I'm on an Island

If you're looking for something to do this spring, here's a suggestion, courtesy of Japan Today:

TAIWAN GROUP PLANNING PROTEST VOYAGE TO SENKAKU ISLANDS

"A Taiwan-based group is planning a protest voyage to the disputed Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島 in May, the group’s leader said Tuesday, in an outing that could trigger a fresh row between Taipei 台北 and Tōkyō 東京. The Chinese Association for Protection of the Tiaoyutai will charter ships, send them to the disputed islands in the East China Sea 東シナ海/東海 and people on board the vessels will attempt to set foot on them, the association’s leader, Huang Hsi-li, a Taipei County 台北縣 official, said by phone."

If you go, make sure you know how to swim. You wouldn't want to end up like David Chan, a Hong Kong idiot...er, activist/Chinese imbecile...I mean, patriot who, in September of 1996 (according to Wikipedia), "drown(ed) near the islets, after leaping off one of the protest vessels with several companions with the object of symbolizing Chinese claim(s) of sovereignty."

Unless you wish to be a Heroic Martyr in a Great And Noble Cause, that is. Oh, and be sure to bring along lots of plastic bottles to hurl at the Japan Coast Guard 海上保安庁 vessels that will no doubt be there to greet you.

Where art thou?

I went for a long walk this morning up to, and in the hills behind, the Guan-yin 觀世音菩薩 Temple on Guanyin Mountain, in Taichung's 台中 Dakeng area. I'm out of shape after the trip back to the U.S. and the effects were apparent, but I quickly got my wind back, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Below left is a photo of the Beitun District 北屯區 of Taichung taken on the walk up to the hilltop temple:

 

"China to lend treasures to Taiwan", as this article on the BBC's website, explains:

"China is to lend 29 treasures to Taiwan for an exhibition - the first such cultural exchange in 60 years. The artifacts from Beijing's 北京 Palace Museum date from the Qing Dynasty , and will be shown for three months at the National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院 in Taipei 台北...It will be the first time treasures have been lent to Taiwan since the end of that conflict, when the Chinese Communist Party 中国共产党 took power on the mainland...The exchange is being seen as the latest sign of improvement in relations between Taiwan and...China. Nevertheless, Taiwan remains reluctant to send any of the treasures it holds to China for fear that they may be impounded, although it has lent them to other countries."

The story is well-known of how the KMT 中國國民黨 shipped many of China's imperial art treasures to Taiwan at the end of the civil war 国共内战 in 1949. The priceless works of art were used by the Nationalist government to promote the propaganda that Taiwan was the last bastion of traditional Chinese culture (and by extension that Taiwan was a part of a larger Chinese state), in the face of the threat from the destructive communist hordes. Considering the damage done to China's artistic heritage during the lunacy that was the Cultural Revolution 文化大革命, there is some truth to the KMT's assertions. No doubt many of the pieces currently stored in the mountains behind the National Palace Museum would not have survived the revolutionary fervor of the Red Guards 红卫兵. But both Taiwan and China have changed a lot in the decades since. A sense of a separate Taiwanese identity has taken root in the post-martial law years, and the justification for keeping these works of art in Taiwan, and not in their rightful place in the Forbidden City 故宫 in Beijing, has gotten weaker during the same period. If Taiwan is a separate country from China, why should it continue to hold on to art works that have no little or no connection to the island? In order to solidify a separate Taiwanese identity, wouldn't it be best for all concerned to return the thousands of pieces of art to China? Otherwise, might a controversy arise similar to that of the Elgin Marbles being kept in the British Museum?

The easy answer, unless you're a rabid Chinese nationalist, would be to send it all back to Beijing, and develop instead a museum devoted to Taiwanese art. However, seeing as the National Palace Museum is one of the few world-class tourist sights in Taiwan, that might not be such a wise choice. Protecting these treasures from destruction, and putting them on display for all to see, was one of the few accomplishments the KMT could be proud of during the dictatorial period. One China or an independent Taiwan, it could be said the National Palace Museum has earned the right to hold on to the collection, at least until a clearer picture emerges of the direction in which China is now headed (a more democratic society? a continuation of a one-party dictatorship? a breakup of the state?). Eventually, the question of what to do with the art will have to be answered, but in the meantime, Taiwan should be in no hurry to give up what it has been holding onto these past 60 years or so.

うぷう会うえ

得得ええ

NOTE:

You leave the house for a couple of hours, and come home to find your three year-old daughter has somehow managed to post an entry on your blog. In Japanese, no less.

Nothing new

It's been a week now since we got back from the USA, and virtually nothing of interest has happened in that span. I'm over the jet lag and back to work, the weather is already beginning to warm up and our visit back home is starting to blur into a distant, though pleasant, memory. One of the many nice things about being out of Taiwan for two weeks was getting away from the myopic local news reporting. Now that I'm back there's no escape from the ongoing media obsession with all things Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁. Other events going on in the world - the stimulus package proposed by President Obama (I love the way that looks and sounds!), the deadly bushfires in Australia, the Israeli general election - all get little or no attention paid to them, while Chen and his extended family are reported on virtually 24/7. Once in a while, the international media takes notice, as the BBC did the other day when it reported on the guilty plea entered by the ex-president's wife ("Taiwan's ex-first lady in court"):

"A former Taiwanese first lady has pleaded guilty to money-laundering and forgery but denied embezzlement charges in a high-profile corruption case. Wu Shu-chen said she had accepted a $2.2m (￥200 million) political donation in connection with a land purchase deal - not a bribe as alleged by prosecutors. She admitted charges of forging documents in a separate case but denied using the money for personal gain...Mr Chen, her husband, is currently in jail awaiting trial on the same charges. He has denied the accusations, saying they are politically motivated. Last month Chen Chih-chung, the Chens' son, pleaded guilty to money laundering as did several other family members."

