Cat and Mouse Games 窮鼠

The weather on the No. 2 Trail in Tak'eng (Dakeng) 大坑 certainly matched the mood I was in this morning...

...after an absolutely horrible morning, that started off with my almost getting run over by a driver who felt that completing his right turn was more important than my physical well-being, and culminated with one of those humiliating loss-of-face moments at a local McDonald's that Taiwan loves to throw up with soul-destroying frequency.

I feel like the waikuojen (waiguoren) 外国人 mouse being cornered by the Taiwanese cat. Twice I've tried to leave Taiwan, and both times I was swatted back into the corner. Every time I try to make a move, the paw comes down to block the way. The occasional swipe with extended claws draws blood, but the final merciful death blow has yet to come. To use another labored analogy, a number of years ago I made a couple of wrong decisions that resulted in the loss of my marriage, savings, career/future prospects and self-esteem, and brought me to Taiwan. I would've thought that to be sufficient enough punishment for my misdeeds, but the powers-that-be in these matters must think otherwise, because not only am I still here in Taiwan with no exit in sight, it seems a day can't go by without someone being entertained at my expense. Is this how I'm supposed to atone for my sins?

On Friday, the Japan Times ran an opinion piece entitled "Legacy of Asian liberation" in which the writer states that

"Taiwan, South Korea, China and Japan must think hard about their pasts, to identify from which aspects they have been truly liberated."

I've been doing the same too, but all I've identified so far is an increasing feeling of nausea I get when my stress reaches a certain level (the threshold of which seems to be getting lower).

Outside in the cold, with a cold スティーブとはハイキングをしていた

Despite coming down with a bad cold, despite the thunder and lightning at 3am this morning, despite the inclement weather, despite everything, I still got up at 7 and rode my scooter to T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中（たいちゅう）to meet up with my good friend Steve. It isn't easy for Steve to find the time away from his family for outdoor pursuits, so I wasn't about to pass up a rare chance to do some hiking with him.

今朝スクーターに乗って台中へ行った。スティーブという親友とハイキングするつもりだった。

Together we went in Steve's car to the Tak'eng (Dakeng) 大坑 area to do some hiking. The plan was to go up the No. 2 Trail, and then, time permitting, cross over the ridge to the No. 1 Trail, then down and back to the parking lot of the No. 2. Despite the threatening skies, the trail was packed with people. The mountain was covered in mist, the air was fresher than usual, and despite all the hikers, the walk was going well. Suddenly, about 3/4 of the way up, there was a bright flash, followed by a loud rumble, and then the rain started coming down. Having been caught at the top of Takeng in a lightning storm on a couple of previous occasions, it was decided the best course would be to turn around and head back down before things started to get nasty. Despite not reaching the top, neither of us felt disappointed.

山に登る途中で稲妻がぴかっと光って、雷が鳴って、雨が降って始まった。ですからぼくたちは早く車を戻って決めた。

On the way back to Taichung, we stopped for a quick look at a Taoist temple 道観 called Yuhuach'ang (Yuhuachang) 育化常. Afterwards, we searched in vain for a pizza place where we had eaten in the past. Good restaurants don't seem to last very long, and so I had to content myself with a second breakfast at a small stand.

Being a dedicated family man, Steve went back home after lunch. I was starting to feel worse from the cold I had recently caught, so of course I decided to ride around and take some pictures before going home. After riding through an upscale neighborhood and taking a picture of this Frank Lloyd Wright フランク・ロイド・ライト-inspired house...

...I parked my scooter at the 823 Park 八二三公園 and had a look around. "823" refers to the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, when the Chinese started shelling the ROC-held islands of Kinmen (Chinmen/Jinmen) 金門島（きんもんとう）and Matsu (Mazu) 馬祖 on August 23, 1958. The park has a couple of reliefs showing heroic ROC soldiers in action, plus a statue of Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石 and some displays of military hardware.

Next, I passed by a Japanese restaurant called Yamatoya 大和屋, which bills itself as a "Japanese-style seafood restaurant", though the kanji 海鮮料理 in Japan means "Chinese cuisine with fresh seafoods". The sign out front welcomes diners with いらっしゃいませ, which makes sense being a Japanese restaurant and all, but then goes on to say in English "The fine delicacies are you invite the honored guest, displayed theunique (sic) status with the best selection which savors".

Down the street from Yamatoya I was surprised to find a small attractive Taoist temple that I had never noticed before. Called Wench'ang Miao (Wunchang Miao) 文昌廟, it dates from 1863.

The last thing I did before going home was to walk around the new Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium 臺中市洲際棒球場, on the corner of Ch'ungte (Chongde) 崇德 and Huanchung (Huanjhong) 環中 Roads. Having already hosted the 2006 Intercontinental Cup (an event you've never heard of, but which was big news in Taiwan, which is starved of international goings on), the still-unfinished stadium is to be the new home of the Sinon (Hsingnung/Singnong) Bulls 興農牛 of the Chinese Professional Baseball League 中華職業棒球聯盟.

Saturday 土曜日

I took Amber out this afternoon to meet a former co-worker of mine, Hedy, who is back in Taiwan after spending a few months studying in Canada. We met for coffee at the Stylistics cafe in downtown Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原（とよはら）, and afterwards took Amber outside for a short stroll.

While out walking with Hedy, we passed by this yakiniku 焼肉 restaurant. Yakiniku is often translated as "Korean barbeque". The name of this place is 六條龍, "Rokujou Dragon". The name is written in hiragana on the sign as ろくじょうけつ, "Rokujou ketsu". However, as if often the case, there appears to be a mistake. The kun reading for 龍 is たつ, "tatsu", though in the case of a compound リュウ (ryu) would probably be used. The other Japanese words on the sign say 本場のだ ("Homba no da") and 辛いなべ ("karai nabe"), suggesting that this place is a mecca for spicy hotpot.

