Japan Trip Day 4: Communing with the Kami 日本旅行６月３日

On Tuesday morning I walked from my hotel about 15 minutes to Matsue Shinji-ko Onsen Station 松江しんじ湖温泉駅, got on the Ichibata Line 一畑電車 and rode the train to Izumo Taisha-mae Station 出雲大社前駅 in order to visit, you guessed it, Izumo Taisha Shrine 出雲大社. Izumo Taisha is Japan's second most important Shintō 神道 shrine after Ise-jingū 伊勢神宮. The approach is marked by two torii 鳥居 gateways, a large concrete one to the left when you exit the station, and a more aesthetically-pleasing wooden one in the opposite direction, which indicates the entrance to the forested grounds of the shrine.

The first prominent building you see upon entering the main grounds of the shrine is the Oracle Hall, noted for its giant shimenawa 注連縄 rope, used for ritual purification purposes.

After seeing the displays in the nearby treasure hall, I walked over to the Honden, or inner shrine, which dates from 1744, and is 24 meters (79 feet) high, making it the tallest such shrine structure in Japan. Most people, myself included, can't walk through the Eight-Legged East Gate entrance to go inside, unless we've paid to take part in a ceremony, which I didn't (but which many others did, judging from the number of groups of formally-dressed people patiently waiting their turns to visit the Honden). It is allowed, however, to look through the fence to the inner courtyard, and unlike at Ise, it's possible to walk around the perimeter of the Honden, and get a good look at the architecture, which is considered to be of a purely Japanese style, untainted by any "continental" (read "Chinese") influences.

 

A tree covered in omikuji おみくじ fortune-telling papers.

The original Honden was supposedly twice as high as the present structure, and was built on high posts to the point that it was allegedly a meter higher than the Tōdai-ji Temple 東大寺 in Nara 奈良, the world's tallest wooden building. There was a small museum across the road from the wooden torii that had a display of what the Honden used to look like:

Though it seems hard to believe, apparently the remains of large wooden posts have been unearthed on the grounds of Izumo Taisha that lend credence to the theory. The next time the Honden is rebuilt, the shrine might want to consider going back to the original design!

After lunch near the shrine, my next plan was to rent a bicycle at the train station, and ride it out to the Hino-misaki cape 日御碕. According to one of the two guidebooks I had with me (and which shall remain anonymous), it was a half-hour ride to the cape. However, when I explained what I wanted to do to the woman at the information counter at the station, both she and the station master strongly discouraged me from doing so, saying it would be both quicker and safer to take a bus. I'm glad I went along with their reasoning, because the road was uphill and narrow, and definitely wouldn't have been much fun on a bike.

 

What one does when waiting for a bus.

The bus trip to Hino-misaki took about 20 minutes, and the two main attractions there are Hinomisaki-jinja 日御碕神社 and a lighthouse. The shrine dates from 1644, and was a lot quieter, while simultaneously less solemn, than Izumo Taisha.

The lighthouse was built in 1903, and stands 44 meters (144 feet) high.

The view from the top of the surroundings and the Sea of Japan 日本海 were worth the walk up the steep spiral staircase inside, but compared to the relatively calm conditions on the ground, the wind was fierce. You can get an idea from this video I shot walking around the top:

 Hino-misaki lighthouse

After spending about 90 minutes walking around the cape and admiring the ocean scenery, I got another bus back to Izumo Taisha-mae Station, and then the train back to Matsue. Back in the city, I had dinner at a restaurant in the Ichibata Department Store 一畑デパート next to JR Matsue Station 松江駅. I thought about going out for a drink somewhere afterwards, but considering that I was planning to get around 5am the next morning, I decided to return to my hotel and get some sleep.

