Over hill, over dale

I haven't blogged in a while because, well, I haven't felt like it lately. Part of the reason is due to the effects of a bad cold that I've yet to shake off. But even more so is the personal strain I've been under of late, which combined with my less-than-stellar health condition to make for an especially miserable weekend this past Saturday and Sunday. Which is probably why it was imperative to get out of the apartment this afternoon and do something before my mind snaps. That something was to head for the hills of Dà​kēng 大坑 after work. That in itself isn't unusual, for I often go hiking in that area on Tuesday afternoons. What was different about today was the route I took. Instead of the usual ascend-one-trail-descend-another routine, I went out all out this afternoon. Parking my scooter at the trailhead for the No. 2, I walked along the road for about 15 minutes to where the No. 1 Trail starts. Upon climbing the No. 1, I proceeded to walk the entire length of the ridgetop, descending via the No. 4 Trail, from where it was a long walk back to my parked scooter. It took about four hours to do (well, three hours and fifty-five minutes, to be exact), but for those 235 minutes all cares, troubles and worries were forgotten, and everything seemed right with the universe. Part of the reason for doing all this was to get my flabby body into some sort of fighting shape for my trip next month to Hiroshima 広島, where I plan to do some hiking and long-distance cycling. But mostly it was to get away from everybody and everything, and for nearly 4 hours, the mission was accomplished.

Despite the warm, sometimes sunny, weather, views were non-existent as a result of the haze.

Lots of lizards were out and about this afternoon.

Two hikers examine the "Taiwan 5 Leaves Giant Pine" 巨木臺灣五葉松. The man in the white shirt was smoking a cigarette, the second hiker I saw this afternoon enjoying a fine tobacco product. The thinner the air, the smoother the smoke.

 Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags, a common sight in Taiwan.

All afternoon I had been wondering if I was going to see any monkeys. As I was reaching the end of the No. 4 Trail, I finally encountered a lone Taiwanese macaque 台灣獼猴. Believe it or not, I thought it was a cat at first. A poodle passing by didn't even notice the presence of the macaque next to the staircase, which just goes to show that as dogs go, poodles are one of the more useless breeds.

Today's route. Next time I may do everything in reverse.

Oh Sakura Up Yours!

"Zhongzheng (Road) Sunset"? No, not even a master songwriter such as Ray Davies would be able to find enough beauty in this typical scene to compose a beautiful song. The only thing moving about this image was the traffic.

As the Beatles once sang, I should've known better, but I couldn't help myself. The first warning sign on what is normally a quiet Tuesday afternoon was the unusual number of cars driving along Dōng​shān Road 東山路 headed toward the Dà​kēng 大坑 hiking area. The next one came when the cars started proceeding up the narrow mountain road towards the trail heads. Taking the long way around in an attempt to avoid this mysterious flow of traffic, I was surprised to find the parking lot for Trail No. 1 to be close to capacity. Even stranger was the number of cars parked alongside the road, again an extremely unusual sight for a non-holiday period weekday afternoon:

I couldn't imagine what had brought all these people out to go hiking, so I rode on to see what was going on. Just ahead the main access road leading down to Dōng​shān Road was blocked off with traffic cones, but I plunged between them on my scooter. The road became further clogged with parked vehicles, and groups of people walking alongside, with few of them looking like hikers. It wasn't long before the mystery was solved:

Cherry blossoms - what the Taiwanese call yīng​huā 櫻花, but which are more famously known in much of the rest of the world by their Japanese name, sakura 桜. This hillside is apparently a new addition to the Dà​kēng scene, for I had never noticed their presence in this area in previous years. Continuing my descent to Dōng​shān felt like descending Dante's nine circles of hell - each turn along the narrow road brought with it more parked vehicles, more cars and scooters making their way uphill and more clusters of people on foot:

While 95% of the vehicular and human traffic was ascending, I unfortunately found myself stuck behind a car that was attempting to make its way against the flow. It wasn't long before it hit a bottleneck - with cars parked along both sides of the road, there was only enough space for one car at a time to pass through. And as there was an unending stream of automobiles and scooters heading up, the driver in front was stuck (as far as I know, he might still be up there!), as was I waiting behind. After an interminable wait, I saw my chance - a gap in traffic just big enough for a scooter to squeeze through, which I proceeded to do. After a lot of careful maneuvering I finally reached Dōng​shān Road. What would normally have taken less than five minutes to ride down (or up) took somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-40 minutes!

