Monday, April 28, 2008

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

OK, so Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原 sits in a plain, and the song is basically a put-down of suburban values, which isn't my intention here. We still had a very pleasant time this afternoon with Steve and his family, who drove out to have lunch with us in our apartment. Afterwards, we all headed over to a nearby park, where the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and a good time was had by all.


After Steve, Amber, Zoey and Eli said their goodbyes and headed back to T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中, we made a brief stop at my in-laws' house. Every time she visits her grandparents, Amber is drawn to the piano in their living room, where she starts banging away at the keys. Is it possible we have a budding Thelonious Monk in our midst?

Saturday, April 26, 2008

In the news ニュース

Is this the beginning of the end for Taiwan? A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, after all. Or steps, if you read below.

The Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 is running an interview in its Friday edition with Vice President-elect Vincent Siew 蕭萬長 that was conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun 読売新聞 ("Siew: Taiwan to lift yuan ban Vice president-elect also vows to broaden tourism from China"):

"Taiwan Vice President-elect Vincent Siew reiterated Wednesday that Taiwan's new Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, administration plans to lift a ban on the exchange of the Chinese yuan currency as soon as possible, as well as launch weekend charter flights to and from China and start accepting Chinese tourists in July. Siew was speaking during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun in Taipei, his first with a Japanese news organization since winning the vice presidency last month. After President-elect Ma Ying-jeou takes office May 20, Siew is expected to play a central role in affairs concerning Japan and China."

In the interview, Siew says that talks on direct flights and an increase in the number of Chinese tourists have finished on a "technical level", and are awaiting a "political decision". He also mentions that discussions with China will resume in June, and that his talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao 胡錦濤 earlier this month were "positive". The article then goes on to state:

"...Taiwan's new administration plans to allow the exchange and circulation of yuan as soon as possible, in anticipation of the expected arrival of Chinese visitors. The exchange and circulation of Chinese currency has been banned in Taiwan except for some areas, such as Kinmen Island, which lies just off the mainland coast."

Other "good news" that Siew reveals in the interview include: an increase in the number of airports that provide direct access to China from two to as many as seven; the allowance of Chinese investments in construction projects in Taiwan; and the acceptance of China's offer of two giant pandas. It looks like this island will slowly, but surely, be drawn ever closer into China's orbit once the Ma-Siew administration takes over next month.

(On the topic of the expected increase in Chinese tourists to Taiwan, I've read several things on local blogs to the effect that tourist sights are going to get more crowded here as a result. I'm not worried about that happening, but I do wonder if the recent promotional efforts made by local tourist officials to attract more Western and Japanese visitors, which have been a great improvement compared to the not-so-distant past, might lag again if businesses prefer to take the easy road by relying more and more on yuan-spending mainlanders).

Finally, when it comes to the Japan-Taiwan relationship, Siew has this to say:

"Siew stated his intention to deepen relations with Japan, saying Taiwan aims to conclude an economic partnership agreement with Tōkyō and make efforts to launch flights between Taipei's Sungshan Airport and Tōkyō's Haneda Airport. 'We'd like to continue and further develop the Taiwan-Japan relationship, which has advanced under the [current] Democratic Progressive Party [administration],' Siew said. Asked about the fisheries issue in the waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan, Siew said: 'We should shelve the [territorial] dispute and try to facilitate benefits for both sides. We shouldn't allow [the dispute] to affect the Taiwan-Japan relationship.'"

I guess when the presidency and legislature are safely in your hands, it doesn't hurt to give the DPP some credit!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Cum on feel the noize どうしてラジオを持って来ていた

I went for a nice 2-hour walk this morning in the Tak'eng (Dakeng) 大坑 area of T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中. Thanks to yesterday's rain, the air today was relatively fresh, and a lot of birds and insects were out and about. And, as usual, so were the radios. I encountered several hikers on the trails decked out in full Taiwanese hiking gear - backpacks, boots, gloves, hats...and portable radios, putting out Taiwanese enka 演歌 or broadcasting political talk shows. As MJ Klein points out on The NHBushman.com, it's probably the lack of man-made sounds out in the mountains that induces feelings of anxiety in some locals, to the point where they need to bring along their radios to let them know they're "not alone out there". But still I find it hard to understand. After all, even on a weekday morning, the trails of Takeng are far from empty. In addition, planes and helicopters are continually flying overhead, and buildings are almost always visible off in the distance. What exactly is there to be afraid of?

