Welcome to Fantasyland: the Commonwealth of Taiwan - Security

Kaminoge's summer fantasy rolls on...

Taiwan Grand Shrine 台湾神宮, a Shintō shrine 神社 constructed in Taihoku 台北 in 1901

In addition to managing Taiwan’s 台湾 foreign relations, the central government in Japan is also responsible for the defense of the island. In order to avoid upsetting Chinese sensitivities, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces 自衛隊 keep a low profile on Taiwan, and the primary responsibility for the commonwealth’s security falls on Japan’s Coast Guard 海上保安庁. In particular, the JCG maintains a visible presence in the waters around the Hōko Archipelago 澎湖諸島, ensuring that Chinese and other foreign fishing vessels stay out of Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone.

Owing to its status as an external territory of Japan, Taiwan’s security is covered under the terms of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan 日本国とアメリカ合衆国との間の相互協力及び安全保障条約. As part of efforts to demonstrate American resolve regarding the defense of Japan, the U.S. military holds annual exercises on Taiwan in conjunction with the SDF.

Taiwan does not maintain a territorial army or an American-style national guard. Being Japanese citizens, Taiwanese are permitted to enlist in the Self-Defense Forces. In fact, a relatively high percentage of SDF members from Taiwan are made up of members from Formosa’s aboriginal tribes 台湾原住民, with military service having long been considered one of the most effective routes for Taiwan’s native peoples to escape from discrimination and economic inequality.

Welcome to Fantasyland: the Commonwealth of Taiwan - Finances

Still dreaming…

A 1911 map of Japan, including Taiwan

Being a commonwealth, and therefore without elected representatives sitting in the Diet 国会, Taiwan 台湾 does not receive any grants, subsidies or transfers of funds from the central government in Tōkyō 東京. Rather, the island’s government generates revenue from its own tax collections. Residents and businesses in Taiwan pay income tax to the commonwealth government, which in turn distributes money back to the various cities, towns and villages. The Taiwanese finance ministry also receives income in the form of a local value-added tax on all consumer goods, as well as taxes on such things as cigarettes, alcohol and gasoline. Under the terms of the free association agreement with Japan, the government has the authority to issue bonds, when necessary, in order to help meet its financial obligations.

Despite being fiscally independent from Tōkyō, the Japanese yen 円 remains the unit of currency in Taiwan, and all bills and coins in circulation are printed by the Japanese Ministry of Finance 財務省. Also, a system of mutual recognition is in place when it comes to tax payments. People who maintain family registries 戸籍 in Japan, but are living and working in Taiwan, make their income and residential tax payments to the authorities in Taiwan. These contributions are recognized by the central and local governments in Japan, and taxpayers are thus considered to have met their financial obligations in Japan proper. The same holds true for registered Taiwanese residents who are living and working in Japan – the Taiwanese government accepts and credits all tax payments made outside of Taiwan. The system is designed to protect taxpayers from double taxation and the roughly equal income and residential tax rates in both Japan and Taiwan serve to minimize incidents of tax evasion.

Curmudgeonly Birthday Rants

Another year, another birthday. I’m reaching the stage in life where I’m actually beginning to forget how far I’m come, and I need to do some calculating when asked how old I am. It would be nice to have one’s birthday fall on a weekend, and thus not have to work, but today was actually the next best thing, as I usually only have to work in the mornings on Tuesdays, leaving the rest of the day free to hit the mountain trails. On my way out to Tà​k'ēng 大坑 this afternoon, I paid a visit to the T'ái​chūng Shèngshòu Temple 台中聖壽宮 to have a quick look around.

Inside the Main Hall

Now you may assume the reason for visiting a house of worship on this particular afternoon was so that I may pause on this day of birth, and reflect on my current station in life, in the presence of the gods. A reasonable assumption, but when it comes to Taoism (t'ào​chiào) 道教, I can’t be bothered. Taoism may have begun as a worthy philosophy concerned with the state of Nature, and of Man’s relationship with the Universe, but over the centuries it has aimed at the lowest common denominator, to the point it is now smothered in mysticism, superstition, the occult and esoteric (and completely unnecessary) rituals. To be fair, most of the world’s major religions have followed similar paths. One thing that stands out about Taoism, however, is its almost complete lack of idealism. Whereas most of the world’s major faiths (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and so on) in theory, at least, aim to educate their believers into becoming more ethical beings (even if they do fail miserably much of the time – people are people, after all), Taoism seems to exist mainly to satisfy its adherents’ most selfish desires in this world, and to give its followers the means to bribe their way into the next one. In this regard, Taoism is arguably the world’s most refreshingly honest faith! (And again, in all fairness, Taoist temples frequently engage in activities to benefit people in their surrounding communities, even if that means having local gangsters getting involved).