Needless to say, hiking on the No. 1 Trail was out of the question this afternoon, even if most of the sightseers were there just to see the flowers. So I rode over to the parking lot for the Nos. 9 and 10 Trails. It wasn't surprising to see these paths busier than usual for a Tuesday - many people probably stopped by for some exercise on their way back from the sakura, and no doubt there were some frustrated hikers like myself coming here as part of their Plan B's. As a result, a number of the stalls which sell fruits, vegetables and various sundries (even shoes!) were open for business, as if it were a weekend and not a weekday afternoon:

In Taiwan, hiking and shopping go together like chocolate and peanut butter in a Reese's.

And now the rant (as if you weren't expecting one, right?). Why? Why do the good people of Taiwan, knowing full well that the crowds are going to be dense, that the traffic is going to be gridlocked, that they will have to park their cars hundreds of meters away (if not further) and walk (something they normally don't like doing), placing their bodies in jeopardy from the vehicular traffic passing by them just inches away, do so anyway? Is it really worth all the aggravation, noise and chaos (for there was precious little traffic control being done by the police this afternoon) just to see some pretty flowers on a small hillside? The actual area of blooming cherry trees wasn't that much bigger than in the photograph above - it isn't that much of an exaggeration to say that people outnumbered blossoms . To quote an old Discharge song, why, why, why but why?

If I had to hazard a guess, at least regarding this afternoon's scene, I would say the answer is accessibility. Taiwan isn't like Japan, where the sakura can be seen over most of the country, and the cherry blossom front (sakurazensen) 桜前線 is avidly tracked by many. For the most part on this island, people have to head into the mountains to see the flowers, and they do so, in droves (Ālǐshān 阿里山 being one of the places best avoided during this time of year). That isn't to say that Japan doesn't have crowd issues as well - the most popular spots for seeing sakura, such as Yoshino 吉野, are in danger of subsiding from the sheer number of visitors. But there are also more flowers to be seen in the famous places compared to Dà​kēng, and Japanese society being what it is, the chaos is better organized. But what was especially satisfying in Japan was the fact that it was rarely necessary to have to travel that far to see sakura - just a short distance by bicycle from where my wife and I lived in Yokkaichi 四日市 there was a cherry tree-lined stream that became a riot of pink and white petals in the early spring. There we were able to cycle under the cherry blossom canopy without having to dodge cars, motorcycles and people. If such a place existed in Taiwan, it would look very much like Dà​kēng did today. 

And I can only imagine what it will look like this weekend, especially on Sunday. To paraphrase Herbert Morrison: Oh, the idiocy!

Segue time: speaking of flowers, a local orchid did good in Japan, as this Yomiuri Shimbun 読売新聞 article in today's Daily Yomiuri ザ・デリー読売 explains:

"Spring Fire," a Rhynchostylis gigantea orchid grown by a flower producer in Taiwan, has won the Merit Award in the Individual Division of the Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival 2012.

Ching Hua Orchids Co. was the only foreign company to win an award in this year's Individual Division. The flower was also awarded the Royal Horticultural Society Trophy.

"Spring Fire" has deep green leaves and purple petals, and produces a strong fragrance. It was raised over 15 years by company President Kao Shui En, 66, and his 40-year-old son, Kao Chi Ching, the company's manager.

"As Japan was hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake 東北地方太平洋沖地震 last year, we were concerned whether [the festival] would be held this year. We're glad it was and that the flower my father and I raised received high prizes," Kao Chi Ching said.

Chris Rehmann, chairman of the American Orchid Society and head of the awards committee, praised the orchid's color, brightness and size, saying they exceeded those of prizewinning orchids in the past.

The annual festival is organized by The Yomiuri Shimbun, NHK 日本放送協会 and others. It opened Saturday at Tōkyō Dome 東京ドーム in Bunkyō Ward 文京区, Tōkyō 東京 and will continue through Sunday. 