In all fairness, the majority of people out walking/hiking in Takeng are sans radios. And those that do bring them along tend to keep the volume low. Still, do the latter people know what they're missing? I once was the only person who noticed a group of monkeys grunting and thrashing about in the bushes just off to the side of a trail, because everyone else that passed by was either listening to their portable radios, or too busy talking in loud voices with their companions, to notice what was going on just a few feet away. みんなは気がつかなくて残念ね。

Monday, April 21, 2008

中正公園

今日生徒さんのエンジェル、シャロン、ロディックといっしょに豊原の中正公園に行って散歩をした。娘のアンバーも連れて行った。今朝はその公園で3度新しいチャイルドハーネスを使って、それにアンバーが慣れていると思う。

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

いろいろな事

The day began with a refreshing commentary on Taiwan's recent presidential election in the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ ("Hope for Taiwan's future") by Hisahiko Okazaki 岡崎久彦. Okazaki is a regular contributor to the newspaper, and he's very sympathetic to Taiwan's situation. His column today starts off by saying:

"Even in democracies, if one party holds power for long enough, scandals can occur and popular support can fade. Nevertheless, the result of the Taiwanese presidential election was a landslide victory for the Nationalist Party (KMT) that far exceeded expectations. I felt, though conscious of the heartbreaking of friends of mine in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), that the election result may lead to a sort of optimistic outlook concerning Taiwan's future. In other words, the Taiwanese voters completely discounted the possibility of a KMT victory leading to a possible China-Taiwan reunification. Otherwise they would not have opted for the KMT in the midst of China's crackdown in Tibet."

This is certainly different from the views of most outside observers. Okazaki takes Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九 at his word when the latter says he isn't in favor of reunification, and notes how both candidates stressed their Taiwanese identities. He then goes to note that:

"Previously, I had been apprehensive concerning the future of Taiwan's freedom and democracy. Democracy cannot be realized unless both the governing and opposition parties have a common vision concerning the ground rules for maintaining a democratic system. Democratically electing a Nazi-like party that has a totalitarian view of the state means choosing to end democracy through democratic means. In Taiwan's case, as well, electing a government that consents to the one country, two systems arrangement means the end of freedom and democracy. Even though 10 years have passed in Hong Kong, a popular election has yet to be held. But that really is a trivial issue. The problem is that Hong Kong will enjoy freedom only for a duration of 40 more years. Whether the time that freedom is assured is 50 years or 100 years, it is still a promise to throw away the freedom of one's grandchildren."

I don't think I've read anyone else worrying about what will happen to Hong Kong after 2047 - good point. Continuing on, he writes that:

"I was concerned about a similar situation developing in Taiwan. Chinese President Hu Jintao made a proposal for peace talks with Taiwan. Whether such talks materialize through peaceful means (though inevitably under military and economic threat) or by the direct use of forces, Taiwan will eventually lose its freedom if, under such pressure, the president accepts the one country, two system solution. And I thought that a KMT president would be more prone to accept such compromise, and that a DPP government was a safer choice until that possibility completely disappeared. If the possibility of Taiwan accepting a one country, two system solution completely disappeared, I would not be concerned about Taiwan's future even if a change of government took place as a result of its democratic setup. The results of the latest presidential and legislature elections gives me hope that perhaps Taiwan might have already reached this stage."

I'm willing to give Ma the benefit of the doubt for now, but I suspect there are those in the KMT who would willingly sell out Taiwan in order to become this island's version of Tung Chee Hwa 董建華. Okazaki next talks about China:

"China has been calling for natural, peaceful unification based on deepening of mutual economic dependence, although it is not known whether this is propaganda or its true intention. I do not mind this policy since I believe that economics and politics are fundamentally different. But strict vigilance is necessary so that intimidation and other unfair means intended for exploiting the growing economic interdependence shall not be used for political purposes against Taiwanese firms that have invested in China."

