David O'Rear's East Asia Politics & Economics Blog

Taiwanese National Changhua University of Education professor Li Ci-ze has drafted a series of essays devoted to what Taiwan would need to have in order to agree to some kind of “one country, two systems” arrangement with China. (

First (taxation) principles

Taxes should be low enough to deter evasion, high enough to generate useful amounts of revenue, and simple enough to be paid without excessive professional consultation. Nobody does it exactly right, but some come closer than others. Outside of China, the best one is probably a Value-Added Tax (taxing spending rather than...