Singing for her supper

My daughter Amber sings a song in Japanese that she picked up from watching the NHK children's programs which are broadcast during the weekdays at lunchtime:

Video of Amber singing for her supper

It's raining, it's pouring, the Rams are scoring...

...or so went a variation on the old rhyme that I vaguely recall from childhood. It's been raining a lot here recently, and it's been doing so like clockwork. I got caught in nasty downpours while going home for dinner on both Monday and Tuesday, at roughly the same time, and in very similar conditions - heavy rain, with thunder and lightning. Today it rained almost the entire afternoon, but as this is the only time during the week that I now have to go walking in the mountains, I couldn't let the opportunity slip by. Besides, after having to give up a long-planned hike between Gas-san 月山 and Yudono-san 湯殿山 in Japan because of inclement weather, I am determined not to be a wuss when it comes to weather and mountains (within reason, of course!). And so I rode out again to Tak'eng (Dakeng) 大坑, and this time walked up the No. 6 Trail, and down the No. 7 (with some exploring in between). The rain was steady but not too hard, and the combination of an umbrella and a plastic poncho keep me reasonably dry (though I ended up soaked from perspiration). The wet weather had the added bonuses of shrouding the hills in atmospheric mist, while keeping other hikers away (though there were a few diehard KTV crooners out today).

Upon returning home, the rain let up somewhat, but the sky started to get more ominous-looking, so I took Amber up to the roof to have a look. Amber had fun playing around while I was taking pictures, and we both managed to get back inside before the heavens opened up again.

The air was so clean and clear that the ocean (in this case, the Taiwan Strait 台湾海峡) could be seen in the distance, thanks to the power of my camera's zoom lens. This is truly a rare sight.

Threatening skies

やっと！

I've gone up and down the hiking trails in Tak'eng (Dakeng) 大坑 a number of times, but one thing I had never done was to walk the length of the trail on the ridgetop, the one that connects with all four paths leading to the top. Until today, that is. Not having anything specially planned for this Sunday, and with the weather looking OK (little did I know), and my daughter parked in front of the computer watching her new Barney the Dinosaur DVD, it seemed like as good a time as any to head out to Takeng, and so I did, arriving at the beginning of the No. 2 Trail around 11:15. After securing my scooter, I walked along the road to the No. 1 Trail (still technically closed from typhoon damage, but well-trodden with hikers in typical Taiwan fashion), climbed up to the top of the No. 1, walked the entire length on top of the ridge to where it joined the No. 4 Trail, took the No. 4 down to the bottom, then walked back along the road, and returned to my parked scooter. In all, it took 3 hours and 38 minutes to complete the circuit (and roughly 2 hours to cover the distance on the ridge between the No.'s 1 and 4), and according to my pedometer, I took a total of 15,325 steps in the process. Not a bad workout.

The haze over T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中, combined with the threatening skies over the Takeng region, meant there were no good views and precious little of interest to photograph. At least the heavens had the courtesy to wait until I got home to open up - there is a raging lightning and thunderstorm outside now as I write this!

Johnny Naiko

The enigmatic Johnny Neihu, who has a column every Saturday in the Taipei Times, is in many respects the anti-Gregory Clark. Unlike Greg, Johnny does not search for ways to excuse the actions of tyrants, and his information is factual, and therefore grounded in the real world. Most of all, he has a sense of humor, something that Clark seems to have been born without (it's inspiring to see how Greg has managed to overcome this birth defect, and find success in life). Johnny shows his un-Clarklike grasp of things in today's commentary, "Between rocks and a chip trace", in which he writes about the recent Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島 comic opera:

"Yes, just when you thought the kafuffle over last month’s sinking of a 'recreational' fishing boat by the Japanese coast guard had died down, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week started beating its chest again over news that several members of the Japanese Diet 国会 were preparing to inspect the islands."

Unlike many news reports on the Senkakus, Johnny provides some relevant background information on the issue:

"...the 'dispute' only really became one in 1968, when the UN’s Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East reported that there might be vast, Saudiesque oil deposits in the continental shelf below. Overnight the number of countries interested in the islands increased by 100 percent — to two. China then completed the gruesome threesome...in 1971."

In short, neither Taiwan nor China cared much about the islands until the possibility of there being oil under them thar sea rocks arose:

"...as we know from recent history, the thought of controlling gazillions of barrels of black gold makes fighting wars and reckless military action seem like a good idea."