I'm sure that such intimidation and pressure is inevitable. Okazaki follows with a warning to the U.S. government:

"It is natural for (the United States) to feel relieved with the results of the elections so that there is no worry regarding maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait for the time being. However, I would like to point out that assuming, from these results, that the Taiwan problem will be resolved through future reunification seriously risks misreading the sentiment of the Taiwanese people."

And he concludes in brilliant fashion:

"And finally, concerning the oft-mentioned danger of declaration of Taiwan's independence occurring when the pendulum swings back in the other direction, as a result of the future workings of democracy, I would like to point out that such a danger is an illusion. Taiwan, with its conditions, is already qualified as a nation state under international law, better qualified than a hundred other members of the United Nations. The only thing missing is formal international recognition. More to the point, recognition by America and Japan. But the U.S. government is hamstrung by the previous joint U.S.-China communiques and Japan does not have the political power to act independently on this issue. Consequently, even if Taiwan formally declares independence, there will be no changes in the slightest from the present status. Declaration of independence adds nothing. As long as the KMT is closely in step with Taiwanese public sentiment that opposes reunification, it means the existence of a stable consensus concerning Taiwan's future. And that will assure the future function of democracy. In fact, change of government will be possible in accordance with democratic procedures."

There aren't many analysts out there who point out what should be obvious - namely, that Taiwan is, for all intents and purposes, an independent state, and having the rest of the world accept this fact isn't going to lead to a third world war. In other words, nothing will change.

Perhaps inspired by this editorial breath of fresh air, I took my daughter Amber out this morning to get some of the real thing. Unfortunately, today's air quality was none too good, but we gave our new child carrier its second whirl in the friendly confines of the Chung-cheng (Jhong-jheng) Park 中正公園 area. It seems to be getting easier with each effort, but it's still going to be a long, long time before the two of us conquer Yushan 玉山 (or Niitakayama 新高山, as it was known during the Japanese era)!


I had some unexpected time off this afternoon, so I used it to go into T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中 to pick up my plane tickets from the travel agency. I will be making another solo trip to Japan at the beginning of June, and my itinerary is as follows:

May 31 - Ōsaka 大阪
June 1 - Kurayoshi 倉吉
June 2 to 5 - Matsue 松江
June 6 - Okayama 岡山
June 7 - Ōsaka 大阪

Obviously, the main focus will be my first visit to the Matsue area, home of Lacadio Hearn 小泉八雲 and Izumo Taisha 出雲大社. The travel agent commented that I must've been a Japanese in a previous life. I don't know about that, but I've certainly provided her with a lot of business as a result of the periodic need to reacquaint myself with my previous country of residence.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Disappointing Old Buildings in Taichū

The above subject title was suggested by my wife, who was less than thrilled by the pair of old buildings we visited this afternoon in T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中. Come to think of it, I wasn't particularly overwhelmed by what we saw either, at least not until the very end. First stop was Wenying (Wunying) Hall 文英館, which is listed in 地球の歩き方台湾 ('05-'06 edition) as 台湾伝統版印特蔵室. However, we didn't see any Taiwanese seals, traditional or otherwise, on display. Instead, there were two galleries with some mildly interesting paintings and scrolls (of modern vintage). The building only dates from 1976, yet was declared an Historic Structure by the city of Taichung in 2002. Like many things put up in the Seventies, it isn't particularly attractive, and IMHO, is one structure that could've been torn down, and replaced with something more modern. At least the galleries are free of charge.


Next, we crossed the street to visit the former residence of the mayor of Taichung:


Dating from 1929, it's a surprisingly small building, considering its stature as a high-level politician's home. That's probably because it was originally the residence of a Japanese ophthalmologist by the name of Takekuma Miyahara (or 宮原眼科, as he is listed on the plaque in front of the building), and was taken over by the city after the end of the Second World War. Aside from a cafe, there isn't much to see or do, but it's certainly more pleasing to the eyes than Wenying Hall.

Upon leaving the mayor's residence, we took a stroll through the extremely crowded area known as 台中一中街, packed with food stalls and people. I'm not sure what my daughter made of the sea of humanity.

