Scenes from a night market

This sign is advertisement for shark extract, only instead of using the Japanese loanword for extract, エキス, as originally intended (and which is correctly written on the sign hanging above the entrance), the sign maker forgot a stroke here, leaving us with エキフ.

As anyone who has ever been to T'ái​wān 台灣​ can tell you, night markets 夜市 are an intrinsic part of local life. Following Amber's swimming lesson this evening (in which she successfully passed her month-end exam, and thus has been promoted to Level 18, a feat she was extremely proud of), we visited one of Fēng​yuán​'s 豐原 local yèh​shì​h, the Hú​lutūn​​ Tourist Night Market 葫蘆墩觀光夜市:

Unlike the more well-known markets, such as the one in T'ái​chūng's 臺中 Féng​chiǎ 逢甲​ area, Huludun​​ (as well as the others here in Fengyuan) is smaller, quieter and only open once or twice a week (Fridays and Saturdays in this case). In other words, it's very local (the few tourists that visit Fengyuan tend to flock to the Miào​tūng 廟東 food street in the downtown area). Though you can buy things like cheap, Made in China clothing and cheap, dangerous, Made in China toys, the main reason for visiting virtually any night market is to eat. Which is what we did...

My wife is getting ready to dig into one of her favorites, stinky tofu 臭豆腐. For those of you who aren't familiar with ch'òu​tòu​fu​, the name should say it all (or can you follow this Wikipedia link). Some misguided foreign residents claim to like it in a doomed-to-be-ultimately unsuccessful effort to try and "fit in" to the local culture. Others such as myself are quite content to remain barbarians at the gates when it comes to these island "delicacies". My daughter is a bicultural child, but when it comes to stinky tofu, she lets her American side show. Tonight she did so by asking for steak (the steam is a result of the fact the temperature was around 15C/60F this evening - chilly by Taiwanese standards).

In addition to eating, we ate some more, including fried pork and sausages. Here is Amber munching on some quail eggs:

Chia Hsiang is a bakery based in the southern city of T'áinán​ ​臺南 that sells its baked goods at night markets the length and breadth of Taiwan. Well, the length anyway, as I'm sure there aren't too many markets in the central mountains 中央山脈.

Next to eating, the most popular activities at night markets are games. Here Amber enjoys a carnival ride under the protective watch of a large SpongeBob SquarePants, no doubt fully licensed from Nickelodeon, because, as we all know, a Taiwanese night market would never engage in activities that could even be remotely construed as being theft of intellectual property:

美味しく楽しむ。健康する！

Walking from Hōgen (Toyohara) to Tōsei, and back again

On this sometimes warm, sometimes cold afternoon, I took a long walk along the Tūng​fēng Bicycle Trail 東豐自行車緑廊. And I do mean long, for if the distance markers were correct (and my sore feet have me thinking they were), I covered roughly 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) round-trip in about 3¼ hours. Next time I'll know better than to wear my ordinary shoes.

The cherry blossoms 櫻花「サクラ」 were still hanging in there today.

The Tūng​fēng Iron Bridge 東豐鐵橋, the ostensible reason for my walk today. The last time I strolled this route , I was stopped by the Tà​chiǎ​ River 大甲溪, as the bridge didn't exist at that time. Crossing over to the Tūng​shì​h 東勢 side meant that I had finally walked every part of this trail. Mission accomplished!

The trail looks prettier now than it did almost four years ago.

On the site of the old Méi​tzu Station 梅子車站, there was a photo display of scenes of damage from the Sept. 21, 1999 Chí​chí​ earthquake 921大地震 (the Fēng​yuán 豐原/Dongshi​ area was hit hard by the quake). How apropos in light of recent events in Japan.

An old Japanese-style home.

A section of railroad track near the former Shíhkāng​ Station 石岡車站 that had buckled as a result of the 921 quake.

One difference between walking this trail today compared to October 2007 was that there were a lot more cyclists out riding on this weekday afternoon. Still, it was a pleasant walk, and proof that bicycle trails are not just for bikes.

Signs

They try so hard, but don't always get it right:

This sign is supposed to read "Fuku no hambai" 服の販売「ふくのはんばい」, referring to the selling of clothing. However, instead of the kanji character 売, meaning "to sell", the sign maker used 亮, which looks similar, but means "clear" or "help" (it also appears as if し was used, and not い, which would render the phrase as "fuku no hambashi"). This picture was taken on T'iēnchīn Road 天津路, a wholesale clothing district in T'áichūng 臺中.