Johnny then goes on to heap deserved ridicule on the great patriots of the Chinese nation:

"(People First Party 親民党) members like Yunghe (Yonghe) City 永和市 Councilor Huang Hsi-lin, a member of the Taiwan Safeguard Diaoyutai Movement Union, are so patriotic that they just can’t wait to sail to the islands at the first sign of trouble, whereupon they bravely defend the Republic of China’s 中華民国 territory by throwing plastic bottles at Japanese patrol boats. But this patriotic fervor isn’t the preserve of us folk in Taiwan; you even get crazy sons-of-bitches flying in from Hong Kong just so they can burn Rising Sun flags in front of the Japanese mission. Indeed, nutcases from Hong Kong seem to have almost cornered the market for pointless acts of fanaticism where the Diaoyutais are concerned. Anyone remember David Chan, an activist who drowned near the islets on Sept. 26, 1996, after leaping off a protest vessel with five others in an attempt to swim to the islands and assert China’s sovereignty? Poor Dave jumped, snared his foot in a rope and smashed his head against the boat. More idiotic than patriotic, I’d say. Even that mild-mannered toilet-paper obsessive, President Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九, goes into a full-on, fist-thumping frenzy at the mere mention of these sacred rocks."

In these situations, Gregory Clark tends to switch to automatic, blame everything on Japan mode. Johnny, however, thinks the fault lies elsewhere:

"In this situation I tend to do what everyone else around the world does when they can’t find a satisfactory explanation. I blame the US. After all, it was the Americans who controlled the Diaoyutais for 27 years following the Japanese surrender in 1945 before handing them back to Tōkyō. But even after giving them back to Japan, Uncle Sam refused to categorically state a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the rocks."

Johnny eventually leaves the topic of the Senkakus by asking:

"While we’re on the subject of protecting islands, why is it that the present government is so concerned about defending 7km² of rocky outcrop but doesn’t give a rat’s ass about protecting Taiwan proper?"

Funny how nowhere in his column does Johnny Neihu place the blame for the escalation in tensions between Japan and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands on "Japan's muddled, nationalistic hard line over territory", as Gregory Clark would have you believe. Johnny Neihu may be a smart ass, but Clark is just...I'll let you figure out the rest of this sentence.

And just to show how, as Johnny describes it, these "rocks (are) capable of sending people over the edge and more often than not succeed in turning them into gibbering wrecks", the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ had this story today, "Taiwan research ship nears Senkakus, snubs JCG":

"A maritime research ship of National Taiwan University 台湾大学 intruded into Japan's territorial waters near the disputed Senkaku islets in the East China Sea 東シナ海 early Friday, ignoring a warning from a Japan Coast Guard vessel 海上保安庁...The 794-ton, 50-meter ship at 5:25 a.m. entered the waters 22 km southeast of Uotsuri Island 魚釣島 of the islet chain, which is under Japan's control but also claimed by Taiwan and China. Despite the warning from the JCG patrol ship Hateruma, the research ship stayed in Japanese territorial waters for three hours...When the Hateruma's crew tried to ascertain by radio the purpose of the vessel's trip, the Taiwanese replied that they were collecting seawater for research. The Hateruma demanded the ship immediately leave Japan's territorial waters, informing it that research activities without advance notice and the consent of the Japanese government are not allowed. However, the Taiwanese ship failed to respond further and left the territorial waters around 8:20 a.m...."

In this brave, new world of the KMT 中国国民党-run Taiwan, even public universities have become tools for promoting nationalistic hard lines over territories. The same can't be said for Gregory Clark's Akita International University 国際教養大学, thank goodness.

On the home front, as in my home, I dusted off the child carrier, and for the first time in over a month, took Amber out to Chung-cheng (Jhong-jheng) Park 中正公園, to do some walking. A couple of my students, Angel and Sharon, came along, as did Sharon's son. Amber enjoyed seeing all the flora and fauna on the short trail that took us to the top of a ridge overlooking the park. But most of all, she enjoyed blowing bubbles.

