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July 29 失敗的免揉麵包+雙色夾餡麵包除了咖啡口味的兩色饅頭,思康餅, 實驗麵包坊還做了免揉麵包和另一種兩色饅頭, 結果免揉麵包失敗,完全沒有"發"(就說我不能看別人的食譜吧!看了做的就會失敗...還是繼續用我自己想像的方式做就好). 雖然吃起來蠻好吃的,但是賣像不佳. 另外一種兩色饅頭. 這次兩色饅頭還加了葡萄乾, 最外層灑上全麥麵粉,健康百分百,吃起來甜甜的味道很不錯. 不過色差並不明顯,不若上次美觀.
  另一個嘗試是中間有夾餡的兩色麵包. 我一直很想做兩色吐司或是兩色麵包. 用的材料和上圖的兩色饅頭一樣, 色差也是不夠明顯, 不過一來因為是用烤的,二來有中間顏色較鮮明的內餡, 顏色的差別稍大, 加上烤出來的外皮金黃色, 很是漂亮. 外皮酥脆內部軟綿, 但又有點筋度. 還蠻好吃的.
  猜得出來這是什麼口味的兩色饅頭與兩色麵包了嗎? 猜中有獎喔... July 27 壽司這是今天的晚餐. 中午和朋友吃了日本料理不說, 下午買菜後晚上自己包壽司, 就把今天當做是日本週好了
 . 當然啦, 還是免不了用了茴香葉或是茴香籽在裡面,但是壽司是主題, 茴香只是配料而已. 先來張全景吧! 總共有9種: 兩種握壽司, 兩種豆腐皮壽司, 海苔壽司有三種, 蛋皮壽司有兩種. 另外還有烤味噌鮭魚, 皮蛋豆腐, 涼拌小黃瓜等. 配上綠茶. 最後還喝點梅子酒, DG說要減肥, 照這種情況看來可能愈減愈肥吧
 再來一一介紹一下. 首先是腐皮壽司, 嚴格講有兩種, 照片中的中間兩個上面灑的是紫蘇, 外面兩個灑的是茴香籽. 左邊照片中裡中間的海苔壽司裡面包有蛋皮, 酪梨, 涼拌茴香小黃瓜等與紅色的薑. 右邊的也是海苔壽司,不過海苔是被飯包在裡面,最外面灑上紫蘇. 右邊的照片是切開後的樣子.
  接下來捲的是兩種蛋皮壽司.蛋皮的要"黏"在一起有點困難, 切開後兩邊都鬆鬆的,不過還好中間的部份還是很完整. 煎好的蛋皮是圓的,把圓的部份切掉拿來包在海苔壽司的裡面, 剩下的長方形就拿來包了. 一個是原味的蛋皮, 另一個是茴香蛋皮.
下面的照片左邊是整捲的樣子,中間與右邊兩張是切開後, 從照片比較容易看到兩種不同的腐皮壽司.
然後是另一種海苔壽司,裡面包的蝦子,茴香籽與酪梨. 茴香籽和茴香葉一樣,非常適合搭配海鮮. 最後就是握壽司了. 有鮭魚和蝦子兩種.
  邊吃邊看從市立圖書館界回來的電影. 不知不覺吃掉大半. 免強克制住留下一點當DG明天中午的便當. 從兩個不同的角度拍一下壽司便當.
  不知道各位看倌認為哪一種最好吃啊?
July 26 茴香(12): 茴香糕餅舖 2 (茴香中點, 西點與茶點)這篇有茴香葉兩色饅頭, 茴香籽蔥油餅, 茴香思康餅(scone), 涼拌茴香小黃瓜, 涼拌茴香鮮蝦
吃過荷葉糯米雞之類的飲茶食物吧? 這次作兩色饅頭把茴香葉墊在下面,主要是拿來當"紙"的作用,這樣一來免去塗油以免沾鍋的步驟,二來增加風味. 因為剛好有多餘的現摩咖啡,這次做的兩色饅頭是咖啡和原味口味的. 如果將茴香打成果汁類和麵團成了墨綠色與白色相間的兩色饅頭應該也很漂亮吧?
  左: 蒸之前; 右:蒸之後再來是茴香籽蔥油餅. 這個吃起來味道有層次, 我個人蠻喜歡的.. 嚼到後來茴香籽的味道才會出來, 有股清涼的感覺. 另外一個特色是在最後橄麵是灑上全麥麵粉,而不是一般的中筋麵粉. 這樣一來煎之後金黃色的色澤增加食慾,二來全麥也比較養生.
做蔥油餅是因為菜園裡的蔥每根都像劍蘭一樣, 有朋友笑說我的菜園雖然是菜園但也可以充當花園: 用茴香花, 香菜花配上偽"劍蘭"--蔥.
  上圖左: 這麼多蔥全是從一根蔥裡的其中一個分支來的,強吧! 右: 左邊的是茴香籽蔥油餅. 右邊則是原味的蔥油餅.
接著是從茴香酥聯想到應該可以有個下午茶系列. 想到下午茶就想到scone,台灣好像翻成思康餅. 於是就動手做了三種茴香口味的變化: 一為原味只加了茴香裝飾用,二為茴香+葡萄乾,最後是茴香+咖啡口味的思康餅.
先來張合照: 最左邊一排是咖啡口味的茴香思康餅, 中間是葡萄乾茴香思康餅, 右邊則是原味的茴香思康餅
  右: (原味)茴香思康餅(dill scone)接著是葡萄乾口味的外觀與內部: 外面看來若隱若現的葡萄乾與咬開來後的葡萄乾
  最後是咖啡口味的茴香思康餅. 思康餅本身沒有味道, 咬開後包在裡面的茴香特殊香氣撲鼻來. 外層灑上咖啡粉有提味的作用.微嗆中帶著咖啡的苦味, 配上一口茶有種說不出的提神滋味.
  上圖左: 咬開後的咖啡口味思康餅和(原味)茴香思康一樣. 右:咖啡茴香思康餅近照
思康餅與茶是絕配. 既然是茴香小廚當然是茴香茶囉! 可以是茴香紅茶,茴香綠茶或是茴香蜂蜜茶.
最後順便介紹一下兩道涼拌小菜. 一是茴香小黃瓜. 這只是涼拌,等到小黃瓜盛產就可以自製茴香醃黃瓜了! 另一是和"心心相印"類似的涼拌奇異果蘋果蝦. 在這裡沒有茴香醋因此用紅酒醋替代.
  July 20 悼! 法蘭克麥考特 --安琪拉的灰燼(in memory of Frank McCourt, the author of Angela's Ashes)剛剛檢收email的時候看到紐約時報的新聞快訊指出 Frank McCourt,也就是Angela's Ashes的作者過世的消息--
的確,就像新聞所寫安琪拉的灰燼這本書描寫的是他悲慘的童年故事, 安琪拉是作者母親的名字. 不過雖然童年悲慘作者卻以幽默的方式來呈現, 毫無自憐自嘆的口吻,下面的簡短書摘裡有一個例子.
這本書其實是我真正閱讀的第一本英文小說(高中時候被指定閱讀的不算的話). 找出之前寫的,不算書評而必較像是紀錄的短文如下, 算是紀念這位作者.
本書也被拍成電影.因為對此書喜愛有佳,電影不但看了還買了原聲帶. 電影是少數由小說改拍後讓我暨喜愛書又可接受電影的少數特例之一(像是Abeautiful mind就是被我評為大爛片),誠心推薦給各位. 以下舊文重貼.
