I’ve been in Taipei for the past week, meaning to post but too busy seeing, talking, absorbing.

Quick and dirty: In recent years, Taiwan has become an astonishing economic success story while also developing democratic values and institutions.

But thanks to Bejing’s international bullying, few nations extend Taiwan diplomatic relations and the island nation has been barred from membership in the UN and almost every other international organization.

At the conference I attended here, a representative of the International Crisis Group gave the Taiwanese this bit atrocious advice: If they will just give up their stubborn insistence on self-determination, their quaint affection for the idea that their relationship with the mainland should only be changed peacefully and with their consent, maybe Beijing will allow them to join the World Health Organization or something.

Unrelated Item #1: This unsettling comment to me from a Russian official: “Democracy is anarchy and only you Americans really understand how to manage chaos.”

Unrelated Item # 2: I visited the snake market last night — restaurant after restaurant offering serpent specialties – and snake handling on the street just outside. The cobra soup sure looked yummy. Unfortunately, I’m kinda on a diet.