The view from the second floor, with the T'ái​chūng 臺中 "skyline" off in the distance

What’s also annoying about Taoism is its unapologetic ethnocentrism. Taoism exists for Chinese/Taiwanese people, and Chinese/Taiwanese people only – you don’t find the universality that most of the world’s great religions profess to have in common. One would think that the sheer irrationality underlying the concept of there being only Chinese gods for Chinese people would be glaringly obvious, but when it comes to religion (any religion), faith triumphs every time over logic and reason. On the bright side, this means we don’t have to put up with Taoist proselytizers knocking on our doors, harassing us on the streets or beaming themselves into our living rooms.

A lone worshiper seeks the gods' blessings. I may not agree with the religions and their dogmas, but I respect the believers, and when visiting churches, shrines or temples, I always try not to disturb those who may be meditating or praying.

So why did I bother visiting a Taoist temple this afternoon? The simple answer is for the architecture and the atmosphere. Shengshou Temple is one of the more interesting temples in this area, and commands a prime location in T'ái​chūng’s eastern hills. The temple is very welcoming of visitors (something Christian churches generally aren’t very good at doing), and there’s a very informative sign near the front entrance explaining in both Chinese and English the different gods, and their location within the buildings. I wasn’t the only one there this afternoon having a look around, as several of the worshipers were also taking pictures. It was a nice break before tackling the trails of Dakeng.

As for today’s hike, I had plenty of insects and lizards to keep me company. My camera, unfortunately, isn’t very good at close-up photographs, and the pictures I took of the golden beetle that crossed my path at one point were very disappointing. Despite my crotchetiness, perhaps the Taoist gods took pity on me (it was my birthday today, after all). I was blessed with sunny weather while I was out on the trails, and it was only when I was riding the scooter on the way back home that I turned around and saw heavy rain falling in the distance:

Welcome to Fantasyland: the Commonwealth of Taiwan - Foreign Relations

Japanese Soldiers Entering T'ái​pěi​ City 臺北市 in 1895 after the Treaty of Shimonoseki 下関条約:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Japanese_Soldier_Entering_Taipei%281895%29.jpg

As an associated free state, Taiwan 台湾 is allowed a great deal of leeway in matters pertaining to the island, but foreign relations are strictly the provenance of the Japanese government. Visitors wishing to travel to Taiwan must meet the same entry and visa requirements as those pertaining to Japan proper. All necessary documents must be obtained from Japanese embassies and consulates abroad, and immigration and customs matters at Taiwan’s two international ports of entry, Taihoku 台北 and Takao 高雄, are handled by the relevant Japanese government agencies. Travelers wishing to fly to Taihoku’s Matsuyama Airport 松山空港 or sail into Kīrun’s 基隆 port from Japan do not require any additional documents, however, as these are considered to be domestic travel routes.

There are only a handful of foreign representatives in Taiwan, with the most prominent being the American and British consulates in Taihoku and Tansui 淡水, respectively. Negotiations are underway regarding the establishment of a Chinese consulate in Taihoku, though progress has been slow in this area as China has officially been opposed to Japan’s being allowed to maintain ultimate sovereignty over Taiwan despite its defeat in the Second World War. Recently, however, the Chinese government has softened its stance in the wake of growing trade ties with the island, and efforts are being made to allow direct air links between Taihoku and one or more cities in China (at the moment, all flights must be routed through Hong Kong).

As mentioned earlier, under the terms of the commonwealth, Taiwan’s residents are considered to be Japanese citizens and, therefore, carry the same Japanese passports as other Japanese nationals. Japan represents Taiwan in most major international forums, such as the United Nations and its various agencies, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and APEC, among others. However, Taiwan does maintain a separate international presence in the field of sports. The island is represented as “Taiwan” in sporting organizations such as the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and the International Baseball Federation.

(To be continued...)

Welcome to Fantasyland: the Commonwealth of Taiwan

Map of T'ái​wān 台灣, circa 1896

To the long list of personal dreams and aspirations that will most likely never come to fruition (thanks to failed language exams and spouses who are incapable of empathy), you can sadly add the goal of an independent Republic of T'ái​wān 台灣共和國. Thanks to President Ma Ying-jeou’s 馬英九 China-centric policies (not to mention his nationalistic glorification of mythical Middle Kingdom greatness) and the world’s increasing acceptance and use of the odious (and unnecessary) designation “Taiwan, Province of China”, the dream of a sovereign Taiwanese, as opposed to a “Chinese” (a la Republic of China 中華民國), state, seems as remote as ever since the end of martial law and the onset of democracy in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

When the real world turns ugly, the fantasy world beckons. And so let’s play the game called “What If?” What would have happened if, as a result of some twist of mid-20th century history, T'ái​wān was allowed to remain under Japanese jurisdiction, and not “returned” to the R.O.C., at the end of the Second World War? For starters, let’s presume that the post-war Japanese state in this scenario is the same as the one that actually exists today, a constitutional monarchy and political democracy, and not a continuation of the Imperial entity 大日本帝国 that brought so much death and destruction the peoples of Northeast and Southeast Asia.

