器。

*Trump, who was surely not 100 percent joking when he said in March of President Xi: “President for life. … I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll want to give that a shot someday.”

●川普顯然不是在開玩笑,當他今年三月談到習主席時曾說: "元首終身職...我認為太好了。也許哪天我們也該試試看。"

林中斌 試摘譯 2018.5.16

The U.S. and China: More Alike Than We’d Like?

By Thomas L. Friedman Opinion Columnist May 8, 2018

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/opinion/us-china-more-alike.html

accessed May 16, 2018

Image

A billboard in Beijing noted achievements of President Xi Jinping.CreditKyodo News, via Getty Images

It is impossible to visit China these days and not compare and contrast the drama playing out in Beijing politics with the drama playing out in Washington politics. While the differences are many, I am sorry to report that some of the parallels are getting too close for comfort.

Let’s start with the fact that the anti-corruption crackdown by President Xi Jinping has created a climate of fear in China these days — whether about interacting with foreigners or saying the wrong thing or behaving too extravagantly so as to attract the state “anti-corruption” detectives.

But because “corruption” has not been clearly defined — and can be used to get rid of anyone for any reason — people don’t know where the line is, so they’re extra cautious. That’s why during a week in Beijing the most frequent expression I heard was, “Youre not quoting me on this, right?”

But if the Chinese are afraid to talk to one another, in America we’ve forgotten how to talk to one another.

In Washington these days it is not uncommon for people to be invited to a dinner or a public gathering and think to themselves: “I hope none of them will be there.” And the them people are talking about is not someone of a different faith or race — which would be awful enough — but it’s someone just from a different political party.

In other words, in both Beijing and Washington, self-censorship, and biting one’s tongue, is more rife than ever — but for different reasons. In Beijing it’s so you won’t get arrested. In Washington it’s so you won’t get into a fight. In both cases, though, the net results are fewer people talking truth across ideological lines.

At the same time, in China today, if you’re a Communist Party official or senior bureaucrat, you have to toe the ruling party’s line or you could be quickly purged or imprisoned. In America today, if you’re a Republican Party congressman or senator, you, too, have to toe the ruling party’s line or you could be quickly purged or primaried — or get a tweet in the back from the president.

But there is one difference: In China’s ruling Communist Party, it’s never safe to criticize the president. In America’s ruling Republican Party, you can criticize the president, or vote your conscience, if you’re dying, retiring or whispering.

Or, as a dying Senator John McCain observed in his new book: “This is my last term. … I’m freer than colleagues who will face the voters again. I can speak my mind without fearing the consequences much. And I can vote my conscience without worry.”

 

The Chinese government will not hesitate to put out propaganda to support the government or defend China’s interests, whether the facts are true or not. Ditto Donald Trump and his White House. Last week The Washington Post reported: “In the 466 days since he took the oath of office, President Trump has made 3,001 false or misleading claims, according to The Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president. That’s an average of nearly 6.5 claims a day.”

I suspect President Xi has a far higher truth batting average in his public statements than President Trump.

The fawning and lack of skepticism with which China Central Television covers Xi, though, is indistinguishable from the fawning and lack of skepticism by “Fox & Friends” and Sean Hannity when discussing Trump.

That probably partially explains why more and more Chinese do not think that we are as “exceptional” a nation as we think we are — and they are now ready to say so: loudly. I was struck by how many officials and experts at a Tsinghua University seminar I attended were so willing to baldly state that their top-down, one-party system of governance and state-directed capitalism was superior to our multiparty, democratic, free-market system.

And the two big pieces of evidence they always cited was that they never went through the kind of 2008 economic meltdown that we did, and their system never put up a leader as undisciplined, dishonest and unstable as Donald Trump (at least not since Mao).

On this I often pushed back on my Chinese interlocutors to be humbler and warier of what the future may hold. Their one-party, one-man decision-making system can make big decisions fast. But it can also make big wrong decisions fast. For instance, Bloomberg News reported in February: “In 2008, China’s total debt was about 141 percent of its gross domestic product. By mid-2017 that number had risen to 256 percent. Countries that take on such a large amount of debt in such a short period typically face a hard landing.”

But Xi and the Chinese Communist Party at least stimulated their economy in order to avoid a real economic crisis — for themselves and the world. Trump and his Republican Party just added $1.5 trillion to America’s debt to pay for tax cuts for businesses and individuals at a time when our economy was already on the rise. Trump did so knowing that he would be here to take credit for any boom — and be long gone when we have to do the belt-tightening necessary so that interest on the debt doesn’t devour all nondefense spending and lead to a bust.

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One contrast, Chinese are ready to sacrifice to make China great again. Trump wants to make America great again without asking us to do anything hard — just cut taxes and regulations for rich people and corporations and keep pumping fossil fuels, and not invest in public goods like education and infrastructure, which have been the real engines of China’s resurgence.

Chinese foreign policy has always been transactional, saying to neighbors, “Give us access to your markets and we will build you infrastructure that we can both use — then we will be allies.” U.S. foreign policy, while it has always had its cynical, transactional side, particularly in the Cold War, has tended more toward, “Share our values and then we can be allies.”

