Walking in the hills of Houli

I rode out to Houli 后里 on Tuesday morning to do some walking, but it took much longer than I had anticipated to get there. I had been under the impression that the Houfeng Bicycle Trail was open to scooters in the aftermath of the collapse of the Houfeng Bridge, but that didn't seem to be the case this morning. Lots of scooters were on the road, but none of them were on the cycling path. There were, however, quite a few bicyclists out, no doubt due to the pleasant weather. I therefore decided not to take the bicycle route, and so had to travel up the Tajia River 大甲渓 to get to a bridge across to the other side. The road then led up through the hills, and down to the town of Houli. I turned off before then, however, to reach an area of short hiking trails at the Fenghuang Mountain Farm, in the hills behind the Houli Race Course. The walks there aren't very strenuous, taking only about an hour to make a circuit, but on this clear day, the view from the top (of the Taichung Science Park, and beyond towards the sea) was nice:

Next, I rode past the horse ranch to what the road signs called "Pilu Temple", but which a local guidebook I have refers to as "Kunlu Temple":

"The western style building with a high rising ceiling is a Baroque pattern, which is very uncommon among temple architectures (sic)."

It is certainly different from most temples in Taiwan. There are stone steps that go up into the hill behind the building. It doesn't take long to reach the top, and there is little to see in the distance through the foliage, but the path is shaded.

The last thing I did before heading home for lunch (not to mention a shower) was to park myself next to the train tracks in the hope of getting a decent picture of a train going by. The best I could do was this shot of an express passing by on its way north:

It's the camera's fault, of course.

Terrible Lizards in Taichung

My wife wanted a day off this Sunday, meaning a chance to stay in and catch up on her sleep. My daughter, on the other hand, wanted to go outside, preferably to a park with a playground. I, however, did not fancy being surrounded on a park bench by a sea of Taiwanese parents and their offspring, some of whom would no doubt have some trouble coming to grips with the "foreign" child in their midst. So when I suggested taking the train to see some dinosaurs in Taichung (T'aichung) 台中, I was quite relieved that Amber responded enthusiastically to the suggestion. And that is how we found ourselves on the 11:37am local train out of Fengyuan 豊原, which was on time, for once:

 

After getting off at Taichung Station, we headed for the Visitor Information Center, located inside the station. For years, I've been grumbling about the inept efforts at providing tourist information in Taiwan, especially in comparison to Japan, where such information centers are in plentiful supply. When I first moved to Taichung (an undisclosed number) of years ago, the closest tourist information office was a very long walk from the train station. In fact, I used to go there on a scooter to pick up brochures and maps. Then it moved even further away, to an area of government buildings off of Linsen Road, which couldn't have been any more inconvenient for new arrivals and visitors to the city. So it's great to see there is finally an information counter in the train station, with English-speaking staff to boot. Well done...except for the fact the woman in the office didn't make it clear (OK, maybe I failed to clarify) on which side of the street Amber and I should wait to catch a bus for our destination, the National Museum of Natural Science 国立自然科学博物館. We caught the right bus (the No. 88), but in the wrong direction, and had to get off at the stop across from the Chungyou Department Store in order to catch another No. 88 bus going the right way.

 

バスを待っている

Not only was this my daughter's first bus ride in Taichung, it was mine as well. For Taichung Bus Company buses at least, those passengers (like us) who don't already have an IC/prepaid card simply pick up a card upon boarding, have it read by a scanner, and then, upon reaching their destination, scan the card a second time and pay the fare showing on the screen. In our case, it was NT20 (￥60 or 60 cents). After a lunch of chicken rice, pickled cucumbers and miso soup 味噌汁 (where I overheard two Western gentlemen and a Taiwanese woman wondering about the origin of the word "cosplay" コスプレ; I resisted the urge), we entered the science museum.

 

Amber can use chopsticks better than some adult Westerners!

Once inside the museum, we headed straight for the main attraction, the dinosaur exhibit. On display are some life-size skeletons and animatronic models. The latter, however, especially the moving Tyrannosaurus parent-child pair, proved to be a little intimidating to my 2-year 10 month-old child, who didn't want to get too close. She didn't mind the stationary kind at all, though.