 

Our last stop of the day was Taichung Park, aka Chungshan (Jhongshan) Park 中山公園. Opened by the Japanese as Taichū Park in 1903, the pavilion pictured below is considered to be the symbol of Taichung, and appears in most tourist brochures:


What caught my eye, however, was the site of an old Shintō 神道 shrine 神社 that once stood in the park. The main hall 本殿 is gone, having been replaced by a statue of Confucius 孔子, but other aspects are still in place: the row of stone lanterns leading up to what was the main building (the lanterns themselves are gone, but the posts remain, with the names of the Japanese donors still etched in place - 清水, 石川 etc.), and the pairs of koma-inu 狛犬 guardian lion-dogs and horses.


And to think there are some naive souls who come to Taiwan to experience "traditional Chinese culture" :)

Friday, April 11, 2008

In the news ニュース

This article in today's Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 ("China, Taiwan usurp Japanese trademarks") really comes as no surprise:

"The brands accorded to two noted Japanese regional potteries, Kutaniyaki and Minoyaki, have been registered as trademarks of Chinese companies, according to a survey by the Beijing office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) released Tuesday. Chinese and Taiwanese firms also have submitted applications to Chinese authorities to use Japanese regional brands including Matsusaka-ushi beef and Naruto Kintoki sweet potato as trademarks, a JETRO official said. The Japanese local specialties have been designated by the government's Patent Office as regional brands to stimulate local economies. Once a name is registered as a trademark, one cannot newly register the same designation unless the original trademark holder officially surrenders ownership of the brand name."

One Chinese firm even went so far as to register the name of a prefecture in Japan, Kagoshima 鹿児島. This turns out to be far from unusual, however, as the article quotes JETRO in Beijing as saying:

"...as of the end of December, Chinese or Taiwanese firms had registered 36 of Japan's 47 prefectural names as trademarks, with the name Kyōto seeing the greatest number of registrations at 93. Most companies using Japanese brands are Chinese firms, although individuals also did so. By using Japanese brands as trademarks, Chinese firms can benefit free of charge from name recognition to raise their products' prices when marketing them in China. Individuals who own registered trademarks can sell them for money..."

One name that I don't think will be trademarked in either China or Taiwan is "Senkaku" 尖閣. Then again, you never know...

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Monkey Business

I got up at 5:45 this morning in order to get in an early morning hike in the Tak’eng (Dakeng) 大坑 area. On the walk up from the parking lot to the start of the No. 4 Trail, I encountered a couple of monkeys, who were remarkably unperturbed by my presence. The local lizards, of which many were out and about this morning, also didn’t seem to mind when I walked by. I wish I could say the same for some of the human residents!

今朝大坑という山地方で散歩しながら、2つの猿に出くわした。たくさんのトカゲも見えた。

Monday, April 7, 2008

In the news ニュース

The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ is carrying yet another analysis of the recent presidential election in Taiwan, "Voice of Taiwanese heard around Asia". Written by Tom Plate, it begins by commenting (as so many others have done before) on China's rising power and status, before turning its attention to Ilha Formosa:

"Another orbiting territory does hold elections — real ones, fiercely fought, as if the people have never known anything else. And one was held there just recently. The result offered dramatic and historic significance. It is Taiwan, the island off mainland China. Yes, its population is but 23 million or so, but nonetheless it's a major player in the evolution of Asia. That's because of tensions with mainland monster China, which considers the island a bratty defector from the otherwise always-close mainland family. That Goliath-David odd-couple relationship helps set the tone of the East Asian region. Whoever Taiwan had elected as its president last month inevitably would be a closely watched event."

The remark about "another orbiting territory" is in reference to Hong Kong. Apparently, with the exception of directly electing its leaders (which the people of Hong Kong are not allowed to do), Pate doesn't see much of a difference between the Republic of China 中華民国 and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 香港特別行政区. The praise then starts to flow from Plate's pen:

"What Taiwan decided was historic: That it was time for a change. Overwhelmingly, voters said the tactics of confrontation with China, as practiced by the outgoing Democratic People's Party (sic) government, were not getting anyone anywhere, and they said control of the central government should switch to the Kuomintong (sic). The KMT party, for years in opposition, is the very party with which Beijing has repeatedly declaimed as the most comfortable. With this stunning result, you could almost hear a collective sigh of relief sweep across Asia. The triumphant KMT was led by the debonair Ma Ying-jeou. For months he had been expected to win the presidential race. But the resurgent troubles in Tibet had forecasters wondering whether the party that was so committed to negotiation with Beijing would be able to maintain plausibility with Taiwan voters when the world's TV cameras were suggesting that Beijing didn't seem to be in favor of negotiating with anyone right now. Taiwan answered the clubs of Tibet with votes for change — for dramatic movement away from confrontation. With the thundering certainty that only a decisive ballot box result can offer, the vote heard around Asia was a call for sanity, civility and stability."

