ああ、そうか！

It seems a certain notorious Japanese cult is becoming well-established here in Fengyuan (Hōgen) 豐原. Several weeks after organizing a festival at the Fengyuan Culture Center, the same pseudo-Buddhist group held another event this afternoon a couple of blocks away from one of my workplaces. I don't know what was being celebrated, but it involved long rows of tents and plenty of flags, all in the same rainbow/European-country color scheme. These pictures were taken in the early evening, when it appeared things were over (and which explains the poor lighting):

By coincidence, there were a couple of Mormon missionaries taking a break in one of the local McDonald's this evening where I was having a quick meal before going to work. Those clean-cut, all-American boys have got their work cut out for them in these here parts.

I hear those cranes a-comin'...

A few months ago, China bequeathed to this island a pair of pandas, a seemingly generous action that in actuality has some serious, and some might say, dangerous political undertones. It is unlikely that a pair of endangered birds from Japan will cause the same level of controversy:

"Hokkaidō 北海道 may give a pair of red-crowned cranes, a species designated as a special national treasure, to Taiwan, following Taipei's 台北 plan to open a representative office in the prefecture, sources said Wednesday."

(Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ, "Hokkaido may give Taiwan pair of special cranes in show of good will")

Unlike the Chinese government's use of "panda diplomacy" to promote "reunion" or "reunification" with Taiwan, the government of Hokkaidō wants to encourage Taiwanese tourists to visit the prefecture in greater numbers. 280,000 Taiwanese traveled to Hokkaidō in 2007 (according to the article), and the popularity of Japan's second-largest island has prompted the government of Taiwan to consider opening an unofficial consulate in Sapporo 札幌, possibly by the beginning of summer.

What's the attraction with the island some Taiwanese know only as "Beihaido"? My guess is that, quite simply, it's snow. Many people here, my wife included, are fascinated by the white stuff, which is what happens when you live on a sub-tropical island where snow rarely falls in places below 3000 meters (9840 feet) in elevation. The traffic jams on the road going up to Hehuanshan whenever there is snowfall testify to the excitement many Taiwanese feel. Of course, snow is great in the abstract, but virtually all of my students who have visited Hokkaidō in the winter have told me that, while they enjoyed their trips, it was definitely "too cold" to live there!

As for me, I've been to Hokkaidō twice (Sapporo, Hakodate 函館, Tōya-ko 洞爺湖 , Sōunkyō Onsen 層雲峡温泉 and Otaru 小樽), but only in the summer, when the weather is very pleasant. I'm sure I would find it too cold in the winter as well. What do you expect from someone who grew up in California?

As for the cranes, the article notes that while the prefectural government has begun preparations, including contacting a local zoo (though without mentioning which one), negotiations with Taiwanese authorities haven't started yet. The story concludes by noting that:

"The crane is known as a symbol of longevity and conjugal love in East Asia. It is listed as an endangered species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, popularly called the Washington Treaty, basically limiting the bird's export to breeding and scientific study. The estimated population of red-crowned cranes in the wild is more than 1,000 in Hokkaidō, according to the prefecture. Given the expected stress in the new environment, the cranes to be donated to Taiwan must have been raised in captivity, a Hokkaidō official said. The official indicated the need for rigorous control after the pair is shipped to Taiwan so they do not get paired with cranes originating in China, which are a different species. Japan has never exported a red-crowned crane originating in Hokkaidō. The prefecture is considering attaching a clause banning the recipient zoo in Taiwan from pairing the Hokkaidō birds with different species, the sources said."

Amber tickles some ivories

My daughter certainly looks the part on the piano. Are lessons on the horizon, and will I have to take on another job in order to pay for them?

Amber tickles the ivories, Part 2

Amber at the 美術館

The Lonely Planet guide to Taiwan quotes an expat father as saying that the children's library at the Taiwan Museum of Art in Taichung 台中 is the best one that he had ever seen. I don't know if I would go quite so far - I haven't seen any other children's libraries, and I didn't notice the igloo, castle and rainforest areas that are described in the LP book. Nevertheless, there were lots of books for children to look through, with a surprisingly large number of English titles (and at least one in Japanese that I found). Amber was more interested in the interactive computer displays, but if you have children and find yourself with time to kill in Taichung, the art museum and the children's library there are worth a visit.

