Back to normal

I rode out to Cheng-chung Park this morning to do some walking, and to see first-hand how much damage Typhoon Jangmi 平成２０年台風１５号 had left in its wake on Sunday and Monday. There was plenty to notice - lots of trees were down, blocking the trails in several places, and forcing me to walk under the brush (or, in one place, to pick my way through the downed branches in order to get to the other side of the path). However, none of the destruction looked particularly dramatic, and thus was not especially 写真able. I did, though, make a short movie of two small waterfalls. The falls on the left (in the background) are usually just a trickle most of the year, while the one on the right (closer to the camera) only appears after significant rainfall, so while this may hardly be gripping footage, it should give some idea of how much water has been dumped on Taiwan over the past several weeks:

Waterfalls

From Tuesday's edition of the Taipei Times:

Former rail engineer from Japan decides to stay in Taiwan http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/09/30/2003424612

"A 45-year-old Japanese national said he has decided to settle down in Taiwan because of his fondness for Taiwanese culture after he finished his job as a measurement engineer at the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) 台湾高速鉄道."

While I may not think like Hideki Kubo, the engineer in question, I can understand his reasons (“While I was in Japan, I had long working hours and did not have good quality of life,” Kubo said. “Taiwanese have a different working attitude as they work hard during the weekdays and spend the weekend with their family members"). To each his own, and the best of luck to him. However, one of his remarks made me wonder:

"'Taiwanese are hospitable and friendly to strangers, especially Taiwanese women, who are not only gentle and considerate, but also independent,' he said."

As one who has experienced the ups and downs of romantic life and cross-cultural relationships in both Japan and Taiwan, the only thing I've learned is this: it is impossible to generalize about the roughly 65 million Japanese and 11 million Taiwanese who are of the female persuasion. That's 76 million individuals, each one of whom must be considered on a case-by-case basis. It's as simple as that.

Bakeries feeling the fallout of melamine scandal http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2008/09/30/2003424598

"Although the sector is suffering, two bakeries appear to be bucking the trend, Japanese brand Yamazaki ヤマザキ and French chain Paul, the latter new to the market...there are also some bakeries, such as Taiwan Yamazaki Co (台灣山崎), that have in fact benefited from the (Melamine メラミン) scare because of consumers’ trust in Japanese brands, an official at the Taipei Bakery Association (台北市糕餅公會) said."

It isn't just Japanese banks that are cashing in from troubles affecting other countries. It appears many Taiwanese consumers haven't heard about the many food-related scandals that have been going on in Japan over the past year, though this should come as no surprise, considering how little the local TV news stations devote to things happening in other countries. In all fairness, Yamazaki hasn't been accused of anything untoward. In fact, I was impressed when once, during the time I was living in Tōkyō 東京, a representative from the company came to my apartment to apologize over some stale bread that had been purchased from the neighborhood Daily Yamazaki デイリーヤマザキ convenience store.

Taiphew!

Another weekend, another typhoon it seems. This time is was Jangmi's 平成２０年台風１５号 turn to wreak havoc on Taiwan. The storm reached this island yesterday, and while we didn't have as much rain in our area as the last one, the winds were powerful. So strong, in fact, that our apartment building management warned the residents against using the first floor gate to go outside, saying it was safer to use the underground parking garage as an exit (the layout of our apartment complex has a tendency to amplify wind speeds, making them even more powerful). At one point, we thought the window in Amber's room was going to get blown in (and naturally we had nothing to tape it up with). Fortunately (for us, anyway), Jangmi lost some steam as it made landfall on Taiwan's east coast (in the process being downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm), and with the Central Mountain Range 中央山脈 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Mountain_Range acting as a buffer, the winds died down in our area by early Sunday evening.

Today (Monday) was declared a typhoon day, meaning all government offices (including schools) were closed, and further meaning another unwelcome day off from work due to Mother Nature. The weather hasn't been too bad, at least in central Taiwan, today, though it hasn't stopped raining for even a second all day long. Feeling cooped up from being indoors (but not being able to do anything outdoors), and faced with an unexpected holiday, we figured the best thing to do was to get out of the apartment and go somewhere indoors, like a department store or shopping mall. So after lunch, we headed off to Taichung (Taichū) 台中. Surprisingly, though there were a lot of downed trees and torn advertising banners, there was little structural damage from the previous day's onslaught (the one exception was a large sign that had collapsed on Zhonggang Road, which had made it onto the TV news programs. We were driving by too quickly, however, for me to get a decent photo of the destruction). Our first destination, an outlet mall in downtown Taichung, was closed. For our second, third and fourth destinations (the Chung Yo and Mitsukoshi 三越 Department Stores, and the Tiger City shopping mall, respectively), it seemed as if all of central Taiwan had the same idea as we did - there were LONG lines of cars waiting to get into all three places. In the end, we gave up and went back to Fengyuan (Hōgen) 豊原 (where it was the same story at the local department store as well!). A rather appropriate outing on a dreary day, one could say.