Here's a photograph of "Spring Fire":

http://taiwantoday.tw/public/Data/222013452671.jpg / http://taiwantoday.tw/mp.asp?mp=9

Fried on 'shrooms

I've been scanning the skies all day, but I still haven't seen any flying pigs. The weather forecast on TV says nothing about snowstorms in Hell. And yet something is different in this world. The China Post newspaper ran an editorial in today's edition that is, dare it be said, "even handed", "levelheaded", "insightful", nay even "rational". The piece in question, Makiyo case gives us no right to waiver in xenophobia fight, hasn't been posted on the newspaper's website yet (Update: click here), but here are some of its salient points:

(in reference to the group of taxi drivers who protested in front of the Japan Interchange Association 財団法人交流協会 demanding an apology for a "Japanese national beating up a Taiwanese person in his country")

What grounds did these drivers think they had for picketing the JIA? The next time a Taiwanese person commits a crime in Japan, should the Taiwanese authorities apologize? When a government commits an illegal or offensive act, governments and civic groups have the right to protest. But individual actions by individual citizens are just that. Protesting the Japanese government's handling of claims by former "comfort women" 慰安婦 is valid; connecting the Japanese representative office to the alleged assault perpetrator Takateru Tomoyori is not.

It's hard not to view the protest in front of the JIA as an expression of xenophobia. There were also hints of anti-Japanese sentiment on news sites, blogs or on social media sites where people made statements that strayed perilously close to racism; some comments crossed the line completely.

It should be remembered that hardly a week goes by in Taiwan without a news story about some alcohol-fueled dispute that turns violent. Our nation has plenty of thugs and gangsters as well as plenty of ignorant or even evil people. This is true across the world, in every country on the planet.

The editorial then notes that about 200 Japanese expatriates living in Taiwan have raised around NT100,000 ($3380) in a fundraising campaign for the taxi driver who was assaulted:

These Japanese people living in Taiwan are not connected to the offender in any way, and are not by virtue of being Japanese collectively guilty. But their generous actions should help demonstrate that there are kind individuals in every society, just as the alleged attacker's senseless violence demonstrates that there are uncivilized people in every society.

Whenever racism or xenophobia rears its ugly head it must be confronted and denounced. The fact cannot be overstated: the actions of Takateru Tomoyori have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he is Japanese.

Wow. What is happening at The China Post? Has its editorial board finally realized that we are in the 21st century, that the Sino-Japanese War 中國抗日戰爭 has been over for 77 years and that Taiwan is part of a worldwide community and not merely an extension of Greater China 大中華地區? Or is the editorial an aberration, with the paper returning to business as usual in future editions? We'll have to wait and see.

This commentary should, in theory, persuade my female fan club (consisting of exactly one member) that xenophobia in Taiwan is not the sole possession of a group of Democratic Progressive Party 民主進步黨 supporters living in the southern part of the island (of whom she labels as "hicks" in a misunderstanding of the meaning of the word in its American context). I doubt it will have much of an effect, however.

Which brings to us to mushrooms. This afternoon, as usual, I headed to the hills of Dà​kēng 大坑 to do some walking. This time, though, I took a different way from my usual routes. Approaching the area from the rear (via Zhōng​xīng 中興), I parked my scooter at the No. 5 trailhead. However, instead of taking that path, I walked up an access road that eventually joined the staircase that runs along the top of the ridge. The sky wasn't as clear as it was yesterday, but the Central Mountain Range 中央山脈 could still be seen in the distance:

I walked along the ridgetop until the path reached the junction where it meets the No. 3 Trail. However, instead of taking a right and descending the No. 3, I took a left, which led to a paved road that wound its way downhill in the direction of Xīn​shè 新社. After a few minutes, the path passed by the Celestial Holy Mother 天上聖母 Temple, which offered more views of the mountains on the other side:

In all the years I've been tramping around these hills, the main hall of the temple has remained the only part of the complex with any ornamentation. The rest of the temple buildings continue on in a rough concrete state of limbo, hinting perhaps of difficulties in raising funds to complete construction. In any event, the lighting for taking pictures was much better from the rear than it was from the front:

Continuing down the lane, I passed by a number of buildings covered in black wrappings. Xīn​shè is noted locally its mushrooms, and the dark conditions are ideal for their cultivation:

Eventually, the lane came to the main road, with the choice of turning right for the hot spring town of Gǔguān 谷關, or going left and heading back in the direction of Taichung 台中, Fēng​yuán 豐原 and Dōng​shì 東勢. As if there were any choice in the matter. Before turning I passed by some cherry trees in early bloom 櫻花:

The road leading back toward Taichung was surprisingly busy for a non-holiday Tuesday afternoon...surprising, that is, until I remembered that today is Valentine's Day. Sure enough, there were a lot of young couples out for a drive (as well as other things that shall be left unmentioned). The road was lined with mushroom vendors selling their, ahem, suggestive food items:

In the end, I gave in to temptation, and bought a packet of fried mushrooms for NT50 ($1.70) from a small roadside eatery to munch on during the walk back to my parked scooter:

And that was how I spent my Valentine's Day - alone in the mountains. But don't feel sorry for me - my daughter this evening presented me with a lovely handmade card that read "For Amber's favorite Daddy", which is definitely the best gift any father could want on Feb. 14.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Monkey see

2012 is going to be an "unnerving year for Northeast Asia", according to the editorial writers at the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ. Elections are going to be held in Russia, South Korea, the United States and, of course, here, the results of which could bring about substantial changes in regional politics and relations:

"The first ballots will take place in Taiwan, where both presidential and parliamentary elections will be held together for the first time on Jan. 14. President Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九, who took office four years ago, is battling Democratic Progressive Party 民主進步黨 nominee Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文, and at this point the race is too close to call.

The most notable feature of the Ma presidency has been the calming of cross-strait relations and there is a fear that a Tsai victory will roil the relationship as did the last DPP president, Mr. Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁, who was forthright in his support for Taiwan independence. Ms. Tsai has tried to dampen concern but the Beijing government worries that lightning will strike twice.

Nonetheless, a Tsai win could prove destabilizing. Not only because Beijing fears a DPP victory, but because China is undergoing a leadership transition of its own as President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao turn over their offices to the fifth generation. Authoritarian societies are inflexible at the best of times, and changes at the top, even if planned, exacerbate hardline tendencies as followers jockey for position.

There is little inclination on the mainland to tolerate Taiwan's democratic foibles, but China has learned to be low key with its complaints, recognizing that overt intervention is only likely to antagonize Taiwanese voters. No one wants cross-strait relations to deteriorate — and they do not have to, regardless of the election outcome — but the congruence of two leadership changes is likely to generate friction regardless of intent."

The best outcome for Taiwan would be a Tsai victory over the corrupt, blood-stained Chinese Nationalists, aka the Kuomintang  中國國民黨. However, what Taiwan needs is often not what the major players in Northeast Asia desire. "Stability" is the operative word here, and stability means having a Taiwanese leader who would do his best to keep the Chinese placated. Tsai may be the right choice, for both moral and historical reasons (she would be the island's first female president if elected), but there is no guarantee the Taiwanese electorate will make the right call. Just as large segments of the working poor in the United States continually cast their ballots for Republicans in congressional and presidential elections, so too do many Taiwanese voters vote against their own best interests. These people might strongly identify with Taiwan and not with China, yet they continue to elect (and reelect) KMT candidates. The lure of pork barrel politics often triumphs over concerns for the dangerous erosion of national identity. 

Fortunately for Taiwan, we'll be out of the country on election day. Due to complex Freudian family relationships, my wife is a strong supporter of the KMT, but thanks to the lack of absentee voting here, she won't be able to cast a ballot before we leave for the U.S. That's one less vote for the blue side. I'm not allowed to participate in the electoral process here (nor would I want to), but I've done what I can to help ;-)

Politics is a noisy business in Taiwan, but at least I was able to escape some of that this afternoon by fleeing to the mountains of Dakeng 大坑. I took an easy walk along Trail No. 5 - easy in the sense that I usually approach this trail by first climbing the No. 1 (or No. 2) Trail, then finish the hike by descending the No. 2 (or No. 1), which makes for over 2½ hours of steady progression. Today, however, I cut out the steep ascent/descent by approaching the start of the No. 5 Trail from the rear, by way of Zhongxing Mt. 中興嶺. This effectively lopped off around 90 minutes from my usual trek, but as I prefer the longer sojourns, I'll revert to the traditional approaches the next I do the No. 5. As it was, much as changed on the trail since my last visit. New wooden staircases have been constructed, and in some places the path has been widened. There were more people than usual on this trail today, perhaps because of the easier accessibility. Shorter walking times, easier trails and the lack of good views - though it was sunny and warm in Dakeng this afternoon, haze obscured both the city of Taichung 台中  to the west, and the Central Mountain Range 中央山脈 to the east - could have made for a disappointing day out.