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   Publisher: Scribner; (May 25, 1999) ISBN: 068484267X Angela's Ashes: A Memoir 電影「天使的小孩」的原著
from the book-- "When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." 這是第一章第二段. 與其說要把他翻成中文,不如說是找到註解--所謂天之降大任於斯人也, 必先苦其心智, 勞其筋骨,空乏其身,行拂亂其所為. 就像男生當兵後喜歡談論兼誇耀當兵的時候有多操,愈被操的欲贏得尊敬,有些人也喜歡誇大悲慘的童年. 書中提到: “People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying schoolmasters; the English and all the terrible things they did to us for 800 long years.” 是的,這是本類似自傳的小說. 悲慘卻不自艾自憐的小說. This is the first English novel I read and I found it hard to put down the book till finish it. Frank certainly had a miserable childhood-- he endured poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors -- yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance and remarkable forgiveness. Bitter memoir it is, this book imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion, this book is definitely a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic. (The author has another book "Tis" ,both books are about his childhood) 這本書的中譯本有三位譯者(余國芳 陳重亨 莊靜君), 在這種情況下我選擇了英文版,我很高興我選擇了英文本, 雖然沒有完整讀過中文本,但是我翻了幾頁發現有些修飾語在翻譯之後(也許是語言結構不同)完全失去了味道. 例如: 小孩子幼小的心靈不明白為何政府要懸賞(a head with price)父親這顆頭早已齒危髮禿的頭.... 無邪的小孩認為甜的東西和美的東西才是要用錢買的, 因此童年時他實在無法了解" who will pay for such a head", 讀到此我不禁莞爾一笑,然而我在中文本中卻找不到這種文字的妙用 我也看過由此書改拍的電影,甚至買了原聲帶, 故事感人, 而且我認為電影與書本相異處不大, 個人認為是部好電影 這本書在' 奇葩與怪傑' 一書中（Geeks，年齡21～34歲之間，怪傑Geezers，年齡70～82歲之間）被列為是最常被閱讀的書之一, 在此我真心推薦給各位 另外這本書的寫作方法深受Intel總裁Andy Grove所喜愛,在他的自傳中"橫渡生命湖"(Swimming Across: a Memoir)也是援用類似的寫作方式 茴香(11): 茴香小廚的菜單趴兔今天繼續展開冰箱清除大作戰. 現在冰箱裡最多的是蛋和牛奶,怎麼想都是做糕餅類比較適合. 所以就開始囉! 先來糕餅類的合照吧!
 第一個是窩窩頭(茴香籽)麵包. 話說烙餅忘記灑上茴香籽了.
 ..下次補上  上次做過一次的茴香酥.取做此名是因為想做像鳳梨酥的東西. 這個上次的菜單就提到了,不過上次因為去機場接DG後回到家我們兩個愛吃鬼來不及拍照就吃掉了
 ,這次記得先拍照. 裡面夾的是葡萄果醬, 之前我都是配上草莓醬, 這次用葡萄果醬當然也是為了把葡萄果醬清掉.  然後是老婆餅或是太陽餅,又有點像蛋塔給我的靈感做成的茴香塔,裡面要有一層軟軟甜甜的內餡, 從屁股看得出來裡面有一層嗎?
  這裡沒有揉麵機也沒有麵包機,最後懶得揉了,就把剩下的麵糊做成茴香海鮮pizza了! 有蝦,花枝洋蔥與茴香, 看來很豪華吧?! 茴香本來就與海鮮很配,這個應該很早就要實驗的啊!
 還有昨天的茴香籽咖哩餡餅還是讓它歸類到此比較名正言順吧!
 看來我的茴香小廚菜單會愈來愈長. 而且可以加上茴香糕餅舖呢!
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July 19 七月中的菜園(2009)(印式)咖哩餡餅, 印度咖哩+印度餅與fusion蘋果派在茴香(10):茴香小廚的菜單裡提到茴香籽咖哩. 之前聽說印度咖哩裡面加的是茴香籽(蒔蘿籽), 今晚剛好要去一個印度學長家慶祝,我就來試驗一下囉! 反正晚上會有那麼多人吃我的實驗品, 不怕萬一失敗只有我ㄧ個人消化不良. 不過話說回來,雖然我煮菜都是用想像的, 但是真的失敗的兩次卻是看食譜跟著做, 所以今天照舊依我想像應該不會太失敗吧?
 先用咖啡,茴香籽醃火雞絞肉. 以前我曾經用茴香與現磨的咖啡醃羊排. 現在只是把(早上喝不完的)咖啡拿來醃,其實沒有太大差別. 至於為什麼用火雞絞肉呢(ground turkey)? 因為印度人有很多不吃的, 問過學長他吃火雞而我冰箱剛好有剩下,加上過兩天要出門,又是清冰箱的時候了. 唉呀, 這樣講好像很沒誠意喔? 其實不是啦. 我煮菜本來就是要根據冰箱裡的食材隨性變化的實驗品, 所以才叫實驗廚房嘛!
  先用洋蔥爆香炒一下絞肉, 加入馬鈴薯,蘋果與自家菜園生產的青豆仁, 一點牛奶然後燉咖哩. 接著做印度餅naan. 話說我第一次去印度出差時, 很多東西都不敢吃, 只好猛吃印度餅naan,搞得我老闆以為我很愛吃它, 接下來每餐都幫我點一堆nann, 真是尷尬的誤會啊! 這個naan當然又是我自己想像的作法. 為了消耗冰箱裡的牛奶, 我用了些牛奶來做印度餅, 而且這樣就會有天然的甜味了, 不過我真正的印度餅是不是這樣做的我就不知道啦! 因為是晚上要帶去配咖哩吃的,還沒吃, 還不知道味道像不像.
  不過呢,看到食物我不可抗拒,又不能偷吃,只好利用等待的時候包了一個咖哩餡餅來試看看.
 內餡: 火雞絞肉,蘋果丁與馬鈴薯. 其實還有自家菜園的青豆仁, 但是在後面沒拍到最後是所謂的fusion蘋果派當做甜點. 咖哩裡面我加了點蘋果一來增加甜味(無糖的喔,健康吧), 二來也是要消化剩下的蘋果啦. 但是蘋果不能加太多啊!剩下的另一半就拿來做蘋果派好了. 此時因為蒸的飯也好了, 突然"玩興"大起, 幻想著美國流行的fusion,也就是東西合壁的食物, 想起摩斯漢堡的米漢堡, 就把一點點飯裹進去蘋果派裡, 因此取名fusion蘋果派. 照片如下:
  左:fusion蘋果派; 右:咬開的樣子July 18 轉載: Freedom in the World- Taiwan (2009) (自由之家2009年度報告)Taiwan...., and it is still formally known as the Republic of China (ROC). Although the island is independent in all but name, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) considers it a renegade province and has threatened to take military action if de jure independence is declared. 相對於自由之家一月公佈世界的, 五月是媒體自由的部份(當時自由之家對台灣下的注解是脆弱的自由--Fragile Freedom), 自由之家於7/16公佈各國的報告.報告裡有一些有趣的用字, 例如一開始就提到儘管中國宣稱台灣是她叛逃的一省,台灣除了"中華民國"這個名字外,根本就是個與中國完全獨立(independent)的國家, 而且中國強調如果台灣宣佈法理上(de jure)的獨立將不排除動武. 這種說法等於是說:台灣在現實上(de facto)是獨立的. 的確如此, 何必像馬先生那種"互相不否認"又是什麼兩個"地區"等各種扭捏說法呢? 都不承認自己是國家,委身是地區,受到邦交國家的羞辱也是剛好而已吧?