I don't know if it was a coincidence, but the China Post had this story in its back pages this morning:

Japanese take part in Operation Wind Pursuit http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/int%27l%20%20community/2008/09/29/176610/Japanese-take.htm

"Japanese participated in Operation Wind Pursuit (Sunday). Launched jointly, Operation Wind Pursuit involves meteorologists in Japan and Taiwan to gather up-to-the minute information on tropical cyclones...a Japanese Falcon jet craft made a five-hour observation flight near Taiwan yesterday, as Typhoon Jangmi landed at Yilan (Giran) 宜蘭 last night."

Hopefully they collected a lot of meaningful date, because it appears Jangmi is on its way to Japan.

Storm's a comin'

Yet another typhoon is on its way. Jangmi is its name, and it's going to be a big one. As I'm writing this at a quarter past 11 on a Saturday night, the wind is starting to pick up outside. I just hope the destruction can be kept to a minimum. If there's any good to come of an approaching typhoon, it's that the views from our building's rooftop were very clear all throughout the day, and this evening's sunset was spectacular:

Meanwhile, Saturday's edition of the Taipei Times has this story:

MOFA requests Japanese and EU support for UN bid http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/09/27/2003424380

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) 中華国民外交部 would welcome support from Japan and the EU for Taiwan’s bid to gain 'meaningful participation' in UN agencies, MOFA spokesman Henry Chen said yesterday."

The Japanese appear to be sympathetic:

"...on condition that all parties are satisfied, Japan supported Taiwan’s efforts to obtain observer status in the World Health Assembly (WHA), the supreme decision-making body of the WHO 世界保健機関. Japan also supported Taiwan’s attempts to expand participation in WHO technical-level meeting..."

Taiwan has been trying to get some kind of representation within the WHO for a number of years now, but each time China has worked to block it. During the Chen Shui-bian (Chin Suihen) 陳水扁 administration, entry was attempted under the name "Taiwan", but to no avail. The current government has been willing to downgrade Taiwan's image as a sovereign nation by accepting the ridiculous Olympic moniker of "Chinese Taipei" チャイニーズタイペイ in its application attempts, but the Chinese government has refused to budge, leaving the elected representatives of this island with precious little in the way of bargaining chips in negotiations with Beijing.

The government of Ma Ying-jeou (Ba Eikyū) 馬英九 has bungled a lot of things lately, not just foreign relations. The latest fiasco is the ongoing Melamine メラミン scare over tainted milk products from China. The Taipei Times' Johnny Neihu has a great take (as always) on all this in his regular Saturday column (Johnny Neihu's News Watch: Aiya, your business? My kidneys! http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2008/09/27/2003424327). Here are a couple of his observations:

"The Chinese people are the worst victims, of course. Yet at what point do they, too, deserve a share of the blame? I mean it’s they who are tolerating — even, at times, extolling the virtues of — an authoritarian government built by a party that’s corrupt to its foundations and completely unaccountable. No doubt some of these same citizens whose babies are tragically dying today were yesterday championing their government for returning China to its 'proud, rightful place among the big powers.' At any rate, China’s present role among big powers appears to be spewing out a barrage of toxic, shoddy and all-round crap products and keeping national health regulators the world over scrambling to keep up."

And:

"Here’s how the crisis will be solved: Some health official in China will get fingered for blame and have a bullet put through his head. That will scare the living bejeezus out of his corrupt colleagues for a few weeks, before they return to their rent-seeking, high-rolling ways, and toxic crap will fly out of factories anew. In a few months, the entire cycle will repeat."

Sad, but true. Time and time again, tainted, dangerous products come out of China, harming people and animals. Time and time again, the rest of the world acts like Captain Louis Renault from "Casablanca" カサブランカ ("I'm shocked!"). Time and time again, the Chinese government, after initially denying/misleading/stalling, assures everyone it won't happen again. And, of course, time and time again, it continues to occur.

In case you're wondering, Amber's current milk formula is made in Denmark. We hope.

On the other hand...一方では...もう一方では

From this morning's newsstand issue of the Taiwan News:

Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou congratulates Japan's premier http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=747314&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_taiwan&cate_rss=TAIWAN_eng

"President Ma Ying-jeou (Ba Eikyū) 馬英九 congratulated Tarō Asō 麻生太郎 upon his being named the 92nd prime minister of Japan and expressed confidence in the development of relations between Taiwan and Japan, Foreign Minister Francisco H.L. Ou said yesterday. 'President Ma has sent out a congratulatory telegraph to Asō through the representative Office in Tōkyō 東京,' Ou said, adding that Ma and is optimistic that relations between Taiwan and Japan will be further consolidated."