I've heard Ma called many things, both good and bad, but this is the first time to my knowledge someone has described him as "debonair". Plate goes on to write:

"Even if the result had gone the other way, Beijing would not have learned any lesson; it would not have viewed its Tibet repression as ill-advised. On the contrary, it probably would only have cemented the Communist mind-set that reason has no compelling force of its own and that resorting to force is never unreasonable as long as it is effective. The voters of Taiwan in effect sought to offer their own — dramatically different — message. They anointed a new government that ran on a high-profile platform of negotiation rather than confrontation. The brave voters of Taiwan were not cowered by images of the police and military clubs being used against the protesters in Tibet. Rather, they were saying that had mature and forward-moving negotiations been in place over there, probably the clubs and police would never have had to come out."

Perhaps I'm a little confused, but couldn't the opposite conclusion from what Plate is drawing also be made here? That the "brave" voters of Taiwan actually got scared by what they were seeing happening in Tibet on their TV screens, and decided it would be better to put into office the man more likely to kowtow to China's wishes? If that's the case, then Beijing has, in fact, learned a very valuable lesson: might makes right after all. And the Dalai Lama has offered for years to negotiate greater autonomy for Tibet, as opposed to outright independence, yet China has rebuffed his efforts at "mature and forward-moving negotiations".

Plate then moves on to Asia in general, and of the necessity of trying to get along with the 800-pound gorilla living in its midst:

"Over the millenniums, Asia has acquired much genetic experience in surviving in the shadow of the Han-Chinese giant. But survival requires wise and sometimes wily adaptation, not dinosaur-like blustering. You may not like the fact that Mother China has so much gravity and weight in Asia, but if you don't, in truth, your quarrel is less with China itself than with history. Taiwan's voters understand this unavoidable reality; let us hope the next American president, whoever she or he is, does, too...without negotiation, the worst is sure to come. This is what the voters of Taiwan said, overwhelmingly, this weekend. And they were so right and timely to say it. There's a lesson for China and Tibet."

And that lesson, for non-Han peoples, seems to be to put up and shut up. In Plate's view, history is on the side of the Chinese giant. I've long suspected that the underlying reason for the antagonism felt by many Chinese towards Japan is not just based on the atrocities of the Second World War, but also on the fact that centuries ago, the Japanese stopped paying tribute to the Chinese imperial court. The gall of the "little dwarves" in not knowing their rightful place in relation to the Middle Kingdom (why, they even stood up to the Mongols, as did the Vietnamese, who, coincidentally, also have a long history of antagonistic relations with China)! Could some payback be in the offing as China continues to grow stronger?

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Enjoying the day off in Hori 埔里という町へ行った

Yesterday (Friday) was Tomb Sweeping Day 清明節, a national holiday. As a result, today (Saturday) was also a day off, thus making for a three-day weekend. And while we decided not to make any overnight trips this time, we did drive into the very center of Taiwan, to the town of P'uli (Puli) 埔里 on a day that turned out to be both very warm and very smoggy.

Before setting out this morning, I read an article in the Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 on an interview with Taiwan's former president, Lee Tung-hui 李登輝 ("Taiwan's Lee seeking to bolster Japan ties"):

"Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui is keen to act as an unofficial adviser on relations with Japan for President-elect Ma Ying-jeou after Ma takes office in May to help ensure the bilateral relationship stays on an even keel. 'Japan-Taiwan ties are as important or more important than Taiwan-China ties, and our solidarity with Japan is crucial for our economic development,' Lee told The Yomiuri Shimbun on Thursday. 'Mr. Ma doesn't know much about Japan. Someone who is clued up on Japanese affairs should be doing the job [of adviser].'"

