yeah sorry if I info-dumped. I been on a bit of a Taiwan history kick lately. 😊

You may have heard an overly simplified version, but no. Taiwan does not think that. "Taiwan thinks" is tricky in the first place because there are many different constituencies within Taiwan with many different histories and different attitudes concerning national identity. But only a vanishingly small minority considers their nationality to be "Chinese" only.

The original plan when the nationalist government retreated from Nanjing to Taipei in 1949 was regroup and re-take the mainland, but it never happened. And the dictator who wanted to do that died 50 years ago and even his KMT government since then has reformed and now there is democracy and a pluralistic society.
But the important thing to understand is that retaking the mainland was never realistic, and never had the backing of the Taiwanese people. When the Republic of China was formed in 1912, Taiwan didn't even have anything to do with it. Taiwan was a Japanese colony until the end of WWII. So when Taiwan was ceded to the Republic of China in 1945, most of the Taiwanese people were either aboriginal or people whose families had migrated from China during the Qing Dynasty or before. These were not people who considered themselves Chinese. If anything, many were getting used to the idea of being Japanese.

The way the nationalists governed, they didn't seem to think much of the Taiwanese people either. They basically set about looting and pillaging and stripping their new territory for all the riches they could grab, and when the Taiwanese people protested, they were massacred by the thousands during what is called the 228 Incident, and that led to a 38 year period of martial law and brutal authoritarian repression called the White Terror. So by 1949, when the Nationalists were kicked out of China, they hadn't made too many friends in Taiwan. But they did bring along 2 million refugees and the army. So they were in charge. Gradually, martial law was lifted and democracy introduced. The first presidential election wasn't held until 1996.

During the 50, 60, and 70s, yes, Taiwan's government did claim to be the rightful government in exile of all of china. But the writing was definitely on the wall once the ROC lost their UN seat to Beijing and most countries switched their diplomatic relationships. Once Chiang Kai-Shek died in 1975, Taiwan's focus turned to reshaping internal politics.

There was a very strong "Taiwan Independence" movement in the 1970s, but this did NOT refer to independence from China. There was no need to declare independence from the PRC, because Taiwan had never been under their control in the first place. Taiwan independence was about kicking the KMT out of power and setting up self rule. With liberalization of the ROC, that movement has mostly grown into the DPP, a rival political party to the KMT political party, which the KMT nation-state has become. But, China has nonetheless made it clear that updating the official constitution to reflect this new reality would invite a military response, so Taiwan is still "Republic of China" on paper. But don't read too much into that.

You won't find any serious person in 2026 who thinks the ROC government is going to be in charge of China, even in the KMT. The KMT has morphed from the bitter enemies of the CCP into a pro-China party and they do advocate integrating with Beijing, but even they have no illusions that they will be in charge. They do have illusions that China will let them continue to manage their own affairs under "one country, two systems," but they should ask Hong Kong how that's going.

Edit: how to do paragraphs on piefed, damn...

Each camera and pole costs approximately $3,000 to replace.

Easy solution: don't replace.

I hope you enjoyed your trip three years ago. Too bad nobody answered, but, honestly it would be really hard to keep a gem hidden in Taipei. There are so many wonderful things to see and do, but I can't really think of any that aren't very well-traveled and talked about on travel blogs and videos and stuff. Here's a random ten off the top of my head that I personally have enjoyed:

• Ximending - shopping, night life
• Taipei 101 - shopping, dining, observation deck
• Maokong Gondola - scenic views and great tea shops
• CKS Memorial Hall - huge, impressive open space with nice gardens and historical museum
• Yangming Mountain - biking, hiking, scenic views
• Shilin Night Market - amazing things to eat
• Beitou Hot Springs - soaking and historical sights
• Longshan Temple - old, ornate temple
• Elephant Mountain - urban hike with iconic views of Taipei 101
• Da'an Forest Park - huge urban park with lots of shade, ponds, gardens and trails.

None of these are hidden, but they are all gems.

Yeah, I haven't looked into it too deeply, but the idea that, "My AI model went rogue and hacked another AI model," just doesn't pass the smell test to me. If I had to guess I'd say good old fashioned corporate espionage that they're trying to blame on their model to overstate the autonomy with which the model is capable of acting.

Oh, yah well if that guy could do any better why doesn't he just run for governor!

Oops.

😁

That's a shame. Californians will need to organize and get active to remind him who he really works for.

Ha ha, so true. I used to amuse myself by commenting on people's LinkedIn posts about how much of their job was done by AI now with, "Well, then what do they need you for?" never got what I considered a thoughtful response. Just a lot of name-calling.

Well, it’s a cult. They brainwash people and push a wild system of anti-science, anti-lgbt, and generally anti liberal conspiracy nonsense that centers around a leader who makes explicit supernatural claims about himself. For instance they publish the Epoch Times. Plus it’s just such a creepy vibe whenever I see them in person. Hundreds of people standing in formation with their arms raised in a circle and staying perfectly still with blank stares for hours. That ain’t no ordinary tai chi practice I ever saw. I’m not surprised a cursory glance at the available information on the internet makes them seem innocuous. They have a huge and well-funded PR operation to make themselves seem like just another group of people who like wellness or whatever. But, yeah, it’s a cult.

Right? Brilliant, why didn't I think of that. 🙃

I generally agree with this, and the PRC is always sticking their nose where it doesn't belong and violating people's human rights and threatening other countries' sovereignty and I don't have a single good thing to say about them. But if there's one group that creeps me out more than the CCP, it's the Falun Dafa. Shen Yun, while objectively impressive and entertaining, is just the fundraising arm for this incredibly scary cult.

Yeah, fuck that guy.

I'm so sorry. That sucks!

There were earlier agreements, but the Colorado River Compact was negotiated in 1922, after all 7 signatory states had been admitted to the union. They've pretty much been arguing about it and re-litigating it ever since, but as I understand it the main problem was that the rainfall estimates they used when drafting it were way too high. It just happened to be during an exceptionally wet time period that they took their measurements, and so they allocated water that never did come. And, yeah, they've known this for a long time.

Well, I don't have a dog in this fight (pun intended), because I don't do group rides. But it doesn't seem all that unreasonable to request that people not be expected to deal with your dog without prior clearance. Like showing up at the trailhead before you mention if you want to bring your dog along puts people who don't want to ride with your dog in an awkward position. To me it's just common courtesy. And even if he didn't have a daughter who was scared of dogs--take that out of the equation entirely--the behavior described in the article of the dog owners whose dogs were off-leash in a place that (presumably) required them to be on-leash is not acceptable. If your dog is off-leash in an area where leashes are required, you ought to have 100% voice command of that dog. As the author said, "usually" just doesn't cut it.

O god that’s diabolical 😂😂

We should just call it making a "bike-free car lane" and do the exact same thing as putting in a bike lane and then these troglodytes would love it.

Not if people don't watch it, it won't.

But, sigh, people will watch it, won't they?

Jackass I think. It was on MTV 20 years ago, a show about idiots doing dumb things (not being judgmental; I think the people in the show would describe it that way too). I never watched it but I remember some quotes.