Disputed islands are Taiwan's territory: MOFA http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=747315&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_taiwan&cate_rss=TAIWAN_eng

"Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) 中華国民外交部 yesterday declined to comment on former president Lee Teng-hui's (Ri Tōki) 李登輝 remarks that the disputed Tiaoyutai (Senkaku) Islands 尖閣諸島 belong to Japan, but Foreign Minister Francisco H.L. Ou reasserted Taiwan's sovereignty over the island group."

Asō is perceived to be a nationalist, and has made a number of remarks in recent years suggesting that China is a military threat in the East Asian region, referring to Taiwan as if it were a country (you mean it isn't?) and praising Japan's colonial legacy in Taiwan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro_Aso#Controversial_statements. However, as prime minister, Asō will probably continue the softer line towards the Chinese that was taken by the previous administrations of Shinzō Abe 安倍晋三 and Yasuo Fukuda 福田康夫. In any event, Japanese media is speculating that Asō will call a general election for late October or early November, after an emergency economic stimulus package is enacted by the Diet 国会, so there is some question as to how long Asō may actually stay in office.

Meanwhile, the Senkakus (as the islands are known outside of the Chinese-speaking world, i.e. everywhere else on the planet) raise their heads again, thanks to Lee. At the end of his four-day visit to Okinawa 沖縄:

"...he repeated that Tiaoyutai Islands were the territory of Japan. He said that he had asked Lo Kuen-tsan, the representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office 台北経済文化代表処 in Japan, why Tiaoyutai Islands should be considered part of Taiwan. Lo answered that 'it was based on geographic reasons.' Lee said it was unreasonable, for in this way, Taiwan and Okinawa both belonged to China. Lee also criticized former Premier You Hsi-kun 游錫堃 for saying that Tiaoyutai Islands were part of Toucheng (Tōjō) 頭城 in Yilan (Giran) 宜蘭. 'It was stupid,' he said. 'Did he mean that Tiaoyutai Islands had been moved from Japan’s territory?' Lee also denounced Premier Liu Chau-shiuan's war of words with Japan over Tiaoyutai Islands, saying that Taiwan was not capable of waging war against Japan."

(http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=747795&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_taiwan&cate_rss=TAIWAN_eng)

As the earlier article about MOFA noted in its last paragraph:

"Lee is widely seen by the Taiwanese public as a Japanophile 親日派. He has been criticized in the past for similar comments, which are seen as betraying Taiwan's territorial interest in favor of Japan."

All true, of course, but Lee does have a point. The Wikipedia entry on the Senkakus gives an overview of the various claims http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senkaku_Islands#Beginning_of_the_dispute, but, basically, the United States administered the islands from the end of World War Two until 1972, when they were included in the reversion of Okinawa to Japan. Taiwan's long-standing claims on the islands go all the way back to the mid-1960's, after geological surveys suggested that there may be deposits of oil and gas in the waters surrounding the islands. Strictly a coincidence, of course.

Of course he does

From today's Taipei Times newspaper:

President expresses hopes for closer ties with Tokyo http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/09/24/2003424041

"President Ma Ying-jeou (Ba Eikyū) 馬英九 yesterday expressed hopes for closer 'special relations' between Taipei (Taihoku) 台北 and Tōkyō 東京, adding that the words best described the current relations between the two countries, which his administration would seek to maintain. Ma said that despite the absence of official diplomatic ties, the relationship between Taipei and Tōkyō was one of special partners. Closer ties could be of benefit to the peoples of both countries and their government, he said. Ma made the remarks while receiving a delegation of Japanese parliamentarians at the Presidential Office 中華民国総統府 yesterday afternoon."

Ma has a long history of saying to audiences exactly those words they expect to hear from him, and then following up on those remarks by not following up on them, if you catch my drift. But who knows? Considering the difficulties his government has faced since taking over four months ago (much of it self-induced), not to mention the work going on behind the scenes by KMT 中国国民党 heavyweights like Wang Jin-pyng (Oh Kimpei) 王金平, Ma might actually mean what he said to his Japanese visitors. Vice President Vincent Siew (Shō Banchō) 蕭万長 echoed his boss' remarks:

"...express(ing) the hope that Taiwan and Japan would establish a 'special partnership,' with Taipei and Tōkyō now in the process of developing economic partnership agreements that, he said, would have a greater impact than a free-trade agreement. 'Despite the lack of [official] diplomatic relations, we have a close historical, cultural and trade relationship,' Siew said while receiving Hatakenaka Atsushi, the new chairman of the Interchange Association Japan, at the Presidential Office yesterday morning. 'This special relationship is in fact closer than the one we have with our [official] diplomatic allies,' he said."