This clothing and shoes store on Tūngshān Road 東山路 has got the 売 down right, but has gotten tripped up by that pesky ol' small っ. So instead of zutto ずっと ("completely", "totally"), we get the meaningless zutsuto ずつと.

In the news: 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami ２０１１年東北地方太平洋地震

Tomorrow afternoon will mark exactly one week since the devastating earthquake and tsunami 津波 (not to mention nuclear accidents) that have wreaked havoc on the Tōhoku region 東北地方 in Japan. The news has been exhaustively covered by CNN, but often in a frustrating manner bordering on sensationalism. Is it really necessary to quote every so-called "expert" on every possible scenario concerning what's going on at Fukushima Daiichi 福島第一原子力発電所? No wonder foreigners are fleeing Japan in droves, and people overseas are worried about radioactive clouds floating across the oceans, and stocking up on useless iodine tablets. Taiwanese aren't immune from the fear - as my friend Micheal Turton puts it, "these same people who run red lights without batting an eyelash are terrified of invisible particles from distant nations." Of course what is happening in Fukushima 福島 is a cause for concern, and the Tokyo Electric Power Company 東京電気 certainly hasn't done a credible job in the public relations department when it comes to informing the public about what is going on, and what it means to public safety (even the Japanese prime minister, Naoto Kan 菅直人, has complained that TEPCO hasn't kept him up to date on what the hell is going on). The BBC is a more restrained alternative to CNN and the local news channels, but the best source for factual, straightforward reporting on the disaster in Japan has been the Japanese broadcaster NHK 日本放送協会. The NHK World website has been streaming continuous English-language video coverage since the tragedy first unfolded last Friday.

Considering the fact that Japan isn't an attractive vacation destination at the moment, it comes as no surprise that EVA Air 長榮航空 has canceled a number of flights this month from T'ái​wān​ 台灣, as reported in this Kyōdō News 共同通信社 article carried in the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ :

"Taiwanese carrier EVA Airways has scrubbed dozens of March flights to and from Japan in the wake of Friday's quake-tsunami calamity, including its daily Sendai 仙台 service....

In a website posting updated Tuesday evening, Eva said flights to and from Sapporo 札幌 on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday have been canceled.

Tōkyō 東京 flights have also been canceled, with the service between T'ái​pěi​'s 臺北 Songshan International Airport 臺北松山機場 and Narita International Airport 成田国際空港 canceled from Tuesday until Saturday, and the return leg canceled from Wednesday to Monday. Flights between Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport 臺灣桃園國際機場 and Tōkyō's Haneda airport 東京国際空港「羽田空港」 are canceled for Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, March 23, 25, 27 and 30.

Flights to and from Sendai, which sustained heavy tsunami damage, have been canceled until June 30."

Obviously, going to Sendai is out of the question, as work to get the runway back in operation is focusing on allowing relief flights to get in, and bring in much needed supplies and personnel. And unless there is an absolute need to travel there, Tōkyō, which is suffering from rolling power blackouts and worries over possible radiation contamination, is best avoided for now (though China Airlines 中華航空 is still flying there for the time being). As reported by various media, Narita International Airport is swamped by people either fleeing to other parts of Japan, or leaving the country altogether. Such worries are understandable, and leaving is probably a prudent course of action for those who don't have to be there. What I can't understand, though, are the questions being asked on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree forum by travelers wondering if they should cancel their upcoming trips to Japan. The thing is almost all of the people seeking advice on cancellations were planning on visiting locales far away from the disaster zone. How difficult can it be to pull out a map (or look at one online), and determine just how far places like Kyōto 京都 and Hiroshima 広島 are from the Tōhoku region? In a week of a tumbling Nikkei 225 日経平均株価 and a strengthening yen, Japan could certainly use the income from tourists.

Speaking of tourism, there has been a number of articles reporting on the effects the triple whammy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear woes is having (or may have) on both the Japanese and global economies. Most of these stories have concentrated on disruptions to factories producing automobiles and electronics products, two of Japan's biggest exports, as well as the extensive damage to transportation networks, oil refineries and port facilities. What hasn't been discussed yet is what effect the disaster has had on Tōhoku's natural and cultural attractions. Time will soon tell, no doubt, on how well Matsushima Bay 松島, the sacred island of Kinkasan 金華山 or the National Treasure 国宝 temples of Hiraizumi 平泉, to name just several, have withstood the ravages of quakes and waves. Hopefully, the day will come again (and soon) when it will be possible to travel the narrow road to the deep north 憶のほそ道 once again.

