For Greater China

This is dedicated to the anonymous commenter on my previous post, Mental forecast: cloudy, with a chance of resignation:

From today's edition of the Taipei Times newspaper (Makiyo, friend charged with assaulting driver):

Earlier in the day, a group of about 20 members of the National Taxi Drivers Union submitted a protest letter to the Interchange Association, Japan 財団法人交流協会, in Taipei, asking the association, which serves as the de facto embassy in the absence of official diplomatic ties, to apologize to the nation “for the tensions” caused by the dispute.

Union chief of staff Kuo Ya-hsiung (郭雅雄) said the incident had dragged on for so long and that none of the alleged perpetrators were telling the truth.

“We want dignity! We want the truth!” the protesters shouted, holding banners that said: “Find the truth” and “Violent Japanese drinkers not welcome in Taiwan.”

Although Lin’s case was an isolated incident, Japan’s representative association should say something about a Japanese national beating up a Taiwanese in his own country, said Cheng Chuan-yi (鄭釧義), an executive committee member of the taxi drivers’ association.

“They [the association] should apologize to Taiwanese and Mr Lin to help ease tensions between the two countries [caused by the incident],” Kuo said.

If this isn't xenophobia, then I don't know what is. This reminds of the incident last year in which my scooter was hit by a female scooter rider speeding through a red light, who then sued me for damages! In front of an arbitrator she demanded an apology from me on the grounds that my losing my temper with her after she struck me (I yelled at her, and sprinkled my remarks with a few "F-Bombs") was somehow an "insult to all Taiwanese women". The arbitrator wouldn't have any of that, however, and lectured her for trying to turn a routine traffic accident into an international incident. Perhaps he should have a word or two with the National Taxi Drivers Union.

If the above still doesn't convince you, Anon, that there's an ugly undercurrent running through the Makiyo case, there's also this from the same article:

Several well-known people, including former leader of the Bamboo Union gang “White Wolf” Chang An-lo (張安樂) — who has made public statements about the affair — and Yulon Motor (裕隆汽車) chairman Kenneth Yen (嚴凱泰), have indicated their intent to donate money to Lin (the injured taxi driver).

Chang, a wanted fugitive who has fled to China, is the founder of the China Unification Promotion Party. One taxi association, the Grand Chinese Taxi Association, is affiliated with the party.

His involvement in the matter in Taipei appears to have been made to please China and spark anti-Japanese sentiment.

Welcome to reality, my anonymous commenter. It ain't so pretty, eh?

Mental forecast: cloudy, with a chance of resignation

Like the photographs below, my mood hasn't cleared much since returning to Taiwan last Monday.

It certainly didn't take long for the rut to set in again, now that I'm back to the daily routine of teaching mornings, afternoons and some evenings. My students are as friendly and interesting as ever, but I've been at this for far, far too long. Unfortunately, the ennui of life on Formosa hasn't been alleviated by any good news from back home. Worries over the health of one parent remain an ongoing concern, and I feel a strong sense of guilt for being so far from home when I could/should be making myself useful in some capacity back in the States. However, suddenly uprooting a family from one country and plopping them down in another without sufficient time to prepare for the uncertainties regarding income, education and cultural readjustment doesn't seem like the right thing to do just this moment.

I do prattle on...

Speaking of money, we've been relieved of NT30,000 ($1018) to fix an oil leak in our Nissan Cefiro 日産・セフィーロ. I've never been very good with matters of engineering and mechanics, which is another way of saying I'm hopeless when it comes to cars, and especially, the workings of their engines. Add to my general ignorance the fact that all the repair matters were handled in Mandarin Chinese by my wife, and I'm almost completely out of the loop here. All I know is this was the wrong time (as if there were ever a right one), financially speaking, for our automobile to fail on us. Having missed half the month of January in order to go back to the U.S. for our annual visit, our revenue stream for the next pay period is about to shrink considerably. The forecast for the next four weekends or so calls for lots of domesticity.

Finally, there's Amber. Not to worry, she's in good health and still her usual energetic self. However, this morning she asked if she could change kindergartens because "the other kids don't want to play with me". I'm sure this is only one of life's minor episodes, and just a normal part of growing up, but I'm understandably sensitive to my daughter's situation. She is, after all, the only bi-cultural child in her entire kindergarten - there may be other students whose mothers might be Vietnamese, for example, but they wouldn't be so obviously "different" as my little girl. As one of my Facebook friends pointed out, Amber will never be considered as "one of us" by her Taiwanese friends and classmates (though probably not in a hostile way), and as long as we stay here, she's just going to have to learn how to handle that. Or we could move back to the U.S. where people like my daughter are more commonplace and therefore more likely to be accepted for who they are. 

Bi-cultural offspring have been having a hard time of it lately in Taiwan, as this AP article in Wednesday's Japan Today pointed out:

Prosecutors say Taiwanese-Japanese starlet Makiyo 川島茉樹代 has been barred from leaving Taiwan pending a probe into her alleged involvement in the beating of a taxi driver in Taipei.

  

The Taipei Prosecutors Office said Tuesday the 27-year-old singer is accused of kicking a taxi door after her companion, who allegedly was drunk, dragged the driver out and beat him.

  

Makiyo has apologized and pledged to stop drinking in the wake of the Thursday night incident.

  

Takateru Tomoyori of Japan was released on bail pending formal charges, possibly attempted homicide, according to prosecutors.

