sammaverick

Next time you are in Texas, see if you can attend a high school or college football game. You really get a taste of culture there.

Favorite potato dish? How do you personally pronounce the word potato?

Wait wait, where in Texas are you? I'll come by if you are close for future vacuum purchases!

Senator Gravel, in 1971 when the Pentagon Papers were leaked, and the nation's press was under the threat of being censored for publishing it, you as a US congressman stood in your subcommittee and read/submitted all the documents into public record so that the government could not silence the truth.

Compare that to the wikileaks situation and the reaction by certain congressmen, why do you think our representatives lack the balls, courage and patriotism you had? Why do they not understand the importance of the situation?

In the face of globalization, capitalism(competition) and free trade, what is the realistic alternative or future for Taiwan's economy?

Looking at Taiwan's economy, it lacks natural resources, and seems like tourism/service is the most optimistic option. Its electronics industry has either moved manufacturing to China or is lagging compared to Korea.

In other words, what I am asking is that given the reluctance to engage in free trade agreements with the second largest trade market - China, by the people in Taiwan due to their (China's) perceived hostility, what realistic alternatives are there for the people in Taiwan? From my understanding, your president signing ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement), which this treaty is part of, is a bit of a hail Mary pass to gain additional leverage with China and create more trade agreements with other countries.

You can claim there are other countries to engage in trade with, but the elephant in the room will always be that China, which represents a very large market, is your neighbor.

Do you think the younger generation in Taiwan is competitive enough to survive in this environment? Coming from someone in the States that is more fiscally conservative, I feel like the people in Taiwan rely on the government too much (the flip side is they blame the government for more things) and lack the initiative to "Pull themselves from their bootstraps" so to speak. That seems worrisome in the face of global competition.