頑張れ日本！

Spring training

It turns out I do know someone who was directly affected by the Sendai earthquake and tsunami ２０１１年東北地方太平洋地震. Masanori, a former student of mine back when Pamela and I were living in Yokkaichi 四日市, is attending a civil aviation college next to Sendai Airport 仙台空港, training to become an airline pilot. He was there on Friday afternoon when the tsunami 津波 rolled in. Fortunately, he was fine, but the same could not be said for his car. Apparently, he was evacuated by raft from a building adjacent to his school, and was taken to an evacuation center. His mother expects him to be back in Yokkaichi in a few days' time. I'm not sure what the long-term effect will be on his pilot training, but the school's light planes were damaged by the wave, and the dormitory has been closed to the students. But at least he is safe and sound, which is the most important thing, of course.

Far away from the troubles in northeastern Japan (though not far from mind, especially when remembering that such a disaster could easily happen here, as well), we enjoyed this absolutely beautiful not-yet-officially spring day by going to a local park, and letting Amber take a few swings at some balls. We'll probably be doing a lot of this, at least for the next month or so, as crunch time has arrived after our extended Lunar New Year 春節 vacation back in Washington.

My little Fēng​yuán ​豐原 Slugger prepares to bash the ball.

Amber also worked on her fielding skills.

Dad prepares to apply some wood to the cowhide...er, put plastic on plastic.

The first time Amber and I went by this house (she on her bike, me following behind on foot), everyone sitting around outside turned round to give us (well, me, anyway) the Hairy Eyeball. The second time around, no one but the little kid paid us any attention. From somewhere inside the home came the (prerecorded) sounds of aboriginal drumming.

Appreciating the little things

The scenes that I've been reading about and seeing on NHK 日本放送協会, CNN and BBC about the massive earthquake in Japan ２０１１年東北地方太平洋地震 almost defy belief - the massive temblor (8.9 on the Richter scale; the maximum of 7 on the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale 気象庁震度階級); the 10-meter (33 feet) high tsunami 津波, carrying along cars and ships as if they were toys, engulfing coastal communities (not to mention the runway of Sendai Airport 仙台空港); the fires raging at oil terminals, and in the town of Kesennuma 気仙沼; and now the news of a massive explosion at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima 福島第一原子力発電所. I know many people who live, or have lived, in Japan, and/or have friends and family living there. Fortunately, to the best of my knowledge, everyone concerned is safe and sound. The same can't be said, however, for the over 1000 people that NHK is reporting have lost their lives so far in the disaster.

Perhaps it was with this news in mind that the first signs of spring evident this afternoon along the T'án​yǎ​shén​ bicycle trail 潭雅神綠園道 seemed to take on a particular beauty. Be it cherry blossoms, sunflowers or buzzing bees, there was plenty of evidence that life goes on, no matter what has happened, or where it has occurred.

I've been considering making a trip to Sendai 仙台 and other parts of Tōhoku 東北地方 next summer (this year I'm thinking of going to Okinawa 沖縄). Despite all that has happened, I have no reason yet to change my plans. I remember going to Kōbe 神戸 about a year and a half after the Great Hanshin earthquake 阪神・淡路大震災, and being surprised at how rapidly the city had recovered (at least on the exterior). I'm confident Sendai will bounce back just as quickly, and I look forward to contributing to reconstruction efforts by pumping some of my tourist yen into the local economy next year.

I'm not lovin' it

The new Bradt Taiwan travel guide came in the mail yesterday. How new is it? So new that Amazon neglected to send me an email informing me that it had been shipped. So new that up until a couple of days ago, the Bradt travel guides website didn't even have the book listed. So new that I haven't had a chance to give it more than a cursory look, so I can't say yet how it stacks up against the recently published Lonely Planet Taiwan​ guide. That quick perusal, however, did turn up the interesting fact (for me, anyway) that, for the first time in English-language T'ái​wān​ 台灣-centered guidebook history, my home area of Fēng​yuán ​豐原 has been mentioned as a possible destination. For that matter, my edition of the Japanese-language 地球の歩き方 (dating from 2005-06) doesn't give this former county seat any heed, either. Author Steven Crook accurately describes Fengyuan as a "standard-issue, medium-sized city", and lists the Hòu​fēng 后豐自行車綠廊 and Tūngfēng 東豐自行車綠廊 bicycle trails as the (only) reasons to visit, with brief but informative descriptions of both (page 171 of the guidebook).