Tomb Sweeping Day 清明節

Today was a national holiday, Tomb Sweeping Day or Ch'ing Ming Chieh (Cing Ming Jie) 清明節. It's a day when Taiwanese people will worship their ancestors 家族で祖先を祀る, namely by cleaning up the area around their tombs. It's also a day to eat traditional foods like Taiwanese-style spring rolls and sticky rice cakes 台湾式春巻き、潤餅を食べる. My wife, however, has never observed these customs.

Instead of laboring hard to clear away a year's growth of underbrush from a tombsite, we drove into T'aichung (Taizhong) 台中（たいちゅう）to visit one of the few genuine tourist sites there, the Paochueh (Baojue) Temple 宝覚寺（ほうかくじ）. This temple is noted for its 30 meter-high (98 feet) statue of Milefo, the Laughing Buddha 彌勒佛, or Hotei 布袋, as he is known in Japanese. Paochueh Temple is always included on the itinerary of Japanese tour groups that visit Taichung, and today was no exception as we saw some elderly Japanese women taking photographs of Hotei-san. Because today was Tomb Sweeping Day, there was a lot more activity than usual going on at the temple. Despite the occasional rain, we enjoyed ourselves. Amber was a little intimidated by the large Buddha at first, but it wasn't long before she was dancing to the chanting going on in one of the temple halls!

Paochueh Temple 宝覚寺「バウジュエスィー」

The Laughing Buddha 布袋

The grounds of the temple contain other things to see

Because it was Tomb Sweeping Day, a number of tables were set up, with offerings to be given to the ancestors

One interesting aspect of Paochueh Temple is a stone memorial for the souls of Japanese soldiers

英靈碑建立のあらすじをお取り讀み下さい An inscription written in Japanese, but using traditional characters in some places, asking us to please take and read one of the explanations below on the erection of the stone monument to the spirits of the war dead.

After leaving the temple, we took a short stroll and soon passed by a small shop selling things for cats. Amber took a great interest in the owners' cat.

Winter hangs on 寒かった

On the weekend I wore shorts for the first time this year. Today, I was in long-sleeves and a heavy jacket as another cold spell has gripped the island. The chill and the ominous-looking clouds put paid to my plans to go walking in the hills, so instead I went for a brief ride on my scooter, across the Tachia (Dajia) River 大甲川 and into the neighboring town of Houli 后里（こうり）. There was actually some nice rural scenery amid the factories and garbage incinerator plant, but the battery on my camera ran out before I could take any more pictures.

週末に暑かったからショートパンツをはいた。しかし、今日は寒くなった。スクーターで「后里」というの近くの町に行った。

A paper mill 製紙工場

　

A billboard 看板 put up by a local KMT politician, giving her New Year greetings in five languages: Mandarin 北京語, English 英語, Korean 韓国語 (새해 복 많이 받으세요), French フランス語 and Japanese 日本語（あけましておめでとうございます）

The Tachia River flood plain 大甲川

In the news ニュース

From the Taipei Times, a new shopping mall in Kaohsiung (Gaosyong) 高雄（たかお）is getting ready to open . What caught my attention is the fact that the Dream Mall will include a Hankyu Department Store 阪急百貨店 and a Nitori ニトリ home-furnishings store. Our apartment in Yokkaichi 四日市 was largely stocked with items we purchased from the local Nitori. It's too bad Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原（とよはら）is several hours by car from Kaohsiung.

From the Japan Times, Kyoto 京都 is finally going to do something about regulating the rampant development that has eroded much of its old atmosphere . Actually, while I agree that the city hasn't done a very good job at preserving its ambiance, I think it's gotten a bad rap from its Western critics. Old wooden buildings don't lend themselves to modern retrofitting in the manner you often come across in European cities, where the local Citibank branch might be occupying a building dating back to the 17th century. And Kyoto is a modern commercial and industrial city of 1.5 million, so that is going to have an effect on appearances. Still, it would have been nice if Kyoto had followed Takayama's 高山 example, where newer buildings are designed to harmonize architecturally with the older, preserved wooden structures in the historic central part of the city (except for the monstrous NTT building). But I have to admit that I like Kyoto Station 京都駅. I don't think it's very modernity takes anything away from Kyoto's traditional charms. Would the alternative have been to build something like the main station in T'aipei (Taibei) 台北（たいほく）, which looks oppressive, but in a "traditional" way? The real crime against aesthetics in Kyoto is Kyoto Tower 京都タワー. THAT should never have been allowed!

A seback for Taiwan

Two online articles on the same topic this morning: "Top court rules China, not Taiwan, owns dorm" from the Daily Yomiuri and "Top court nullifies rulings siding with Taiwan on dorm" from the Japan Times. Japan's Supreme Court 最高裁判所 has ruled in a 40-year-old case that, even though Taiwan purchased the dormitory for Chinese students in Kyoto 京都 in 1952, the ROC government cannot represent the Chinese nation in a lawsuit as Japan switched recognition to the government in Beijing back in 1972. By ruling that Taiwan cannot be a litigant in a lawsuit and that ownership of the dorm belongs to China, the Supreme Court has overturned four lower-court rulings. 

UPDATE: The Japan Times has an editorial today (Sunday, April 1) on the case, wondering if political concerns played a part in the final decision. According to this column, the Supreme Court did not determine who actually has ownership of the dormitory, and Taiwan could file a new lawsuit seeking ownership confirmation. What's another forty years?