Thank god for the monkeys. While walking along the ridge past the point where the No. 1 Trail joins the top, I had to answer the call of nature. Venturing off into the forest to take care of business, I heard the familiar grunts and sounds of heavy movements through the trees. In the distance, behind an orchard, were several monkeys cavorting in the foliage. They were too far way for me to get any decent photos, but I was close enough that they noticed my presence, and were shaking the branches at me in an effort to scare me off. After watching them from afar for a while, I returned to the trail, and in just a matter of moments, came across a small group of four macaques 台灣獼猴. These ones were much closer, and while leery, nevertheless made no attempt to run off. As I result, I was able to take these shots and videos:

No matter how many times I encounter macaques while hiking in Dakeng, I never get tired of stopping to watch them. I'm fortunate that I have time on a weekday afternoon to hit the hills, for on weekends, when the noisy hordes swamp the trails, I'm pretty certain the monkeys retreat into the depths of the forest. I'm not particularly happy about having to live where I am, but I do appreciate the chances to interact with nature that I have in my area. It helps to keep me sane, and I'll need all the sanity I can preserve if Ma gets another four years to try and bring this island closer to China.

Merry critters

For some reason, there were lots of big, green grasshoppers to be seen along Trail 6 in the Dakeng 大坑 area this afternoon. Perhaps the cooler temperatures are making them lethargic, because it was very easy to get up close to them. It must be a good time of year to be a bird. It definitely is a good time of year to hit the trails, as the afternoons are warm, the air is dry and the skies are sunny and relatively clear:

The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ has an interesting article in its Tuesday edition on the experiences of an American who was at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant 福島第一原子力発電所 on March 11 when the earthquake and tsunami struck 東北地方太平洋沖地震 (3/11 memories haunt American at No. 1 plant). There's a local connection as the man is based in Taiwan, and is married to a Taiwanese woman. 

Dance for me, Monkey Boy

I went for a hike on the No. 1 Trail in the Tak'eng 大坑 area on Tuesday, and had the pleasure of seeing at least three Formosan Rock Macaques (Tái​wān mí​hóu) 台灣獼猴 cavorting among the treetops. They were too far away for me to get any decent photos or videos, but I did give it a try:

I also came across a couple of magnificent snakes. One was a very long brown beauty that was slithering off into the underbrush as I was making my way up the mountain. Unfortunately, it moved too quickly for me to get a picture. The other one wasn't as impressive physically, but was more cooperative when it came to photographing and filming:

Something that wasn't as pleasurable was having to read this article in the Taipei Times on Saturday. As Michael Turton points out in The View from Taiwan:

"The yammerhead who got in a pissing contest over a 25 NT towel (for pete's sake) may end up causing trouble for other foreigners. Foreigners need to remember: you might not think you're part of a community, but the Taiwanese will treat you that way."

That's Asia for you. You're constantly being reminded of how different you are...until a problem arises, and then you're part of the team (of course, nobody remembered to inform you of the rules of the game beforehand).

However, there are several things about this story that bother me other than the fact that some idiot blew a gasket over something trivial as a towel, and forgot the old adage about being an ambassador abroad. Namely, that:

1.) Why is this even a media story in the first place? Would any news outlets have covered this if a foreigner hadn't been involved? I once saw a (Taiwanese) woman going ballistic over NT20 at a bus station, yelling at the top of her lungs and threatening to sue the bus company, before finally getting her way, yet I never saw anything about it in the papers or on TV. Of course, she wasn't allegedly moonlighting as a stripper. At least, not that I know of. Good god, I hope she wasn't, judging from the way she looked;

2.) Why are local politicians getting involved? Elected officials in Taiwan are notorious for fighting and grandstanding, and it's clear in this case that Councilor Hung was relishing the opportunity to get some quality time in the media spotlight. There's a tendency in Taiwan for people to drag local politicians into the smallest of disputes, as I know from personal experience (more on that later);

3.) Hung's involvement in the matter highlights the darker side of the Democratic Progressive Party 民進黨. The DPP may be the morally right party on the issue of Taiwan's identity, but it's also the political organization of choice for the betel-nut chewing, blue truck-driving yahoos of not-so-cosmopolitan Taiwan (every country has its Bubbas). Xenophobia goes down well with this voting bloc;