The next step will be to assume Taiwan's status in the modern Japanese polity. As this is my fantasy world and not yours, Taiwan 台湾 will be considered a commonwealth of Japan, or “コモンウェルス（政府の形態 / 政治的・国際的地位の呼称）“ in Japanese. As citizens of a Taiwanese commonwealth, the residents of this island will be considered Japanese nationals and carry Japanese passports, but Formosa will be largely self-governing, with Japan's primary responsibilities being foreign affairs and security.

As a commonwealth, Taiwan will not be considered the 48th prefecture 都道府県 of Japan, and as a result will not be represented in the Diet 国会, Japan’s parliament. Taiwanese voters, therefore, will not vote in Japanese national elections, and Taiwanese matters will be seen to on a national level by a Taiwan Affairs Office connected to the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office (and most likely led by an appointed official of Taiwanese descent). However, the voters of Taiwan will elect their own governor and legislature, as well as local officials and assemblies at the county, city, town and village levels. All officials will serve fixed-terms.

Political parties will be separate from those in Japan – there will be no local branches of the Liberal Democratic Party 自由民主党 or the Democratic Party of Japan 民主党 (the exceptions will be for the New Kōmeitō 公明党 and Japan Communist Party 日本共産党). In their place will be parties favoring the current commonwealth status, or arguing for an upgrade to a prefecture and full representation in the Diet. These two parties will dominate the local political scene, but there will be smaller parties advocating the establishment of a truly independent Taiwanese state, or calling for a return to Chinese jurisdiction. All parties will be allowed to freely operate and promote their ideas.

The commonwealth will be organized along the same lines as the present-day R.O.C. There will be 16 counties, and one metropolitan area, Taihoku 台北 (or two, if you wish to include Takao 高雄). The offshore islands of Chīn​mén 金門 and Mǎ​tsǔ 馬祖​ are missing here, as under the commonwealth scenario, these areas would have remained a part of China, regardless of what happened during the Chinese Civil War 國共內戰. As befitting its status an external Japanese territory, all place names will be officially rendered in Japanese:

Chāng​huà​ 彰化 → Shōka 彰化
Chiā​ì​ 嘉義 → Kagi 嘉義
Hsīn​chú​ 新竹 → Shinchiku 新竹
Huā​lién​ 花蓮 → Karen 花蓮
Ílán​ 宜蘭 → Giran 宜蘭
Kāo​hsiúng​ 高雄 → Takao 高雄
Miáo​lì​ 苗栗 → Byōritsu 苗栗
Nán​t’óu 南投 ​→ Nantō 南投
P'éng​hú 澎湖 ​→ Hōko 澎湖
P'íng​tūng 屏東 ​→ Heitō 屏東
T'ái​chūng 臺中 ​→ Taichū 台中
T'ái​nán​ 台南 ​→ Tainan 台南
T'ái​pěi 臺北 → Taihoku 台北
T'ái​tūng​ 台東 ​→ Taitō 台東
T'áo​yuán 桃園 ​​→ Tōen 桃園
Yún​lín​ 雲林 ​​→ Unrin 雲林

Speaking of language (more on that in future), Japanese will be the official language, used in schools and government offices, and Japanese visitors (as well as foreign ones who are proficient in 日本語) will have no trouble getting around the island. However, on a daily basis, most Taiwanese will use their local languages when speaking with each other, be it Taiwanese 臺灣話「台湾語」, Hakka 客家話「客家語」 or one of the aboriginal tongues 台灣南島語言「台湾諸語」.

(To be continued)

Feeling woodsy in Shatei

No pithy intros, no insightful commentaries on the state of local politics, just some holiday snaps of our overnight stay in the village of Ch'ēch'éng 車埕, the final stop on the Chíchí Branch Rail Line 集集線鐵道 located in the mountains of Nánt'óu County 南投縣:

We arrived in Checheng in the late afternoon on Saturday, and Amber immediately got to work blowing bubbles. In the background can be seen the Che Cheng Chateau, where we spent the night. A small but clean en-suite room cost us NT1200 ($42/¥3370).

