Taiwan Election Media Coverage

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Yesterday was Taiwan’s presidential election. When I decided to come to Taipei, I had no idea that 2012 was a presidential year. In the weeks since I’ve been here, I’ve seen countless ads on buses, heard over passing cars with blaring megaphones, on the television, and even flyered on the campus once to don’t forget to vote!

After all the fuss, the campaigns for president against Tsai-Ing Wen and Ma Ying Jeou finally culminated. I spent the better part of Saturday paying attention to the news. Yea, I didn’t understand a good bit of it, but it was interesting to see how the media in Taiwan covered the election. I thought about the big rivalry between the Democratic CNN and Republican FoxNews. The same political bias exists here as well, between certain channels supporting the Kuomintang (KMT) or the Democratic People’s Party (DPP).

In the end, Ma Ying Jeou won. As these articles from the NYT and BBC discuss, Ma’s success ensures that cross-strait relations will continue to improve, not decline, as many thought would have happened if the DPP won. As an American, from a US-China relation’s standpoint, I’m glad Ma won. If it’s good for America, then it’s good in my book.

One other thing that I found interesting was watching the victory and defeat speeches at the end of the night. Ma’s speech almost had a Nixon-esque vibe to it. “xie xie dajia, women ying le (thanks everyone, we won!)” yelled Ma as he raised both arms waving a victory/peace sign, while his campaign staff did likewise. Meanwhile, on the DPP side, I couldn’t help but notice that the media seemed to pay attention to the audience, primarily women, who were pretty much balling in tears of sadness…goes to show how powerful a role the media plays in free nations.

Social Mobility in America

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Earlier this past week, I came across this article from The Times about the increasing difficulty of social mobility in America. It goes on to cite that when compared to the other countries in the West, family background has a huge impact on how likely an individual in the States moves up, down, or remains at the same economic level as their parents.

Obviously, this problem isn’t new. As the occupy movement demonstrates, it’s pretty clear America has a growing inequality problem. I certainly agree that an unequal society means unequal opportunities. It might be more difficult to “rise up,” but I don’t think it’s certainly impossible. Regardless of increasing disparity and economic background, I think social mobility, like every other goal, is really dependent on an individual’s determination and perseverance to achieve.

2012 – The Year Ahead

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One week down, 51 more to go.

I was never one to make resolutions. I think the notion of resolutions is kind of a farce. Why do I need the New Year to force me to work towards a goal? I mean, whether I wake up to another day in the middle of the year, or the first of the year, every new day brings the chance to work towards something. ANYTHING. I certainly have goals, and this year is no exception. If I accomplish them, it’d be great. If not, it’s okay. I believe that like so many things in life, it’s the journey, rather than the destination, that matters the most. Below are my goals for the year:

Professional:
–       Get into graduate school.
–       Get published in an academic journal.
–       Pass the TOCFL Master or HSK Level 5.
–       Get a policy or IR-related job or internship, preferably in DC.

Personal:
–       Learn to code.
–       Run a half-marathon.
–       Blog at least once a week.
–       Go to mass at least once a month.

2011 in Review

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The past year was definitely one to remember.

January:
Hope. For the past five years I’ve spent the holiday season back in Los Angeles. When I left for LA in December, I was disappointed that I wasn’t staying indefinitely. Even though I had been in Washington for already 6 months, I still had a tough time adjusting to life there. When I returned to Washington in January, I promised myself that I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from living a better life – no fears, no regrets, no doubts, no haters.

February:
Focused. Of the three aspects of my life that I set out to improve (spiritual, professional, and social), I recall particularly focusing on my life at work. Armed with what I had learnt the previous month, I was making strides for the first time, at least I felt, towards building up a positive name for myself at the firm. Additionally, I got involved with a pro-bono project relating to social entrepreneurship through my firm. My involvement with Ashoka fueled my curiosity to learn more about the field.