4.) In all the hubbub over Towelgate, where is "Mr. Eric's" side of the story? Certainly, Councilor Hung didn't bother ascertaining what "Mr. Eric" had to say, but that's understandable as foreigners can't vote (but "Mr. Wu" can). What's harder to digest is why the reporter, Mo Yan-chih, didn't attempt to track down "Mr. Eric" in order to find out what he had to say about the altercation. The Taipei Times may be superior to the China Post, but it has shown a serious lack of professionalism in this case. Assuming the local is right and going to print with the story isn't good journalism;

5.) Finally, there's that line about "not allow(ing)...any acts of disrespect toward Taiwanese". What exactly constitutes "disrespect"? Does that mean that we as foreigners are not supposed to get into any arguments or disputes with locals, lest we cause the latter to "lose face"? I guess we're just supposed to put up and shut up in these situations, otherwise the outraged native will contact his/her local politician, and the whole affair will risk turning into a media circus. It's "dance for me, monkey boy" as parents point out the foreigner to their children as if we were attractions in a zoo. "Disrespect" is a one-way street here.

A few months ago, I was riding on my scooter through a green light at an intersection, when a woman came flying through her red light and hit me. Neither of us was hurt, and both our bikes were undamaged, but I did lose my temper and let loose a few obscenities at the stupid bitch traffic law violator. I thought that was that, but the next thing I knew, I was being summoned to the local police station, and watched helplessly as various relatives (mine and hers) argued over what had happened, while a (you guessed it) local politician tried to settle everyone down.

Things got worse. We ended up in court, as she tried to sue me for damages to her and her scooter, but not before the woman and her gangster-looking fiance tried to shake down my brother-in-law for cash (no dice). Before an arbitrator, the woman tried to claim that I was the one who went through a red light, and not her. Unbeknownst to our heroine, I had a copy of the police report stating that she was the one who had failed to stop at a red traffic signal, and the surveillance camera video footage clearly showing the woman riding past stopped scooters and through the red light, into the intersection and then into me (my light was clearly green in the video). She got nothing.

But here's the kicker. One of her complaints was that I needed to apologize to her for having "failed to respect Taiwanese women". I refused to agree to any settlement until that part of the complaint was removed. I pointed out to the arbitrator that this was a minor traffic accident between two individuals and not an international incident involving overbearing barbarians and helpless Taiwanese virgins. The arbitrator agreed with me and lectured the woman on this matter before she reluctantly agreed to withdraw that part of her complaint.

It was a long, needless hassle over a mere fender bender, but the look on that woman's face as she walked out of the courtroom with nothing to show for her stupidity was almost worth all the trouble.

And for those of you whose reading comprehension skills need polishing, I'm not denying that "Mr. Eric" was a total jerk.

As for Councilor Hung, lets get together sometime so I can really demonstrate to you how a foreigner can show disrespect towards a Taiwanese. I certainly wouldn't mind a free one-way plane ticket back to my home country! :-)

Monkey businesss

The view from my daughter's room this morning. Before you get all gushy about the sight of the egrets in the rice fields, keep in mind that just out of the picture frame to the right there is a factory belonging to a biotechnology company.

Japan Today has noticed that Seedig Bale, the upcoming film about the Wushe Incident 霧社事件, the last major uprising against Japan's colonial rule of Taiwan, has been getting a lot of attention on this island ("Film on uprising against Japan gets rare honor in Taiwan"):

"Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng 魏德聖 will lead scores of aboriginal actors to attend a gala premiere in T'aipei 台北 of his historical epic 'Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale' 賽德克‧巴萊.

The epic about a 1930 aboriginal uprising against Taiwan’s Japanese rulers is currently up for best feature film at the Venice Film Festival.

The Taipei  premiere will be held Sunday at a square facing the Presidential Office Building 總統府 in honor of the island’s first epic film production in decades.

Speaking to reporters in Venice, Wei said the film’s nomination shows 'arts and culture can have a greater power than politics.'

The comments are seen as a mild criticism over the Venice festival’s listing of the film as coming from Taiwan, China — a reference that makes the self-governed, democratic island seem like it comes under Beijing’s rule."