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Capital: Taipei Population: 23,000,000 |
Political Rights Score: 2
Civil Liberties Score: 1
Status: Free
Overview
The opposition Kuomintang took power after winning legislative and presidential elections in January and March 2008, respectively. The outgoing president, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party, was subsequently indicted on corruption charges, as were other members of his administration. Relations with China improved under the new government, which established direct transport links with the mainland. However, a Chinese envoy’s November visit was accompanied by some restrictions on free expression and assembly, culminating in violent clashes between police and protesters.
Taiwan became home to the Chinese nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government-in-exile in 1949, and it is still formally known as the Republic of China (ROC). Although the island is independent in all but name, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) considers it a renegade province and has threatened to take military action if de jure independence is declared.
Taiwan’s transition to democracy began in 1987, when the KMT ended 38 years of martial law. In 1988, Lee Teng-hui became the first native Taiwanese president, breaking the mainland emigres’ stranglehold on politics. The media were liberalized and opposition political parties legalized in 1989. Lee oversaw Taiwan’s first multiparty legislative elections in 1991–92 and the first direct presidential election in 1996.
Chen Shui-bian’s victory in the 2000 presidential race, as a candidate of the proindependence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), ended 55 years of KMT rule, though the KMT maintained a majority in parliament. Chen won reelection in March 2004 by a margin of only 0.2 percentage points. With the KMT retaining its majority in the Legislative Yuan (LY) in parliamentary elections later that year, the political gridlock between the DPP-led executive and the KMT-dominated legislature continued.
Also in 2004, the LY passed a resolution on constitutional amendments. The reforms wrote a national referendum mechanism into the constitution, cut the size of the 225-seat legislature by half, extended legislative terms to four years, and exchanged Taiwan’s single-vote, multimember-district electoral system for a mixed system of single-member districts and proportional representation (a two-vote system).
The first legislative elections under the new system were held in January 2008. The KMT secured an overwhelming majority with 81 of 113 seats, while the DPP took 27 and the remainder went to independents and smaller parties. The constitutional changes had worked against the interests of smaller parties, contributing to political polarization. Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT won the March presidential election, defeating the DPP’s Frank Hsieh, 58 percent to 42 percent. Both elections were deemed generally free and fair by international observers and marked the island’s second peaceful, democratic transfer of power. In concurrent referendums, low voter turnout scuttled proposals to seek membership in the United Nations, either as “Taiwan” or “Republic of China.”
In addition to concerns over the economy, frustration at the political gridlock, and desire for status quo in cross-strait relations, the DPP’s poor electoral performance was attributed in part to a spate of corruption scandals involving Chen and other top officials. After the outgoing president’s immunity expired in May, prosecutors launched an investigation into his involvement in existing money laundering and corruption cases. He was ultimately indicted in December. Although KMT politicians were also targeted in 2008, a spurt of investigations and pretrial detentions of DPP politicians late in the year raised concerns about selective prosecution.
Meanwhile, in a shift from Chen’s proindependence policies, the new Ma administration took steps to establish closer relations with the PRC government. These included the signing of agreements that enabled direct cross-strait transport links and increased Chinese tourism in Taiwan. Though many Taiwanese supported improved economic ties with China, some argued that the administration was conceding elements of Taiwan’s sovereignty and acting with minimal transparency. Tensions came to a head when PRC envoy Chen Yunlin visited in November to sign four agreements on transport links and food safety. The visit was accompanied by a significant police presence, reports of restrictions on free expression, and large-scale protests, during which both police and protesters engaged in violence, resulting in the injury of dozens of people. At year’s end, observers were watching how Taiwan’s democratic institutions would respond to the violent episode that sparked considerable concern at home and abroad.
While relations between the Taiwan and PRC governments improved after the elections, Beijing maintained an aggressive legal and military stance on the prospect of eventual Taiwanese independence; an estimated 1,300 missiles remained aimed at Taiwan at year’s end. Beijing also continued to limit Taiwan’s international contacts in early 2008. In January, Malawi ended its diplomatic relations with Taiwan, reportedly due to financial incentives from China, while Taiwanese journalists were denied UN accreditation to cover the annual World Health Assembly in May, apparently under PRC pressure.
Political Rights and Civil Liberties
Taiwan is an electoral democracy. The 1946 constitution, adopted while the KMT was in power on the mainland, created a hybrid presidential-parliamentary system and unique structure with five branches of government (yuan). The president, who is directly elected for up to two four-year terms, wields executive power, appoints the prime minister, and can dissolve the legislature. The Executive Yuan, or cabinet, consists of ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. The prime minister is responsible to the national legislature (Legislative Yuan), which, under constitutional amendments that took effect in 2008, consists of 113 members serving four-year terms; 73 members are elected in single-member districts, and 34 are chosen through nationwide proportional representation. The six remaining members are chosen by indigenous people. The three other branches of government are the judiciary (Judicial Yuan), a watchdog body (Control Yuan), and a branch responsible for civil service examinations (Examination Yuan). Constitutional amendments require the approval of two-thirds of the legislature, followed by a national referendum.
The two main political parties are the proindependence DPP and the nationalist KMT. In August 2008, the Taiwanese Communist Party was allowed to register for the first time, following removal of a ban on associations advocating “communism” or “division of national territory.”
The Asian Network for Free Elections, an independent observer organization, hailed the March 2008 presidential election as an improvement over the 2004 campaign, during which a presidential and vice-presidential candidate were shot and wounded. However, the group raised concerns about compromised ballot secrecy in referendum voting, as well as presidential campaign spending that exceeded the legal limits. The January parliamentary elections were also seen as generally fair, although the fact that the KMT and DPP respectively secured 72 percent and 24 percent of the seats after winning 51 percent and 37 percent of the votes prompted some calls for reexamination of the new electoral procedures. The parliamentary elections were also marred by allegations of vote-buying; prosecutors were reportedly investigating 5,189 cases ahead of the elections, and in January, for the first time, a newly elected lawmaker was indicted for vote-buying.
Several high-level government figures were involved in corruption scandals during the year.The DPP’s Chen Shui-bian, whose presidential term ended in May 2008, admitted in August that he had not fully declared past campaign funds; he was indicted on other charges of money laundering and misuse of public funds in December. Among other high-profile cases, eight former and sitting lawmakers from various parties were indicted in January for allegedly accepting bribes; a scandal involving the embezzlement of nearly $30 million aimed at establishing diplomatic ties with Papua New Guinea was exposed in May; and the former director of the Justice Ministry’s Investigation Bureau was sentenced to 10 years in prison in December for withholding classified information related to Chen’s case. The indictment of a growing number of DPP officials led some observers to raise concerns about selective prosecution toward the end of the year. In a positive development, the watchdog Control Yuan began functioning in July after a three-year hiatus stemming from a Chen-KMT stalemate over appointments to the body. Taiwan was ranked 39 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index.
The Taiwanese media reflect a diversity of views and report aggressively on government policies and corruption allegations. Nevertheless, political polarization poses a challenge to press freedom, with most major news outlets seen as sympathetic to one of the two main parties. Some efforts to increase government control over publicly owned media emerged during 2008, with lawmakers freezing half the budget of the Taiwan Public Television Service for much of the year; in December, parliamentary committees approved resolutions requiring government item-by-item approval of programming budgets, but the bill was pending at year’s end. However, a reorganized National Communications Commission began work in August after a 2006 court ruling struck down its previous, partisan appointment system. Physical violence against journalists is rare, but several reporters were injured while covering protests during Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin’s visit in November. Police reportedly detained a documentary filmmaker for about an hour after she attempted to film protests outside Chen’s hotel; she apparently sustained minor injuries. Also in November, the China Times Group, one of Taiwan’s biggest media syndicates, was bought by a businessman with major interests in the PRC, raising the prospect of self-censorship by the media group in the future.There are generally no restrictions on internet access.