And that's not all:

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs 中華民国外交部 yesterday also congratulated new Japanese Prime Minister Tarō Asō 麻生太郎 and said it expected bilateral relations to continue to grow under the new leadership."

It appears there are some serious efforts being made to reach out to the Japanese, quite a change from the chest-puffing that was going on back in June during the spat over the Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島.

Son of ニュース

The China Post newspaper today has an article on ex-President Lee Tung-hui's (Ri Tōki) 李登輝 current visit to Okinawa 沖縄:

Ex-president Lee visits Japanese war memorial http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/int%27l%20%20community/2008/09/23/175827/Ex-president-Lee.htm

"Former President Lee Teng-hui on Monday started a visit to Japan and visited a World War II memorial, despite expected criticism from Beijing which has labeled him as 'splittist.'"

The story is surprisingly factual and unbiased, two qualities usually not associated with the Post's coverage of Taiwan-related stories. Lee is credited with having "nurtured Taiwan's democracy", and balances the differing viewpoints held by the Chinese and Japanese governments:

"It is Lee's fourth visit since he stepped down as Taiwan's president eight years ago. Each of his trips trigger protests from Chinese authorities, who see such visits as an attempt to affirm Taiwan's own status. Japan, which does not require visas for Taiwanese tourists, says Lee's visit is private."

The writer is also careful in describing the connection between Lee and the controversial Yasukuni Shrine 靖国神社...oh, hold on a moment. I've just noticed this story is from the Agence France-Presse news agency フランス通信社. No wonder.

For an example of how the China Post often approaches local news, this morning's edition has a classic primer in the article "Armed soldiers take train to drill" http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national%20news/2008/09/23/175821/Armed-soldiers.htm. Check out the opening paragraphs:

"Bullet train passengers were stunned to find 63 fully armed infantrymen taking the train with them yesterday. 'Are we fighting a war now?' one shocked passenger on the train reaching Taichung (Taichū) 台中 asked. He and his fellow passengers were scared, not without reason. President Chen Shui-bian (Chin Suihen) 陳水扁 used to provoke China into declaring war on Taiwan."

I don't know why I bother buying the China Post. OK, I do - it carries a greater range of wire service stories (not to mention more in-depth coverage of Major League Baseball) than Taiwan's two other English-language dailies - but I feel guilty about it. Honest.

ニュース

An absolutely glorious sunset on the way to the work this evening.

From the Taiwan News, the anti-China Post:

Former president to visit Okinawa 

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=744537

"Former President Lee Teng-hui (Ri Tōki) 李登輝 is scheduled to depart Monday for a four-day visit to Japan's Okinawa Prefecture 沖縄県 on the Ryūkyū Islands 琉球諸島. This will be Lee's fourth visit to Japan since retiring from the presidency in 2000. He will tour historical relics from World War Two on the Ryūkyū Islands, including the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park 平和祈念公園 and the Himeyuri Memorial Tower ひめゆりの塔, and will give a keynote speech Sept. 23 at the Okinawa Convention Center on the evolution of knowledge and the characteristics of Japanese culture. On Sept. 24, he will visit Shurijō Castle 首里城, a symbol of the history of the former Kingdom of the Ryūkyū 琉球王国. He will also tour the Southeast Botanical Gardens 東南植物楽園, which is managed by Taiwanese expatriates. The former president is scheduled to return to Taiwan Sept. 25."

Since leaving office, Lee has traveled to Japan from Taiwan almost as often I have. No mention is made of any hostile reaction this time from the Chinese government. For some strange reason, Beijing has never protested any of my trips to Japan.

Bridges 橋

This morning I got up early to do something I hadn't done in a while - go for a long ride on my scooter with a group of people. From our meeting point in downtown Fengyuan (Hōgen) 豊原, my friends Michael and Roddick, along with Michael's friends Drew, Augustin and his charming wife Chou, plus yours truly, took off on four scooters (and in one car). We went through the town of Dongshih (Tōsei) 東勢, up into the hills and past the Liyutan Reservoir, and finally down to the site of the Longteng Broken Bridge, located in the town of Sanyi (Sangi) 三義. From the parking lot near the site of the viaduct ruins, we started to walk along the abandoned railway tracks:

Eventually, we came to a 726 meter-long (2382 feet) tunnel, which served to remind me that I had neglected to bring along a flashlight:

 

