Across the sea but still in the news

It's cold outside, and inside Amber is lapping up the attention she's receiving from her American set of grandparents, while also reaping the benefits of her birthday loot - six DVD's, courtesy of Barnes & Noble - yes, it's our annual winter visit to the USA. We'll be back to T'aiwan (Taiwan) 台湾 just before Valentine's Day, but in the meantime I'm making use of my father's (slow) Internet connection to keep up on things going on across the Pacific (as well as to delete annoying comments from Russian spammers). Like this Yomiuri Shimbun 読売新聞/Daily Yomiuri article, for example:

TAIPEI BACKS DRAM TIE-UP / 'JAPAN-TAIWAN ALLIANCE' SEEN BENEFICIAL FOR TAIWANESE CHIPMAKERS (http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T110130002297.htm)

"T'AIPEI (Taihoku) 台北 - T'aiwan government authorities have thrown their support behind plans to form a 'Japan-Taiwan alliance' in semiconductor development and production as a way to help rebuild Taiwanese chip manufacturers in financial difficulty, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. A senior Taiwanese official, in an exclusive interview with the Yomiuri on Saturday, said Taiwan authorities were in favor of moves by Japan's leading manufacturer of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), Elpida Memory, Inc. エルピーダメモリ株式会社, to merge and consolidate management functions with its Taiwan counterparts. Elpida has been in consultations with Taiwan's two major DRAM makers, Powerchip Technology Corp. 力晶半導体 and ProMOS Technologies Inc., to discuss the feasibility of integrating management and establishing a holding company. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the the high-ranking official of T'aiwan's Industrial Development Bureau of the Economic Affairs Ministry 経済部 said the ministry had asked Elpida to transfer technology to T'aiwanese chipmakers in exchange for Elpida's planned listing on T'aiwan's stock market. Regarding the management integration prospects of the Japanese and T'aiwanese firms, the official said, '[The T'aiwanese authorities] have no intention of rejecting the idea [of Elpida's merger with T'aiwanese chip manufacturers] as long as it can benefit T'aiwanese makers.' Powerchip Technology acknowledged the same day that merger talks were in progress with Elpida, adding, 'There's a possibility of the negotiations leading to a full-fledged collaboration [between Powerchip and Elpida].' Powerchip ranks sixth in DRAM global market share. Elpida, established in 1999 through a merger of the DRAM arms of Hitachi Ltd. 株式会社日立製作所 and NEC Corp. 日本電気株式会社, and later joined by that of Mitsubishi Electric Corp. 三菱電機株式会社, had a 19.4 percent global market share as of the end of 2009, the world's third-largest. The T'aiwan authorities' support for the envisioned Japan-T'aiwan chip industry alliance is thought to be rooted in the belief that T'aiwanese DRAM makers cannot survive on their own against the backdrop of plunging DRAM prices...The ongoing negotiations between Elpida and the two T'aiwanese firms are expected to enter a crucial phase before March, when Elpida plans to list on the T'aiwan stock market. Over the next month or so, Elpida and the T'aiwanese companies are expected to engage in intense wheeling and dealing, with each keen to secure advantageous merger conditions. While the T'aiwan authorities have high hopes that the Japanese and T'aiwanese firms will strike a merger deal at the earliest possible time, the Japanese and T'aiwanese DRAM manufacturers are quoted as saying unresolved disparities exist in the respective firms' business strategies. As the three companies also want to keep a portion of their respective corporate characteristics intact after a merger, the negotiations are expected to focus on how to narrow gaps in their business strategies...There is no telling what moves Elpida and the T'aiwanese firms might take from here on, with Elpida scrutinizing measures Powerchip and ProMOS would take to cut their debts, an issue cited by Elpida as a prerequisite to any management integration agreement."

Apparently, the push for greater Japanese-T'aiwanese cooperation in chipmaking operations comes from worries by the T'aiwanese government that the local companies are slowly losing the DRAM battle to Samsung. It's certainly a more realistic fear than any imagined Korean conspiracies in taekwondo. But this is all so far away, and I'm on vacation, so now it's time to watch a little late night American TV before going off to bed.