A return to normalcy

When you put two chairs close together, then put yourself between them and begin lifting your body with your arms and swinging back and forth (as my daughter did yesterday afternoon), it's safe to assume everything is back to normal. And the feeling was strangely reinforced this morning when I opened the homepage of the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ, and saw that Gregory Clark had another one of his bizarre, "It ain't the fault of the authoritarians" opinion piece ("Puzzle awaits G8 delegates"). The focus of this article is mostly on the upcoming G8 summit in Tōya-ko 洞爺湖 in Hokkaidō 北海道 (where I spent a night during the summer of 1992), but Clark does manage to slip in a comment about recent events between Japan and Taiwan:

"Japan's muddled, nationalistic hard line over territory leaves it at loggerheads with all its other neighbors — South Korea, China and Taiwan. That the dispute with Taiwan over the Senkaku islands 尖閣諸島 should have led to a semi-formal break in relations is a much more serious setback for Japan's diplomacy than anyone in Japan seems to want to realize."

If one thing is clear above anything else, it's that Greg knows next to nothing about political developments in Taiwan (though I suspect he doesn't think so). Let's see...it was the Taiwanese premier that made the ridiculous remark about going to war, it was the Taiwanese foreign minister who recalled the unofficial ambassador to Japan back to Taiwan (with the latter being labeled a "traitor" by some KMT 中国国民党 legislators), and it was a group of right-wing Taiwanese politicians who sailed out to the Senkakus in an attempt to provoke trouble, and score a few points back home. While all this was going on, Mr. Ma 馬英九 was nowhere to be found, and even some in the sycophantic, pro-KMT media (like the China Post English newspaper) were calling for the government to get its act together before the situation got dangerously out of hand. The Japanese government, in contrast, remained calm, and offered apologies and compensation over the sunken fishing boat, while simultaneously reinforcing its claim over the Senkakus (and coming to an agreement with China over the gas disputes in the East China Sea 東シナ海, and having a Japanese destroyer pay a goodwill visit to a Chinese port). And Greg thinks this was a "serious setback" for JAPANESE diplomacy?! (Oh, and of course the South Koreans, Chinese and Taiwanese are never guilty of muddled, nationalistic hard lines over disputed territories!)

But what do you expect from a man who makes the claim that:

"...it was the same Washington that in 1951 almost certainly forced Japan to give up its legitimate rights to the disputed islands (meaning the Northern Territories 北方領土), as part of a secret U.N. deal with Moscow allowing the U.S. to use Guam as a military base — a fact that if admitted would greatly strengthen Tōkyō's position."

Perhaps I'm missing something, but what exactly is Gregory Clark talking about here? What "secret U.N. deal"? Why would the United States have needed the permission of the Soviet Union to use Guam as a military base, when the island had been an American territory since 1898 (and the last time I checked, still is)? Like I said earlier, things must be back to normal if Greg makes comments like these, without any evidence to back them up, nor any attempts to clarify the relevance of them to the topic(s) at hand. Details, Greg, it's all in the details.

Some things never change. Sigh...

Never again, I hope

A nice day out to a new shopping center in T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中 yesterday ended on an very unhappy note when we had to take our daughter to the emergency room at the main hospital in Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原. After spending the afternoon at Park Lane, checking out the shops, we went across the street to People's Park, to give Amber a chance to stretch her legs. While we were there, an old friend dropped by to say hello, along with his two children. Unfortunately, as he was playing with Amber by lifting her up by her wrists, something unfortunate happened, as our daughter started crying and holding her left wrist. The fault is mine as I thought about cautioning my friend about being a bit gentler with Amber, but not wanting to be the overprotective parent, I said nothing, and the result was a trip to the hospital. X-rays revealed no breaks or fractures, but I never want to have to visit an emergency room again, anywhere and at anytime, and certainly never with a child. Seeing a gurney soaked in some unfortunate soul's blood being wheeled out of the ER as we arrived is just one image I could have done without.

After a sleepless night for all three of us, things are much better today. Pamela took Amber to an orthopedist this morning, who diagnosed our daughter has having a possible pulled muscle. She seems better now, and as I write this, is sleeping peacefully in her crib (knock on wood). So here are several pictures from earlier in the day on Sunday:

On the left are four imported beers that we bought at Park Lane for NT500 ($16.50 or ￥1750). The last two on the right have alcohol contents of 9% and 14%, respectively. I look forward to drinking them when he have something to be happy about again...like when Amber can go back outside to blow some bubbles in the air, like she was doing at People's Park.