Emerging from the tunnel, we saw our first crowds of the day as we came to the old Shengsing (Shōkō) Station 勝興駅, part of the former Western Trunk Line 旧山線. Built in 1911 to reflect Shengsing village's role as a center of the camphor 樟脳 oil industry, it was once the highest train station in Taiwan, sitting at an altitude of 402 meters (1319 feet). Originally named Shi Liu Fen 十六分, Shengsing Station was shut down in 1998 with the completion of a new Taichung Line 台中線. There are other, arguably more attractive old train stations in Taiwan dating from the Japanese era, but Shengsing has been discovered by the weekend tourist hordes, and the street in front of the station was full of souvenir shops and Hakka 客家 restaurants, not to mention thirsty Westerners on the lookout for Taiwan Beer:

After the beer break, we headed back towards our parked scooters (and car), only this time walking on the road instead of on the train tracks. According to one of my guidebooks, the distance between the station and the viaduct is 6 kilometers (3.7 miles), though it didn't seem that far to me. Before getting on our scooters, I took a couple of pictures of the broken bridge. Constructed in 1905, it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1935, and the picturesque ruins are all that remain today. There was a time when the Long Deng Viaduct was unknown (along with Sheng Shing station), but in the wake of the leisure boom that took off in Taiwan with the introduction of the five-day work week in the early part of this decade, it has become a local icon:

Saying "adieu" to Sanyi, we headed in the same direction as we had come, stopping off in the town of Jhuolan (Takuran) 卓蘭 to have lunch. Much to the amusement of Augustin, we ate at a place that called itself Rive Gauche (the Left Bank). The food was hardly French, but it was surprisingly good (and inexpensive). And, yes, more Taiwan Beer was consumed. My standards are definitely slipping!

Back in Fengyuan in the mid-afternoon, it was time to for everyone to part. Perhaps inspired by the ruins in Sanyi, before heading home, I once again rode out to the Tachia River (Daikō-kei) 大甲渓 to see if I could get a look at the collapsed Houfeng Bridge. This time I was able to find a dirt track that led directly down to the riverbank (and under the bridge itself, a worrisome proposition), where I was able to get a good look at the destruction from last weekend's Typhoon Sinlaku 平成20年台風第13号:

I wasn't the only one out there this afternoon looking at these ruins, but this was one sight I hope never becomes a tourist attraction.

From this morning's Taipei Times, a newspaper not as good as the China Post (unless you like your news to be factual and unbiased!):

Peng tells details of escape from KMT http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/09/21/2003423802

"Democracy pioneer Peng Ming-min (Hō Meibin) 彭明敏 and those who helped him escape the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) 中国国民党 regime in 1970 to seek political asylum in Sweden gave detailed accounts of the well-planned journey at a press conference in Taipei (Taihoku) 台北 yesterday."

It's an interesting article of how one of Taiwan's foremost proponents of democracy during the martial law era was able to escape to Sweden, and eventually to the USA, with the help of two Japanese nationals, who were both present at Saturday's press conference. That's just the kind of interference by Japanese colonialists in Chinese domestic affairs that boils the blood of any true blue KMT die hard!

ニュース

From Saturday's edition of The China Post, a fine newspaper (if you believe in Greater China fantasies, that is):

Taiwan, Japan to mutually recognize each other's driver's licenses http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/foreign%20affairs/2008/09/20/175469/Taiwan-Japan.htm

"Holders of Taiwan driver's license will be eligible to apply for a Japanese license without taking a test, and vice versa, starting Oct. 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) 中華民国外交部, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) 中華民国交通部 and the Interchange Association (Japan) 交流協会 jointly announced yesterday."

Despite recent tensions over the Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島, relations between Japan and Taiwan continue to grow closer at the tourist level. Last year the two governments agreed to mutually recognize driver's licenses from both countries, with the provision that Taiwanese drivers needed to get copies of their licenses translated into Japanese (and vice versa for Japanese motorists in Taiwan). This latest initiative means drivers will be able to obtain licenses in the other country without having to take a test (other than a physical exam). It is the latest action (starting with the decision made by the Japanese government a couple of years ago to waive visa requirements for Taiwanese tourists) that recognizes the fact that 2.5 million people travel between Japan and Taiwan every year. I'd like to see an article in the future on whether or not Taiwanese drivers are obeying traffic regulations in Japan, the latter being a place where drivers actually stop for red lights, and (gasp!) let pedestrians cross the road without trying to drive around (or over) them first.

DOH: Crackers from Japan may be tainted http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national%20news/2008/09/20/175536/DOH%3A-Crackers.htm

"The Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday that 500 boxes of imported rice crackers from Japan that may have been contaminated with a pesticide 農薬 and with aflatoxin アフラトキシン were distributed to consumers in late June, but stressed that the health risk was very low."

