"Free Trade Agreements in Asia" page updated

When I created this web page several years ago, free trade agreement or FTA (they are actually "preferential trade agreements") was still a relatively new thing to Asia. In particular, North-east Asia was then an FTA-free region. This changed, however, with the signing of the Japan-Singapore FTA in 2002.

Since then, it seems all Asian economies have been trying to negotiate bilateral free trade deals with their regional neighbours. My interest in maintaining this web page has greatly diminished as a result (the fact that I no longer work as an economist - in fact I no longer "work" any more - is also a reason). There are just too much to follow. And frankly speaking, not many of these free trade deals in Asia have much real significance.

But then, I still feel obliged to nurture this baby, even though it attracts very little traffic. I shall try my best (my best is probably not very good, so treat it as a page constantly under construction).

-- Free Trade Agreements in Asia --

Down to the Wire

Once a leader in Internet innovation, the United States has fallen far behind Japan and other Asian states in deploying broadband and the latest mobile-phone technology (Thomas Bleha, Foreign Affairs, 5-6/05)

According to Bleha, "in the first three years of the Bush administration, the United States dropped from 4th to 13th place in global rankings of broadband Internet usage. Today, most U.S. homes can access only "basic" broadband, among the slowest, most expensive, and least reliable in the developed world, and the United States has fallen even further behind in mobile-phone-based Internet access."

Roasted eggplant & capsicum

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雙虹

「順序決定工序」？還是「工序決定順序」？

許進雄在《中國古代社會》第一章中提出：「古代漢字書寫的習慣是自上而下，然後又自右而左。人一般用右手書寫，自右而左的形式是較不切合實際，所以滿文和蒙古文雖也是上下直行，行列則採用由左而右的形式。中國之所以有這種書寫習慣上的獨異性，完全是受古代書寫工具的影響」。他認為，「導致中國獨特的書寫方向應是書寫的材料。任何有乾燥平面的東西都可以書寫，土石、布帛、樹皮等都可以利用。但從幾方面看，影響中國書寫方向習慣的是竹簡，而且起碼從商代起已是如此」。

他的解答是迄今為止，我讀過的最為詳盡的分析。許進雄認為，「只要把竹子劈成長條稍為加工就可得到平坦而可書寫的表面(錢存訓, 文書: 104)。再在火上炙乾，就易著墨而不易朽蠹。在窄長的表面上書寫，由上而下作縱的書寫，遠較橫的左右的書寫方便得多。因為橫著書寫，竹片背面的彎曲會妨害手勢的運轉和穩定。一般人以右手書寫，也易於左手拿著直豎的竹片，寫完後以左手由右而左一一排列，故由上而下、由右而左的排列，就成中國特有的書寫習慣」。

「用毛筆沾墨書寫時，墨汁幹燥緩慢。如果在可以書寫多行的表面上寫字，行列最理想是由左而右，手才不致塗污書跡。但是中國的習慣竟然是相反的由右而左。可以推測是由於主要用單行的竹簡書寫，寫時左手拿著竹片，右手持筆，寫完後以左手持放，因偶然而習慣由右至左一一排列，故而成為中國特有的書寫習慣。竹片編綴後可卷成一握，故以卷稱書的篇幅。後來雖於紙上印刷，猶有以墨線隔間，就是保持片片竹簡的古老傳統」。

羅樹寶的《書香三千年》（湖南文藝出版社）也有相近的解釋：「簡冊制度是我國最早的書籍制度，漢代以前，我國圖書普遍采用此形式。相當長的時間裡，中國的書籍都是直排文字，由上至下書寫，從右到左排列。這種行文格式就來源於簡冊。 ... 未寫好的簡放在左側，左手拿來，右手書寫，寫好的簡順序推向右側，因而形成了從右到左的編纂順序。即使先編好的簡策也從右邊開始書寫，相沿成習」。

從我的一貫立場看，文字排列順序應與單字結構順序符合，亦即應以左而右而非右而左為格式。至於古時為何產生從右向左的格式，並相沿成習，我沒有答案，但卻認為許進雄和羅樹寶之說，沒有絕對的說服力。簡單地說，他們的基本是「工序決定順序」的說法。雖然這種工序，在操作上較為順手，但閱讀者如覺得由右而左的排列難以接受，更改工序也不會帶來太多不便。較可信的，是在已有認可文字排列順序格式的情況下（如羅樹寶所言，西周的青銅器銘文也是以上而下，右而左排列），才形成了上述這種竹簡擺放及寫字工序 — 亦即「順序決定工序」，而不是「工序決定順序」。

-- 橫寫直寫 向右向左 左翻右翻 沒完沒了 --