In a sign the world keeps turning no matter what happens, a couple of stories in the English-language Japanese media caught my attention over breakfast. From the Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売, "E. Asia fleets to suspend tuna fishing / Fuel costs hit Japan, China, ROK, Taiwan" explains how:

"Tuna-fishing boat operators' organizations in Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan have agreed to suspend operations for several months in the face of soaring fuel costs...The economic conditions made it difficult for tuna fishermen to make ends meet, while the measure also is expected to help declining populations of the fish to recover...The suspension is expected to result in higher prices for bigeye and yellowfin tuna, which are mainly consumed as raw fish and processed into canned food."

Perhaps I'm still feeling the effects from a lack of sleep, but for some cynical reason, I have my doubts that many local tuna fisherman will strictly adhere to the agreed upon ban. The other article came from the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ. "Taiwan's way with dignity" is written by Hisahiko Okazaki, a former diplomat who is generally sympathetic to Taiwan's situation. His advice this time:

"When conducting cross-strait talks, the Ma administration must never give in on Taiwan's sovereignty and security. Any kind of 'one country, two systems' formula is designed to set a time limit on Taiwan's freedom regardless of whether it is for half a century or a century. Again, Taiwan must not accept neutrality or any unilateral arms restrictions. There is no comparison between China and Taiwan in terms of size. Once security measures are abandoned, there will be none to defend Taiwan if the situation changes. Taiwan must keep this in mind."

And for his own country:

"This (meaning talks between China and Taiwan) would be a chance for Japan as well. With its hostile policy toward the DPP president of Taiwan, China used to stiffly oppose Japan's attempts to make contacts with Taiwan. Since the U.S. was also cold toward the DPP for some unexplainable reason, Japan had to pay heed to both China and the U.S. in dealing with Taiwan. Japan may no longer have to care about either's reaction. Since Taiwan and Japan have strong historical and economic ties, to treat Taiwan coldly in disregard of those ties is unnatural. Japan might now be freed from this bind. The DPP might be unhappy with Japan's about-face to establish friendly ties with the Taiwanese government under the control of KMT. Nevertheless, deepening relations with Japan would bring benefits that would be an asset for Taiwan when the DPP returns to power in the future — possibly four, eight or more years from now."

When, and not if (according to Okazaki), the DPP returns to power, will the next US administration maintain a more rational, reasonable approach?

Return of the "Little Dwarves"?

The Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 has a very good article today ("Taiwan steps back from Japan / Lack of pro-Japan officials blamed for Ma administration trend") analyzing the reasons why Mr. Ma 馬英九 has gone and screwed up relations with Japan after barely a month in office:

"Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou of the ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) 中国国民党, has shown signs of distancing Taiwan from Japan, a sign that should alert Tōkyō to the fact that more dialogue with Taipei is necessary."

Up until May 22, things were very different:

"Taiwan is basically well disposed to Japan. Since Tōkyō waived tourist visas for Taiwanese visitors in 2005, more than 2.4 million Japanese and Taiwanese have visited each other's soil annually. Public opinion polls in recent years showed Japan topping the United States as the most favored country among Taiwanese...under the pro-Japan administration of Ma's predecessor, Chen Shui-bian, bilateral ties were at their warmest since Japan severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1972. Ma--who assumed office in May--repeatedly stressed his intent to maintain this solid relationship."

How quickly things have changed, with the collision between a Japanese patrol vessel and a Taiwanese fishing boat in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島:

"Pressured by pro-China Nationalists who favor a hard-line approach toward Japan, Ma dispatched nine patrol boats to the waters off the Senkaku Islands to ratchet up awareness of Taiwan's sovereign claim on the Senkaku Islands...As a result, tensions rose dramatically between Japan and Taiwan. Unlike former Presidents Lee Teng-hui and Chen, both of whom avoided playing hardball with Tokyo over the territorial issue, the Taiwan patrol boats' incursion into the disputed waters has highlighted Ma's brusque approach toward Japan."

It has also highlighted the incompetence of Ma and his administration officials when it comes to managing foreign relations. The article moves on to point out that the nature of the problem lies in the different historical perceptions of the KMT and the DPP 民主進歩党:

"The Nationalists, who fought against Japan before and during World War II--from 1937 to 1945--fled to Taiwan after the war and ruled the island by installing mainlanders in key government positions. The mainlanders--a minority in Taiwan who account for only about 20 percent of the population-- generally take a tough stance on Japan. In contrast, the DPP was established in the 1980s by Taiwanese who had lived under Japanese colonial rule before and during the war. As some of these people perceived Japan favorably, they remain well disposed toward the nation."