The ongoing scandal in Japan involving Mikasa Foods 三笠フーズ having sold contaminated rice (from Vietnam and, no surprise, China) to 375 brewers, food ingredient wholesalers and confectionery makers, has apparently reached these shores. According to the government, a local dress company imported 500 boxes of rice crackers 煎餅 from a Japanese food processor that used tainted rice procured from Mikasa, to be given as presents to customers. The firm, however, denies the DOH's allegations. Japan has been hit by a number of scandals over the past year involving food safety, which has shaken the faith of many Japanese consumers.

国民健康

I'm often at odds with the way things are done here in Taiwan, but one thing I do appreciate about living in this country is its excellent national health insurance system. I've come down with a mild case of the flu, and yesterday I took the day off from work to rest my voice, and seek out some medicated relief. In the space of about an hour, my wife, daughter and I visited a pediatrician (Amber had a runny nose); an ear, nose and throat specialist (for my cough, runny nose and husky voice); and a dermatologist (in order to refill a prescription). Total cost of the three visits, including all medication (and in Taiwan you get a lot!): NT420. That's ￥1400 or $13! Compare this to when I had to see a dermatologist back in the States during a visit home a few years ago. As I was uninsured (in the USA), my visit and prescriptions (for a tube of lotion and a small bottle of pills) came to about $200 (NT6400 or ￥21,420)! The United States is the only advanced, industrialized nation without a universal national health insurance system for its people. Why is it that some of my countrymen (and their leaders) are so socially retarded (to use Frank Zappa's phrase) when it comes to something people in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan and even Taiwan take for granted? Am I to assume that fear of "socialism" (as in "socialized medicine") is of greater importance than seeing to it that your population's health care needs are adequately taken care of? Considering our shameful infant mortality rate, for example http://edition.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/05/08/mothers.index/, I don't think this is something that the ideologues should be feeling proud about.

ニュース：后豊橋のスパが崩れた

The latest news on the collapse of one section of the Houfeng Bridge linking Fengyuan (Hōgen) 豊原 and Houli (Kōri) 后里 is that another body has been recovered, raising the death toll to two, with four people still missing. Today's edition of the Taiwan News http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/index_en.php newspaper is reporting that:

"The Houfeng Bridge featured on the list of Taiwan's ten most dangerous bridges, and a NT$1.5 billion (￥4.9 billion/$46.8 million) budget had been earmarked for repair work. Bidding on the project was planned for September 24. The bridge had already suffered significant damage during two previous typhoons this summer, media reports said."

The bridge is only a few minutes by car/scooter from where I live and work, so this afternoon I rode over to the Tachia (Daikō) River 大甲渓 to see if I could get a good vantage point of the destruction caused by Typhoon Sinlaku 平成20年台風第13号. The only road I could find, however, that led down to the riverbank was around a bend downstream that blocked any views of the accident site (the bridge in the picture below is for trains).

I returned to the main road, went past the bridge (the collapsed section wasn't visible going by due to tree/building cover), and found another route down to the Tachia River. The best photo I could get was this one, which doesn't reveal anything as the span in question was on the other side of the bridge from where I was standing (i.e. the direction going from Fengyuan to Houli). It happened close to the paper mill visible on the left-hand side:

The BBC has a video clip of the destruction on its website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7616357.stm (you can also see some of the havoc that occurred in other areas of Taiwan as a result of Sinlaku: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7618946.stm).

We place so much trust in our engineers and governments, and the structures they build and supposedly maintain for us. Considering our proximity to this bridge, and the frequency with which we have used it, it could have been one of us, or a member of my wife's family, unlucky enough to have been driving across when it collapsed. It is too bad that some people were not so fortunate.

The view looking downriver in the afternoon sun, as I was leaving the scene:

Mid-Typhoon Festival?

Today is the 15th day of the 8th month according to the lunar calendar, and thus is the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival 月見. One of the biggest holidays in the Chinese world, the Moon Festival (as it's also known) is a day when millions of Taiwanese will get together with their families to have barbecues, eat moon cakes 月餅, set off fireworks and look at the full moon (when they can see it through the haze of smoke wafting up from all those BBQ grills)...or would, except that this year, slow-moving Typhoon Sinlaku has chosen this weekend to strike Taiwan, thus washing out, both figuratively and literally, the holiday plans of most people on this island.

As for this 外人, I'm not too disappointed by the turn of events. For one thing, on Friday evening I had a sore throat and a touch of a fever, so this weekend wasn't going to be an active one anyway. For another, Taiwanese holidays mean virtually nothing to me, except as a day off without pay (and Mid-Autumn Festival falls on a Sunday this year anyway, though my one afternoon class on Saturdays was canceled as a result of Sinlaku), so it wasn't as if today was something I had been looking forward to (my wife is pretty blase when it comes to most traditional observations); and, finally, the environment usually takes a beating on the day of the Moon Festival from all the barbecuing and fireworks, so the while the island is taking a pounding from the typhoon, the air quality isn't.