Are the Chens guilty? I don't know all the details of the charges, but I wouldn't be surprised if many of them are true. Will they receive fair trials? Probably not. Even though the likelihood of convictions is very high, the KMT 中國國民黨 is so determined to crush the opposition that is has run roughshod over the principle of an impartial judicial process in order to increase the likelihood that Chen, and those closest to him, will spend many years behind bars. Have these cases tarnished the image of the opposition DPP 民主進步黨? Definitely. The party is finding it very difficult to shake off its association with Chen, and is thus being hamstrung in its efforts to create a viable alternative to the KMT, and the latter's increasing steps towards linking Taiwan with China. Does any of this come as a surprise? It shouldn't. While it can't be described as being as at Third World-levels, corruption is rife here, especially in political circles, and touches politicians of all political stripes.

Do I want to stick around to see what eventually happens? Um...Hello? AIT 美國在台協會? How do I go about applying for a green card for my Taiwanese wife?

Back in Taiwan, unfortunately 台湾に戻ってしまった

We're back in Taiwan after a two-week visit to the United States to see my family. I'm feeling the effects of the jet lag (we got home from the airport last night/this morning at 1:30, and I didn't get to bed until around 3:30), which makes coherent writing a challenge at this moment. However, I can say that it was great to see and spend time with my family again. For my daughter, it was a chance to enjoy time with her grandparents after more than a year apart, as well as a chance to get herself immersed in an English-speaking environment. It was also nice to get away from the noise, dirt and all-around ugliness that characterizes daily life in Taiwan, but all good things must come to an end, and so I'm back, and not looking forward to returning to a life of cram schools and scooter trips. Sigh...

A few photographs of our time in Washington:

The day we landed at Sea-Tac Airport was also the date of Amber's third birthday. The following day, we had a little party to celebrate the event. What's the point of having grandparents if they can't spoil you with lots of presents?

Despite the generally chilly weather in the Seattle area, we tried to get Amber outside as much as possible. The cold didn't seem to bother her much (Amber's first question after we arrived in the US was "What happened to the trees?", referring to the lack of leaves).

In addition to her grandparents, there were other members of the family for Amber to catch up with, such as her cousin James, uncle Joe, aunt Karen, cousin Jamie and Jamie's husband Tyler.

On one brilliant day, the three of us plus my dad took the car ferry from Bremerton to Seattle, then drove up to the Snoqualmie Pass (3022 ft./921 m). The temperature there may have been only 19F (-7C), but it didn't feel very cold, and Amber got to experience snow for the first time.

There was also some snow in Bremerton on a couple of occasions, though that didn't stop the birds from searching for food in the backyard.

Snowy Scene

On another day, Pamela, Amber and I rode the ferry again to Seattle, where we visited Pike Place Market and the Uwajimaya supermarket and Kinokuniya Bookstore in the International District.

 

One particularly chilly afternoon was spent at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma. Amber, nonetheless, got a kick out of seeing all the different animals (the puffins were her favorite), while her parents enjoyed the clear view of Mount Rainier off in the distance.

I took Amber out for a walk on a local trail...

...while Pamela joined us the next morning for a stroll along another trail in the area.

A last look at Mt. Rainier from the airport

成田国際空港で

I'll vouch for that!

Today was Voucher Day, when the government of Taiwan began distributing NT3600 ($110 or ￥9800) in consumer vouchers in an attempt to get people spending and thus, hopefully, providing some much-needed stimulus to an economy that has been heading in the wrong direction since early last year. The vouchers have been issued to every R.O.C. 中華民國 citizen regardless of age (so my wife and daughter both received one), and after some initial confusion and policy switches when the program was first announced a couple of months ago, to spouses of R.O.C. citizens, which means I was able to get my hands on the free cash as well. Despite fears of long lines at the distribution centers, we had no delays at all - my brother-in-law picked up Pamela's and Amber's, while my wife got mine for me in just a matter of minutes (the fact that it was in the middle of the afternoon probably had a lot to do with that!).

The voucher packet contains six NT500 and three NT200 vouchers, and come in a "lucky" red envelope with a Lunar New Year's 春節 greeting from the government. They can be used just about anywhere to buy virtually anything. Some of my students are planning to use theirs on daily necessities, while others are going to pool them together with their family members' to buy big-ticket items like flat-screen TV's and dining room tables. The catch is that you're not able to put them into bank accounts - they are meant to be spent, and must be used by September. We haven't decided yet how to utilize our NT10,800 gift, and will put off doing so until after we get back from a visit to the States early next month.

Will the consumer vouchers work the way the government hopes? They'd better - including printing and distribution costs, the total runs to NT4200 ($125 or ￥11,400) each for roughly 23 million people. That creates quite a debt load to pass on to the next generation, especially when the government also intends to spend billions on a number of infrastructure (aka "pork barrel construction") projects designed to further cover this island in cement (while still leaving its residents with water that can't be drunk straight from the tap or toilets that can't handle tissue paper). Alex Kerr should have visited Taiwan first before writing "Dogs and Demons".

The BBC has an article about the voucher program on its website.

Behind the scenes

In the fields behind my apartment complex, the rapeseed flowers are at their peak. Once they're picked, the seeds for the next rice crop will be planted.