Amber is still too young to appreciate what museums are trying to do. She enjoyed touching all the buttons, dials and knobs, but at her age, the point(s) behind the displays is not of any importance. Which was a good thing for me, because most of the writing at the National Museum of Natural Science is in Chinese, and I would not have been able to explain the more detailed exhibits to her. For Amber, it was enough just to marvel at the models and pictures of animals she's already familiar with. She also tried her hand at taking some photographs, which resulted in this unintended artistic shot of a large beetle:

Amber was starting to get tired (read cranky), so we left the museum and crossed the street to an ice cream shop. I let Amber choose, and she settled on mocha, much to our mutual satisfaction:

 

おいしいモカアイスクリームを食べている

After an obligatory stop at Mister Donut, we caught a bus back to Taichung Station. For some reason, the fare was NT2 higher for the return - same company, same route, but a different number bus (106) if that had anything to do with it.

（上）アンバーはバスの中でミスドのポイントカードを見ている；（下）1917年に建てられた台中駅ビル

The gods of punctuality were once again looking down favorably upon us, for our train was on time. And so it was back to Fengyuan, where my wife, suitably rested, met us at the station and drove us home. A father-daughter outing on a nice day, and with a reduced carbon footprint to boot (no pun intended). Not a bad Sunday, I'd say.

This is what happens when trying to take a picture from a moving train in diminishing sunlight, using the landscape photo function on a digital camera, but forgetting to turn off the flash. Amber isn't the only unintentional avant-garde photographer in the family.

New Taiwan envoy upbeat on Japan ties

Of course he is. It isn't often you read of newly-appointed diplomats expressing pessimism over their new postings:

"As Taiwan's de facto ambassador to Japan, John Feng believes that strengthening ties between Tōkyō 東京 and Taipei (T'aipei) 台北 is vital to securing bilateral prosperity. 'Taiwan and Japan have a genuine, people-to-people relationship. We are close strategically, historically and geographically,' Feng...said during an interview with The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ..."

After getting off to a rocky start vis-a-vis Japan, both the administration of Ma Ying-jeou (Ma Ying-chiu) and KMT 中国国民党 heavyweights like Legislative President Wang Jin-pyng (Wang Chin-p'ing) 王金平 have worked hard in recent months to repair the initial damage. The arrival of Feng in Japan on Sept. 27 to head up the Taipei Economic Cultural Representative Office 台北経済文化代表処 is the latest step in the process. Feng has some personal experience with Japan, having:

"...spent more than five years in Tōkyō with his diplomat father and attended local schools in Minato Ward 港区. During a reception in Tōkyō earlier this month to celebrate Taiwan's national commemoration day, Feng surprised guests by reciting the 1957 starting lineup for the...Yomiuri Giants 読売ジャイアンツ. 'My favorite player was (Tatsuro) Hirooka,' Feng said, favoring the reliable shortstop over superstar slugger Shigeo Nagashima 長嶋茂雄."

It figures a member of a political party with an authoritarian past would've rooted for Japan's version of the "Evil Empire", but I do give him credit for not worshiping at the altar of Nagashima (Sadaharu Oh 王貞治 was a much better player).

Feng replaced Koh Se-kai (Hsu Shih-k'ai) 許世楷, who resigned in June ((though "forced out by nationalist KMT legislators" might be the more accurate description) following the brouhaha that arose (all on the Taiwanese side) over the sinking of a Taiwanese fishing vessel following a collision with a Japanese Coast Guard 海上保安庁 ship in waters around the Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島. In the JT interview, Feng:

"...acknowledged that the territorial dispute (over the Senkakus) is a matter of concern. His stance is that the collision is an isolated case and that the two sides should 'shelve the issue and move on.'"

The article notes that:

"The time-consuming appointment to fill the vacuum left by Koh triggered worries that Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was taking ties with Japan too lightly."

The reason it took Ma so long to appoint Feng to the post was probably due to the difficulty in finding qualified Taiwanese representatives who held the proper Chinese nationalist ideological beliefs. Koh's treatment in the wake of the Senkaku crisis might also have dissuaded some from taking up the position. Feng (of course):

"...said there was no political motive behind the delay (in his appointment). He stated that Taiwan's ties with Japan are as important as its ties with the United States, if not more, and that the ruling Kuomintang simply lacked the resources to find an appropriate representative after being the opposition party for eight years."