Because of Sinlaku, the most interesting thing we've done this weekend was to go out this afternoon to buy lunch from Fengyuan's (Hōgen) 豊原 just-opened, first-ever MOS Burger モスバーガー shop. MOS Burger is a Japanese company that is the second-largest fast food franchise chain in Japan after McDonald's マクドナルド, a fact alone that should dissuade some bloggers from somehow thinking there are more more MOS outlets in Taipei [Taihoku] 台北 alone than in all of Japan :). The general consensus, among both Japanese and Taiwanese, is that the burgers are better at MOS Burger, but that McDonald's serves up superior french fries - an assessment I tend to agree with. There are four McDonald's restaurants in Fengyuan, but up until this past Friday, the only MOS Burger joints were to be found in nearby Taichung (Taichū) 台中. However, it seems MOS Burger pushed the opening of its Fengyuan branch ahead by a week or so, because the offerings for the time being are limited to just four kinds of set meals (no fries) - the full menu won't be available until September 19. Nevertheless, in a small city like Fengyuan, this qualifies as a major event!

Later in the afternoon, we paid a brief visit to my in-laws, where Amber demonstrated the peculiar Mid-Autumn Festival custom of wearing pomelo ブンタン rinds on the head!

UPDATE: According to the news reports on TV, a section of the bridge between Fengyuan and Houli (Kōri) 后里 has collapsed this evening, sending two cars into the Dajia (Daikō) River 大甲川 below. The river is normally a calm trickle, but as a result of the typhoon, is now a raging torrent. Pamela and I have driven across this bridge countless numbers of times, and it's only a few minutes' drive from our apartment building. Some bloggers have been posting things to the effect that typhoons are not such a big deal, and making light of the weather. I'm sure the families of those who were in the cars at the time the span of bridge fell into the water would strongly disagree with such flippant characterizations of natural disasters.

My daughter the gateball player

豊原のデパートで｢鳥取：日本ウィーク」というフェアを行って、アンバーは始めてゲートボールをしてみよう：

Tiger Amber?

Knocked out

Last Saturday evening, a sudden thunderstorm passed over our area. While I was working online, and my wife was in the kitchen, a bolt of lightning struck somewhere on our street. Pamela heard a crackling noise coming from outside, and almost immediately afterward, our modem connection stopped working. In fact, it wasn't until this morning that our link to the internet was restored, courtesy of a new unit installed by our ISP. In some respects, I didn't mind being disconnected to the outside world. I was still able to check my email at work, and instead of being ensconced in front a computer, I spent more time watching CNN, National Geographic and Discovery. Nevertheless, it feels good to be back in cyberspace. Here are a few things that happened while I was "out":

On Saturday afternoon, the Kaminoge family visited the Pacific Department Store in beautiful downtown Fengyuan (Hōgen) 豊原 to check out the "Tottori: Japan Week" fair going on there. It was more interesting than I thought it would be, with a number of food products from Tottori Prefecture 鳥取県 available, as well as information on tourism, and even a representative from Tottori University 鳥取大学 manning a table.

I was pleasantly surprised to find several Japanese working at the tables, and they in turn were pleasantly surprised to find a Westerner in Fengyuan who could speak their language (sort of). I came away with a bottle of 地酒 that has gold flakes floating in it, Pamela bought some かにみそ (おいしい!) and Amber was given a トリピー doll, the official mascot of Tottori-ken. I hope "Japan Week" will be a recurring event at the department store, with other prefectures exhibiting their wares.

 

On Sunday, we drove up north to spend some time at the beach in Ciding, in the town of Jhunan (Chikunan) 竹南. Amber had been asking to go the ocean ever since our excursion last month to Mashagou. Ciding isn't as nice, but my daughter had a great time getting splashed by the waves, and digging in the sand for shells.

And yesterday I went for a morning walk in Chung-cheng Park. My trip was delayed for 30 minutes due to an air-raid drill that I didn't know was scheduled for that morning. The police in Taiwan might be lax in so many areas of law enforcement, but they were extremely efficient in clearing the main roads of all traffic. Below is a photo I took of cars and motorcycles parked at the side of the road, waiting for the all-clear to sound.

 

Wishful thinking?