Amber and I pose on the platform of Checheng Station 車埕車站. The Jiji Line is closed at present between Lúngch'uán 龍泉車站 and Checheng Stations for maintenance, which is why we drove there. The village is surrounded by steep mountain ridges, some of which you can see in this picture.

The original Checheng Station was destroyed in the 921 earthquake of September 21, 1999 921大地震, but has been rebuilt to look the way it did when the Japanese first opened it in 1922.

Checheng got its start as a logging center during the Japanese period 台灣日治時期, and remained quite prosperous up through the 1970's. Today it's tourism that drives the local economy. After dinner, we took a stroll around the Lumber Pond, where logs were originally soaked before being shipped off on the railway. The restored timber buildings looked very attractive in the night lights, and Amber enjoyed listening to the sounds of croaking frogs in the darkness.

We then took a walk through the older part of the village, where Amber was more than pleased to buy a pineapple Popsicle from a kindly おばさん.

The next morning, I went out onto the ledge of the Che Cheng Chateau and filmed the view. It can't be seen clearly in bright sunshine, but the village sits in front of a dam, which I found a little unnerving in light of recent disasters. One thing that didn't bother me was the peace and quiet at 8:00 this morning, before the tourist hordes showed up. After breakfast, we took another walk around the Lumber Pond, where Amber first posed with her mother outside, and then did her best seiza 正座 pose in the Checheng visitor center. And, yes, her shirt does say "Sorry I'm Late".

My daughter had a lot of fun at the Experience Factory 體驗工廠, a DIY shop where she got to make her own wooden basket (with some help from the staff, of course). She really enjoyed stamping the wood and hammering the nails. A future carpenter, perhaps?

Checheng's lumbering history is presented in the Checheng Wood Museum 車埕木業展示館, located inside a large cypress shed. My guidebook mentioned a NT40 ($1.40/¥110) admission fee, but it didn't cost us anything to go inside today.

The final stop on our tour of Checheng this afternoon was the Checheng Winery 車埕酒莊, located in the same building as the Che Cheng Chateau 民宿, where we had spent the night. The 69% alcohol sample of plum wine I tried packed quite a punch for its small size, but we did pick up a less-potent bottle for ourselves, as well as a couple of others for お土産 purposes.

Because Checheng didn't have enough people walking around its streets, my wife suggested we use the free shuttle bus to pay a visit to Sun Moon Lake 日月潭, and so 45 minutes later we found ourselves among the crowds at T'áiwān's 台灣 most overrated tourist destination. The picture below shows just a few of the many sightseeing boats that were plying their trade around the lake. The photo also illustrates how I've yet to experience a day free from haze whenever I've been there. It doesn't look crowded in this shot, but believe me, the people were there, including many Chinese tour groups. I can't understand the attraction Sun Moon Lake holds for visitors from China - surely in a country that huge, there must be larger, more beautiful bodies of water than this one.

The obligatory Japanese pic. Sun Moon Lake is ちょうおもしろい, "very interesting", is it not?

You can buy many things at post offices in Taiwan, including "Anti-tuberculosis Stamps" (third from the bottom).

Amber was so happy to be buying some Hand Made Assam Black Tea Egg Rolls that she didn't notice that eggu エッグ had been rendered as etsugu エツグ.

Pamela and Amber strike a pose in front of the lake. That's Lalu Island between the trees in the background.

Back on the free shuttle bus, we passed by this store in Shuǐlǐ 水里, which for some reason had three statues of Chiang Kai-shek 蔣中正 standing out front.

Back in Checheng (where our car was still parked), it was time to have dinner before the drive home. The bus driver had neglected to tell us that by using the free shuttle, we could receive free complimentary wooden train whistles from the ranger's office in Checheng. The restaurant's proprietress, on the other hand, was more than happy than to clue us in. Here's Amber proudly showing off her new possession before tucking in to dinner.

The final picture before getting in the car and heading home.

Cultural Revolutions

Amber and her kindergarten class reprised their Mother's Day performance this morning at the cultural center. A reporter from a local newspaper was walking around taking pictures - my wife, unfortunately, didn't think to find out which paper, so we might have to do some hunting around in the next couple of days to see if my daughter is turning into a media star:

Amber and her partner loosen up before the show:

After the performance, all the kids got a Doraemon ドラえもん eating utensil kit and a bottle of soap bubble solution:

There were tables set up outside the cultural center with various activities for the kids. A couple of things caught my eye, like these wooden shoes with Japanese words and phrases written on them (I'm not sure what さんすく means):

タケテッポウ, or "bamboo gun" (竹鉄砲), on the other hand, does make sense: