So why was I banned from Formosa?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Formosa

For the first nine years of my diplomatic career I was banned from working in Taiwan. Or in State Department parlance, I was "precluded" from serving at either the main American Institute in Taipei (AIT) 美國在台協會 complex, or at the branch in Kaohsiung 高雄. The official reason given to me was that it was due to my having had a bank account while living in Taiwan, but this was so patently ridiculous that it isn't even worth calling it "bullshit". What was I supposed to have done with the small amounts of money I was earning there, keep it all stuffed in a proverbial mattress? One of my employers actually forced me to open a savings account at a particular bank branch if I wished to be paid. No, there was another reason(s) as to why I was considered a risk, but chances are I'll never find out the truth.

The prelusion was lifted early last year, just as mysteriously as it was first applied. Unfortunately, it's probably come too late in my career and too close to my forced retirement to ever utilize my prior life experience (i.e. before becoming a diplomat) with an assignment in Taiwan. I'm left wondering why the ban was ever established in the first place. I can only speculate, and I'm probably way, way off the mark, but I have my theories as to why I've never been posted to Taiwan or Japan (another place I become quite familiar with in those halcyon pre-State Department years). And that it's because I did things My Way.

Allow me to elaborate. The State Department values overseas experience, but only within certain frameworks. For example, there are many in the Foreign Service who served as Peace Corps volunteers. The Peace Corps, of course, is a U.S. government agency which recruits volunteers, trains them, gives them housing while they serve overseas and, if necessary, provides medical care and emergency evacuations. In a sense, Peace Corps alums have already been vetted by the U.S. government when they join the State Department. The same to some extent also applies to those who studied at foreign universities as part of exchange programs with their American colleges - their institutions handled most of the preparatory work involved with relocating abroad. Even experience with non-American governmental organizations is valued, provided it's through a friendly nation, such as the JET Program 外国語青年招致事業. There are a lot of former Assistant English Teachers working in the Foreign Service - all of them once fresh-faced college graduates who had their visas sorted out before traveling to Japan, and who were given training, assigned housing and provided with many other means of support (including a competitive pay package) during their time in the country. 

Now I'm far from anyone's idea of a rugged individualist - I hate camping, and have no idea how to start a fire without using matches or lighter fluid, nor how to catch a fish (let alone gut and cook one), to give just a few examples. Leave me to my own devices in a remote wilderness or in the middle of a desert, and I wouldn't last very long (sorry Bear Grylls). And one of the reasons I lasted so long living and working in Japan and Taiwan was due to the invaluable (and uncountable) advice and assistance I was given along the way, for which I'll forever be grateful. But at the same time, it wouldn't be too boastful of me to say I also did so much on my own. I moved overseas, found employment, located places to live, secured the necessary visa sponsorships, set up bank accounts and, once a certain level of language proficiency had been reached, saw doctors for various ailments all without the assistance and support of a sponsoring organization. One would think that kind of background and experience would count for a great deal in the State Department, but based on my career trajectory one would be very mistaken. 

Too much of a wild card in some faceless bureaucrat's calculations when it comes to determining who goes where? I'd like to think so. Because otherwise there would exist the possibility that there is something in someone else's background that raised some eyebrows somewhere. Wherever the truth may lie, I can only comfort myself with the conceit that it's the State Department's loss that I've never been given the opportunity to serve in either 日本 or 台灣. 

Despite almost a decade of being a diplomat, the feeling of being disconnected has never faded away. I've enjoyed the salary and the status, not to mention the opportunities for travel that come with the overseas assignments. I've lived in housing better than that of most citizens of the countries where I've served, and my daughter has been able to attend the sort of international schools I could never have afforded on an English teacher's wages. But at the same time, my pre-State existence seems to get in the way with being fully understood by some of my colleagues. When I mention that I used to work in Japan, it's always assumed I was in the JET Program, because aren't all English instructors (I wasn't)?. Or when asked what I did before entering the Foreign Service and answering that I used to teach English in Japan and Taiwan, the follow-up question has always revolved around which "international school" employed me (because what other kinds of schools are there overseas?). 

In the meantime jobs at the AIT will continue to go to "China watchers" who will invariably view Taiwan through a Chinese prism, while only occasionally venturing out of Taipei 台北 to visit the likes of Taroko Gorge 太魯閣 or Alishan 阿里山, living not only in a "Taipei bubble", but being further confined in a Neihu 內湖 or Tianmu 天母 bubble-within-a bubble. Bitter? Not me.

Well, perhaps a little bit. 

Now that that's out of my system (for the time being, anyway), here's a brief roundup of things going on since the last blog post. Several weeks into the Year of the Tiger 虎 many of our free-time activities seem to have an underlying Asian theme, such as the weekend afternoon we went out for lunch at Shu-E's favorite local Korean restaurant. With our Uber driver-in-training gaining more experience behind the wheel of a car, I can now indulge in some libations with which to wash down my meal:

Haemul Pajeon 해물파전*:

Located in the same shopping center as Yechon is a Korean bakery my family likes to patronize. Amber was amused to discover that drinking from these くまモン bottles involves having to temporarily decapitate the かわいい mascot:

Our Korean-themed afternoon continued with the short drive from the bakery to Lil Thingamajigs, a gift shop selling cute Asian...um, thingamajigs:

According to my daughter these cuddly characters represent the individual members of the South Korean boy band juggernaut BTS. Amber claims to not be a fan, but she suspiciously knows a lot about the group, supposedly because many of her classmates are fans:

I'm not ashamed to admit that one of my favorite shows on Netflix is Aggretsuko アグレッシブ烈子, though I'm a bit slow when it comes to watching and haven't yet started on the fourth season of episodes. Hard to believe this comes from the same company responsible for Hello Kitty:

In case you haven't figured it out, Annandale is home to a large Korean community. Still, tucked in amongst the Korean businesses is a bubble tea shop which appears to be suffering an identity crisis of sorts. Tea-Do sells all the usual Taiwanese-derived drinks, but is also a purveyor of the Japanese snack standby onigiri おにぎり. In addition, the store's name is written in kanji as 茶道, which is the word for the tea ceremony, and can be translated as the Way of Tea. The characters can be read as "Sadō" or "Chadō", and thus (presumably) explains the "-do" part in Tea-Do. But why the tortuous, hybrid English-Japanese name? Why not go with "Teaism", or use the ローマ字? For that matter, why Tea-Do? Why not Cha-Way or Sa-Way? 

My wife says I tend to overthink things:

One week into the Lunar New Year, and the celebrations were continuing at Eden Center:

Our daughter the flautist barely managing to contain her enthusiasm during a joint concert with the high school and middle school bands:

Another weekend, another Asian-centered activity. This time it was having lunch at Eerkin's Uyghur Cuisine in Fairfax, Virginia:

The food was excellent. Here I am dressed for the occasion munching on some Uyghur Lamb Kebabs:

 

We also ordered samsas, an eggplant salad and some chicken kebabs, but our main course was the Dapanchi Small - "chicken, potato, and spicy sauce served with homemade flat noodles". I joked that Shu-E should make it clear to the staff that she's from Taiwan and not China so that the chef wouldn't spit in our food. My wife doesn't appreciate my witty yet politically-insightful humor:

Afterward we took a stroll through Fairfax's compact Old Town area, passing by the 1800 Courthouse and the 1900 library:

Naturally, we finished up our Saturday outing at the H Mart Asian supermarket in Fairfax. My wife passed on the $31 "Taiwanfresh" Dragon Tiger Grouper:

Amber, however, didn't pass up an offer to have a mochi donut in the food court after shopping...:

…while I couldn't say no to the opportunity of sampling two Japanese craft beers I'd never seen before:

On the first day of the three-day Presidents' Day weekend we finally submitted to the endless series of commercials that had been running on local TV, and rode the metro to Foggy Bottom where, following lunch, we strolled over to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. En route we passed by the Watergate complex. Both my wife and daughter knew of the scandal, but Amber was less than impressed with the architecture, calling it "Soviet". The 1970's were a different time, my child:

Yes, we went to see Shen Yun 神韻, the performing arts company that's run by the Falun Gong religious group. I'm not going to comment on the beliefs and practices of 法轮大法, and won't delve into its persecution by the Chinese government. I do have a very interesting story related to Falun Dafa that occurred during my consular tour in Shanghai 上海, but due to ethical and professional reasons, I can't relate that tale on this forum. Buy me a beer sometime and I may tell you; otherwise you'll just have to wait until after I retire:

Standing in the Hall of States inside the Kennedy Center before the performance:

The first time I've worn a necktie since we returned to the U.S. from Ethiopia last July. The tie had been given to me by my staff as a farewell gift:

First, the negatives: Shen Yun describes its show as "China Before Communism", but it's a very romanticized vision, bereft of any references to authoritarian governments (at least of the non-Communist variety), grinding poverty, foot binding, warlords or any of the numerous other factors that made Chinese life in the centuries before 1949 miserable for the masses (not that things have been much better since, especially for those living on the fringes of the Chinese empire). There are also the mandatory references to "5000 years of history", even though confirmed historical events can be traced back "only" 3600 years or so (a still impressive figure!), with the rest getting fogged up in the mists of legend and myth. And because this is Falun Gong, there were certain underlying spiritual themes that could be grating at times, like the song lyrics equating "Atheism" and "evolution" with evil forces (though the singers delivering these gems had impressive sets of lungs). And the tickets were pretty expensive - almost a hundred dollars each for seats in the nose-bleed section.

But, there were also positives - namely, it was a very entertaining production (minus the political and religious segments). The dancers were very skilled, of course, and the costumes they wore were bright and colorful. My daughter the flutist took a particular interest in the music, performed by a live orchestra blending Chinese and Western instruments, while Shu-E seemed to enjoy the parts of the program related to familiar Chinese tales, like the Monkey King 孫悟空 and Lady Wang Zhaojun 王昭君. As for me, I was most impressed with the background/stage interaction - performers appeared to travel back and forth between the stage and the animated backdrop. Shen Yun is so proud of this they actually feature the U.S. Patent number in the program guide!

I would like to have shown you the system in action, but all photography and recording were prohibited during the performance. So here's the trailer instead:

So was it worth seeing? Not at the prices we paid, but it's been so long since I've been to a professional concert or a theatrical production I can't say if the ticket costs were in line with those of similar productions. As noted, there's a medium-to-heavy dose of politics and spiritualism that annoyed my wife, and which should be toned down if not completely eliminated. On the other hand, the presentation of a fantastic, mythical and romanticized 中国 of yore seemed to appeal to the non-Asian members of the audience (at least those in our section), so if the that's the kind of Middle Kingdom that comes to mind when you think of China, you would probably enjoy the show. I probably wouldn't see Shen Yun again, but I don't regret having seen what all the fuss is about (though I don't think I'll be reading The Epoch Times or watching the NTD channel much in preparation for going to Beijing):

Kennedy Center gift shop

Yesterday's Asia-related adventure started with lunch at Kimen Ramen & Izakaya in Annandale:  

The more comfortable Amber gets behind the wheel, the more confident I am when it comes to ordering a Sapporo draft サッポロ生ビール to go with my meal:

Karaage から揚げ, which along with Taiwanese popcorn chicken, is Asia's greatest contribution to fried foods:

I had the Original Ramen, and appreciated the generous portions of チャーシュー (roasted pork fillet), even if my heart may think otherwise:

It was after only after we paid the bill and were getting to leave did I notice this poster. Located close to floor level and directly across from the door to the women's restroom, I wasn't able to photograph it very well. It reads 満州国へ！！, or "Let's go to Manchukuo!!", and was printed by the Ministry of Colonial Affairs 拓務省. The wording on the right explains where to apply, though I'm not able to see all the characters due to the angle of the shot.

This is a reproduction of a recruiting poster for the Japanese colony/puppet state of Manchukuo, established after the invasion of Manchuria in September 1931, which many historians consider to be the opening shots of the Second World War. I can only assume the owners of Kimen aren't aware of what this poster is really about:

Following our revisionist lunch, we did some shopping at K Market International (yet another Asian supermarket, with an inviting-looking food court that could be worth checking out), then went into The Block, an Asian-themed food hall popular with the young and the terminally hip.  Despite it being a chilly 41°F/5°C outdoors (the only place we could find open seats), my daughter was determined to enjoy an ice cream for dessert:

Our last stop of the day before heading home was to get a couple of teas at Ben Gong's Tea 本宮的茶 ("Her Majesty's Tea), an experience that amused Amber to no end. It wasn't the multilingual writing on the sides of the cups that cracked her up (in Chinese - 東方好茶 "Oriental Good Tea" and 本宮出品 "Presented by the Palace"; in Japanese オリエンタルティー "Oriental Tea")…:

....it was what was written on the lids. She was inspired to look up the company's website to the section on "About Ben Gong's Tea", where it goes on to further explain things in terms of "auspicious meanings", "the traditional embroidery pattern of the royal court" and "China's traditional culture and artistic attainment". Already at 16 she's becoming aware of how to manipulate white folks and their stereotypical views of Asian cultures. It makes her father proud.

She also learned what a "Chi-Lin" 麒麟 is:

Presidents' Day - instead of celebrating the holiday by buying a new mattress at a low, low sale price that can't be beat, the daughter and I took a 90-minute, 3.6-mile (5.8 kilometers) walk along the Magruder Branch Trail in the Damascus Regional Park in Damascus, Maryland. I drove us out there, but Amber sat behind the wheel for the trip back home, including a stop at a Red Robin for lunch. Setting the GPS to avoid both highways (her preference) and tolls (mine) gave her around 75 additional minutes of practice time in the driver's seat:

We ended the afternoon at Mr. Wish, a Taichung 台中-based bubble tea chain with an outlet at Eden Center (of course):

And so ends this latest post, and with it, any chances of ever working in Japan and Taiwan. Actually, my real dream assignment would be an opportunity to be posted in Pyongyang, but that's a story fantasy for another time. Until the next rant...

In the interests of fairness:

*No, I can't read hangul