It was quite a surprise when Yasuo Fukuda 福田康夫 announced his resignation as Japan's Prime Minister on Monday evening. The campaign to replace him is just starting to heat up, and some politicians in Taiwan are paying close attention, as the Kyōdō News' 共同通信社の Max Hirsch reports in an article entitled "Taiwan politicians hope Aso takes reins" http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080905f4.html, from this morning's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ:

"Taiwanese power brokers seemed upbeat Tuesday on the possibility that Tarō Asō 麻生太郎, secretary general 幹事長 of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party 自由民主党, would become Japan's next prime minister. But the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry predicted stable relations with Tōkyō 東京 no matter who replaces Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda."

While the foreign ministry is doing what diplomats should do (maintaining tactfulness about the internal political affairs of a neighboring country):

"Other officials here, however, were more vocal on Aso, saying his expected rise would benefit Taiwan-Japan relations, which have, at times, appeared wobbly since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou (Ba Eikyū) 馬英九, of the ruling Nationalist Party 中国国民党, took office May 20. 'Tarō Asō,' said legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (Oh Kimpei) 王金平, 'staunchly supports Taiwan — if he heads Japan's Cabinet, that should be a boon to Taiwan.' An outspoken conservative, Asō, 67, tends to take a hard line on China and backs Taiwan for its embrace of democracy. The hawk, Wang told reporters, also enjoys strong personal relations with many Taiwanese officials and supports Ma's China-friendly policies. 'I consider Tarō Asō an old friend of more than two decades,' added Wang, also of the Nationalist Party. Colleague legislator Lee Chia-chin similarly predicted 'big benefits' for Taiwan with Asō as prime minister. While meeting with Asō on a visit last month to Tōkyō with Chiang Pin-kun (Kō Heikon) 江丙坤, Taiwan's chief negotiator on China, Lee said he overheard Asō tell Chiang that 'China had much to learn from Taiwan in terms of democratization.' 'We heard Secretary General Asō tell (Chiang Pin-kun) that peace in the Taiwan Strait depends on the "Taiwanization" of China,' Lee said."

Wang (according to his Wikipedia bio http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Jin-pyng is "a southerner, a native Hoklo 台湾語 speaker, and a legislator and person identified with the pro-localization faction of the (KMT)". He appears to belong to (if not lead) a wing of the ruling KMT that favors maintaining strong relations with Japan (as opposed to the more China-centric policies of Ma and his cohorts), and it is interesting that he (and others) are close to someone like Asō, who has made several controversial comments in the past regarding Taiwan and China. For example, in February 2006 he praised the implementation of compulsory education in Taiwan during Japan's colonial rule of the island, saying "our predecessors did a good thing". He upset China in March of the same year by referring to Taiwan as a "law-abiding country". He has also questioned China's ongoing military buildup, calling it a "considerable threat". It is hard to imagine comments such as these finding much favor with the mainlander elements of the Nationalist party (Asō, presumably, would also maintain a hardline stance over the Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島).

However, before Wang and Lee get excited about Asō becoming Japan's next prime minister, they should remember that a year ago, when Shinzō Abe 安倍晋三 similarly abruptly resigned from the PM post (deja vu?), Asō was also considered the front-runner to move into the official residence 官邸 in Nagatachō 永田町. In the end, however, he lost the leadership election to Fukuda, and stayed out of the government until two months ago, when he was appointed LDP secretary-general in a cabinet reshuffle meant to shore up Fukuda's flagging popularity (it didn't work, obviously). Several other candidates have also thrown their hats into the ring: State Minister in charge of Economic and Fiscal Policy Kaoru Yosano 与謝野馨; former Defense Minister 防衛大臣 Yuriko Koike 小池百合子, who, if elected, would become Japan's first female prime minister; and Nobuteru Ishihara 石原伸晃, son of notorious nationalist and current Tōkyō governor Shintarō Ishihara 石原愼太郎. While it can be safely assumed that Japanese policy toward Taiwan would remain constant no matter who becomes the next 総理大臣 later this month, is it a good idea for prominent Taiwanese politicians to be so openly supportive of one candidate in particular?

One other thing for Wang et al to consider is what would happen if the Japanese public's dissatisfaction with the post-Junichirō Koizumi 小泉純一郎 LDP leadership results in an early general election being called, with the possibility of Ichirō Ozawa 小沢一郎 and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan 民主党 taking over the reins of government. Things are starting to get interesting in Japan.

Trailblazing

I went for a walk on the newly-opened No. 10 Trail in the Tak'eng (Dakeng) 大坑 area. The new addition to Taichung's hiking scene is basically a kilometer-long staircase that can wear you down if you're quite happy with using elevators. I combined the walk up the No. 10 with another trail at the top (near the Kuanyin 観音 Temple), before going down the No. 9 Trail, and back to my parked scooter. In all, I was out there for about 2.5 hours. Unfortunately, the sky was mostly overcast, so the only pictures I could get were of bugs.