Japan Trip Day 3: Be careful what you wish for 日本旅行６月２日

If trying to find somewhere to eat dinner on a Sunday evening wasn’t easy in Kurayoshi 倉吉, trying to get breakfast at 7 in the morning was even more of a challenge, especially near the train station. Unlike the hotel in Namba 難波, the place where I stayed in Kurayoshi didn’t offer breakfast, so I ended up paying ￥900 ($8.50 or NT260) for an all-you-can-eat buffet spread at Kurayoshi’s swankiest hotel, across the street from the bus terminal. It may have been a little pricey, but they did have cereal, and I made sure to get my yen’s worth before catching the 7:40am bus to Sambutsu-ji Temple 三仏寺 on Mount Mitoku 三徳山, and the climb up to the Nageire-dō 投入堂.

The trip didn’t get off to an auspicious start. I missed the bus stop, and had to walk a few hundred meters back down the road to find the entrance to the temple. Then I came in for a big surprise when I was told I couldn’t climb up to Nageire-dō alone! It turns out a few months previously, a solo hiker died in an accident on the trail, and the local police instructed the temple that a minimum of two people was necessary to hike up the mountain from that time on. Needless to say, I was somewhat disappointed, especially as Sambutsu-ji wasn’t that interesting in itself. Eventually, however, a retired couple from Tōkyō 東京, a Mr. and Mrs. Hasegawa, came along with the intention of hiking up to Nageire-dō, and they very graciously allowed me to tag along.

It wasn’t long before the old adage about being careful what you wish for started to come true. Though it took less than an hour to reach the structure, the trek uphill was treacherous, and I started to understand why solo hiking was discouraged. The route consisted of twisted roots, narrow rock outcroppings and ledges, slippery tracks and, in one case, a chain to get over some boulders.

At one point, we stopped at a small building perched on a boulder called Monju-dō 文殊堂. The view was great, but the ledge of the structure sloped downwards, and there was the constant pull of gravity that had everyone clinging to the side of the small temple as we worked our way around.

But when we reached the Nageire-dō, all the effort became worthwhile. It’s an amazing work of engineering, and apparently no one is sure how it was constructed. I certainly couldn’t see how it was done. According to legend, the founder of Shugendō 修験道, En-no-Gyōja 役行角 , was the one who put it up here. Whatever the case, Nageire-dō dates back to the 11th or 12th centuries, and is certainly an impressive sight.

The walk back down was even more hazardous than the hike up, and both of the Hasegawas took tumbles, though fortunately without injury. After thanking them for letting me come along, I said my goodbyes, and returned by bus to Kurayoshi.

Following lunch at the station, I took advantage of the free bicycles available for tourists, and rode for a half-hour to the Akagawara 赤瓦 area, and in particular, Shirokabe-dozō-gun 白壁土蔵郡, an area of Edo- 江戸時代 and Meiji-period 明治時代 black-and-white storehouses along a small river that have been converted to souvenir and craft shops.

It was all very picturesque, and while I was there, some kind of ceremony involving a lion dance 獅子舞 was being held. The dancers were going to different shops, where they received an envelope (no doubt filled with cash) from the shopkeeper, and then proceeded to perform what I assume was some form of ritual to ensure prosperity. Here’s a short video I made of one of the performances:

Akagawara lion dance 

While in Akagawara, I took time out to sample one of the local microbrews 地ビール, a Pilsner ピルスナー made by the Kurayoshi Beer 倉吉麦酒 brewery. Japan, in recent years, has seen a growth in the number of locally-brewed suds, and I really enjoyed this one. In Taiwan, by contrast, beer is still under the control of a government monopoly, and the imaginatively-named Taiwan Beer resembles Budweiser バドワイザー both in taste, and in market demographics, being the choice of Taiwanese good ol’ boys. My wife drinks it too – through a straw.

After spending some time in Shirokabe-dozō-gun, and then taking a walk through nearby Utsubuki Park 打吹公園 (and climbing the small mountain there, Utsubukiyama 打吹山, to get a view of the area), it was time to return the bike, and say so long to Kurayoshi. The next stop was Matsue 松江, the capital of Shimane Prefecture 島根県, where I arrived around 6:15 after a 90-minute train ride. Following dinner at Matsue Station, and a short bus ride to my hotel, the Matsue City Hotel 松江シティホテル (a funky old hotel featuring displays of clocks on every floor), it was time to call it a night.