Lee is quoted, however, as saying that a younger man (he's 85) should act in such a role. Like many mainlanders (and in contrast to many Taiwanese), Ma isn't so keen on Japan:

"Some observers of Japan-Taiwan affairs have been concerned that Ma, who swept to victory in last month's presidential election, could take the wind out of attempts to improve relations. Ma has previously taken a hard-line stance on the Senkaku Islands, which also are claimed by China and Taiwan. But after a meeting with Lee last month, Ma seemed to be willing to take a more pragmatic tack with Tōkyō. 'We discussed using his influence to help develop Japan-Taiwan ties. I'd like to continue receiving Mr. Lee's advice,' said Ma, who will officially take office on May 20. Observers suggested the meeting also indicated Lee was keen to act as a conduit between Ma and Japan."

Lee, for his part, praises the recent election as a sign of "the growing maturity of Taiwan's democracy", and harshly criticizes the losing Democratic Progressive Party 民主進歩党:

"'The DPP's win in 2000 was a step forward for democracy, but what has happened in the eight years since? The people were fed up--they became disillusioned with the corruption-riddled DPP,' Lee said."

In the interview, Lee also claims he isn't worried by the prospect of the KMT 中国国民党 becoming too close with China:

"'Taiwan is, to all intents and purposes, a single country. The China-Taiwan issue won't be resolved for quite some time,' he said. 'China has its hands full dealing with its own knotty internal problems, so the administration there doesn't have the wherewithal to focus on the Taiwan issue.' Lee praised Ma's plan to start direct flights between China and Taiwan and welcome Chinese tourists, saying these moves would improve Beijing-Taipei ties. But he was more skeptical of the incoming president's hopes for a peace accord with China. 'I doubt that will happen,' Lee said."

On a more personal note, Lee revealed his intention:

"...to make a sightseeing visit to Japan before the end of the year, which will include a trip following the path 17th-century haiku poet Matsuo Bashō took during the early Edo period (1603-1867), as recounted in his work, 'Oku no Hosomichi.' Lee, a prominent Japanophile, said he plans to visit Niigata and Fukui prefectures, among other places."

I'm also planning a trip to Japan soon, the details of which I'll reveal at a later date. But for now, it's on to Puli...

...an ugly-looking town that for some reason receives prominent mention in most Taiwan travel guides. Anyone traveling through the central mountains of this island will probably find themselves in Puli at some point in their journey, but there really is no compelling reason to linger there. Our first stop was a classic tourist trap, the P'uli Shaohsing (Puli Shaosing) Brewery 埔里酒廠, where the Puli Winery Corporation produces Shaohsing wine:


Although admission is free, the first floor is designed to get visitors to open up their wallets, as it's chock full of stalls selling all kinds of snacks made with wine (the wine-soaked strawberry cake sample seemed to give our daughter Amber a buzz!). Several of the stands at least had signs in both English and Japanese, and the "French style chocolate with alcohol" フレンチスタイルアルコール入りチョコレート was admittedly pretty good. The second floor houses a small museum on the winery's history, with some interesting photos from the Japanese period, and even evidence that the Thirsty Traveler had been there. But, overall, the emphasis is clearly on commerce, not education, and probably isn't worth putting up with the crowds, unless you are a wine connoisseur.

 

Following our visit to the brewery, we drove across town to the Taiwan Geographic Center Monument 台湾地理中心碑. I had bought a child carrier in T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中 on Friday, and I was planning on trying it out this afternoon. The idea is to bring Amber along on my back when I go hiking, so I wanted to walk from the monument marking the exact geographic center of Taiwan to Carp Lake 鯉魚潭, a walk of about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). I have to admit, however, that I may have been a little overly ambitious the first time out. It was a short, but steep, haul up some stone steps to the monument, which was tiring enough, but the walk to the lake turned out to be far from the idyllic forest trek I'd imagined it to be. Instead, faced with an uphill walk on a busy road, with a 12-kilogram (26 pounds) child strapped to my back in temperatures near 30 C (86 F), I quickly concluded that I need to build up more endurance first, so we headed back down to ground level where Pamela was waiting for us. We ended up driving up the same road to a lookout point where several paragliders were flying about, a fact that got Amber very excited, so we got out of the car to take a look. The view from the top of the mountain looking down on Puli was stupendous...or would have been, if it wasn't for the horrible air quality that all too often plagues the skies of Taiwan, even in small towns in the central mountains.


