If you have been to Taipei 101 then you have been up there in the clouds.
Yes Taipei
101 is right up there in the clouds as
it is the 2nd highest building in the world despite being on the
volcanic rim of fire.
As we are
now storing our information in the cloud then Taipei 101 has other symbolism.
It was also
explained by 101% exceeds 100% &
that is the expectations that the Taiwanese have for themselves.
As 1 & 0 are the two digits used in
computing it was also very relevant in the always connected, always on 21st
century.
Although we
have travelled to various places such as Malawi, Mandalay, Marrakesh &
Moscow, Taiwan & Taipei is where the 21st century will be centred.
This is why
the family we visited & he hails from Narrabri is now making their home in
Taipei. The family after 8 months are comfortable & winning scholarships in
Mandarin.
We note on
our return in the W E Australian that a former
& this week suggested by two Labour journalists a future PM was writing on
China & the internal debates happening there at present.
How do we handle China?
Another
article mentioned Taiwan 4 times. If there is to be a challenging & flashpoint moment it will be over Taiwan & being
aware of its significance is important for our future.
So what do
we learn from Taiwan.
It has built
up large gold reserves which represent Money.
I.e. we read
today that Taiwan holds 422 tonnes of Gold & is ranked 13th for
such reserves. Fascinatingly we note that Australia doesn’t rank in the top
100 such gold holding countries. Maybe it ranks in the Warren Buffett camp
& is not a ‘gold fondler’.
We
understand that a certain Labour PM who
‘touched’ the Queen flogged it off.
What price did he get? Whose has the real wealth?. Why isn’t Australia
purchasing gold? Is it because its debts & interest bills are too high.
There is no insurance & as Young said ‘if
you can’t afford the insurance you can’t afford the trip’.
How come
Australia does not have real savings when it is the lucky country.
Where is
Taiwan & how come when it has 22M on an island which is smaller that
Tasmania.
We observed
5 flights of fighter jets take off within 15 minutes as we watched the honour
guard at the soldiers' memorial. Would that be more than the RAAF has & can
the RAAF afford such regular flights?
Yes Taiwan might
be known for its tea [which was brought in by Japan which occupied it for 50
years] but that is only enjoyed in the tea ceremony.
We learnt
that Taiwan is where the Democratic forces ended up after Mao Ts Tung. Taiwan
has done a ‘ Dunkirk’ & turned a
defeat into a victory. Mao reportedly said that it might take 100 years to
reclaim Taiwan. We were advised that 5M mainland Chinese will visit there in
2012 & whom no doubt Australia would be keen to visit here.
The National
Museum is the 3rd largest museum in the world as Chinese history was
‘escorted’ from the mainland during
the retreat to safeguard the treasuries from Mao Ts Tung’s destruction.
We
understand that it costs only 20M in Taiwan to monitor compliance on the 10%
GST. Why because all receipts go in to a monthly lottery.
Now the ATO
has spent a billion on tracking software & employs 20,950 to grab your
earnings. Why don’t they tell us what they know to help us complete our taxx
returns.
Why is it that
Canberra has 3 suburbs in the top 10
expensive suburbs.
This all
should be discussed over a tea ceremony. You are welcome to do so & to read
your tea leaves so as to help you financially achieve your goals & to enjoy
those canal trips or museum visits later.
That is
easier when no debt & minimising taxx & planning for the financial
journey. Let’s have ‘the taxx man
subsidise your debt’.
It is twice argued today that China is a
‘sell’ as government figures are a
fudge, there is a huge RE bubble & hence bank debts are scary. What does
that mean to your portfolio?
We made
great use of the Metro in Taipei & the Metro map helped us see the major
attractions. We all need a financial map.
As the
Taiwanese protects the downside with
gold or fighters so every plan has insurances.
John McAuliffe