Japan Trip Day 2: Goin' up the country 日本旅行６月１日

I was generally very fortunate when it came to weather while in Japan. Though it did rain at times in the places that I visited, I only had to use my umbrella once, and not for very long at that. For the most part, I had clear, blue skies, like on Sunday morning. Here was the view from the the Hotel Nissei ニッセイ when I went downstairs to have breakfast:

After checkout, I took the train to Ashiharabashi 芦原橋 Station, and visited Liberty Ōsaka/Ōsaka Human Rights Museum リバティおおさか大阪人権博物館. Japanese may pride themselves on being a "homogeneous" 同種 nation, but as this museum makes abundantly clear, the reality is quite different. The exhibits cover the difficulties faced (and the progress made) by resident Koreans 在日コリアン, Okinawans 琉球民族, the Ainu アイヌ, women, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities, people with HIV/AIDS, survivors of Hansen's Disease ハンセン病, the homeless, Burakumin 部落民, and victims of pollution, including Minamata Disease 水俣病. The photos of the latter group, in particular, were very sad to see. Liberty Osaka is very sobering in that it reveals just how many people have been left out of the so-called "Japanese Miracle". At the same time, it is encouraging that these groups have not just accepted their lot in Japanese society, but have organized themselves to demand what is rightfully theirs, including going to court. During the week I was there, the Japanese Supreme Court 最高裁 ruled that:

"...a clause stating that the parents of children born to foreign mothers and Japanese fathers must be married for the children to be recognized as Japanese is unconstitutional, as well as the clause that only grants nationality if the Japanese father, even in out-of-wedlock cases, comes forward before a child is born, but not after."

(http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080606a5.html)

while the Diet 国会:

"...unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes (the Ainu) as indigenous people of Japan."

(http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080607a1.html)

Two displays, in particular, at the museum caught my eye. On the left is an example of a typical parcel sent from Okinawa 沖縄 to the Japanese mainland while the former was under American occupation. The Spam, Wrigley's, Snickers and Planters Peanuts all show the extent of American influence on the Ryūkyūan people. The picture on the right is of a display of drums made by Buraku craftsmen. While the quality is excellent, it does reveal how the Burakumin have been restricted to doing such work as a result of mainstream prejudice, a practice which seems to have continued into the present day.

After the museum, I headed to JR Ōsaka Station 大阪駅, where, following lunch, I got on the first of six trains for the nearly 5 1/2-hour ride from Ōsaka to Kurayoshi 倉吉, in Tottori Prefecture 鳥取県, where I was to spend Sunday night. The route I took first went west, but at Kami-gōri 上郡, the train cut across the heart of Honshū, all the way to Tottori 鳥取 on the Sea of Japan 日本海 side, from where I continued on to Kurayoshi. Here's a photo of the train that took me from Kami-gōri to Chizu 智頭 (about halfway to Tottori):

I had considered buying a Japan Rail Pass ジャパンレールパス before leaving Taiwan, but after doing some calculating, I came to the conclusion that it would be cheaper to travel via local trains. Sure, it was slow going, but the scenery was fascinating, especially the numerous little towns and villages the trains passed through. One thing that was clear from the train window was the extent of depopulation 過疎 in the Japanese countryside. I saw many elderly people out and about, but not many signs of children. Very few homes seemed to have children's clothes being hung out to dry, or kids bikes parked in the driveway, or toys scattered about the yard. (It was also clear yet again on the long train ride just how big of a country Japan really is. This would surprise most Japanese, who are under the impression they live on a "small" island. True, when compared to countries such as the USA, Canada or Australia, Japan seems cramped and overcrowded. While I never completely accepted the idea that Japan was "small", it wasn't until moving to Taiwan that it really struck me that this is a huge country. All things are relative in the end.)