So now Feng is in Tōkyō, playing golf with nationalist politicians such as Tōkyō Governor Shintarō Ishihara 石原慎太郎 and promoting "youth exchanges", a typically nice-sounding but ultimately meaningless idea, and therefore an ideal program to be pursued by the Ma administration. Perhaps Ishihara can take a few Taiwanese young people with him the next time he visits Yasukuni Shrine 靖国神社!

In the news

From today's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ, "Renesas mulls tieup with Taiwan firm":

"Renesas Technology Corp. ルネサステクノロジ, Japan's second-largest semiconductor maker, is mulling a tie-up with major maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to mass-produce next-generation chips, sources said. Renesas is considering outsourcing a large part of its production to the Taiwan company to cut its mounting production costs and instead use more of its financial resources on product development, the sources said Wednesday. The tie-up talks come at a time when other chip makers are gearing up to start mass production of next-generation chips to make digital consumer appliances smaller and help cut their electricity consumption. The development of such chips is expected to lead to the creation of highly functional digital appliances...Through the tie-up, Renesas aims to cut costs that are projected to run into tens of billions of yen to develop production technologies and hundreds of billions of yen more to set up large-scale production lines...Major Japanese chip makers generally engage in the full process from product planning and development to production, but some are beginning to outsource production in an effort to cut costs."

Of crises past

Almost everyday in Taiwan is a crisis of sorts for me. But the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ today has an article on a different kind of Taiwanese crisis, and how it was related to Japan. The headline of the article, "'58 Taiwan Strait crisis saw nukes in Okinawa", says it all:

"Two types of nuclear bombs were deployed at Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 in Okinawa 沖縄 around the time the United States was considering nuclear strikes on China during the Taiwan Strait crisis 金門砲戦 in 1958, a declassified U.S. document showed Tuesday. Previously released documents have shown the U.S. military was considering a plan to carry out nuclear strikes against mainland China from then U.S.-occupied Okinawa during the crisis, in which Chinese and Taiwanese forces clashed in the strait."

You can read about the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis here. The article goes on to say that:

"...the U.S. had a plan to drop nuclear bombs on Chinese airfields in Amoy, now Xiamen 廈門, in the event the Chinese blockaded the islands.　According to a separate, declassified U.S. Air Force document...the U.S. had a plan to launch initial atomic strikes against China from Clark Air Base in the Philippines and Kadena, with the option of more strikes from these bases if necessary."

For those of you who might otherwise be unaware, the Republic of China 中華民国 government on Taiwan controls two groups of islands just offshore from the Chinese mainland, Kinmen (Chinmen) 金門 and Matsu 馬祖. I've never had an overwhelming urge to visit these places, as I've always considered them to be more a part of China, and not Taiwan. Sinophiliacs such as my Aussie coworker Ivan might have trouble wrapping their minds around this, but I've never had much of an interest in visiting the mainland (I did spend a great week in Hong Kong 香港 back in 1993, but at that time it was still a British colony, and the combination of British and Chinese influences was part of the attraction for me). Technically speaking, if you follow the One China line of thinking, Kinmen and Matsu are not part of the province of Taiwan, but fall under the administration of Fujian Province 福建省. In the unlikely event the Chinese government should ever acquiesce to the establishment of an independent Republic of Taiwan 台湾共和国, I would think these islands would have to be returned to China's control. Seeing as the residents of Kinmen and Matsu vote overwhelmingly for the KMT 中国国民党 in every election, I doubt such a reversion would become an impediment.

But I digress, for the Japan Times article got me to do some additional perusing of the latest edition of Lonely Planet's Taiwan guide. And from what I've read so far, it sounds like these islands could make for an interesting trip. Matsu, in particular, seems to have great beaches, interesting sites related to military history and the chance to stay overnight in a 200 year-old Fujian-style stone house. It seems I may have to rethink what constitutes "Taiwan".

As for that dedicated Sinologist Ivan, his love of things Chinese apparently extends to sturgeon fishing and caviar production in Heilongjiang Province 黒龍江省, judging from a conversation I had with him the other day. The more I listen to him, the more I'm convinced Sinophilia is much like alcoholism: most of us can enjoy what Chinese culture has to offer without letting it dominate our lives/thinking (not to mention clouding our judgment/moral compasses), but for an unfortunate few...