But Trump clearly wants us to act more like China: “Don’t show me your values. Show me your money and your arms purchases. Don’t think of me as your ally. Think of me as your landlord. Pay for our protection and we can be friends.”

Fortunately, for now, one big difference remains: While Xi has cowed his news media, Trump, despite all his efforts to discredit our free press, has actually ended up invigorating it. Fox aside, it’s feistier than ever. And while institutions and the rule of law in China have always been a weak restraint on its leaders, institutions built over 250 years in America have continued to restrain Trump — for now.

But they will have to hold for at least another two and a half years, and that will not be easy with a president like Trump, who was surely not 100 percent joking when he said in March of President Xi: “President for life. … I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll want to give that a shot someday.”

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國防部前副部長多年失聰 「奇蹟」復原竟是這原因(動畫)

https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20180514/1352749/

國防部前副部長、兩岸專家林中斌是政壇耆宿,但鮮少人知,原來他左耳早在10多前已失聰,且去年10月去踏青時淋雨後,竟連右耳也聽力也大減,原本已準備戴助聽器,今年1月到亞東醫院檢查,僅抽出積水,雙耳聽力竟奇蹟復原,感嘆「聽到老婆正常講話,還覺得太大聲」,並在臉書寫下這段經歷,分享他波折的「失聰復得記」。
 
《蘋果》日前赴林中斌家,76歲的他除精神奕奕,對於《蘋果》以正常音量訪問,且兩人相距1公尺以上,他仍聽得萬分清楚,實在很難想像他在數月前幾乎全聾。
 
林中斌表示,他的左耳聽力從20多前開始退化,10多年前已失聰,這些年都靠右耳聽人講話,想不到去年10月他去宜蘭桃源谷步道,途中淋了一些雨、有點感冒,幾天後右耳聽力竟也急速衰退,嚴重影響他生活,不但聽話困難,還有主持會議、媒體受訪等活動,讓他非常頭大,一度認為是時候戴助聽器了。
 
林中斌曾赴住家附近的醫學中心給醫師檢查,但1個多月內4次就診,最後被醫師宣告「內耳神經老化、受損」,後半輩子都得戴助聽器,讓他一度確信自己聽力已一去不回。
 
今年1月時,林中斌在一名學生力勸下,前往亞東醫院給人工耳蝸中心主任陳光超看診,當時他心中已不抱任何希望,但陳聽了他的敘述後,做了一系列的檢查診斷,便說「來抽個水吧」,想不到雙耳抽出積水後,除右耳外,連10多年來幾乎全聾的左耳也能聽見聲音,讓他直呼:「實在太神奇!」
 
陳光超表示,50歲以上成人一半以上聽力會退化5成,但林中斌雙耳則是因中耳積水導致暫時性聽力喪失,原因是中耳有積水時,負責接收聲音的毛細胞「就像泡在水中」,震動會減少,耳膜、三塊聽小骨接受到的聲音訊號也大打折扣,進而影響聽力,這只要抽除積水,聽力即可回復。
 
至於他院醫師為何未確診,陳光超解釋,中耳積水通常呈現偏黃的琥珀色,但林中斌的耳內積水透明,才會多次檢查仍無法發現;感冒、中耳炎等都可能讓耳咽管阻塞,產生中耳積水,而年長者因聽力已退化,一旦中耳積水,影響聽力的情形會更嚴重,建議家中若有長輩突然聽不清,要懷疑有可能只是中耳積水,正確處理便能改善。
 
北榮耳鼻喉頭頸醫學部主任蕭安穗則提醒,中耳積水要小心也可能是鼻咽癌,因患者的腫瘤若塞住耳咽管、導致中耳積水;陳光超說,如果僅有單側中耳積水,確實最好連鼻咽部位也一併檢查。(黃仲丘/台北報導)

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林泉忠,台日關係的中國因素

自由時報2018513

王輝生,力挺安倍 台灣竟輸中國

自由時報2018513

陳君碩,防尼克森震撼重演 安倍向陸示好

旺報201687

 

2018.5.13 自由時報評論已不諱言中日關係加溫,臺日關係相反。

*自從中日關係於去年下半年開始出現明顯和緩勢頭後,(日本)這些強化與台灣政治關係的舉措就不再出現。

*...因此在東京有求於中國的氣氛下,難以期待日本會在此期間進一步提升與台灣關係。(林泉忠博士教授)

*有史以來對台灣最友善的安倍首相,...政權岌岌可危...中國頻頻向日本伸出橄欖枝...李克強於選前...適時來訪,給正身處冰雪中的安倍送上溫暖的炭火...(王輝生理事長)

*"安倍與北京改善關係是一種未雨綢繆" (2016.8.7 林中斌)

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林蒼生, “清富,順自然的企業家

聯合報 2018513

*應該把精力放在優點的延伸 ,而非缺點的糾正。

*靜靜祈禱然後思考的習慣,是很重要的日常功課。

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