We arrived at the museum this afternoon just in time for Amber to take part in a mass painting project. The mural will be displayed inside once it is dry.

 

My daughter's masterpiece (on the bottom)

Preschool

Today was my daughter's first day at preschool. Everything seemed to go well - as soon as we arrived at the classroom door, Amber quickly took off her shoes and ran inside to join the other kids. When we stopped by around noon to see how she was doing, she hardly paid any attention to us. There were tears, but only when my wife came to take Amber home - it seems she didn't want to leave! One day isn't enough to go on, of course, but the program appears to be geared more to having the kids engaged in hands-on activities and play, and less on learning academic subjects. My main concern is language. Seeing as Amber will be immersed in a Chinese-speaking environment (there are some English lessons in the curriculum), will this have a negative effect on her ability to communicate in English? Only time will tell, but it will be an area in which close attention will have to be paid. In the meantime, I have to face the fact that my little princess is growing up. Sniff...

An open letter to Monica in California, USA

Monica,

When I checked my blog around lunchtime today, I saw that you had replied to my previous comment. However, this evening after returning home from work, I discovered that somehow your message had been deleted. I certainly didn't do it, and I'm not sure what happened. I'm going to reply as best I can from memory of what you had written.

First of all, I owe you an apology for my erroneous assumptions. However, having done so, I have to say that considering your personal and professional histories, I'm having trouble comprehending how you of all people, who should be well-aware of the accusations and controversies related to Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda and the Komeito, would still willingly choose to align herself with such an organization. Like I asked before, did you do any independent research before making the decision to become a member?

I'm also still having trouble understanding how you found my blog. You say who came across a link to Sponge Bear while you were researching "Daisaku Ikeda", but when I ran the same search on Google, I couldn't find my blog on any of the first ten pages (and I wasn't about to look at all 231,000 listings!). However, when I entered "SGI Fengyuan", well what do you know - Sponge Bear was the second entry! I'm certainly not out there trolling in cyberspace looking for pro-SGI blogs where I can leave opposing comments. Perhaps I'm being a little paranoid, but I find it a little creepy how on the couple of occasions when I wrote something about my personal experiences with Soka Gakkai, in less than 48 hours someone connected with the organization felt the need to leave something on my blog (which isn't private, by the way. Everybody is free to take a look, and I don't delete comments).

If I remember correctly, you then went on to write something to the effect that as a journalist, you were conscious of the need to present factual-based, objective information. I certainly wouldn't disagree with that. But you then proceeded to dismiss out of hand everything that was contained on the two links I provided. I'm afraid I can't recall your exact words, but I went back and looked through that 19-page report on the CAIC website, and I can't find anything that looks made up. As for the link to the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association, obviously these people are going to biased in their outlook, but can you just so readily dismiss all those allegations so quickly? As you claim to have training in journalism, shouldn't you at least look into such stories first before reaching any conclusions? For some reason, I'm reminded of those southern police chiefs in the U.S. in the 1960s who blamed civil rights disturbances on "outside agitators", or those spokespeople at the Chinese Foreign Ministry who brush off any questions about Tibet, food safety etc. as the acts of "splittists" out to tarnish the image of the country.

I also did a Google search this afternoon on the two academics you cited, and while I'm sure they are competent researchers who are sincere in their beliefs, the first thing I noticed was that SGI-approved blogs were among the first links that came up. I'm not satisfied that they are the kind of "independent sources" I wrote about in my earlier reply to you.

Monica, your religious beliefs are your own business, and I'm not out to change your mind. But I am curious about several things. If you don't mind my asking, I have the following several questions for you:

1.) As someone who says she has studied religion, do you really feel that chanting just a part of the Lotus Sutra over and over is enough to grasp what Buddhism is getting at?

2.) Spirituality is a personal matter, is it not? If so, why do you feel the need then to identify your spiritual beliefs with a large organization, especially a controversial one that has a political agenda, and is dominated by a single individual?

3.) And to repeat the query from my previous comments, why is it necessary to chant in Japanese?

Give my best to Orlando!

Nature's wrath

It looks like the No. 3 Trail in the Dakeng Scenic Area has taken quite a beating from the elements since the last time I went on it. There were three different places where the trail had collapsed and fallen down the side of the mountain, but fortunately new routes have been set up...for now.