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California Girl's avatar

My sympathies have been with the Taiwan people since I visited there many years ago. I am having trouble writing anything about American advantages, as both the PRC and the ROC are sovereign nations. America should just butt out.

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Jo Waller's avatar

yep

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Decaf's avatar

Sigh. Don't we have enough problems here that we aren't taking care of to want to create new and needless ones overseas? It seems the only thing this administration is good at is focusing on the inconsequential (i.e., things that don't need to be done and that will harm us if they are done, like the gas stove and washing machine thing, and the promotion of woke policies everywhere, plus forcing the vaccine mandate, etc, etc, etc) that only they care about but that wreak havoc for the rest of us.

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Jo Waller's avatar

I wrote the whole thing before I even knew about the Aukus subs, $360 billion (for arms manufacturers) between your country, mine and Oz to control the threat of China becoming more powerful economically.

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Decaf's avatar

I don't even know about them. Probably meant to be a breather...

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Mystic William's avatar

A tiny thing Decaf (I am half caf myself, by the way) is refrigerator motors. We have such restrictions on power consumption with fridges that our big fridges wear out every five years. All my neighbours have these giant $14,000 fridges they keep having to replace. The motors have to be ‘power smart’ and are hence too small for the size of the big fridges. They burn out from working overtime 24/7. Of course those motors aren’t made anymore and can’t be repaired so the $14,000 fridge is tossed. The first Apple iPhones were indestructible. Now people are replacing them every 3 years for $1500-$2000!! They wreck whatever is working well.

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California Girl's avatar

You certainly have your work cut out for you, opposing the BBC and the gd proxy wars. I pray for your success. None of the proxy wars benefit me, they are done for ego and gain.

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Patrick Powers's avatar

I'd say the main issue is that China won't accept a US military base in Taiwan.

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Pete Lincoln's avatar

Taiwan is of course important to the world for the manufacture of electronic chips. Its workers, some of the world’s poorest, working in the worst conditions.”

You must be talking about some other country. Taiwan people have it great. And TSMC workers have it even better. Not poor at all, great working conditions. The exception is factories using imported labor. They are not paid or treated well. These are jobs Taiwan people wont do.

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Jo Waller's avatar

ah thanks again - I did't know that - I knew that someone was doing these jobs, though the economy of Taiwan was great

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Jo Waller's avatar

It really doesn't affect the point of my post which is increasing Western meddling. I wrote it before I even knew about the Aukus submarines $360 billion worth of UK,US. and Oz tax payers money just in case China gets uppity.

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Bono's Mullet's avatar

“Taiwan is of course important to the world for the manufacture of electronic chips. Its workers, some of the world’s poorest, working in the worst conditions.”

Seriously? This statement might have been more accurate in the immediate post-war era when Taiwan was early in its occupation by the Nationalist Kuomintang regime. But the country underwent extensive economic and industrial development and since the 1980s has been a modern, developed country. There is a wage gap, and a wealth gap between the really rich and the average worker, but most Taiwanese can afford to buy new cars, dress well, pursue hobbies, and travel around the world.

The average per capita income is around US$22,600 as of 2022, but the cost of living is still reasonable. For instance, a delicious breakfast washed down with milk tea costs about 3 USD, whereas an omelet and coffee is 18 bucks here in Commiefornia.

Taiwan has its issues with wage inequality and good paying jobs for qualified graduates, but by no means are her workers among the poorest in the world.

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Jo Waller's avatar

thank you, they still seem to be the only. ones willing to work in the horrible sterile conditions of the chip factories

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Jo Waller's avatar

Hi Bono, as predicted the war is hotting up https://jowaller.substack.com/p/the-dragon-puts-her-foot-down-and

I hope the Taiwanese come to their senses

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Mystic William's avatar

I just spent 18 days in Carlsbad. Man! Is it expensive now. I thought inflation was bad here in Canada. It is way better than Cali.

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Decaf's avatar

I sometimes go half-caff when I see one of those hazelnut coffees (yeah, I know, but it's now and then). It's a syndrome. I think they're in an endless loop where they have to keep tweaking. This may be behind much of their private fault-finding and their crazy eco codes. They fix something small and fail to see how much chaos they cause in the big picture. Of course, tackling the big picture, even the thought, would overwhelm them, and so they keep tweaking away. (I began this with whimsy, but I think I've decoded something real that I could never figure out.)

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Mystic William's avatar

The fridge people won’t fight the eco-codes. I had an idea to stop bike theft and ran it past a bike manufacturer. He said ‘great idea!’ ‘Will you do it?’ He wouldn’t. Bike theft kept those sales happening. Same with fridge companies. As long as all the $12-$20,000 fridges were in the same boat they loooove the eco nuttiness.

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Bono's Mullet's avatar

Also, China isn’t after Taiwan for her “sweatshop labor”, not just because Taiwan doesn’t have sweatshops, but China has more than enough surplus migrant labor of its own.

It would take a book to detail all the historical, political and economic factors for why China wants to absorb Taiwan back as part of its territory, which by the way it hasn’t been part of since China (under the Qing dynasty) ceded it to Japan in 1895.