Kurayoshi, with a population of around 50,000, wasn't exactly a teeming metropolis either. As is the case with many small cities in Japan, it wasn't easy finding an open restaurant, especially on a Sunday evening (though it didn't take too long to find an okonimiyaki お好み焼き place not far from the station that was still serving customers). Had I wanted something to drink, on the other hand, I would've had too many options from which to choose, including at least one joint that proudly boasted of its Southeast Asian hostesses. However, Monday was going to be a busy day, so I went back to my hotel after dinner, and called it an early night.

Japan Trip Day 1: Back in Blade Runner Land 日本旅行５月３１日

I'm back in Taiwan after an 8-day trip to Japan. You might notice the lack of an exclamation point at the end of the previous sentence, for while I'm happy to see Pamela and, especially, Amber again after a week-long absence, I'm already missing the Land of the Rising Sun. I went to several new (for me, that is) places on this visit, as well as revisiting a couple of others. During the week, I'll be posting pictures and a few videos, as well as describing where I went and what I did there. 見て下さい！

The first day was a short one, actually, as I didn't arrive at Kansai International Airport 関西国際空港 until around 7:45pm on Saturday evening. After going through Immigration and taking the Nankai Line 南海本線 to Namba 難波 Station in Ōsaka 大阪, it was after 9:30 by the time I checked in to my hotel (the Business Hotel Nissei ニッセイ in Namba - a great location, and a reasonable price, earns it a definite thumbs up from this traveler). Despite feeling tired after the flight, I went for a walk around Namba, part of the Minami ミナミ area, the center of Ōsaka's nightlife. This being Saturday night, the covered arcades radiating out from the different Namba stations (Nankai, Kintetsu 近鉄 and the Midōsuji subway lines 御堂筋線) were packed with people, young and old, residents and tourists, Japanese and gaijin 外人, looking for somewhere to eat or drink. There was a time when I didn't care much for Ōsaka (I used to think it was too polluted and ugly, but it's amazing how relocating to a place like Taiwan can so quickly change one's perceptions), but with each visit there in recent years I've come to like the energy that the city generates. However, on this particular Saturday night, this traveler didn't stay out too long, in preparation for the long day ahead on Sunday.

At the intersection of the Nankai-dōri 南海通 and Sennichimae 千日前 arcades.

In the news

One week after the fact, the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ finally notices what Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九 didn't say in his inauguration speech ("China-wary Ma omits Japan in inaugural speech"):

"Amid roaring applause in a packed stadium, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou heralded what he called 'a new era' in relations with China in his inaugural speech, delivered at the Taipei Arena just hours after he took office May 20. But for many in Japan, from where the most well-wishers after those from the United States came to attend Ma's inauguration, the key speech fell flat. Despite reports earlier this month that Ma would pledge to bolster ties with Japan and reiterate his support for the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance in the speech, he made no mention of Tōkyō."

Needless to say, the Japanese delegation wasn't very pleased:

"Delegation leader Takeo Hiranuma, a House of Representatives member who leads a pro-Taiwan caucus, politely rapped Ma after the speech. 'If you are re-elected in four years, I hope you'll clearly mention Japan in your next inaugural speech,' Hiranuma told Ma..."

Although the article doesn't touch on this, it seems Hiranuma's words to Ma were mistranslated, something to the effect that Ma was told that Hiranuma hoped he could deliver his next inauguration speech in fluent Japanese! Clearly, last Tuesday was not Japan's day. The article, meanwhile, goes to say:

"Considering Ma's focus on Japan at key junctures in the presidential race, the omission raised eyebrows. But Ma's even stronger platform focus on China, whose relations with Japan are often strained, goes a long way in explaining why Ma felt Japan — a key, albeit unofficial, ally of Taiwan — did not get a mention..."

No surprise here, it was most likely due to Chinese pressure that Ma decided to omit any references to Japan:

"Lingering disputes between China and Japan — especially over the war — 'make Ma wary of being seen as too pro-Japan' while seeking accommodation with Beijing..."