"Mild" is the operating word here. There is no logical reason at all for the film festival organizers to insist that Taiwan be identified as "Taiwan, China", or that only flags of nations with which Italy has diplomatic relations can be displayed in Venice. Unless, that is, you accept that caving in to Chinese pressure is a "logical" act. It would be great if Taiwan's stars (musicians, actors, filmmakers and so on) could stand together and speak with one voice in condemning these ridiculous demands from China, but their reactions are rarely strongly-worded, and many meekly compromise rather than risk Beijing's ire. It's understandable, of course, why they do so - Taiwan is a small country, with correspondingly small rewards, while China offers so much more, as the gateway to the Greater China market. Which is perhaps why Wei chose to complete his film about the Wushe Incident following the runaway success of Cape No. 7 海角七號. The latter movie dared to portray World War Two-era Japanese as sympathetic human beings and not imperialistic warmongers, and its release in China was first delayed, and then shown with some scenes censored. It wouldn't be surprising if Seediq Bale is much more warmly received by the Chinese authorities.

Here in Taiwan, the reactionary China Post newspaper 英文中國郵報 has certainly been looking forward to the film's release, and tonight's showing in the square opposite the building where President Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九 of the Kuomintang 國民黨 works smacks of cynicism. A couple of years ago, when the KMT was the opposition party, a large banner of the Wushe Incident leader Mona Rudao was hung from the party headquarters building in Taipei. Though it is doubtful that Mona Rudao was fighting to liberate his people from Japanese rule in order to help "reunite" Taiwan with the Chinese "motherland", that hasn't stopped the Chinese Nationalists from trying to co-opt him in order to make themselves appear more "Taiwanese". Perhaps Wei's next film could be about aborigines struggling to preserve their culture in the face of post-1945 KMT Sinicization efforts.

Meanwhile, here in the real world, the Kaminoge family spent the afternoon in T'aichung's 台中 Tak'eng 大坑 area, first to check out an "alternative" elementary school for Amber (she'll start first grade next year - more on that in future blog posts)...:

Amber on the school grounds

...and then to visit what the Mandarin signs called a "Monkey Area" 猴區. There, we saw a lot of Formosan Macaques 台灣獼猴 doing a lot of different things, such as drinking water...:

...checking themselves out in mirrors:

...grooming:

...eating:

...and swimming:

In short, there were a lot of macaques.

The great thing about the monkey area was that the macaques were not penned in. Instead, they are drawn to the area by free handouts of fruit, and we were fortunate in that we arrived there just in time for their evening feeding. Once they had had their fill, the monkeys returned to the forest. In fact, we were told that there were fewer monkeys than usual today, because many of the others were deep in the mountains gorging themselves on longans 龍眼, which are currently in season, and which Amber also loves. While it is questionable to bait the macaques with food in order to bring them into close contact with people, the operators of the monkey area do seem to be making a conscientious effort to prevent visitors from attempting to feed the macaques, and to keep the monkeys from getting too close to the tourists. The monkeys are free to roam their Dakeng homeland, and so far, at least, display little of the aggressiveness that the monkeys on Kaohsiung's 高雄 Ch'aishan 柴山 mountain are increasingly becoming infamous for.

My own little monkey certainly enjoyed herself today:

From a trilingual restaurant menu:

Typhoon? What typhoon?

It isn't even a typhoon, anymore - Nanmadol was downgraded to a tropical storm, and while it did dump a lot of water on the southern and eastern parts of the island (see BBC article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14705194), central Taiwan was spared. Typhoons being the unpredictable beasts that they are, however, the decision was made Sunday evening to close public schools in our area, which in turn led the owner of the cram school where I'm employed to close up shop today. So, while my wife had to work and Amber still went to her (private) kindergarten, I was free all this morning and afternoon.

Upon finding myself with some unexpected free time, and with the family car at my disposal (I'm usually the one stuck with the scooter), I decided to do the logical thing on this typhoon day - go for a hike. Arriving in the Tak'eng 大坑 area around ten a.m., I started up the No. 2 Trail, and almost immediately came across of a small troop of Formosan macaques 台灣獼猴. They were too far away, and were moving too quickly through the trees, for me to get a picture of them, but I took the sighting to be an auspicious sign. And it turned out to be as much on this three-hour hike, at least as far as the weather was concerned. With the exception of a few sprinkles at the beginning, the rain stayed away, and there were plenty of cool breezes as I made my way up the No. 2, across the No. 5 and down the No. 2 and back to the parked car. I still managed to sweat profusely, however.