Taiwanese of all faiths can worship freely. Religious organizations can choose to register with the government; those that do so receive tax-exempt status. Taiwanese professors and other educators write and lecture freely.
Freedom of assembly is generally respected, as evidenced by several large-scale and mainly peaceful demonstrations that took place during 2008. Nevertheless, adherents of the Falun Gong spiritual movement came under pressure from local authorities in June to limit protests over the group’s repression in China at sites frequented by Chinese tourists. During Chen Yunlin’s visit in November, police in several cases restricted protesters from displaying Taiwanese and Tibetan flags, expressions of Taiwanese national identity, or critiques of the Chinese regime. Incidents of police brutality were reported, though demonstrators also engaged in violence, and dozens of people were injured. A probe into police misconduct by the Control Yuan was ongoing at year’s end.The Parade and Assembly Law includes restrictions on demonstration locations and permit requirements for outdoor meetings. Although such permits are generally granted, some individuals have been indicted in recent years for holding peaceful demonstrations without permission. The government proposed amendments to the law which passed initial approval in the legislature in December, though some observers viewed these as inadequate in key respects. All civic organizations must register with the government, although registration is freely approved. Taiwanese nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) focusing on human rights, social welfare, and the environment are active and operate without harassment.
Trade unions are independent, and most workers enjoy freedom of association. However, government employees and defense-industry workers are barred from joining unions or bargaining collectively. According to the U.S. State Department’s 2008 human rights report, unions may be dissolved if their activities “disturb public order,” while other restrictions undermine collective bargaining and make it difficult to strike legally. In 2008, as many as a third of Taiwanese companies ordered employees to take unpaid leave as the global downturn set in, sparking worker protests. (約有三分之一公司要求員工開始無薪假)
Taiwan’s 350,000 foreign workers are not covered by the Labor Standards Law or represented by unions, and many decline to report abuses for fear of deportation. During the year, the Council of Labor Affairs made several improvements to regulations governing the payment of foreign workers and took measures to facilitate their ability to change employers.
The judiciary is independent, and trials are generally fair. There is no trial by jury; judges decide all cases. Arbitrary arrest and detention are not permitted, and police generally respect this ban. Nevertheless, suspects can be detained for up to four months without charges; the provision was used in multiple corruption cases during 2008, including that of former president Chen. Legal experts also noted that Chen’s case was transferred among different judges in late December in a manner that seemed to circumvent the usual random assignments and gave the appearance of political influence. Amnesty International estimatedthat 82 people were on death row at year’s end, although no executions have been carried out since 2005.
Police corruption continues to be a problem. Suspects are allowed attorneys during interrogations specifically to prevent abuse. Searches without warrants are allowed only in particular circumstances, and a 1999 law imposes strict punishments for illicit wiretapping.
The constitution provides for the equality of all citizens. Apart from the unresolved issue of ownership of ancestral lands, the rights of indigenous people are protected by law. Six Legislative Yuan seats are reserved for indigenous people under electoral reforms that took effect in 2008. Taiwanese law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status; PRC immigrants are more likely than others to be repatriated or held in lengthy detention.
With the exception of civil servants and military personnel traveling to China, freedom of movement is generally unrestricted. Beginning in July 2008, ordinary Chinese citizens were able to take direct charter flights to Taiwan on weekends. Previously, the flights were limited to four holiday weekends and only to select individuals. Following the signing of a new agreement in November, direct cross-strait flights were extended to seven days a week.
Taiwanese women continue to face private-sector job discrimination and lower pay than men on average. After the 2008 elections, women held 30 percent of the Legislative Yuan seats, an increase from 22 percent in the previous legislatures. Rape and domestic violence remain problems despite government programs to protect women and the work of numerous NGOs to improve women’s rights. Although authorities can pursue such cases without the victims formally pressing charges, cultural norms inhibit many women from reporting the crimes. Taiwan is both a source and destination for trafficked women. In November 2008, the Executive Yuan approved a draft Anti-Human Trafficking Law, but it had yet to be passed by the Legislative Yuan at year’s end.
茴香(10): 茴香小廚的菜單 (7/25更新, 加上下午茶系列)
黃色的是茴香的花, 白色的是香菜花.
)
心心相印, 佛手瓜花枝, 涼拌雙脆(竹筍與佛手瓜)花枝
左心心相印: 新鮮茴香葉, 鮮蝦與蘋果,淋上自製雞尾酒醬(cocktail source),由自釀的有機茴香醋,蕃茄醬與天鉤辣椒少許調製成, 中為近照, 右為雙脆花枝
主菜:
(雞) 茴香烤雞腿, 茴香咖哩雞, 印式咖哩雞 (茴香籽咖哩), 辣炒茴香松子雞丁
(茴香咖哩雞,橘紅色的是地瓜,地瓜的天然甜味讓咖哩變得更美味)(羊): 豐味烤羊排(茴香+咖啡+紅酒浸置後烤成的), 茴香烤羊排(佐薄荷醬或茴香醬), 茴香籽炒羊肉
(海鮮): 烤鮭魚佐茴香醬, 茴香鮭魚烘蛋, 乾煎茴香白魚(鯛魚), 茴香番茄蝦仁烘蛋*
甜品: 茴香綠茶凍, 茴香咖啡凍(食用前加入牛奶少許,灑上新鮮咖啡粉), 丁(茴香)香豆花,茴香草莓醬
左:蒔蘿(茴香)奶油,右:茴香蕃茄蝦仁烘蛋*轉載: An open response （to Open Letter No.4）回覆第四封公開信 (含部份翻譯) last update: 7/16
An open response
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, I am writing in response to the “Open letter to Taiwan’s President” cosigned by 26 persons and published by the Taipei Times on May 21, 2009 (page 8). This government has conscientiously responded in detail to three earlier open letters published in the Taipei Times, signed by essentially the same group of persons, expressing concerns about Taiwan’s judicial system, human rights and democracy. The May 21 letter reveals, however, that the signatories continue to have misconceptions on these matters, which I would like to take this opportunity to clear up.
1. False accusations of unjust prosecutorial and judicial processes. (檢察官與司法不公乃不實的指控)
Although, administratively, prosecutors in Taiwan are under the jurisdiction of the executive branch’s Ministry of Justice, they nevertheless in effect function as “judicial officials,” as they enjoy the same legally protected independence as judges under the jurisdiction of the judicial branch.
(檢察官與法官係獨立運作)
With regard to charges of corruption against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and others were indicted as accomplices on Nov. 3, 2006, long before president Chen stepped down in May 2008. When president Chen was finally indicted on Dec. 12, 2008, it was the prosecutor-general appointed by the [former] president himself who approved the indictment.
I would like to reiterate that this administration strictly adheres to a hands-off policy concerning individual legal cases and completely respects the independence of the prosecutorial and judicial systems. This administration cannot possibly change its attitude of noninterference in order to mollify critics who seem to believe it has the power to change things to their liking.
(新聞局重申政府不介入各案併駁斥司法不公是不實指控)
2. No indication of selective prosecution.
To date, most of the family members and former subordinates of former president Chen who are under investigation or on trial have admitted their guilt to prosecutors or judges on all or some of the charges against them. For instance, on Jan. 21, 2009, his son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚) confessed in court to charges in connection with money laundering and sought to plea bargain. Former first lady Wu Shu-jen also confessed to four charges in court on Feb. 10, 2009, including forgery, leaking confidential information, accepting bribes and money laundering. On Feb. 19, former Presidential Office cashier Chen Chen-hui (陳鎮慧) confessed in court to all four charges against her — forgery, perjury, corruption and money laundering.
While the appropriateness of the current pretrial and intra-trial detention system has been widely discussed in various circles of society since the allegations of corruption were brought against former president Chen, the impartiality of the judges and the judicial system has not been seriously questioned.
(雖然預防性偵查的系統自扁案以來被廣泛討論,法官與司法體系的公正性卻未是毫無疑問的(直譯:法官與司法體系的公正性從未被質疑....
謎之音:之前那幾封公開信難道是不存在的嗎? 那些信不都數次質疑司法公正性嗎? 好個裝聾作啞啊!)
3. No intervention in CNA editorial policy.
As for the open letter’s accusation of our government’s influence on the Central News Agency’s (CNA) direction of news reporting, I want to set the record straight: The ROC government has never intervened in the CNA’s news reporting or editorial policy. If one looks at recent CNA reports on government actions, one can tell that the news agency covers viewpoints of all sectors, including suspicions and criticisms. This demonstrates that the government has not intervened in CNA operations.
Using rumors to deprecate Taiwan’s freedom of the press as being manipulated through political intervention is baseless and damages the reputation of this government. I hope the signatories will more scrupulously check the validity of claims before making accusations. I also hope that they will stop spreading such false accusations.
(在此我(指蘇俊賓)必須指出政府從未介入中央社的運作以端正視聽............利用謠言來指控台灣媒體自由因政府介入而倒退是毫無根據的,並傷害這個政府的聲譽. 我希望各位署名者能夠在指控之前先確實映證這些謠言的可信度,並停止散播這種不實指控)
謎之音: 好大個官威啊! 不承認就算了還反過來說這些學者輕信謠言....也許有人要升官囉?
4. Retrogression of press freedom unacceptable.
The ROC government has spared no effort to respect and protect press freedom. Indeed, the thriving development of Taiwan’s mass media is a telling manifestation of our press freedom and freedom of speech. According to the 2009 edition of the Freedom of the Press report released by New York-based Freedom House, Taiwan’s news media environment ranked as “free” and second-best in Asia. The ROC government humbly accepts the suggestions made in the Freedom House report concerning Taiwan’s press freedom in the hope that we can achieve a better score next year.
根據2009自由之家的報告,台灣的新聞自由被評為"自由",且排名亞洲第二
謎之音: 簡單講是不承認媒體自由倒退啦! 好笑的是怎麼不提自由之家的報告中也提到台灣排名退步呢? 好的(評為自由)就引用,不好的就說是謠言? 這裡是自由之家發佈報告時的新聞
5. No interference in transfer of media ownership.
The open letter urges our government to pay attention to groups with close ties to mainland China that are buying into Taiwan’s media, as their financial muscle might be used to undermine Taiwan’s hard-won press freedom. I would like to express our government’s gratitude for the signatories’ concern in this regard. Since the repeal of the Publication Act in 1999, however, publication of newspapers no longer requires special approval, and shareholdings can be freely transferred. Moreover, governmental interference in private investments in the mass media amounts to interference in press freedom.
Currently, the ROC government has not lifted restrictions on mainland Chinese investment in or operation of Taiwan’s newspapers. In the future, we will keep close watch on whether capital from mainland China is flowing into Taiwan’s media world in order to preserve our national security.
第四封公開信裡提到中資介入台灣媒體運作將會妨害台灣得來不易的媒體自由. ........目前台灣政府尚未解除對中資介入台灣媒體的限制. 以後,我們也將緊密關切是否有中資介入台灣媒體的情形以保障國家安全
謎之音: 之前就有人踢爆TXXS等中資介入的情況, 好個裝聾作啞啊!
6. Easing of restrictions on public demonstrations.
Our government is profoundly aware that we are at a critical juncture in the development of our free and democratic system. To demonstrate our determination to enhance the protection of the right of assembly, and to carry out President Ma’s [Ying-jeou (馬英九)] campaign pledge to amend the law by requiring only advance notification in place of prior application for permission to hold demonstrations, amendments to the Parade and Assembly Act (集會遊行法) absolutely will not impose stricter requirements but will further ease the already mild restrictions.
In addition, the proposed amendments to the act will place tighter limits on the power of police to disperse gatherings as well as remove provisions regarding criminal penalties. President Ma has promised that the revised law will provide greater latitude than allowed in the United States and other advanced democracies.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all who are concerned for Taiwan, including the signatories of the open letter. We assure you that this administration will never cease striving to safeguard and strengthen our people’s freedom, democracy and human rights.
政院版的集遊法將更嚴格限制警察權限,也將刪除刑責.
謎之音: 那到底濫權的警察或升官或不起訴是什麼意思呢? 莫非免除刑責是指免除警察濫權的刑責?
SU JUN-PIN
Minister
Government Information Office
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Thursday, Jul 09, 2009, Page 8
An open response, part 2
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, I am writing in response to the “Open letter to Taiwan’s president” cosigned by 26 persons and published by the Taipei Times on May 21 expressing concerns about transparency in our government’s cross-strait policymaking processes. I would like to take this opportunity to clear up a number of misunderstandings in this regard.
1. Affirmation of the ROC’s cross-strait policy 重申兩岸政策不變
In its cross-strait policymaking, this administration has always firmly upheld the ROC’s sovereignty. It has never changed and never will change its insistence on the principle of “putting Taiwan first for the benefit of the people.”
In the overall national interest, we have resumed institutionalized cross-strait negotiations, replacing confrontation with dialogue. Under the precondition of parity and dignity, the two sides have conducted three rounds of talks and have signed nine agreements and a joint statement on investment, which have advanced the normalization of cross-strait economic exchanges and strengthened protections for the financial assets of the people of Taiwan.
Surveys commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) — such as those conducted by National Chengchi University, Berkeley Marketing Research and China Credit Information Service — reveal that the majority of people in Taiwan believe that cross-strait relations have become more relaxed. About 70 percent of respondents were satisfied with the cross-strait agreements and more than 60 percent believe the agreements will have a positive influence on Taiwan’s economy. Meanwhile, most respondents think that national sovereignty has not been denigrated.
The US State Department has solidly affirmed and praised our government’s mainland policies. Signatories of the open letter familiar with the US government’s hopes for better cross-strait relations should understand the reason for this. Can it be that worsening relations and rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait would be more advantageous to US interests?
2. No need for an ECFA referendum (否定ECFA有公投之必要)
The primary purposes of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) are to maintain the competitive edge of Taiwan’s industries in the mainland market and to strengthen our foreign trade momentum so as to minimize the danger of being marginalized. A MAC-commissioned survey conducted by Berkeley Marketing Research in mid-April revealed that 70 percent of the respondents support the negotiation of an ECFA, indicating most people look at the potential benefits of such an agreement in a positive light.
With no question of sacrificing sovereignty, benefits for Taiwan’s economy include reducing the relocation of factories to other countries and thereby protecting jobs; lowering tariffs on our products and thereby boosting their competitiveness in the mainland market; spurring Taiwan’s globalization; and facilitating the negotiation and signing of economic agreements with other countries.
(updated on 7/16: 在沒有犧牲主權的情況下,簽訂ECFA只會嘉惠台灣的經濟
謎之音: 我對ECFA的新聞老實說沒有很認真的follow, 但是看到的有兩個共同特點,其一是內容不清,其二是主權多少會被犧牲,問題在於多或少而已. 此公開回函說毫無主權犧牲的問題顯然又是掩耳盜鈴之說)
3. Any ECFA will be sent to the legislature for review (任何ECFA會送到立法院審核)
This administration has communicated extensively with the public in the hope that an ECFA can be signed before 2010. In the process of planning, the administration will be scrupulous in communicating with and explaining relevant matters to the legislature and all sectors of society. Whatever economic agreements are signed with mainland China will be sent to the legislature, in accordance with the law, for review and supervision. The same applies to any future cross-strait economic agreements.