It's difficult to imagine anyone in their right mind ever mistaking Ma Ying-jeou for being "pro-Japan", but if he is so afraid of offending China that he couldn't make even a single reference to Taiwan's most important economic/military/political partner/supporter after the United States, then his administration has not gotten off to a very confidence-inspiring start.

The JT article, incidentally, is a shortened version of the story written by Max Hirsch of Kyōdō News 共同通信社, which can be seen at Thirsty Ghosts. Hirsch's full article goes on to clarify:

"...Ma's own background as KMT standard-bearer...further illuminates his omission of Japan in a speech that charts the future of Taiwan's foreign policies. Officially supporting eventual unification with China, the KMT identifies strongly with Chinese nationalism and has typically fared poorly at fostering a rapport with Japan."

Ma tried to cover his tracks at a later press conference:

"...stress(ing) the importance of bilateral ties with Japan, Taiwan's second largest trading partner after China, top foreign tourism destination and potential security partner. 'We are willing to promote even stronger ties with Japan,' he said, but added, 'I can't really name all the countries in my inaugural address.'

He certainly mentioned China often enough!

Next week I'll be taking a one-week break from all this talk about the most glorious people of China by visiting Japan, land of the "little devils".

In the news

Tom Plate definitely has a thing going for Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九. In today's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ he writes (in "A winner that Beijing would be wise to cheer"):

"His name is Ma Ying-jeou, 57, he went to Harvard, and my wife volunteers that he is quite good looking. Handsome or whatever, he gave a terrific inaugural speech that is important for everyone. That's because the policy directions taken in Taipei regarding its head-to-head relationship with Beijing could help determine whether a war erupts in Asia someday."

It's late, I'm tired, and I'm tired of reading commentaries like this one. It basically says that, compared to the previous administration, Ma is more pragmatic or reasonable, and this is a great opportunity for China to get what it wants from Taiwan...which, of course, is for the good of Taiwan as well:

"Ma's way is different. For him almost all issues are negotiable, the mainland as well as Taiwan deserves respect and the two must live in an arrangement of peace and stability...He avoided antagonizing the mainland while not giving the keys to the island to Beijing. Instead of speaking in grand (and illusive) concepts, he proposed practical, step-by-step negotiations designed to build confidence and trust...Beijing would be well advised to play along with Ma...it is very unlikely that Beijing, for the foreseeable future anyway, will find a better man with whom to negotiate than Ma. He's sensible, international, and strong on vision. Ma wants to lift the touchy bilateral relationship out of the basement of adolescent rivalry and into the master sitting room of adult diplomacy. China should exert every effort to work with him to its greatest abilities."

I have a feeling there are going to be a lot more opinion pieces like this one in the weeks and months to come. I do hope the homoerotic hero worship gets toned down a bit, however.

In the news

The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ is usually one of the better newspapers around when it comes to analyzing what is going on in Taiwan, but today's editorial, "Mr. Ma reaches out", was not up to the paper's usual standards. According to the JT's editors:

"Taiwan has a new president. Mr. Ma Ying-jeou, of the KMT (Nationalist) Party was inaugurated Monday after a decisive win in March's election. In his inaugural remarks, Mr. Ma hit the right notes, reaching out to both Taiwanese at home and Chinese 150 kilometers (93 miles) away across the Taiwan Strait. This is a historic opportunity to stabilize relations and establish a strong foundation for peace between Taiwan and the mainland. Will Beijing seize it?"

The question here concerns what "notes" Ma did or did not hit. The Japan Times states that Ma won the election because:

"Voters, tired of the ideological policies of former President Chen Shui-bian, have embraced the pragmatic, economics-first agenda promoted by Mr. Ma."

After commenting on the importance of closer economic cooperation between Taiwan and China, the editorial points out that:

"...Chen, and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), feared that increasing ties with the mainland would render Taiwan vulnerable to Chinese pressure. His government did its best to keep the two separate. For that effort..., Mr. Chen was labeled a 'splittist' whose attempts to promote Taiwanese national identity were considered by Beijing to be steps toward independence. The mainland's distrust of Mr. Chen grew throughout his administration and the Chinese government did its best to counter every Taiwanese initiative and humiliate Mr. Chen..."