I may not have been able to get any pictures of the monkeys, but I did get a shot of this colorful bird sitting all alone in a rest area atop the No. 2 Trail:

The bird made no attempt to flee, so I don't know if it was hurt, or just somebody's pet waiting for its master to return. In any event, it was nice to finally have one of these rest shacks to myself - they're usually commandeered by large groups of noisy picnickers, or nappers:

Considering the weather, and the fact that it was a Monday morning, there were more people out on the trails than I had expected. Still, most of the pavilions along the paths were empty, so I was able to stop and take in the view in places:

Looking toward the Central Mountain Range 中央山脈 from the No. 5 Trail. Those mountains often act as a buffer between central Taiwan and the typhoons that frequently batter the east coast:

This small snake kindly paused long enough for me to take a picture:

At one point, as I was descending the No. 5 Trail, I encountered an unusual sight. A middle-aged woman and two middle-aged men, all three dressed in black and wearing white headbands, were standing in a clearing on the trail. The woman was chanting something, while the men stood behind her with hands clasped in prayer and holding banners with Chinese characters written in ink on them. Watching the proceedings was another obasan, this one in regular clothing. My wife thinks that someone may have met their untimely end in that particular location, and that the figures in black were attempting to call the soul back "home". I didn't feel that it would have been appropriate to have stopped and taken a picture, so I continued on my way past them. I don't like taking photographs of people without their permission, though in special circumstances like this one, I would have tried for a long-distance shot (the bend in the trail combined with the tree cover prevented me from doing so). The next time I'm on this trail I'll have to keep a watch out for ghosts!

Looking down on the town of Hsinshe 新社:

I was told by another middle-aged woman standing nearby that this photo of an orb-weaver spider was "hen p'iaoliang" 很漂亮, or "very beautiful". I'm assuming she meant the spider, and not the quality of the photograph:

I generally don't enjoy "typhoon days". For someone like myself who is paid on an hourly basis, it can mean a loss of income for the day. Today, however, I was at least able to get out and get some exercise, which is much preferable to being stuck indoors waiting for a storm to blow through. Tomorrow is my usual hiking day, so we'll have to wait and see what Mother Nature has in store for Tuesday.

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."

On the back roads of Dakeng

This afternoon I took a ride on my scooter past the mountains of Dà​kēng​ 大坑 and into the hamlets of Chūng​hsīng​lǐng​ 中興嶺 and Hsīn​shè 新社​. While exploring, I found two back roads leading up to rear of the hiking trails - one that takes you right to the start of the 5-1 spur trail, and the other to the spot where the No. 3 joins the ridgetop No. 5 Trail. These new (to me) routes would certainly save a lot of hiking time, but as I relish the challenge of climbing up from the bottom (call me a traditionalist), I'll stay with the longer trails that I know best.

It's surprising how close the city of Tái​chūng 臺中​ is to the mountains. In less than 40 minutes of riding from Tūng​shān​ Road 東山路, I'd left the urban area far behind, and found myself facing the central mountains. On weekends, this area can be busy with Sunday drivers, but on this Tuesday afternoon I had the roads to myself most of time. It wasn't too difficult to figure out what the main cash crop (and tourist lure) was up there:

Despite being relatively far from the ocean, there was a surprising number of boats, and boat-related "objects", to be seen:

In addition to farms (leisure and otherwise), there were spas, restaurants and cafes, "homestays" (mín​sù​ 民宿), campgrounds, plum blossom viewing spots and military bases. I probably shouldn't have mentioned the last, but oh well...

The scenery was striking in several places, but unfortunately the haziness of this afternoon prevented the views from being as magnificent as they could (and should) have been:

My time was limited this afternoon, and there were plenty of interesting-looking side roads to explore, so no doubt I'll be back.

Speaking of being back, in central Tái​chūng (hey, it's all one big city now!), I took these photos of action Japanese:

A factory making miso 味噌, the traditional Japanese seasoning.

This odd poster on the wall of a gas station is from the city's Hsī​t'ún​​ District 西屯區 officials, urging the citizens to keep the area clean. For some strange reason, they give the Japanese pronunciations of several characters, presumably as part of a catchy slogan, though with a couple of errors: 清掃 should be "seisou" (""seisō"), while the reading of 教養 is "kyoyo" ("kyōyō").

 

 

(Above) The English promises a world of ecstasy, but the Japanese merely welcomes you to come in and shop; (Below) It's strong! It's new! It's now selling!

It isn't just language that's employed to make a store or business appear cooler. Sometimes place names are utilized, as in the example above. Omotesandō 表参道 is an upscale shopping district in Tōkyō 東京.