I'm reminded of one time when I asked a class of around 20 adult students about what kind of impressions they had of Japan. Only one student answered in the negative, with his reason being that the Japanese "killed a lot of Chinese in the war". From that remark, it wasn't hard to determine his family's background! Ma, of course, is a mainlander, a child of a privileged background, who joined a party of outsiders who assigned themselves positions of privilege in an authoritarian government for more than 40 years. He belongs to a social class that can't stomach the idea of Taiwan's future being determined by those people whose families have actually lived here for over a century or more (it was certainly no accident that aborigines were overlooked in Ma's inauguration speech), and which is eager to make up for the eight years of "lost time" when it was out of power. One way to remind the locals of who is back in charge is to make it clear they don't share the same feelings towards the Japanese (who did, after all, greatly improve Taiwan's health care, education, economic and transportation infrastructure, and without the corruption the KMT brought with them from China). Of course, good old fashioned ignorance also plays a part:

"...Ma has few officials in key government posts who are conversant with Japanese affairs...Japan previously fostered strong ties with Taiwanese people, including Lee, who had an affinity for Japan as a result of having spoken Japanese. However, those who attended school under Japanese colonial rule are gradually fading from political and business arenas. Members of the emerging elite, including people such as Ma, were taught a China-centered version of history during the postwar Nationalist era. Compared with people such as Lee who speak Japanese, and those under 30 who are fascinated by Japanese pop culture, people of Ma's generation have a relatively low opinion of Japan."

As a result, Ma and his cronies don't consider ties with Japan to be especially important:

"In his inaugural speech, Ma did not refer to Japan, whereas Chen did the opposite during his inauguration address. While Chen clearly stated that China was a military foe, Ma refuses to criticize Beijing. With Ma prioritizing relations with China,...the new president is trying to avoid relying on the United States and Japan for Taiwan's security. In other words, while Chen considered Japan as an ally with shared ideals on democracy and security issues, Ma mainly sees Japan as an economic partner."

Actually, while the recent spat over the Senkaku Islands has highlighted the changing nature of Japan-Taiwan relations, it should also be noted that Mr. Ma is trying to keep the United States at a distance as well (he only mentioned the USA once during his inaugural address), while cozying up to the Chinese leadership (he let the June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre pass without comment, and has been silent on Tibet since the election). Many in the Washington foreign policy establishment were hoping for a Ma win, since they assumed it would lower tensions between China and Taiwan. Are they beginning to have second thoughts, or is the thinking still cloudy over at Foggy Bottom?

Are things likely to improve between Japan and Taiwan? According to the Yomiuri article, it isn't going to be easy:

"Although Ma wants to retain ties with Tōkyō, among Nationalist lawmakers--who occupy more than two-thirds of the seats at the Legislative Yuan (Parliament)--there are several pro-China individuals who want to unify with China. Ma likely will therefore take a firm stance vis-a-vis future approaches to sovereignty and historical issues."

So what can the Japanese government do about this new reality? According to a DPP member:

"...the current (ROC) government ha(s) a pronounced pro-China tilt, when compared with Lee's and Chen's former administrations. Because of this, Japan must face the fact that Taiwanese have complex feelings about Japan. Tōkyō also must endeavor to build a good relationship with Taiwan--an important factor in Japan's security--as well as holding talks with the Ma administration. Ma is keen to conclude a free trade agreement and a fishing treaty with Japan, and also wants to expand student-exchange programs. For its part, Japan should expeditiously nurture ties with pro-Japan Taiwanese and provide more help to Taiwan, which hopes to become a member of various international organizations, such as the World Health Organization. This will counter Taiwan's strong feelings of isolation."

The next four years (at least) are going to be very trying times for officials in both Japan and the United States, and for those in Taiwan who believe in the benefits of a democratic political system.

And as for those who voted for the KMT in the last round of elections, well my wife is deep blue and knew exactly what she was voting for. But those who chose perceived short-term economic benefits (and what has the stock market done since Ma took over?) over the strengthening of a democratic political system could be in for some nasty surprises in the weeks, months and years to come.