Before I was so rudely interrupted...

When your cat or dog gets sick because they failed to live in accord with the Tào 道, this is the place to take them.

I finally got my laptop back from the shop on Friday afternoon, and everything appears to be fine. Last Friday, I turned the computer on, plugged the cord in and SNAP, CRACKLE and POP, it simply stopped operating. Naturally, when I brought it in to have it looked at the following day, everything seemingly worked as usual in front of the technician. Perhaps out of sympathy for all the egg on my face, he suggested leaving the laptop there to have it looked over, "just to be sure". Well, everything appears to be OK now (knock on wood). No one at the shop mentioned any problems, and it didn't cost anything to be checked, so I'm assuming that all is well. There is, of course, the old adage about not making assumptions, but it's best not to go there right now.

While the computer was away, the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ carried an interesting Kyōdō News 共同通信社 story highlighting the reasons behind the generosity shown by the Taiwanese public in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami 津波 in northeastern Japan on March 11. "Intricate bonds behind Taiwan aid", by Ko Shu-ling notes that the people of T’áiwān 台灣 have donated more money that those of any other country, including South Korea and the United States, and suggests that the simple answer is that the Taiwanese are returning the favor for all the assistance given by Japan after the devastating Chíchí Earthquake 921大地震 of Sept. 21, 1999. But Ko doesn't leave it at that:

 "...ties between the two countries go far deeper and stem from their colonial relationship, which lasted half a century. While other Asian countries regard the history of their Japanese occupation negatively, the Taiwanese have different feelings toward their former colonial masters.

For one thing, the Japanese colonial period from 1895 to 1945 saw great developments in Taiwan. The Japanese built railroads and highways, developed steamship lines, dredged and modernized harbors, constructed irrigation systems and built hydroelectric power plants.

Of course, this work was intended to advance Japanese interests in the region. Yet it also helped establish the foundations of Taiwan's industrial and economic developments in the 1950s and 1960s, laying the groundwork for the country's current prosperity.

And the story doesn't end with modernization. With the arrival of the Nationalist Party  中國國民黨after their defeat by the communists in 1949, analysts said the Taiwanese found other reasons to appreciate the Japanese.

While the new occupiers from the mainland had much in common culturally with island inhabitants and they instituted policies meant to turn the Taiwanese against their former colonizers, Nationalist Party corruption and brutality only produced nostalgia for the past.

It is also the case that Japan's departure didn't sever social, cultural and economic ties between the two countries. For example, Japanese universities provided educational opportunities unavailable at that time in Taiwan, and to this day many Taiwanese students go to Japan to obtain advanced degrees."

Following a few references to the film Cape No. 7海角七號, Ko concludes this brief analysis by noting that:

"Young Taiwanese have shown great affection for various forms of Japanese popular culture, from manga 漫画, Hello Kitty ハローキティ and animated films アニメ to martial arts 格闘技, soap operas and romantic songs.

In addition to shared history, social ties and popular culture, changing geopolitical conditions in East Asia have helped renew bonds between Taiwan and Japan, pundits say.

China's rising power is a source of mutual insecurity, along with waning confidence that the United States is willing or able to underwrite the security interests of either country.

An act of solidarity was Tōkyō's 東京 decision, against Chinese objections, to allow former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui (Lǐ​ Tēng​huī​) 李登輝 to visit Japan to seek medical attention.

A small gesture perhaps, yet the act of admitting Lee resonates deeply, once again, with a history of ties that transcend mere political or military alliances. Refusing to bow to Chinese pressure to deny their former leader medical treatment was met with quiet gratitude among Taiwanese, gratitude that took material form in the outpouring of generosity for disaster relief following March 11."

The Lee connection might be overstating the case, but the deep ties mentioned in the article can be easily seen in every city and town on the island. You just have to know where to look. 

For example:

ガンダム is Gundam, the anime series about giant robots. In Chinese, Gundam is (or should be) 鋼彈, or Kāngtàn.

My daughter eyes a bag of custard-cream cakes from Kobayashi, a central Taiwan bakery that has been in business since 1950. Despite starting up in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War 國共內戰 and the retreat of the KMT to Taiwan, it appears the company saw fit to adopt a Japanese name instead of the Mandarin Hsiǎolín 小林.

Extolling the virtues of an ultra-concentrated specially-made milk tea, in a big way with a big sign.