And with that, it was back to Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原, with a brief stop at a popular freeway rest area in the Taichung County 台中県 town of Shalu 沙鹿, where, to quote Michael Turton from his blog "The View from Taiwan", Taiwan's ability to "vomit up people" was on display:


Just another day on the Beautiful Island!

Friday, April 4, 2008

In the news ニュース

The 2008 Major League Baseball season has gotten underway, and here in Taiwan, that can only mean Wang Chien-ming 王建民. While Wang is certainly a good pitcher (even if he does ply his trade with the hated New York Yankees), it's nice to see other Taiwanese players get some notice in the media. The Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 has an article in its sports section today on a game last night between the Chūnichi Dragons 中日ドラゴンズ and the (hated) Yomiuri Giants 読売ジャイアンツ, and the headline says it all: "Chen sends Yomiuri to worst start". "Chen" is Chen Wei-yen 陳偉殷 (or チェン as he known on the Dragons roster), who earned his first victory after four years playing in Japan, and recovering from elbow surgery. The newspaper summarizes the game thusly:

"A Chunichi pitcher who had little time to get warm kept Yomiuri ice cold as the Dragons blanked the Giants 3-0 on two hits at Tōkyō Dome on Wednesday. Chen Wei-yen came on in the second inning in relief of injured starter Masahiro Yamamoto and tossed 5-2/3 shutout innings to send the defending Central League champions to a franchise-worst fifth-straight loss to open the season."

There are several other players from Taiwan in both MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). I hope we can hear more about them, and a little less about Wang, this year. Fat chance of that happening, though.

The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ has an all-together more serious article on Taiwanese politics in its commentary section. Entitled (without any hint of sarcasm or irony) "Taiwan politics: Back to the good old days under the KMT", it's yet another analysis of the presidential election. Ah, back to the days of martial law, and imprisonment, torture and executions of political prisoners? Not according to one Denny Roy, of the East-West Center in Honolulu:

"Surprises and exciting finishes are the rule in Taiwan's elections. In the months before the presidential election on March 22, Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou led Democratic Progress Party (DPP) candidate Frank Hsieh Chang-ting in public opinion polls by as much as 20 percent, but the gap appeared to be shrinking as the vote approached...When the votes were in, however, the result was a resounding 16 percentage point victory for Ma. Why did he win by such a large margin? The DPP claims it is because the KMT has disproportionate influence over Taiwan's media (some even believe China helps finance Blue-oriented media outlets). This would help explain what Ma's critics call his 'Teflon man' quality — the damage caused by his mistakes has made relatively little impact. To other observers, the largest single factor in Ma's victory appeared to be public dissatisfaction with incumbent DPP President Chen Shui-bian's performance, particularly the weak economy that has plagued Taiwan through most of his presidency. Chen's implication in a corruption scandal, for which he may face prosecution after he leaves office, also hurt, as it undermined the DPP's long-standing effort to present itself as a clean alternative to an allegedly corrupt KMT. The 'one party domination' argument may have been negated by the public's weariness with the divided government that prevailed during the Chen years and often obstructed much-needed legislation."

For a man who has written a book on Taiwanese politics, it's rather curious that Roy fails to mention that it was obstructionism on the part of the KMT that led to the legislative gridlock cited above. Later on in the article, he writes:

"Taiwan's relatively low level of defense spending and unwillingness to pay for the arms package Washington offered in 2001 created among many Americans a suspicion that Taiwan was a defense free-rider. Ma has already begun to heal the rift. Harvard-educated and fluent in English, he made a favorable impression during a visit to America in 2006. The KMT is apparently interested in purchasing another batch of F-16 fighters. And Ma has committed to raising Taiwan's defense spending to 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product."

And again Roy omits to mention that it has been the KMT that has held up the arms purchase package. He also glides over the fact that Ma, on that 2006 US visit, promised to get moving on the arms sale as soon as he got back to Taiwan, a pledge that was never kept.

