Two days after Ma Ying-jeou's successful re-election, Chinese internet users still can't stop talking about Taiwan's 2012 presidential election. On Sina Weibo, China's largest microblogging platform, the election has remained the top trending topic as Chinese netizens look across the Taiwan straits and ponder over their own democratic future. Here is a selection of some of the most viral posts on Sina Weibo on the Taiwan election: more ›

Ma Ying-jeou (马英九), chairman of the Kuomintang, was re-elected as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), winning 51.6% of total votes cast, a comfortable 800,000 vote lead over his top contender, Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). James Soong (宋楚瑜) of the People First Party received 2.8% of the vote. more ›

"You know, quite a lot of mainland tourists now, more than 2.6 million, have come to Taiwan. They have done a lot of consumption in Taiwan, and spurred a tourism boom. At the same time, moreover, they have also got a sense of Taiwan’s democracy and freedom. A lot of them didn’t go out during the evening. Instead, they lock themselves up in their hotel rooms, watching the political talk shows to see our people criticizing their president. [laughter] Well, that’s democracy. That’s, you know, freedom of expression. But after a while, they began to ask why they couldn’t do the same when they go home? So, this is a very powerful question, and gradually they will make some changes, not only in our cross-strait relations, but also in their own internal system." more ›

"He's an artist and should have the freedom to express his artistic views... This is also the core value of Taiwan." more ›

With just three months left to the presidential elections in Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who has never been known to utter the words "Republic of China", has made a startling statement. more ›

Taiwan's 2012 presidential elections is now looking a whole lot more interesting with the entrance of James Soong (宋楚瑜), founder of the People First Party, into the race. more ›

While President Hu Jintao may be the captain of the world's second largest economy, he pays himself a very modest salary of approximately US$10,633 per annum. That's a tiny fraction of the US$184,000 that Ma Ying-Jeou, the President of Taiwan, and the US$530,000 that Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, take home each year. more ›

"In 1988, Texas and Taiwan Province became sister states... Over the past two years, we have engaged in many exchanges in technology, culture, education and agriculture" more ›

Surprising no one, China's pretty nonplussed about the Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan, letting it be known yesterday that they "resolutely oppose" it "in whatever form and capacity." Said a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, "The Dalai Lama is not a pure religious figure... Under the pretext of religion, he has all along been engaged in separatist activities." It accused the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, known for its pro-independence platform, of stirring up trouble by inviting him. The situation makes us feel sorry for Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, who's kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place this time around - on one hand, you've got a populace that already accuses you of being useless and a China butt kisser and on the other hand, you've got... well, China. Source: Xinhua Photo from Taiwan Guide more ›

• Trade Group Rules Against China’s Limits on Media Imports [NY Times] "A World Trade Organization panel ruled on Wednesday that China had violated international free trade rules by limiting imports of books and movies, in a decision that buttresses growing complaints from the United States and Europe about Chinese trade policies. The W.T.O. decision in Geneva is a victory for the United States at a time when a growing number of business executives and politicians perceive China as becoming increasingly nationalistic in its trade policies."
• Heavy Metal Warfare [Caijing] "Seven-year-old Liu Bingqing died in December 2008, two years after he was diagnosed with cadmium poisoning. In Xinma Village, Majiahe Township, Zhuzhou City, in central China's Hunan Province. Liu was not the first to die from contact with this toxic, bluish-white metal, a by-product of zinc production. In early 2006, the sudden death of his fellow villager, Luo Shaokun, had already sparked cadmium-related health and environmental concerns. A government-administered physical test found excessive levels of cadmium in the urine of more than 1,100 Xinma villagers, with severely excessive levels in 200 residents. "
• China's Cancer-Causing Factories [CBS News] "Deng Dingfu is living out his final days wracked with the pain of lung cancer - lung cancer blamed on toxic pollution, reports CBS News Correspondent Celia Hatton. "My doctor asked me if I live near a chemical plant," he said. In fact, he lives very close to one. The Red Butterfly Chemical Factory lies right in the heart of central China's Yong Xi village. Since 2002, the plant has processed strontium carbonate, a powerful substance used in color TV screens. Dozens of people describe how the factory's waste is making them sick. Many say they've developed painful rashes from the village water. Several people have been arrested for speaking out. But locals showed no fear when a plainclothes police officer confronted a CBS news crew. The angry crowd eventually drove him away. "

• Chinese athletes boycott closing ceremony of World Games [Earth Times] "Chinese athletes boycotted the closing ceremony Sunday evening of the 8th World Games in Kaohsiung, south Taiwan. When athletes entered the Main Statium in Kaohsiung, south Taiwan, there was only a Taiwan student holding the Chinese red flag marching behind the girl holding the "China" placard."
• Chinese Steelworkers Fight Privatization Effort [WSJ]"A Hong Kong-based human-rights group said thousands of steel workers in China's northeast staged an at-times violent protest against the planned takeover of their state-run employer and a group of them killed a top executive at the private company that was to acquire it. Several local officials and residents confirmed a protest took place Friday in Tonghua, in Jilin province, but details of the report by the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, including the size of the protest and the manager's death, couldn't be confirmed."
• Taiwan’s Ma Takes Party Post, Boosting China Summit Prospects [Bloomberg] "Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou was voted chairman of the ruling Kuomintang party, an appointment that may pave the way for a historic summit with China. Ma, the only candidate for the position, received 94 percent of votes cast yesterday, Chen Shu-rong, a Kuomintang spokeswoman said in Taipei."

• China says AIDS sufferers led attack on Belgian TV crew [China Media Project]
• The Chinese government is now offering a 13% subsidy to farmers in rural areas for the purchase of basic household appliances like washing machines, cell phones, color TVs, and refrigerators. Will the plan work? [WSJ China Journal]
• Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou spoke directly to a mainland Chinese audience for the first time since he took office yesterday. Live broadcast in Chinese here.

more ›

It's just four days to Taiwan's presidential elections, and the latest turn of events in Tibet have loomed large in the rhetoric on both camps. Here are a few things that Frank Hsieh 謝長廷 (DPP), currently lagging in opinion polls and the underdog in the race (mainly because of the corruption charges against his predecessor), has said:

"As we look at Tibet, we must think about our own fate." more ›