Is history repeating itself?

It was an afternoon of tarantula-paralyzing wasps, slithering gray snakes, jumping green grasshoppers and dilapidated Taoist temples in the hills of Hsint'ien 新田 this afternoon.

The Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島 are back in the news again, and the Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 has the AP story ("Japan arrests Taiwan captain in disputed waters"):

"Japan's coast guard has arrested a Taiwanese fishing boat captain who refused an inspection and sparked a six-hour chase through disputed waters in the East China Sea 東シナ海, officials said Monday. Wang Wei-shin, 44, was taken into custody late Sunday on suspicion of illegally fishing and violating Japanese waters near a chain of disputed islands claimed by Japan, Taiwan and China, according to Japan Coast Guard 海上保安庁 spokesman Shinichiro Tanaka. Japanese authorities took Wang to nearby Ishigaki island 石垣島 for questioning after negotiations with Taiwan's coast guard, Tanaka said, adding that a crew member was also being held as a witness. The boat was also carrying nine people Tanaka referred to as 'fishing tourists' and they were released to Taiwanese authorities. Patrol vessels spotted the 50-ton Formosa Chieftain No. 2 just off the northern coast of Japan's Minna island 水納島, a tiny southern island about 110 miles (175 kilometers) southeast of uninhabited disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu 魚釣 in Chinese. 'Had the skipper stopped his boat at our request, the case wouldn't have become such a big deal, and he might not even have to be arrested,' Tanaka said. In T'aipei (Taihoku) 台北, a Taiwan Coast Guard Administration 行政院海岸巡防署 official acknowledged that the fishing boat ventured into disputed waters and tried to head back to Taiwanese waters after being spotted by Japanese personnel. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry 中華民國外交部 Spokesman Henry Chen said his ministry planned to offer the captain assistance and 'negotiate with Japan on the matter.'"

A Taiwanese fisherman is caught fishing where he knows he shouldn't, tries to make a run for it, and gets caught, sparking an international incident. At least this time the boat wasn't sunk. It should be interesting to see how the new cabinet led by Wu Den-yih 吳敦義, handles this matter. The last one, under Liu Chao-shuan 劉兆玄 , did a pretty inept job of things, going so far as to threaten war. More rational heads hopefully will prevail this time.

Speaking in two tongues

My daughter was playing by herself in her bedroom after lunch today, and she was speaking to herself...in Chinese. Until recently, English had been her primary language, but lately she has been using Chinese more often, though never with me. Language acquisition is a concern I have living in Taiwan, as I'm Amber's primary exposure to the English language (along with some DVD's my parents have sent from the U.S.), and I don't get to spend much time with her during weekdays due to work commitments. My wife uses English with our daughter occasionally, but naturally she converses most of the time in Mandarin 中国官話. Combined with the fact that Chinese (and Taiwanese 台湾語) is what Amber hears when she goes outside, I'm worried that her English ability could start to be affected. We'll be visiting my parents for a couple of weeks next month, which will be a good experience for her linguistically, but I'm wondering if the long-term solution would be to have her grow up in an English-speaking environment, with Mandarin being reserved for the home.

On a completely different topic, the chairman of the Kuomintang 中国国民党, Wu Poh-hsiung 呉伯雄, is currently in Japan in yet another attempt to repair damaged relations. The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ has the story ("Time to end Senkaku dispute: Wu"):

"Japan and Taiwan should work to settle their territorial dispute in a peaceful manner and strengthen bilateral cooperation for the development of the East China Sea 東シナ海, the chairman of Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party said Wednesday in Tōkyō 東京. 'Our position is very clear' regarding Taiwan's claim of sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島 in the East China Sea, Wu...reiterated during a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. But the two sides 'should avoid any conflict,' he added."

Wu's speech comes after two Chinese survey ships were spotted on Monday near the Senkakus, in what the Japanese consider territorial waters. Was this intrusion coincidental or deliberate? As the Japan Times notes:

"Wu, whose visit to Tōkyō is the first-ever by a leader of a ruling Taiwanese party, was involved in a historic meeting in China with Chinese President Hu Jintao 胡錦濤 in May. The meeting brought together the heads of China's and Taiwan's ruling parties for the first time in over half a century. Regarding concerns that stronger ties across the Taiwan Strait 台湾海峡 may weaken ties between Tokyo and Taipei (T'aipei) 台北, Wu acknowledged that communication and exchanges between the Nationalist Party and the Japanese government were 'insufficient' during the eight years his party was out of power. But he stressed that the two countries share basic democratic values and ties with Tokyo will remain strong."

Unfortunately, those so-called shared "democratic values" seem to be weakening these days in Taiwan. As some observers pointed out in the run-up to Human Rights Day yesterday, Taiwan appears to be becoming more like China rather than the other way around. Sadly, it feels like Taiwan's wonderful experiment in political freedom is gradually coming to an end. And don't expect the likes of Wu to mourn its passing. As the article notes:

"Wu...said he supports China's position on the issue of Tibet's demand for autonomy..."

Ivan must be feeling pretty good these days.