So far, the editorial does an evenhanded job of clarifying the problems in the relationship between Chen and the Chinese government. From this point on, however, quality control begins to slacken:

"In his inaugural address, Mr. Ma spoke of a common Chinese heritage and, in a particularly bold gesture, he referred to three statements by Chinese President Hu Jintao on cross-strait relations — 'building mutual trust, shelving controversies, finding commonalities despite differences, and creating together a win-win solution.' Mr. Ma said Mr. Hu's 'views are very much in line with our own.' He also promised to negotiate on the basis of the '1992 consensus,' a slippery concept but one that Beijing insists upon."

From what I've read of the English translation of his speech, and from the analyses of several online bloggers here in Taiwan, Ma did more than just "speak" of a shared Han Chinese 漢民族 heritage, he practically reveled in it, while downplaying anything that makes Taiwan stand out from China proper. His references to the "1992 consensus" are also worrisome, as it isn't even clear that such an agreement actually exists. At least the Times is right in calling it "slippery". In fairness, Ma has never hidden his goal of reaching out to China, but the editorial doesn't raise any questions as to how far Ma is willing to go, and at what risk to Taiwan's sovereignty, in order to reach some kind of agreement or modus operandi with the Chinese (which, according to his speech, Ma is one of 1.5 billion or so). Instead, it states:

"The eventual success of (Ma's) entire platform depends, first and foremost, on forging a broad consensus in Taiwan that includes even those people who did not vote for him. Again, to his credit, the new president recognizes this. His speech included phrases in the local Taiwanese dialect as well as in Hakka and the aboriginal languages. He highlighted Taiwan's need for international space and 'respect.'"

What the Times failed to point out here is that, as far as I'm aware, Ma omitted any references to Taiwan's native population in his remarks, and one aboriginal legislator actually walked out of the speech in protest at this. And while Taiwan does need more "space" and "respect", we aren't informed that on the day before Ma's inauguration, China once again applied pressure on the World Health Organization to deny Taiwan any form of standing in that world body. But then, neither did Ma on Tuesday. The editorial then goes to point out other things from Ma's speech - no negotiations of unification during his presidential term, and the need for China to make progress on the democratic front, before pointing to China's positive response:

"The challenge now is to move beyond the rhetorical pats on the back and to substantive acts that reduce the risk of miscalculation and misperception in the Taiwan Strait and build genuine confidence between the two sides of the strait. The start of regular cross-strait charter flights is one such promising development; the expansion of tourism and lifting of limits on Taiwan investment on the mainland are others. As this process unfolds, the two governments may even be able to agree on a peace accord that stabilizes cross-strait relations and eliminates a regional flash point."

It's hard to disagree with this. After all, who doesn't want peaceful relations across the strait? If such an agreement is ever reached, however, would Ma put it to the voters of Taiwan first, or would he use the KMT's overwhelming majority in the legislature to ram it through, and then crack down on any dissent that may arise in the aftermath. After all, the KMT has had a lot of experience in that latter field. That, however, is a question that can't be answered here, and it is proper the Japan Times makes no mention of this in its editorial. What is missing, and it's a most puzzling omission at that, is that while Ma talked at length about common Chinese heritages and all that, and even briefly mentioned the United States in his speech, he said nothing at all about Japan. Zero, nada, not a word. I would have thought this would have caught the attention of the Japan Times, and led them to speculate on what that might mean to the future course of Japan-Taiwan relations, but the editorial staff chose not to take up this topic. Instead, it has been left to Max Hirsch of Kyōdō News 共同通信社 to point this out, in an excellent article which can be found on the Thirsty Ghosts website: 

There is also a second commentary in the Japan Times today on Ma's speech, "Cross-strait opportunity" , by Ralph Cossa. Based on the theme of "be careful what you wish for", Cossa raises the interesting question:

"...can Beijing, after hearing "no" for the past eight years, now take "yes" for an answer."