新年快樂,恭喜發財

The Lunar New Year is almost upon us, with next Thursday being the start of the Year of the Rabbit 卯. Of course, everyone in T'aiwan refers to this time as being the "Chinese New Year", but in deference to our friends in Korea, Vietnam and other non-Chinese societies who also observe this occasion, I'll take the more politically-correct path. I like the Japanese definition best - it's 旧正月, or the Old (or Former) New Year.

In any event, the Kaminoge family will be up before the break of dawn tomorrow morning in order to ensure that we reach T'aiwan T'aoyuan International Airport 台湾桃園国際公園 in plenty of time for our morning flight to Seattle, via Narita International Airport 成田国際空港. The next two weeks will be spent with my family, with Amber getting her once-a-year opportunity to see her grandparents, and to reconnect with her American side. We don't intend on going on any long trips, but I don't plan on just sitting on the sofa all day, and catching up on all those TV programs I've missed over the course of the past year (an exception will be made for the Super Bowl, of course!). There will be some personal business to attend to, but for the most part, I'm looking forward to just relaxing, and being back in a part of the world that I've spent far too much time away from.

With our new Canon キヤノン camera, I hope to take some good pictures while we're in the Pacific Northwest, and post them here in a couple weeks' time. So, without further ado, I wish all of you a Happy Lunar New Year, and may you have a prosperous Year of the Rabbit!

Hsinnienk'uaile [xīn​nián​kuài​lè​] and Kunghsifats'ai [gōng​xǐ​fā​cái​]!

Of red-crowned cameras and cranes

It feels like ages since I last posted something, but ten days isn't that long, actually. I would've written something about last Sunday, when we visited the science museum in the afternoon, and stopped off at a year-end market on the way home, with some pictures inserted to illustrate what we did and saw - only my until-now faithful デジカメ decided to launch Operation Shutdown on the day of my daughter's fifth birthday last week. Instead of doing what it is supposed to do, the Casio カシオ tormented me with messages reading "Lens Error" and "Retry Power On", before refusing to do anything at all. The problem can be fixed (hopefully, knock on wood and all that), but not before we leave this Sunday for our annual Lunar New Year 旧正月 visit back to the States to reconnect with my family. My wife went out this evening and purchased a Canon キヤノン IXUS 300 HS, so we should have something to enable us to record our Stateside journey, as well as a means to plaster photos of our trip here once we get back to Taiwan in two weeks' time.

http://www.camera.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/IXUS-300-HS_3.jpg

In the meantime, here's a short Yomiuri Shimbun 読売新聞 article that can be found on today's Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 website (Hokkaidō to give pair of cranes to Taiwan http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110127006053.htm):

"SAPPORO 札幌 - The Hokkaidō 北海道 prefectural and Kushiro 釧路 municipal governments have decided to present a pair of Japanese red-crowned cranes タンチョウ to Taiwan in September, in an effort to breed the bird in a habitat far from its native Hokkaidō. Although red-crowned cranes are designated for special protection, their numbers have increased significantly, according to the prefectural government's Natural Environment Division. The division said the birds, bred at Kushiro Zoo 釧路市動物園, would be sent to T'aipei Zoo 臺北市立動物園, which is now constructing a breeding facility for the cranes. The gift also is aimed at celebrating the centennial of the Xinhai Revolution on Oct. 10, which led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China 中華民国, according to the officials. Officials from both countries plan to discuss such details as how to send the birds to Taiwan. In Taiwan, the crane is a popular symbol of longevity and a happy married life."

Ghosts of stations past

Tuesday afternoons are usually my hiking time, but once in a while I opt to go exploring on my scooter, and today was one of those whiles. So, after lunch, I rode over to pay another visit to the disused T'aian (Taian) Station 泰安駅 in Houli (Kōri) 后里, on the old Mountain Route 山線 of the Western Railway Line 西部幹線. Having been a couple of times already (see here for last one: http://kaminoge.livejournal.com/132229.html), I wasn't too disappointed to find the old station overrun with several busloads' worth of elementary school kids. Instead, I decided to see what else was in the vicinity. Riding along the not-all-that-picturesque old village lane...:

...I reached a fork in the road, and took a right up into the hills. It wasn't long before I came across some stone steps leading into the trees, so I parked by bike to take a closer look. The trail was overgrown, with several fallen trees that had to be negotiated, while signs that had been posted to explain some interesting aspect or other of the surroundings had weathered away long ago, leaving it up to me to wonder about scenes like this one:

The trail eventually opened up into a wider path that followed a ditch. At one point, the route was lined with a long row of bee hives, which was a little unnerving, but I soon found myself back at T'aian Old Station, whereupon I happened upon another path, heading straight uphill. This trail was in much better condition, consisting of wooden staircases for the most part, and in less than 10 minutes I was at the top. The top of what wasn't so clear, however, for the trees blocked out most of the view of the valley below, and what could be glimpsed through the foliage wasn't all that enthralling, unless you find paper mills, science park buildings and transmission towers awe-inspiring. Much better views were had back on street level, as I was walking back to my parked scooter...

...and later, from the road on top of the small hill overlooking the station and its environs, as I took a back route toward Houli Station 后里駅:

Later in the evening I took the following photos-of-limited-interest:

こんばんは ("komban wa"), from the Good Night Barbecue Cooking Team 晚安燒烤料理組.

Kirakira Pet Shop

Art unappreciation

This cold, overcast afternoon found us at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts 國立台湾美術館 in T'aichung (Taichū) 台中 for the purposes of 1:) letting Amber ride her new bike around the museum grounds; and 2:) to take her to the exhibit on Hans Christian Anderson. We shouldn't have bothered because 1:) the weather was too chilly; and 2:) "The Great Master of Fairy Tales: the Hans C. Andersen Bicentenary Exhibition" (http://www.ntmofa.gov.tw/english/showinfomation1_1.aspx?SN=3033) was a waste of NT580 ($20/¥1660). The displays were uninteresting, the animation was poorly drawn and the excerpts from stories were too brief. I was interested in seeing how dark some of Andersen's fairy tales could be (especially "The Shadow"), but, overall, the exhibit could have been presented in a much more entertaining and educational manner. My daughter, at least, enjoyed running around outside, the chill be damned.

In the news ニュース

In news from the Inevitable Desk...

CHINA NOW TOP TAIWAN TOURIST SOURCE

"T'AIPEI (Taihoku) 台北 (Kyōdō News 共同通信社) - China displaced Japan as the largest of source of visitors to Taiwan in 2010, with the number of travelers from the country rising 68 percent from the previous year to 1,630,735, according to government data released Tuesday. Japanese travelers to Taiwan totaled 1,080,153 in 2010, the Taiwanese Ministry of Transportation and Communications 中華民国交通部 said. The number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan for both tourism and business purposes has risen dramatically since the ban on visitors from China was partially lifted in July 2008 after improvement in bilateral ties. In 2009, the number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan shot up to 970,000, three times the figure the previous year."

 search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110113a5.html

Back in July of last year, the Tourism Bureau here reported that Chinese visitors were outspending their Japanese counterparts as well while in Taiwan:

"The average amount spent by Chinese tourists was US$115.30 (¥9592/NT3413 at current rates) while Japanese visitors spent US$100.88 (¥8393/NT2986). According to (a) survey, while Chinese tourists preferred to purchase local specialty items, jewelry/jade and clothing, Japanese tourists preferred local specialty item products, clothing and tea, respectively." (http://www.taiwaninsights.com/2010/08/26/chinese-visitors-outspend-japanese-tourists/)

On the other hand, the bureau also noted that:

"Japanese tourists spent the most on accommodation and food, spending an average of NT$10,000 ($340/¥28,000) per day in these areas, which was 35 percent more than tourists from China. According to the report, one million Japanese tourists visited Taiwan last year, which was a drop off of approximately 8 percent from 2008. Japanese tourists still contributed the most foreign income to Taiwan’s economy, accounting for a total of NT$60 billion ($2.03 billion/¥168.6 billion), the report showed. Chinese tourists were listed as second, with 970,000 ­visiting Taiwan, almost double the number in 2008, bringing in approximately NT$51 billion ($1.7/¥143.3 billion)."

And, in an unintentional warning as to what lies in store for this island now that the Age of ECFA has dawned, there was this interesting notation:

"The bureau’s statistics showed that after the decision two years ago to allow Chinese tourists to travel to Taiwan, the increase in Chinese tourists has corresponded to a drop in the overall amount of money spent by tourists in Taiwan. The bureau said that with the increase in the number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan, the influence of their expenditures on Taiwan’s economy has increased." (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2010/07/17/2003478137)

Things that make you go "Hmmm"...

Fishy chips

Not feeling very 幸せな these days are fishermen on the island of Ishigaki 石垣島, according to this Kyōdō News 共同通信社 article ("Ishigaki fishermen seek pact with Taiwan, brace for China's advance" http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/ishigaki-fishermen-seek-pact-with-taiwan-brace-for-chinas-advance) to comes to us courtesy of Japan Today:

"Fishermen from Ishigaki island in Okinawa 沖縄県, which has administrative jurisdiction over the disputed Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島, have called on the central government to deal with the increasing presence of Taiwanese fishing boats in nearby waters, which they say threatens their safety and livelihood. Ishigaki islanders have also been largely perplexed by the escalation in tensions between Tōkyō 東京 and Beijing following last September’s collisions between a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol boats near the Japan-controlled Senkakus in the East China Sea 東シナ海, which exacerbated a longstanding spat over the chain of five tiny uninhabited islands claimed by China and Taiwan. Located some 170 kilometers (105 miles) southeast of the islands, which remain a powder keg for the three Asian economies, fishers of Ishigaki often venture into waters near the Senkakus by navigating for about six hours to reach 'a sea of treasure' harboring tuna, bonito and snapper. But they say a recent rise in demand for fish in Taiwan has resulted in a rising number of Taiwan fishing boats in the sea area south of the Senkakus, raising chances of troubles such as entanglement of each other’s fishing nets and subsequent damage to fishing equipment as well as near collisions between ships. Although fishing vessels from mainland China now operate in the sea north of the Senkakus and do not get into trouble with Ishigaki fishers, locals are concerned that the fast-rising economy will soon begin dispatching fishermen to waters further south in search of high-grade fish to rake in profits amid rising demand in China."

Since the government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan 菅直人 appeared to cave in to Chinese bullying tactics in the above-mentioned collision incident last fall, the odds of further run-ins have increased. What is needed is some sort of mechanism covering who can catch what where, and how much of it, in the absence of a final agreement over who has ultimate sovereignty over the waters:

"Kameichi Uehara, head of the Yaeyama 八重山列島 fisheries cooperative in Ishigaki, which is closer to Taiwan than Okinawa’s main island, said local fishers are at a loss whenever troubles arise since waters near the Senkakus are not covered by the existing Japan-China fisheries pact and Japan and Taiwan do not even have such a treaty. 'It would be desirable if fishing rules are clearly set for the sea area near the Senkakus, but the authorities have left the situation ambiguous because of territorial claims' from China and Taiwan, Uehara said. 'If it is difficult to make clear-cut rules in the near future, we call on the central government to beef up monitoring activities to detect illegal fishing by foreign vessels and ensure safe operations of Japanese fishing boats,' he said. The Japan Coast Guard 海上保安庁 and the Fisheries Agency 水産庁 regularly patrol the sea area, but waters near the Senkakus have become increasingly trouble-prone with a rise in the number of Taiwanese vessels, according to Uehara and other Ishigaki fishers. 'Even though Japan says the Senkakus are an integral part of its territory, the government has been wishy-washy,' he said. 'Japan can prove its effective rule over the islands by making sure that its nationals benefit from fishing resources in waters near the Senkakus, but the government has not taken sufficient measures.' Yoshikazu Nakada, a 47-year-old tuna fisherman from Ishigaki who operates in waters near the Senkakus, said his catches have decreased due to a rise in the number of Taiwanese fishing boats in the sea area. Furthermore, the fishing business overall has been hit hard by recent surges in fuel prices, he added. Nakada, whose grandfather worked at a dried bonito factory that existed in Uotsurishima 魚釣島, the largest among the five Senkaku Islands, was alarmed at the possibility that the lack of fishing rules among Japan, Taiwan and China in the sea near the island chain could lead to overfishing. 'With 1.3 billion people to feed, fish demand in China is certain to jump. Currently, there are even Taiwanese fishing vessels with crews from mainland China' operating in the sea south of the Senkakus, Nakada said. He expected that those crews from mainland China on Taiwanese boats will accumulate know-how on fishing methods in the sea area and serve on Chinese vessels that could advance to southern waters in a few years."

The article concludes by hinting that Japan could reinforce its hold over the Senkakus by allowing development on the islands once again:

"The central government leases plots of land on the islands from private owners and restricts landings on the Senkakus. Beginning around the turn of the 20th century, Japanese entrepreneur Tatsushirō Koga 古賀辰四郎 ran businesses such as bonito processing on the islands, hiring more than 200 workers. With the failure of those businesses by around 1940, the islands were eventually deserted and people linked to Koga’s descendants now own the land plots. An Ishigaki city official, who declined to be named, said Tōkyō has prevented the municipal government from directly inspecting the islands for property tax assessment or research on ecosystems of the uninhabited island chain in recent years. Since the 1972 reversion of Okinawa Prefecture to Japanese sovereignty from U.S. control, which put the Senkakus under the control of Ishigaki, a mayor of the city has never made an official visit to the island chain, according to the official. Since the islands are not equipped with port facilities, Ishigaki fishers operating in the nearby sea area cannot anchor their ships in the event of bad weather, putting themselves in danger. He said the central government should take steps to support those fishers who cannot land on the islands even in emergencies and see their catches decline as they refrain from venturing into troubled waters. 'We are frustrated because as a local government, we cannot engage in matters that could have diplomatic ramifications,' the official said, urging the central government to be more responsible for the management of the Senkaku Islands."

Chinese and Taiwanese fishermen working together to put pressure on Japanese fishermen in Japanese territorial waters? The East Asia region certainly has nothing to fear from the efforts of closer cooperation being urged on by the Ma Ying-jeou (Ba Eikyū) 馬英九 administration. Right?

http://princessnami.livejournal.com/

While Japanese-Taiwanese relations are troubled in the water, on land things seem to be going more swimmingly, as reported in this translated Yomiuri Shimbun 読売新聞 article in the Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 ("Elpida, Taiwan firms in final tie-up talks" http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T110108003157.htm):

"Elpida Memory Inc. エルピーダメモリ, the world's third-largest maker of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) chips, and two Taiwan chip-makers that are the world's sixth- and seventh-biggest are expected to decide on a comprehensive business integration as they enter the final stage of tie-up negotiations, it has been learned. The Japan-Taiwan chip-maker alliance would be the world's second-largest DRAM maker behind Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, which holds the No. 1 spot. Elpida plans to finalize the business integration talks by the end of this month by obtaining approval from Taiwan authorities and securing support from financial institutions in Taiwan, sources said. According to the sources, Elpida President Yukio Sakamoto 坂本幸雄 visited Taiwan and met Thursday and Friday with the heads of Powerchip Technology Corp. 力昌半導体 and ProMOS Technologies Inc. 茂徳科技. During the talks, they reached a general agreement that Elpida's Taiwan subsidiary, Rexchip Electronics Corp. 瑞晶電子, would become a holding company with Powerchip and ProMOS under its umbrella, the sources said. Earlier, a capital tie-up, in which Elpida would invest in the Taiwan firms, and other options were being considered. But during negotiations, a business integration emerged as the preferred option, as it would bring the benefits of large-scale operations earlier, according to the sources...Sakamoto reportedly plans another visit to Taiwan again this month as Elpida seeks approval from Taiwan authorities for the tie-up plan. The firm will also begin talks with Taiwan's financial institutions to reduce the liabilities of Powerchip and ProMOS and provide support for the firms' restructuring. After the integration, Elpida will transfer the production of DRAM chips for personal computers to Taiwan and concentrate the development and production of chips for smartphones domestically, the sources said."