It is clearly untrue, therefore, that, as claimed in the letter, cross-strait exchanges lack transparency and genuine dialogue, decisions and agreements are arrived at in secrecy and then simply announced to the public, and the legislature seems to have been sidelined.
4. Signing an ECFA will facilitate FTAs (簽訂ECFA會促進簽訂自由貿易協定)
The US government has indicated that without improved cross-strait relations and trade liberalization, the US cannot sign a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan. In fact, since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) came into office, the peaceful, steady development of cross-strait relations has won the affirmation of our major trading partners, such as the US, the EU, Singapore, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Many countries have indicated that the normalization of economic and trade relations across the Taiwan Strait will be conducive to expediting FTA talks with Taiwan.
The administration’s policy has always been to pursue FTAs with our major trading partners, while negotiating economic agreements with mainland China. This strategy is aimed at global deployment of our businesses, not just at expanding our mainland Chinese markets. As relations with mainland China progress, we can look forward to improved prospects for signing FTAs with other nations.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all who are concerned for Taiwan, including the signatories of the open letter. We assure you that this administration will continue to maintain transparency and adequate communication with all sectors of society.
SU JUN-PIN
Minister, Government Information Office
轉載: Taiwan, democracy and Honduran tragedy 台灣,民主 與宏都拉斯悲劇(政變) (updated on 7/8)
| Taiwan News Page 6 2009-07-07 12:14 AM | |
The outbreak of this ongoing crisis in one of Taiwan's five Central American allies on the eve of the June 29 departure of Ma's delegation sparked the cancellation of a planned two-day state visit to Tegucigalpa after scheduled stops in Panama City for the July 1 inaugural conservative President Ricardo Martinelli and a state visit to Managua to meet with leftist Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
Cancelling the Honduras stop did not make the Honduras crisis go away as the Tegucigalpa coup exposed the weak underside of the passive "way of living" and "diplomatic truce" stances of Ma's restored right-wing Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) government.
The underlying concept of Ma's "diplomatic truce" is that the unilateral cessation of the decades-long bitter and expensive cutthroat competition between Taipei and the Chinese Communist Party-ruled People's Republic of China will both reduce budgetary pressures on both states and allow Taipei to o "consolidate" ties with its 23 formal allies and prevent the erosion of Taiwan's international diplomatic presence.
However, the self-declared resolve of the Ma government to conduct "no surprise diplomacy" has not provided immunity to being surprised and the Honduran coup has shown that the hoary bureaucrat maxim that "one is never wrong if he says or does nothing" does not always hold true.
No democratic compass
Indeed, the initial reaction to the Honduran events by Taiwan's foreign ministry and the Office of the President was flat-footed at best. Besides failing to secure advance warning for the coup despite the presence in the Honduran general staff of graduates of the KMT martial law regime's notorious "Friends from Afar" training programs for "anti-communist" Latin American military and intelligence officers, the MOFA failed to appreciate the magnitude of the global political earthquake triggered by the coup.
While the United States, the United Nations, the Organization of American States and virtually all Latin American nations and global democracies condemned the Honduran military's actions, Taiwan remained silent for two days before the MOFA issued a vague press release that, somewhat at odds with the historical record, claimed that "the Republic of China" had always upheld "democracy and the rule of law"and declared that any behavior transgressing "democracy and the rule of law should be condemned" without specifying Honduras.
Asked about the delay in the light of the world condemnation of the first military coup in Latin America well over two decades, a senior MOFA official replied that "what other countries say is their affair."
However, evidently after observing the unusually strong stance by Washington and Latin American governments, Ma and Ou issued stiffer statements directly condemning the "coup" and urging early restoration of "constitutional order."
However, Ma revealed that such language was only for show last Thursday evening when he told reporters that all Taipei could not, or would not, take any action besides its declarations because dealing with the crises was a "domestic affair" of Honduras and what he described as "the new Honduran government."
Besides exposing an inability to grasp the reasons behind the global insistence of the universality of basic human rights values, Ma's statements indicate that KMT's own ideological and historical blinders, are inhibiting Ma and other decision-makers from grasping the underlying crisis and the reason for the sharp and nearly unanimous reaction by the United States and other Central American nations against the coup.
Given growing reports of takeovers of news media, the imposition of draconian restrictions on individual and political freedoms and violent conflicts between protesters and troops, the world is anxiously watching whether the imperatives of keeping power will lead the Honduran military to revive its old ways.
The fundamental issue has never been Zelaya himself or the disputable wisdom of his actions, but the absolute imperative to prevent the revival of the use of military force to "resolve" political disputes and prevent the inevitable retrogression of two decades of democratic progress.
Besides learning this lesson, Ma should also reflect on how the KMT government is performing in its domestic respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of, not by, law.
If the Taiwan government is not guided by its own "compass" of democratic values but instead follows Beijing's anti-democratic lead or its own authoritarian instincts, Taiwan's hard-earned "soft power" and respect in the world community will inevitably wither away.
-----
updated on 7/8
今天看到一篇外電社論用很強烈的字眼批評馬政府對於新疆的事情沒膽(Ma's Taiwan lacks guts on Urumqi)表態, 文中提到相對於尼國總統馬先生不惜用威脅方式來贏回所謂的尊嚴,現在卻怯懦的不敢對中國吭一聲. 這一段是這樣寫著的
The KMT government's cowardly refusal to utter a word of criticism of the PRC regime for its actions in East Turkestan also contrasts starkly with the Ma government's self-congratulations for its use of threats to downgrade relations and even cut economic assistance in the "defense of national dignity" after Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega missed a state dinner last Friday due to a national emergency
茴香(9): 茴香大餐之茴香烘鮭魚蒸飯涼拌小菜(附甜點)
這是繼之前的茴香大餐一之茴香烤雞冷麵沙拉後另一茴香大餐. 這次主食是飯, 所以把它叫做茴香烘鮭魚蒸飯涼拌小菜.
照例先來張全景.
先說飯吧! 這是茴香海帶芽蒸飯下鍋前的樣子. 我完全用糙米飯, 原因之一嘛….白米用完了, 買的20磅紅國寶我自己打不開,只好等DG這週來幫我開. 冏. 原因之二是海帶芽要先泡30分鐘,既然要泡了我用糙米也是要泡的剛剛好咩. (自我找藉口中...)
很有趣的是蒸起來的時候海帶芽和茴香竟然是圍一圈.
再來是茴香鮭魚烘蛋,算是主菜的部份. 因為現在的平底鍋太大, 一來我翻不動,而來除非要煮一大鍋不然東西看來都小小的, 所以這其實是用湯鍋烘出來的. 吃的時候我加了一點番茄醬. 要是今年蕃茄又盛產我又可以自己做番茄醬了! 也加了一點青豆仁..(打蛋打的不夠久所以還有氣孔...)
然後是兩個涼拌小菜. 第一是涼拌茴香佛手瓜花枝. 這個試用茴香醋,辣麻油來涼拌, 最後灑上一點新鮮茴香葉. 佛手瓜很脆很適合涼拌,我還加上一些青豆仁,當然也是菜園裡自產自銷的.
第二是涼拌茴香黑白絲. 這個和我平常常煮的方法很接近,只是用茴香來取代九層塔. 薑蒜茴香切末,和醬油糖與辣椒快炒至熟後將白木耳和香菇絲(這次我沒用黑木耳)快炒入味. 最後灑上另一半切好的茴香葉裝飾用. 這兩者都是冰涼後當開胃小菜食用.
最後的飯後甜點當然也要要使用到茴香囉. 這是茴香綠茶凍配上紅豆泥. 這個只是用茴香來裝飾, 基本上完全是綠茶凍.茶凍煮好後才把茴香放上去裝飾用, 其實我很想要不止是鋪在表面, 但是放的時間抓不準, 必須在快結凍又未結凍的時候放....所以就算囉!