Cossa is referring to the same conciliatory remarks Ma made in his inauguration speech that the JT editorial also spoke of:

"Ma laid out the normalization of economic and cultural relations with the mainland as immediate goals, but warned that 'Taiwan doesn't just want security and prosperity; it wants dignity.' Herein lies the rub! It should be relatively easy for Beijing to respond positively to Ma's calls for direct weekend charter flights and visits to Taiwan by mainland tourists and other economic and cultural exchanges. Some security gesture, such as a visible drawback of missiles opposite Taiwan, is also doable. But is Beijing prepared to make significant gestures aimed at improving Taiwan's sense of security and relieving its international isolation? A failure by Beijing to respond positively to Ma's olive branches will seriously undercut the new Taiwanese leader as he tries to build consensus at home in support of his forward-leaning cross-strait policies. His address is already being labeled by the opposition as 'naive' and 'wishful thinking.' Will Beijing prove this to be the case?"

Will it indeed. The Chinese government has a long history of clumsy handling of issues between it and Taiwan - will anything be different this time? Not if this is any indication:

"Beijing immediately opted to pass on its first chance to make a positive political gesture by once again blocking Taiwan's bid for observer status in the World Health Organization (WHO). Chen's decision to apply as 'Taiwan' rather than 'Chinese Taipei' regrettably made it easier for Beijing to once again block this request, but it could have asked the WHO to postpone consideration of Taiwan's bid for a few days to allow for a reformulation of the application, rather than quickly excluding it from the agenda. As a result, Beijing needs to quickly find some other venues to provide the dignity that Ma seeks and Taiwan richly deserves."

Cossa is no believer in Taiwanese self-determination judging from some of his past writings, but he does make some good observations here:

"It appears that Beijing is still struggling to figure out how to deal with a potentially friendly government in Taipei after years of just saying no to everything and branding every positive gesture by the Chen administration a 'splittist trick.' The real concern, as some Chinese candidly expressed to me during a recent visit to Beijing, is finding ways to improve Taiwan's 'international breathing space' without further enhancing its status as a sovereign independent entity. Fear that gestures once made would be exploited if Chen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) returned to power were also cited as a reason for moving slowly, even though moving too slowly (or not at all) will increase the prospects of a DPP return."

Cossa then presents a long wish list of things Beijing could do:

1. "...it can observe Ma's call for a 'truce' in the international arena. In recent years, Beijing has taken great delight in humiliating the Chen administration by spiriting away Taiwan's few remaining allies, normally through a shameless bidding war. This must stop. If no one recognizes the Republic of China..., why shouldn't it just declare itself the Republic of Taiwan now and end the 'one China' charade?"

2. "A more dramatic military gesture is also needed. Merely withdrawing some easily redeployed mobile missiles is not enough. Beijing needs to deactivate and plow over some of the 1,000-plus missile sites it has poised opposite Taiwan as a true goodwill gesture."

3. "The semi-official cross-strait dialogue between Beijing's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and Taipei's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) also needs to resume, if for no other reason than to facilitate the institution of the economic 'three links' that both sides profess to support. Dialogue should also begin, either through ARATS-SEF or through a quasi-official 'track two' gathering, on cross-strait confidence building and conflict avoidance measures."

4. "Beijing also needs to loosen restrictions it has imposed on Taiwan in the WHO as a first step toward allowing Chinese Taipei to gain observer status as a 'health entity' next year."

and 5. "Beijing also needs to stop its heavy-handed pressure aimed at blocking participation by Taiwan scholars at academic gatherings and should take steps to help elevate Taiwan's status in the nongovernmental Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific and other track-two organizations, while also supporting higher-level Taiwan participation in the APEC Leaders Meeting and other forums."

One question that Cossa doesn't ask, however, if whether Ma Ying-jeou will be the kind of leader who can move China to respond in ways that are beneficial to the overall benefit of Taiwan, and its 23 million citizens (including those who didn't vote for him). There is nothing to do now but sit back and watch the drama unfold!