Has TCFKAF (or The City Formerly Known As Fengyuan) finally made it to the big leagues? If this ex-city desires more than just a cup of coffee up in the Show, it's going to need a Subway or two. That's "Subway" as in the sandwich-shop chain, and not an underground railway (though that is supposedly on the drawing board for some future point in time). According to an article put out by the Associated Press:

"Subway now has more restaurants worldwide than McDonald's. The sandwich chain surpassed the world's largest hamburger chain in terms of number of stores in the U.S. in 2002 and now it has taken the global lead. Subway had 33,749 restaurants worldwide at the end of last year, according to the company. McDonald's Corp. had 32,737, according a regulatory filing."

Here in Fengyuan, however, the score is McDonald's 5, Subway 0. The fifth branch of the Golden Arches, in fact, only just opened a couple of months ago as part of the new A-Mart hypermarket complex. That's five in a district that had a population of 165,000 before it was absorbed into a larger T'áichūng city 臺中市 last November. Technically speaking, there are outlets of Subway here now that the former cities and towns of T'áichūng County 臺中縣 are part of one, big happy urban conglomeration, but it's hardly convenient for me to hop on the scooter or drive the car to buy a Steak-and-Cheese or BBQ Pork sandwich. In central Taiwan, at least, Muammar McDonald's reigns supreme. A Tunisian- or Egyptian-styled fast food uprising doesn't seem to be in the culinary cards for now, at least.

bradttaiwan.blogspot.com/

WTF 日本語

Walking through the streets of T'áichūng's 臺中 Īchūngchiēh 一中街 area every Tuesday evening on the way to my weekly Mandarin lesson makes me feel old. Chock full of students (as well as those of school-age), all the businesses there (food stands, tea houses, clothing stores and so on) cater to the youth market. In an environment such as this, it's only natural to see English and Japanese being employed in an attempt to ratchet up points on the coolness scale, and bring in the young punters. And as anyone who has been in East Asia can tell you, sometimes the results aren't always so successful. A case in point is this stand selling oden おでん, or Kuāntūngchǔ 關東煮 as it's called here in T'áiwān 台灣 (from the Japanese Kantō-ni 関東煮, which is what oden is apparently called in Nagoya 名古屋):

The mistake in this case lies with the phonetic transliteration of Kantō into hiragana 平仮名. It should look like this: かんとう. But instead of the final う, the sign maker used the katakana 片仮名 syllabogram ラ, which looks similar, but is written in roman letters as "ra". Thus, we have "kantora" in a weird hybrid of two syllabic writing systems. This kind of mistake is not uncommon in Taiwan.

The hills of Taiko are alive with the sound of strawberries

Tù​chuān​ 杜鵑, or what an online Chinese-English dictionary translates as "Indian Azalea"

The above-pictured flower could be seen this afternoon at Fǎ​yúnch'án​ssù 法雲禪寺, a Zen 禅 temple (English name: Fayun Monastery) located ​​in the hills overlooking the town of Tà​hú 大湖​ in Miáo​lì​ County 苗栗縣. Though the drive up to ​​Dahu from our home was mostly through a thick layer of ugly haze, by the time we reached Fayunchan Temple, the skies had cleared up somewhat:

The temple was built during the Japanese colonial period 台灣日治時期, and the exterior of the reconstructed main hall retains the original Japanese-style Buddhist temple architecture:

Also dating from the Japanese period is this monument below, erected to commemorate the "opening up" of the area by the Japanese:

After taking in the view and soaking up the history, we drove down the hill and into Tà​hú, where we partook of my daughter's favorite outdoor activity, picking strawberries (again - see last week's blog entry):

Amber is so crazy about the edible fruit of this flowering plant that, upon reflection, it would've been more accurate to have named her Ichigo Caomei at the time she was born.

In order to cash in on the hordes of weekend visitors coming to pick 草莓, a Strawberry Culture Museum 草莓文化館 has been established in the town:

The actual "museum" section was surprisingly informative, and the English captions were generally well-presented. My wife was annoyed to discover that it was none other than the Japanese who first introduced strawberries into T'ái​wān 台灣, but let's face it - studying the Japanese colonial period is like watching the "What have the Romans ever done for us?" scene from Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Educational displays aside, the main purpose of the strawberry museum is to sell strawberries, with the gift shop probably resembling what Amber's idea of heaven looks like. Here being Taiwana​, the buildings are surrounded by a market pushing all manner of snacks and drinks, many with a strawberry theme, such as strawberry sausages, strawberry tarts and strawberry wine, though, sadly, no strawberry beer. For my wife, the throngs that had descended upon the complex were an integral part of the eating and shopping experience, adding that much-needed touch of jè​nao​ 熱鬧 ("bustling with noise and excitement / lively") that had been lacking back at the zen temple (there was irony at play in her outlook on these things, but I just couldn't make the effort to point it out to her). For me, I found relief in the view of the surrounding countryside from the museum's rooftop "sky garden"...until the fireworks started going off, that is.

Pamela ended up buying a couple of bottles of strawberry vinegar, plus a jar of strawberry jam for Amber (and, of course, there was the box of strawberries that we had picked earlier). Somehow, our lunch and dinner in Dahu​ didn't involve any strawberries, as we ate instead at Hakka restaurants 客家菜. It took only about an hour to drive back to Fēng​yuán​ 豐原 - fortunately, there was hardly any traffic on the road going back, which was quite a contrast with last weekend's outing. Considering the close proximity of Tà​hú and its other attractions, such as hiking and hot springs, I wouldn't mind spending a weekend there sometime soon.

BTW, Amber took some photos in Dahu which can be seen on her blog.

Happy cycling trails to you

Why did the chicken cross the road? My daughter ponders the age-old question as she looks at a rooster that has done just that. The shirt she is wearing is emblazoned with the self-serving (for her father) words パパ大好き, or "I ♥ Daddy" in Japanese, which I picked up for her last year when I was in Beppu 別府.

The picture above was taken this afternoon on the T'án​yǎ​shén​ cycling trail 潭雅神綠園道, a bicycle path linking the former townships of T'án​tz​ῠ 潭子, Tà​yǎ 大雅 and Shén​kāng​​ 神岡, all three of which were merged late last year into a Greater T'ái​chūng​ 大臺中. Amber rode about 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) round-trip on her Hello Kitty ハローキティ bike, which isn't a bad workout for a 5 year-old getting around with the help of training wheels. The trail was active today, but not crowded, which is quite a contrast with Sundays, when it's usually 人山人海, "jénshān​ ​jén​hǎi​" or "People mountain, people sea". Unfortunately, some Taiwanese ride bicycles in the same manner in which they drive cars - carelessly, recklessly and with little or no regard for others sharing the same road (or trying to cross it). In short, like absolute morons. 星期天 are days best avoided.

Just in case there was any doubt the above entry describes events taking place in Asia, this picture of a rice paddy and palm trees should put those doubts to rest.

Speaking of cycling, the new Lonely Planet guide to T'ái​wān 台灣 is out, and it devotes a lot of ink to where visitors can ride their bikes on the island of Formosa. There is also much more coverage on hiking (perhaps one day LP can publish a hiking guide to Taiwan, similar to their book on hiking in Japan, which I've used on several occasions), and a new design layout. The latter will take some getting used to, but I like how many of the entries are individually identified, such as "museum", "scenic area", "Buddhist temple" and so on. On the down side, the descriptions for many of the listed sightseeing attractions seem to be shorter compared to past editions, and there are also fewer recommendations for places to stay and eat. Worst of all, the "Getting There and Away" and "Getting Around" sections are generally unsatisfactory - for some places, we're told to ask at tourist information offices for how to get to where we might want to go. While this would pose little trouble for a resident such as myself who has a car and/or scooter, for those short-term visitors dependent on public transportation, it would have been better to have provided more specific advice on which buses to take, for example.

I'm still going through the new LP guide, so the jury is out for now. Rough Guide will be publishing its updated Taiwan guide very soon, and the British travel publisher Bradt will be coming out with its first book on Taiwan at about the same time. I have both books on order from Amazon (I admit it, I'm a guidebook junkie), so it'll be interesting to see how the three guides compare with each other, and which one I'll end up turning to the most often on our travels around Formosa (Fú​mó​sà​) 福摩薩.

(shop.lonelyplanet.com/taiwan/taiwan-travel-guide)

Sakura, Thou Art Here

Well, what do you know? We didn't have to endure gridlocked roads last weekend in a futile attempt to see cherry blossoms 櫻花 「サクラ」after all. It turns out that there a couple of trees in the area close to my apartment building, and both are in full bloom. Their surroundings, however, are less than ideal for hanami 花見 parties:

Freshwater eels ウナギ are a common component of Japanese cuisine 日本料理, whether grilled and served over rice 鰻丼, or as a sushi 寿司 item. The traditional calendar in Japan has a day called "doyō ushi no hi" 土用の丑の日, falling on the hottest day of the year, when the consumption of unagi is supposed to provide a source of stamina during the sticky hot summers. Despite the fame of places like Lake Hamana 浜名湖 in Shizuoka Prefecture 静岡県 as sources of unagi, it turns out that roughly 90% of the eels consumed every year by Japanese diners is imported from China and T'ái​wān​ 台灣. Naturally, the 10% that is cultivated domestically is considered to be of a higher quality, which is why the following Kyōdō News 共同通信社 story from Japan Today shouldn't come as a surprise ("Eel importer ordered to pay Y5 mil fine for false labeling"):

"The Tōkyō District Court 東京地方裁判所 on Wednesday fined a Tōkyō 東京 -based eel importer ¥5 million ($60,740/NT1.8 million) for falsely labeling eels farmed in Taiwan as domestically raised products in violation of the unfair competition prevention law. The court also sentenced Hirokazu Iwai, 55, former board member of the precursor of Clover Trading Co, to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for masterminding the falsification, and fined him ¥1 million ($12,150/NT358,000). Judge Mariko Goto said the importer 'harmed the confidence of consumers,' while Iwai 'played the central role in the falsification.' According to the ruling, Iwai conspired with two officials of an Ōsaka 大阪 -based marine products firm to disguise 970 kilograms (2140 pounds) of Taiwanese-produced grilled eels as products originated in Aichi Prefecture 愛知県 between 2009 and 2010 to sell them to a Kyōto 京都 -based wholesaler for ¥3.2 million (/$38,875NT1.15 million)."

www.fukuzuchi.com/menu.html

Post 228

This sign would be funnier if it were the name of a cafe, and not of a boutique:

Did anybody notice this sentence from the first paragraph of today's front-page story in the China Post 英文中國郵報 on Ma Ying-jeou's 馬英九 formal apology to the victims of the 228 Incident 二二八事件?:

"Many immigrants to Tái​wān 台灣​ from China were killed in bloody clashes during a military crackdown 64 years ago in the incident."

Shouldn't that be more like "Many thousands of residents on Tái​wān were killed by soldiers from China..." or "Many thousands of Taiwanese were killed..."? The Post a few years back ran an editorial on the events of 1947 by looking back mournfully on the "hundreds" of mainlanders killed by the above-mentioned immigrants to Tái​wān in the incident, before briefly referring to the "thousands" of Taiwanese who lost their lives at the hands of soldiers who came from you-know-where.

(A bit of advice on semantics to the China Post news staff: according to Merriam-Webster, an "immigrant" is defined as "a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence", while one of the entries under "country" refers to "a political state or nation or its territory".)

This magnificent monster of a moth was taking a rest atop a urinal in the public restroom at the entrance to the No. 2 Trail in the Dà​kēng 大坑​ area:

Roadside detritus left over from the recently observed Lunar New Year 春節 and Lantern Festival 元宵節:

Yet another Yomiuri Shimbun 読売新聞 article on the Japan-Tái​wān alliance in the chip-making industry (from the Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 "Elpida, eyeing China, listed in Tái​wān" ):

"Elpida Memory Inc. エルピーダメモリ, the world's third-largest Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) chipmaker, became the first Japanese company to be listed on the Tái​wān Stock Exchange  臺灣證券交易所 on Friday, and hopes tie-ups with Tái​wān firms will help it tap the vast mainland market. 'We are joining hands to expand into the Chinese market,' Elpida President Yukio Sakamoto said at a ceremony celebrating his firm's listing on the bourse in Taipei 臺北 ​. Tái​wān newspapers showed considerable interest in Elpida's listing. The Economic Daily News reported that Elpida plans to compete with South Korean giants through a Japan-Tái​wān alliance, while the Liberty Times  自由時報 said Elpida is eyeing integration with other Tái​wān DRAM makers. Elpida shares closed at NT21.7 (about ¥60/73¢) after their first day of trading, slightly higher than its initial public offering price of NT21.3. Elpida reportedly raised a total of ¥12 billion ($146 million) through the listing. Elpida has already reached an agreement to purchase the DRAM business of Tái​wān's Powerchip Technology Corp. 力晶科技股份有限公司, the world's sixth-largest maker of the chips. Elpida is also negotiating a business integration with Tái​wān's ProMOS Technologies Inc., the globe's seventh biggest. Elpida's moves are a bid to survive in the DRAM market for personal computers, which has seen severe price competition recently. The firm will transfer its DRAM production base from Japan to Tái​wān, which is currently the world's biggest production center for computer parts. Tái​wān authorities welcomed Elpida's stock listing, calling it a major step toward realizing a Japan-Tái​wān semiconductor alliance. One high-level Tái​wān official said, '[The listing] will greatly contribute to the integration of Japanese and T'ái​wān DRAM production, and to deepening technological cooperation.'

Tái​wān apparently aims to gain a leg up in international competition by merging its well-established management, production and sales networks in China with Japan's technology. Taiwan is strongly promoting investment in China, evident in its signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement 海峽兩岸經濟合作架構協議 , similar to a free trade pact, with China in June last year. Taiwan investment in China in 2010, including investment via third parties, was about $14.6 billion (¥1.19 trillion/NT43 trillion), far surpassing the $4.2 billion Japan has in the country. The unification of the Taiwan and Chinese economies, dubbed 'Chaiwan,' grows closer every year. Taiwan's real gross domestic product growth in 2010 was 10.82 percent, even higher than China's 10.3 percent. However, Taiwan has been increasingly concerned that domestic firms might be left behind by burgeoning South Korean and Chinese companies.

In addition to Elpida, many other Japanese companies are looking into integrating with Taiwan firms to establish a foothold in the huge Chinese market, a place that is extremely attractive but also considerably risky. During the past year, Japanese and Taiwan firms have formed alliances in the electricity, publishing, distribution and foods industries, among others. Many Japanese firms believe tie-ups in Taiwan will get them into the Chinese market by riding on the coattails of T'ái​wān's ever-deepening economic relationship with the mainland. Japanese companies doing business on their own in China have faced various difficulties, such as strikes by local employees demanding more pay and difficulty cutting through red tape to open new factories. Referring to these problems, a senior official at a major Taiwan IT company said, 'We understand the temperament of the Chinese as well as Japanese business practices.' A top Taiwan official said the Japan-Taiwan alliance would be very beneficial. 'The success rate of business in China by Japanese companies on their own is about 60 percent. But partnering with Taiwan firms will increase this by more than 10 percent,' the official said."

Hitting for the cycle

Today was 228 Peace Memorial Day 228和平紀念日 in T'ái​wān 台灣​, a day off for many people, but not for my wife, unfortunately. The owners of the company where she works feel that there is no reason to observe this particular national holiday, apparently believing the slaughter of tens of thousands of islanders by forces from the Chinese mainland, and the ushering in of forty years of repressive authoritarian rule, isn't worth remembering. Pamela's bosses may or not be blue (politically speaking), but the sky was definitely azure on this gloriously warm day, and my daughter and I had a nice time together today.

We began by going to Chúng​chèng​ Park 中正公園 for a short hike. The trail I had intended for us to take was closed, however, so we had to make due with a stroll. Amber enjoyed checking out a couple of Taoist temples, and looking for the biggest stones to launch from a bridge into a creek down below.

Amber beseeches the gods of Tào​ism 道教 for whatever favors a five year-old girl might think of.

In the afternoon, we drove into Tái​chúng​ 臺中, where we met up with my friend Steve and his children, Zoey and Eli. Going to a nearby park, the kids enjoyed riding their bikes, playing with bats and balls, digging in the dirt and making mud pies, and generally just enjoying childhood. Which was probably the best way to enjoy this holiday, when you think about it.

My future big-league star.

A marauding biker gang terrorizing the streets of Tái​chúng.