這個吃起來風味非常特殊爽口.紅豆泥的甜味把茴香的辛味完全綜合掉只剩下香味,而茴香的特殊氣味把紅豆泥的甜味綜合了,吃起來有紅豆泥的濃稠又有茶凍的涼爽加上茴香入口的香味,很清爽卻不甜膩.
茴香(8): 茴香的創意用法
這篇來分享一些茴香的創意用法以及靈感來源. 所謂創意用法是我自己定義的, 不是拿來當食材用是也.
第一個是之前提到過的燻茴香. 靈感來自燒艾草. 艾草有殺菌消毒作用, 拿艾草來燒就是藉由空氣將整個艾草的作用瀰漫整個室內. 茴香雖然沒有消毒殺菌作用,不過我想它既然氣味濃厚在菜園裡被我當作天然有機防菜蟲用, 那麼也許對防蚊蟲有作用吧? 所以就拿來當有機防蚊液囉!
第二個是茴香浴. 這個靈感來自藥草浴. 茴香有安眠鎮靜的作用, 所以我就把它拿來泡澡囉! 這個其實是昨晚沒睡好想到應該來喝點茴香茶催眠,然後又想到泡澡可以幫助睡眠, 縱合起來的茴香藥草浴...
左邊有很淡的墨綠色就是茴香水啦, 等它和其他完全混合後躺在浴室用的枕頭上輕鬆一下.不知道今晚會不會比較好睡呢?
第三個想嘗試的也跟茴香的鎮靜安眠作用有關. 不過手邊還沒有材料無法實際實驗. 大抵我想把它拿來作茴香枕, 就像是茶葉枕一樣有股清香, 如果有材料蠻想做個茴香枕或是做個茴香香包!
再來是利用茴香的濃厚氣味當作除臭劑. 茴香要切碎才會有味道, 切碎後放在垃圾桶最下層當除臭劑, 就和咖啡渣或是茶渣當除臭劑一樣.
雖然沒有辦法自己提煉茴香精油, 我還是想出了很多用法, 是不是很有想像力呢?
聊聊MLB(2) (revised)
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"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. "Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky. "When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift — that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body — it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that's the finest I know. "So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you." |
| — Lou Gehrig at Yankee Stadium, July 4, 1939 |
這是70年前的今天(7/4) Lou Gehrig(June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941) 發表的感言. 選在今天po這篇原因之ㄧ當然是為了紀念這位不平凡的MLB球員. 在他的職業生涯裡, 帶點安打(RBI)是1995, 平均打擊率是0.34,而且有493支全壘打, 2721支安打. 他連續2130場出賽紀錄也到1995年才被打破,但其中有幾次顯然是採用技術性策略來維持連續出賽紀錄. 他曾是MVP,進入名人堂,他的四號球衣被洋基隊收藏紀念. 雖然我很想知道他是不是第四棒所以穿四號球衣, 不過找不到這部份的資訊. 喜愛棒球的人都知到第四棒的地位....
雖然他在演說裡提到自己是最幸運的人(the luckiest man on the face of the earth), 他的一生也的確看似精采, 但卻也簡短且充滿坎坷. 除了他父親因為顛顯無法工作只好在家, 重擔由母親一肩扛起,後來母親積勞成疾外, 他自己是Lou Gehrig disease 患者. 是的,這種ALS (漸凍人)在美加地區被貫稱為Lou Gehrig disease, 與Lou Gehrig同名的疾病的確是以他之名為名, 因為他正是這種疾病的患者, 他簡短的一生更與此疾病有關.
因為疾病, Lou Gehrig在MLB的最後一季表現大不如前. 1939年五月二日在洋基隊出戰底特律老虎隊時, 他主動向教練McCarthy 提出為了不成為球隊的負擔 ("I'm benching myself, Joe", ..."for the good of the team", 他不出賽的決定. 在他退休演說的時候,他的球隊負擔說使得與他情同父子的教練McCarthy在宣佈Lou Gehrig退休的那天, 也就是70年前的今天涕淚縱流("Lou, what else can I say except that it was a sad day in the life of everybody who knew you when you came into my hotel room that day in Detroit and told me you were quitting as a ballplayer because you felt yourself a hindrance to the team. My God, man, you were never that"[1]). 當球場宣佈他不在先發名單時("Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time Lou Gehrig's name will not appear on the Yankee lineup in 2,130 consecutive games." ),他甚至受到老虎隊球迷的歡呼, 這是怎麼樣受到喜愛的一個球員啊!. 而他這決定終止他連續十四年(季)的MLB生涯,此後他雖然仍為洋基隊隊長(但只有為期數週),卻未再(也不能了)打過棒球. 一個多月後就在他生日當天明尼蘇達的Mayo Clinic診斷確定是ALS患者, 同年七月四日他發表這段演說.
Lou Gehrig是個偉大的球員. 記得之前蘇麗文受傷但堅持上場的例子感動很多人. Lou Gehrig其實後來被檢查出來他身上其實有17處骨折(應該說是累積下來的傷), 但他卻是在這情況下連續出賽兩千多場.
聊聊MLB(1)
棒球一直是我最喜歡看的球類運動之一,其次應該是排球或是足球(歐洲踢的那種, 美式足球太多衝撞, 我一直把它和橄欖球劃等號,非常不喜歡). 尤其我最喜歡看投手戰, 雖然很多人認為棒球是個看者無聊,玩者有趣的運動(boring to watch but fun to play), 但我心目中的經典比賽是完封.
我喜歡看棒球的原因之一是他對球員的表現衡量, 在我看來是比較平衡的. 例如投手, 勝投敗投只是奇一, 這和投手所在球隊打線是否很強也有關係, 就算是個好投手, 隊友打擊不利,很可能也無法拿到勝投, 但是即使如此投手的表現可以從自責分(ERA)看出端倪. 打者也是,有帶點的計算(RBI)也有打擊率(batting average)的計算. 相對上籃球的算法就不是如此...而且我討厭NBA裡那種造神運動
前幾天王建民終於拿到這個球季的首勝, 我當然很替他高興, 不過他的ERA之前高到一個不忍卒睹的地步,這幾場下來雖有下降,還是太高. 我ㄧ向不喜歡洋基隊, 但是也替王建民慶幸他是在擁有鑽石打線的洋基隊, 否則以他career 4.14, 本季10.06的ERA要拿到55勝, 實在有點....幸運. 不幸你看這個Anthony Young的career ERA才3.89, 居然只有16勝就知道了! 這一篇有詳細的資料還有一些史上最"賽"投手的故事,很有趣的. 這裡還有一篇122:0的比賽(在日本),這牽涉到後來提前比賽(職棒比賽不算,只有錦標賽才有)結束的規定.
同一天吧! "土地公"第一次上大聯盟投球. "土地公"倪福德(Fu-Te Ni)是去年爭取奧運資格賽時候嶄露頭角的, 他踏上大聯盟之路很不同, 他是第一個先在台灣打職棒才被球探發掘的球員. 他還創下MLB球員最短名字(最短的全名)的紀錄.
順便講一下我支持的MLB隊伍演變(在台灣我都是支持統一獅,這個大家都知道啦!). 在台灣的時候是支持紅襪隊的, 而我到美國的第一年剛好是紅襪86年來第一次拿到冠軍, 當時好興奮! 到了美國因為地緣開始注意響尾蛇, 響尾蛇隊裡有幾個球員我還蠻欣賞的,於是就開始支持響尾蛇麼, 但同時也繼續關注紅襪隊. 至於洋基隊只有小王投的時候我才會注意一下, 而且如果小王對上紅襪或是響尾蛇, 我只好希望小王該場表現是無關勝負,這樣知道我有多討厭洋基隊了吧? 