March:
Determined. I remember messing up a lot on the job during this month. Regardless, I was determined to work through these mistakes and prove that I was indeed not only a competent, but also core asset to my team. My family came to visit the east coast as well during this month. Our weekend trip up to NYC, the first time in over a year that I had gone up to the city, was a much-welcomed mini-vacation.

April:
Perseverance. Four months into the year and I was already loosing steam in achieving my goals for a happier life in Washington. I knew that patience was a virtue, but I found it harder to keep trying to improve my personal and professional lives without seeing any tangible outcomes. In an effort to remind me to stay focused on my goals, I created this blog, to hold myself accountable. I also took a class at the Alliance Francaise; however, I stopped because it was moving way too slowly. After studying Chinese, I realized that despite its reputation as one of the more difficult of the Romance languages, a class was unnecessary to learn French.

May:
A turning point. I remember this month being very fun, from a social perspective. For the first time, in a long while, I was actually doing things outside of work on a regular basis. Meeting new people, going to new places, hanging out. I almost imagined that this was what life should’ve been like back in college, before I let my insecurities get the better of me. I also did my first volunteer shift for the Freer Sackler through their summer-drinks series entitled, “Asia After Dark.” I also attended my first (and only) “Team in Training” event to prepare for the Philadelphia Marathon at the end of the year.

June:
Appreciation. I made a year living in Washington this month. Professional life was going well and social life was finally developing. For the first time in a long while, I really just couldn’t believe how far my circumstances had changed over the past year. This sensation and feeling of appreciation was undoubtedly the best birthday present I could’ve asked for.

July:
Enjoyment. Professional life had not changed much. Outside of work I continued to fuel my renewed interests in international relations. I volunteered at the triennial Society of International Development’s World Congress, where I had the chance to meet some great people with similar interests, and learned the affect of China’s continued economic rise has had on reshaping the international development community. This month was also a month of firsts

August:
Ambivalence. From a professional perspective, I felt like I was in a state of suspension. Despite being at the company for over a year, and already two months since the last big project ended, I wasn’t getting staffed on any formal, long-term project; primarily ad-hoc stuff. I wasn’t growing. However, outside of work, life continued to unfold for the better. After snagging a $550 roundtrip ticket from the East Coast to Hawaii, I finally went home (the original-home) for the first time in over two years, spending 10 days in Hawaii.

September:
Contemplation. I continued my Hawaii vacation into September by doing a double-back flight from Hawaii ? Dallas ? Reagan National; Dulles ? Los Angeles, all in one day, for my trip to Los Angeles. I usually tend to go back at least 3-5 times a year, so my trip back to LA, the first of the year, felt refreshing. Back in DC, as I considered my future career goals, I vowed to once again improve the situation before considering alternatives.

October:
Afraid. Even if I was going abroad to fulfill a goal of mine, I still found the notion of unemployment, particularly given the current economic climate, completely unfeasible and utterly senseless. Although I was prepared financially to make the jump, I was afraid of the unknown. Would I be able to get a job after my time in Asia? What would employers think about my decision? Would travel/study abroad live up to my expectations? Even after I was given the option to return to my employer in Singapore post-sabbatical, I still couldn’t believe I had made such a big decision.

November:
Frenetic. Despite no longer working, November was an incredibly busy month. No time to think about my decision. It was time to execute. The two weeks leading up to Taiwan were crazy. I studied for, and took the GREs. Packed for Taiwan and shipped the rest back to LA. Worked on Generation Enterprise stuff, a non-profit that I began volunteering for remotely back in October. Said many, many goodbyes. Went hiking two weekends in a row around the DC area. Even after arriving in Taiwan, the scramble continued to find suitable housing.

December:
Anew. I was worried that coming during the holiday season was going to be a little depressing, but this past month has been far from it. It did take some time getting used to being a student again, and I contemplated (and am still contemplating) on whether to sign on for another term beginning in March, but I am relishing in the fact that I am living abroad once again. Meeting new people, experiencing new things, going to new places, it’s been a fantastic experience!