Cape No. 7

 

Getting up close and personal with a whip scorpion in Dakeng (Tak'eng)

The Taiwanese movie "Cape No. 7" has been a runaway success in this country, and the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ has taken note of the phenomenon ("Taiwan love story conjures colonial nostalgia"):

"A Taiwanese movie depicting a love story between a Japanese woman and a Taiwanese man has become a huge blockbuster on the island, setting box-office records since its release at the end of August. 'Cape No. 7,' which cost just 50 million Taiwanese dollars (￥155 million/$1.5 million) to make, but has so far generated NT400 million, or about ¥1.2 billion ($12.2 million). The actors and actresses featured in the movie have all become stars in Taiwan, and spin off goods are selling well."

Many of my students have seen the film (though in true Taiwanese fashion, some of them didn't pay for the privilege, if you get my meaning), and the overall consensus is positive. The JT summarizes the plot of "Cape No. 7":

"The story centers on seven love letters written by a male Japanese teacher who left Taiwan after World War II and the end of Japan's colonial rule of Taiwan. The letters were written to a Taiwanese woman living in a town on the coast of southern Taiwan. Sixty years later, a group of Taiwanese boys and a Japanese girl discover the letters and try to deliver them to the woman addressed in the letters."

One interesting thing about "Cape No. 7" is that the dialog isn't in Mandarin 中国官話 as might be expected. Instead, Japanese and Taiwanese 台湾語 are the dominant languages in the movie. As the Japan Times explains:

"Chinese Mandarin was introduced to Taiwan by Chinese mainlanders who emigrated to the island together with the Kuomintang 中国国民党 government in the late 1940s. Critics lay the movie's popularity to nostalgia for the period of Japanese colonial rule and frustration over the Nationalist Party government..."

Hmm...a touching love story with a subtle anti-Chinese nationalism undercurrent (though the director denies any political motivations)? "Cape No. 7" might be worth seeing. 

UPDATE: Michael Turton passed along this interpretation of the movie from his friend Michael:

"It's Taiwanese love for Japanese pop culture cleverly packaged by the director to get people to think about the colonial period, a period which is a complete blank for young people."

All that Jazz

今週末台中でジャズフェスティバルを開いて、日曜日の昼に家族といっしょに行って見た。

Before going to Taichung 台中, we stopped by a small "river" near Jhong-jheng Park, to say hello to Amber's uncle, who was doing some fishing. My brother-in-law is one of the most nicest people I have ever met.

 

義兄はとても慎み深い人だ

The festival was held in the park meridian that runs between Taizhonggang and Gongyi Roads, not far from the National Museum of Natural Science 国立自然科学博物館. The number of food stalls and other vendors there made it seem more like a market than a music festival, but then what would Taiwan be if there weren't people out there trying to sell you things? Amber had a try at an electronic drum kit:

 

アンバーはドラムを演奏している！

We stopped for a break at a nearby Mister Donut, where Amber had her first, and presumably (for a while, at least), last sip of coffee (with cream and sugar):

 

娘はコーヒーを楽しんでいる！

We actually didn't hear all that much in the way of music. I did, however, record one jazz quartet for about 90 seconds:

Jazz Group

The somewhat shaky camerawork comes from trying to film with one hand, while carrying my daughter in my other arm.

As night fell (and Amber started getting tired), we headed back to Fengyuan 豊原, stopping off at a roadside teppanyaki 鉄板焼き stand to pick up some food to take home for dinner.

For myself, Taichung's Jazz Festival ended up being a celebration of Taiwan's budding craft beer industry. I've long complained about the generally poor quality of the government-monopoly produced Taiwan Beer (if you like Budweiser, you'll love Taiwan Beer!), and the lack of selection of beers in general to be found in convenience stores and supermarkets. The retail situation is still pretty bleak, but microbreweries are starting to appear on the scene, and not a moment too soon!

 

地ビール

The large bottle in the middle is brewed by a company called Le ble d'or, while the two on either side are from North Taiwan Brewing. Both breweries are based in the Taipei 台北 area, though Le ble d'or also has a couple of restaurants in Taichung. I've already polished off the bottle on the right (the Abbey Beer) while I've been writing this (and it was delicious!), and I'm looking forward to the other two. In fact, combined with the sake-in-a-can and sake-in-a-carton (straw included!) that I was given by a student on Friday (her mother-in-law had just returned from a trip to Japan), I think I'm going to be feeling pretty good for most of this upcoming week!