愛屋及烏這種月暈效應對我來講是不成立的. 我想除非小王去紅襪啦,這樣我可以全心的替他加油! 後來我離開AZ, 欣賞的球員之一Randy Johnson換到SFO去,而松板大輔到了紅襪,我就繼續支持紅襪隊了. 我從第一次現場看松阪投手就蠻欣賞他的,當時他是台灣的對手(不過這不減我當初對他的欣賞啊),對,就是在台北天母球場,陳金鋒還被封為抗日英雄那時候!!
現在"土地公"升上大聯盟, 又是在底特律老虎隊有地緣, 看來以後我要開始改成支持老虎隊了! 今天(7/3)晚上老虎隊在這裡比賽, 希望"土地公"繼續有精采的表現!
ps/ 雖然以前陳金鋒在的時候也會注意他一下啦, 但我比較關注投手,因為我喜歡看投手戰啊! 以前小曹還在科羅拉多投球我也都會看,但不知道為什麼, 我對小小郭的關注總是比較少呢,虧他也是台南人! 也許和他常常受傷,出賽相對零星有關吧?
養酵母(三不五時更新中....)--7/12 更新
小茴香、青皮各15克，黄酒250克，将小茴香、青皮洗净，入酒内浸泡3天，即可饮用。每次15-30克，每日2次，如不耐酒者，可以醋代之。功能疏肝理气。主治经期先期先后不定、经色正常、无块行而不畅、乳房及小腹胀痛等症。
[配方] 茶樹根、凌霄花根、小茴香各15克，老母雞1只(去毛及內臟)，黃酒、米酒、紅糖、食鹽備適量。
[製法] 於月經來時，將茶樹根和凌霄花根切碎，置容器中，加入黃酒適量，密封，隔水同燉2-3小時，待冷，去渣，加入紅糖和服；於月經盡後第2天，將小茴香與老母雞同燉爛，加少許米酒和食鹽服用。
[功用] 健脾補腎、溫經散寒、調經助孕。
[主治] 痛經、不孕症等。
[用法] 口服。每月五劑，連服3月。
[陽記] 引自《民間百病良方》。驗之臨床多效
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7/12 更新: 一半拿來釀酒一半拿來做貝果. 詳見此
轉載: TAIWAN - Taiwan should drop charges against HRDs and amend parade and assembly law (亞洲人權組織呼籲台灣撤銷對人權運動者之告訴並修改集會遊行法)
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Wednesday, 01 July 2009 | |
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(Bangkok, 30 June 2009) Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR) have jointly called on Taiwan to respect and protect freedom of expression and freedom of assembly by dropping the charges against two prominent human rights defenders, and amending the Parade and Assembly Law in accordance to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified at the Legislative Yuan in March 2009. |
轉載:Taiwan-PRC pact to breed injustice
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看到這些新聞真是會傷心, 台灣司法岌岌可危,人權當然也就沒有保障. 前兩天在友台轉載Police accountability on trial講的是自陳雲林來台以來爆發的警民衝突,延續到之後的抗議遊行等, 再到新的集會遊行法,無一不突顯警察濫權, 甚至涉及妨害司法直到立委舉行記者會才願意協助調查等, 看了之後除了嘆氣還是嘆氣啊!
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Taiwan News Taiwan citizens have ample cause to be anxious about the consequences of the "cross-strait agreement to jointly combat crime and provide mutual judicial assistance" which was signed in late April by Taipei's Strait Exchange Foundation and Beijing's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and took effect last Thursday. Ironically signed in Nanjing on the 60th anniversary of the surrender of the Republic of China capital to the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party, this pact marks the surrender of Taiwan's judicial sovereignty and the judicial rights of our 23 million people by President Ma Ying-jeou and his right-wing Chinese Nationalist Party government. Mapped out by the secretive KMT-CCP dialogue, negotiated free from opposition or serious news media oversight and signed amidst bear hugs by SEF Chairman and KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Ping-kun and ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin in Nanjing, this pact, which automatically took effect without legislative review June 25, has the potential to hurt each and every one of us. KMT government officials maintain that the pact will expedite the return of numerous Taiwan fugitives and economic criminals to our shores for trial and belated justice and pave the way for the return of thousands of Chinese illegal immigrants. Whether these two objectives will be achieved is far from assured, as shown by the experience of the 1990 "Kinmen Agreement" which was undermined by Beijing's outright harboring of fugitives, such as former Tuntex Group tycoon Chen You-hau. So long as the PRC side withholds cooperation, Taiwan will be helpless to find fugitive gang leaders or tycoons in the vastness of the China mainland. On the contrary, Taiwan citizens, including the hundreds of thousands of businesspersons, managers and technical staff working in Taiwan-invested enterprises on the mainland, will be left at the complete mercy of PRC prosecutors and judges and, if they return home, liable to be returned to China for trial for any legal infraction, genuine or manufactured. The agreement fails to mention any right of appeal for Taiwan citizens or other provisions to ensure the human rights of Taiwan residents, including PRC citizens, whose extradition may be demanded by Beijing for "counterrevolution" or other political "crimes" that are defined the authoritarian PRC state as "criminal offenses." Moreover, contrary to denials by Ma government spokespersons, Article 7 of the pact will indeed denigrate Taiwan to the level of the PRC's Hong Kong or Macau "special administrative regions" by allowing Beijing to send judicial documents through "court to court" channels instead of following international practice and requiring that such documents be exchanged through "diplomatic channels," such as the SEF-ARATS route. Nevertheless, the most dangerous feature of the pact lies in Article 10, which mandates "mutual recognition of judgments" in civil law cases and therefore will require Taiwan courts to "execute" such judgments by PRC courts and assist in the transfer of suspects or fugitives. The KMT government has thus left Taiwan investors or enterprise managers vulnerable to extortion through "judicial" means as it is well known that charges are frequently trumped up by PRC prosecutors to help local rivals take over the assets or properties of Taiwan-invested firms or businesspersons. According to statistics collected by the PRC Taiwan Affairs Office, there are at least 2,000 such cases every year and to this date there has not be an example in which a Taiwan businessman has won a court judgment. Mutual judicial assistance pacts signed between more normal states typically include explicit provisions for exceptions based on the different character or level of the other side's legal institutions and the quality and independence (from political or other forms of pressure) of court judgments. It should come as little surprise that the current quality of judgments in PRC courts is criminally low. Judicial officers are poorly educated and trained as over half of judges and prosecutors have not even graduated from college and relatively few gained their posts through the national system for examinations for judges and prosecutors introduced only seven years ago. Since most statutes and regulations regarding economic, commercial and many other areas of civil law began to be introduced beginning in 1995 and legal training for judicial officers in such new fields have only been in effect at most two years, it is obvious that the understanding of PRC judges and prosecutors of the concepts and details of the legal guarantees for private property and market transactions is far lower than in Taiwan. The KMT government's incautious agreement these and other dangerous features in this pact will gravely compromise the rights and perhaps even the lives of many Taiwan businessmen and citizens in coming years. Besides cashiering Chiang and openly apologizing to the Taiwan people, President Ma should instruct the SEF to immediately renegotiate this immediately re-negotiate this shameful pact in a manner that upholds our country's judicial sovereignty and guarantees the judicial and human rights of all Taiwan citizens and residents and, at a minimum, submit all future cross-strait pacts to transparent and full legislative review. | |
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ps/ 我不想要討論陳幸妤的近況, 她的案例被討論得很多, 容易找得到. 轉載這篇是因為它討論的是整個體系的, 而非個別案例.
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