Roy does make some good points in his commentary:

"...DPP campaigners relied on a 'conversion strategy' that emphasized a shrill and divisive message: voting DPP is the only defense against Taiwan being sold out to China. The fact that many native Taiwanese voted for Ma proves that this narrow definition of patriotism has limited appeal. Ma even won in Kaohsiung, a southern Taiwan city where Hsieh served as mayor and a traditional DPP stronghold. The latest round of referendums was a minor disaster, ruined by partisanship. The exercise was dubious from the beginning. Asking the people of Taiwan if they want membership in the United Nations under the name 'Taiwan' made little sense except as a tactic to use Taiwan nationalism to mobilize supporters of the DPP on election day. As a counterweight, the KMT sponsored its own similar U.N. referendum, giving voters the opportunity to choose whether they would like to join the U.N. under the name 'Taiwan' or 'Republic of China.' In fact, the premise was a complete fantasy offered to date have reached that threshold. In this case the competing referendums proved counterproductive. China's Taiwan Affairs Office misconstrued the result, announcing that 'the issue of independence has not won the heart of the Taiwanese people.' Yet even without China's bias, foreign observers might reach the false conclusion that Taiwan's people do not want to join the U.N."

The UN referendum pushed by the DPP was a pointless exercise that both took attention away from the presidential campaign, and needlessly riled countries like the US that Taiwan must rely on (even if the former overreacted in this case).

However, in the rest of the article, Roy reverts to a tired analysis that only looks at things from a Chinese point of view:

"Ma supports the 'one China' principle, which Beijing has said will clear the way for a resumption of cross-strait talks...Ma also favors expanded cross-strait economic and social contacts, which are part of the (Chinese) strategy for peaceful unification. In short, a Ma presidency will greatly assure China that Taiwan is back on track toward politically joining China. Unless the Chinese leadership becomes overly anxious, this should greatly reduce the need to influence Taiwan through military threats."

Yes, good times are coming, if you like the idea of Chinese hegemony. However:

"One of Ma's challenges will be to improve cross-strait relations without losing domestic support; in other words, he must satisfy both the Chinese government and Taiwan society. Ma must prove himself to the over 40 percent of his countrymen who voted against him. He cannot move too quickly or too far to accommodate Beijing. To demonstrate that he is not the sellout, some in Taiwan fear Ma must carry out some policies that are inherently undesirable to Beijing. First, he will have to insist that China treat Taipei as an equal negotiating partner rather than a subordinate. Second, he will want to repair the relationship with the United States as a hedge against China."

Some people in Taiwan "fear" that a President Ma might actually have to pursue policies that favor Taiwanese interests over those of China? An interesting choice of word. Roy goes on to write:

"Beijing seems to have learned that using overt threats against Taiwan tends to bring about the opposite of the desired result. Nevertheless, the Chinese Communist Party's understanding of democratic politics in Taiwan is suspect. Some Chinese elites may see Ma's presidency as an opportunity to push for major steps toward unification, making up for time lost since 2000. But expecting too much too soon from Ma without regard to his domestic political environment would be a mistake even in terms of China's own interests. Such impatience could set the stage for a backlash in 2012 that would return the DPP to power. Beijing must realize that it is in China's interests to give Ma enough rewards and concessions to maintain his legitimacy at home. The Chinese could not grant any leeway to a Taiwan president whom they believed was a committed 'separatist,' but they can to Ma. Some possible acts of reconciliation Beijing could offer include a freeze or withdrawal of the ballistic missiles arrayed against Taiwan, which can be easily redeployed if necessary; and acquiescence to Taiwan attaining observer status in the World Health Assembly."

It seems threats of military action against democratically-elected governments is a perfectly acceptable policy tool in Roy's analysis of Taiwan-China relations. He concludes by writing:

"Ma's presidency represents an opportunity for the transformed KMT to show how competently it can govern Taiwan, for China to show some magnanimity in cross-strait relations now that its Chen nightmare is ending, and for Taipei to rekindle the previous warmth of the U.S.-Taiwan relationship. It is too much to hope that the great potential in all these areas will be fully realized, but at minimum some improvement in each is likely compared with the Chen era."

Eight years of attempting to strengthen democracy's roots in Taiwan, and of encouraging a Taiwanese identity, are dismissed in a single word: "nightmare". I worry that for the people of Taiwan, as well as those in the larger East Asia area, the "nightmare" may only just be beginning.