Go daikon yourself!

My daughter contemplates some daikon radishes ダイコン ("pailuopo" [bái​luó​bo​] 白蘿蔔) being dried in the sun. The above picture was taken this afternoon at a vast concrete plaza a short drive from our apartment building. It was originally built by The City Formerly Known As Fengyuan (Hōgen/Toyohara), or TCFKAF (or should that be The District Now Known As Fengyuan, or TDNKAF 豊原区?) to be the new home of a traditional market currently located under the train tracks near the intersection of Yuanhuan and Chungshan Roads. There are numerous concrete pillars erected for the stalls, and a large underground parking garage. However, for reasons unknown (to me, anyway), the market elected to stay in its present cramped (and odoriferous) location, and the city...er, district was left with a new, albeit unintended, recreation area. In addition to drying roots, the plaza is an ideal place for Amber to ride around on her new Hello Kitty ハローキティ bicycle. Along with the two of us, there were a father and son playing catch, a man practicing his tennis backhand against a wall and a middle-aged woman doing some power walking. The plaza may have been a waste of taxpayer money, but at least some citizens are not letting the space go to waste.

In case you're wondering, the character spray-painted on the wall in the background, 幹, does not mean "tree trunk", though that's the definition that will come up if you check an online character dictionary. Well, actually, it does that mean that most of the time, but in this context (according to my wife) "kan" [gàn​] is the Mandarin 中国官話 equivalent of the F-bomb. Apparently the local graffiti community has found an ideal forum in which to realize their artistic visions.

Back to those burning hills

I spent Tuesday afternoon hiking in Huoyanshan 火炎山, those barren-looking hills that can be seen next to the No. 1 Freeway 中山高速公路 as you're driving north into San'i (Sangi) 三義. Appearances can be deceiving as there are plenty of trees (and birds). People, on the other hand, can be pleasantly few and far between - in four hours of walking, I saw only one other hiker out there. Best of all, there were tantalizing hints of unexplored trails, something to look forward to on my next visit.

Happy New Year, 明けましておめでとうございます and 新年快樂!

It's the first day of 2011, and with it comes the hope that this year will be much better than the one we bade goodbye to last night. To all the wonderful people I've had the pleasure to get to know over the years, here's wishing you a healthy and happy 2011 for you and all your loved ones!

We welcomed in the new year this afternoon by taking a leisurely drive to the hot-springs resort of Kukuan (Kokkan) 谷関, which dates from the Japanese era 日本統治時代. The waters there are reputed to help cure skin diseases, gastro-intestinal disorders and arthritis, according to the town's entry in the Japanese guidebook 地球の歩き方台湾 ('05-'06 edition):

日本統治時代は明治温泉の名で親しまれていた谷関は中西部を代表する温泉郷。切り立つ谷合いにある自然の中の露天風呂は癒し度１００％。皮膚病、胃腸病、関節炎に効能があり、飲用もできる。

２００４年１１月現在、夏の台風による土砂災害の被害が大きく休業中の店も散見させる。

We didn't get a chance to try the springs for ourselves (more on that later), but we did get to stroll along the Shaolai Trail 捎來歩道. Amber had very little trouble tackling the 1.3 kilometer-long (0.8 mile) trail (800 meters/2625 feet up, 500 meters/1640 feet down), though the same couldn't be said for her mother :-)

After finishing the walk, we had dinner at a second-floor restaurant along the main street. We had hoped to end the day with a soak in a hot spring 温泉. However, with this day being a national holiday, it came as no surprise to find long waits for private rooms at the spas we checked, and so we decided to head back home. Still, it was a relaxing way to start the new year.

Walking up the Shaolai Trail. As you can see, we were properly attired for walking in the mountains.

We couldn't have asked for better weather today!

The view of Kukuan as we neared the end of the trail.

Amber crosses the final suspension bridge back into town.