Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Taiwan Up, Now There is an Embarassing Expression

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

Even though Dubai now claims the world's tallest operative building, Taipei 101 (having held that boast for 5 years) still stands proud and tall over the city of Taipei. Proud and tall, that is, except for one item, the unfortunate glowing lights spelling out "Taiwan Up" on its façade. Taiwan Up, who came up with that embarrassing inept slogan?

All sorts of connotations come to mind. Reverse it and you have the insulting "Up Taiwan" or the sexual connotation in, "Can't you get it up." Then there is someone talking to their dog, "Up boy, up!" or Superman saying "Up, up and away." All are part of the language, but "Taiwan Up" is not.

Afghanistan: Opportunity for Taiwan

Taipei Times

Pundits have busied themselves in the past week trying to determine whether a decision by Taipei to renegotiate US beef imports with Washington will have implications on US security commitments to Taiwan. Already, an unexpected delay in US President Barack Obama’s weapons sale notification to Congress — which had been expected soon after Obama returned from climate talks in Copenhagen last month — had prompted speculation that Washington may be tying economic matters to political ones and retaliating for the about-face.

Defense contractors give Obama advice on Taiwan security

Michael Richardson

Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, has written a sharply worded report on weapons sales to Taiwan that is critical of President Barack Obama.

The trade group is a high-powered consortium of top defense contractors including Lockheed Martin, Boeing Co, and Raytheon Corporation. U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and John D. Rockefeller (D-VA) are honorary co-chairs of the council. Chairman of the Board is Paul Wolfowitz, former head of the World Bank.

U.S. should understand Taiwan's beef stand

Taiwan News Editorial

United States government officials have expressed exasperation over why Taiwan's Legislative Yuan may revise the Food Sanitation Act Tuesday to ban imports of U.S. ground beef, offals or even beef in bone.

Senior officials of President Ma Ying-jeou's right-wing Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) government have publically speculated that U.S. President Barack Obama's Democratic Party administration will retaliate against Taiwan's alleged "unilateral abrogation" of the protocol signed Oct. 22 by Taiwan Economic and Culture Representative Office and American Institute in Taiwan to reopen imports of these risky US beef through delaying talks on a long-expected U.S.-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) or even by further delays in defensive arms sales.

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