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Jo Waller's avatar

China has the labour force but doesn't have the technology or the patent on chip manufacture which I think is owned by the Dutch and British?

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Mystic William's avatar

China does not have the labour force. They are in population meltdown. China’s got a giant demographic problem. I have been to China 25 times on business. Workers quit any job easily because there are five more openings waiting for them.

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Jo Waller's avatar

I was saying the US wanted to ensure access to sweatshop labour not China

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Bono's Mullet's avatar

I stand corrected on the subject of that assertion, but reiterate that Taiwan really doesn’t have sweatshops. If it were bare bones minimal cost that the US were after then TSMC wouldn’t be setting up a semiconductor fab in Arizona, and first going to the expense of training US workers in Taiwan for 12-18 months.

https://topics.amcham.com.tw/2022/04/why-tsmc-building-a-fab-in-the-american-desert/

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Jo Waller's avatar

Edited. Thanks Bono's Mullet this is why I post on Substack. To get a sensible conversation going and learn stuff 🙏🏽

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Jo Waller's avatar

This is a completely new situation for Taiwanese vendors: moving from a low-cost country to a high-cost country, where cost planning, the language environment, assessment of the local regulatory environment, and operational strategy are completely different.

Other roles TSMC is currently seeking to fill for its Arizona plant include engineer, analytical chemist, as well as nearly 70 new positions, including global logistics management specialist and global supply chain specialist.’

All prep for taking access to semiconductors away from China

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Jo Waller's avatar

“Everyone is working hard to overcome the poor overall environment, including labor and material shortages,” says Lee Huei-wen, president of United Integrated Services (UIS), a major clean room provider for TSMC.

One supply chain insider disclosed that equipment such as the specialized gas lines and exhaust systems for clean rooms use a modular approach consisting of “manufacture in Taiwan, transport of the entire plant, and assembly in the U.S.”

This is so interesting thank you. They are not sweat shops they are engineers working in really. difficult conditions. I will edit.

This absolutely. supports my case though of US interference - they are bring Taiwanese chips to America for if they want to use Taiwan to get at China and a scorched earth policy for destroying semiconductor factories

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Bono's Mullet's avatar

I agree with your point on US meddling. The whole Dept. of Energy "revelation" of Gain of Fiction work in Wuhan is also meant to drum up hatred of China and support for US intervention in China, or worse.

Glad you found the article useful. I am the translator.

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Jo Waller's avatar

OMG! We have some amazing and interesting people here on substack. I am deeply appreciative of your comments and perspective.

Jo

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Jo Waller's avatar

the Chinese nationalists people who live their still think of themselves as Chinese and part of one China which was my point

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Bono's Mullet's avatar

The Nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1947. It's been more than 75 years since then and few of the old guard remain. Many of their children intermarried with Taiwanese whose families found their way to the island at various times over the past 400 years, and their children's children (today's generation of 25-45ish) overwhelmingly identify as Taiwanese.

There have been all sorts of opinion polls conducted among Taiwan's 23 million people. In recent years, the vast majority favour independence or the status quo of de facto independence from China. When the question of independence probes into the issue of independence without the threat of attack or invasion from China more than 70% of Taiwanese are in favour of it.

Of course, the practical reality is that any unilateral move toward de facto independence would draw an attack from the PRC. And that's nothing that Taiwan's wussified younger generation of fighting-age males can withstand.

I hope I'm offering decent insight on Taiwan, having lived there for most of my adult years.

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Jo Waller's avatar

Hello, I've added this insider info in as well, I hope you don't mind.

It is very worrying, though also fascinating, what's happening in the world.

Please keep us up to date with your perspective on what's going on. I predict Taiwan will be mentioned in the news as often as Ukraine in the new future.

Thanks again B's M

🙏🏽

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Bono's Mullet's avatar

God, I hope Taiwan stays unmolested. My best friends all live there for a start.

Happy to offer my personal experience and perspective.

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Jo Waller's avatar

Hi again BM, do you follow Caitlin Johnson? this today https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/reminder-the-media-once-bashed-trump for ignoring One China policy. Now Biden openly supporting Taiwan 'against' China

Jo

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Bono's Mullet's avatar

Thanks for the heads up, Jo.

I do read Caitlin’s posts from time to time.

This one really brought out all the incoherent crazies. What a whackadoodle comment section!

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Jo Waller's avatar

Me too 🙏🏽

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Jo Waller's avatar

Thank you 🙏🏽

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Decaf's avatar

It's infuriating because it's so witless. The fridge people, I can understand. The gains are there for them. It's normal to want to sell more. What's needed is a fridge company that breaks the mold, like Warby Parker for glasses. But in the mean time it's kind of fun to point out the policy failures like when I told a friend that higher minimum wages meant fewer jobs for people and small companies being unable to stay in business. They're stunned they haven't thought of everything in their quest to do good.

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Mystic William's avatar

There are numerous facts and factions at play here. The biggest by far is the armaments industry. They want constant saber rattling. And they want constant SMALL wars. They need to expend the armaments. Joe Biden, all the big Dems, and all the big Rs get rich from ‘proxy wars’. As do Brit big pols and German and French etc.

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