  

The driver suffered a brain hemorrhage and two fractured ribs.

  

News reports said the taxi driver asked Tomoyori and Makiyo to get out after they refused to wear seat belts. 

This story has dominated the headlines here, which isn't surprising as celebrity-related scandals grab the attention of Taiwanese just as much as they do the citizens of other countries. For those of you who don't know, Makiyo is what the Japanese call a tarento タレント, an entertainer of minimal talent who nonetheless becomes a celebrity, and is constantly seen on vapid talk and variety shows. The product of a Japanese father and a Taiwanese mother, she became famous here because of a combination of having a nice body paired with a Japanese background (though she speaks Mandarin fluently). As to whether she has any actual singing abilities, you can do a YouTube search to listen and decide for yourself (or just watch this). What's disturbing here is the undercurrent of xenophobia that appears to be fueling the hype over this "scandal". Sure, entertainers in Asia do seem to have an exaggerated sense of themselves, and as a result, are constantly getting into scrapes with the common people, but the outrage in this case might well be amplified by the fact that Makiyo isn't "one of us" (her companion most certainly isn't). It's a strange situation when a reactionary rag like the China Post actually comes to her defense, sort of.

At least the weather cleared up enough earlier this week to allow for a bit of hiking. I'm getting flabby again after a long period of relative inactivity combined with a poor diet (plus my Taiwan-related insomnia has returned in the post-jet lag period), so it was with some sense of relief to be walking again along the trails in the  Dàkēng 大坑 area. The photos below didn't turn out very well, but I really didn't want to post any pictures of Makiyo, so here you go:

Looking down from Trail 7 towards the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium 臺中市洲際棒球場

Trails 1-5 are shrouded in mist

Don't even get me started on how I missed what, by all appearances, was a very exciting Super Bowl XLVI. The last couple of years our trips back to the States coincided with the biggest sporting event on the American stage, but the calendar wasn't working in my favor this time. The Giants-Patriots clash was televised in a number of other countries, but Taiwan wasn't one of them. I certainly couldn't find the game on my local cable provider. Unlike in Japan, where the American game of football アメフト is popular at the university level (there's even a Rice Bowl to decide a champion!), the gridiron game is virtually unknown here. In fact, the only NFL game I've ever attended was a preseason clash between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams (before they moved to St. Louis) at the Tōkyō Dome 東京ドーム in August of 1989 (the American Bowl, which the Rams won 16-13 - thanks for the getting the tickets Jun!), while my Australian friend Josh and I once attended a college all-star game at the Yokkaichi Dome 四日市ドーム circa 2005. Yet here in Taiwan...

Enough whingeing already. I'm back, and I'm just going to have to deal with it.

Trapped!

In between rice crops, the fields behind our apartment complex come alive with the unfortunately-named rapeseed plants.

It's been almost a week since we returned from Washington state in the USA, and I'm still in the throes of my post-trip depression. The usual culprits for my annual funk - the ugly architecture, the discourteous-bordering-on-dangerous motorists and scooter riders, the ensuing month of relative poverty from having missed work during half of the previous month - have been reinforced by ongoing worries combined with guilt over health problems in the family back home and the inevitably of aging while seemingly stuck in a foreign land that long ago lost its allure. Today's sky isn't the only thing that's blue around here.

Add to this downer cocktail a shot of auto trouble. Yesterday, our Nissan Cefiro sprung a massive oil leak that has the car out of action until at least Tuesday. The repair bill is likely to be in the area of NT30,000-40,000 ($1017-1356), which makes for extremely poor timing, financially speaking. The next thirty days or so are going to be a lot more quieter and uninteresting than usual, which is what happens when you can't afford to go out.

So what does one do with oneself on a pleasant sunny Sunday when one is sans automobile? We still have a 100cc scooter for getting around, but there's no way I'd let my daughter ride on one. Thus, the only option for getting out of the home and doing something is to hoof it. Unfortunately, Taiwanese cities and towns are not designed with foot traffic in mind. For example, the local Carrefour and an adjacent park are theoretically within easy walking distance of our apartment building. However, to get there on foot would involve having to negotiate a couple of narrow roads without the benefit of sidewalks, all the while brushing elbows with speeding cars and scooters passing by just inches away.

Which left us with one, and only one, option - the nearest elementary school, a 10-minute walk away on (thankfully) quiet neighborhood streets. In Taiwan's densely-packed urban areas, where greenery and park space are at a premium, school grounds often serve as substitute parks for the local residents, especially on the weekends. My daughter had a good time this afternoon playing with a couple of boys on the school playground, while all around us other kids were shooting hoops on the basketball courts, middle-aged men and women were walking laps around the school's track and families were engaged in, well, family activities.  Had the school not been so close to us, this would have been a pretty boring afternoon. Still, Taiwanese suburbia (like it's American counterpart) lives and dies by the automobile (and scooter), and I'm looking forward to getting our vehicle back as soon as possible.

Sporting her new, pink Seattle Mariners hoodie, which we picked up from the Seattle Team Shop in Silverdale, WA's Kitsap Mall, Amber clambers up the jungle gym. At six years of age, Amber isn't that much younger than the average age of the Mariners' projected starting lineup for Opening Day this year.

The elementary school apparently has some history to it. Here Amber is standing in the gǔbēi​tíng 古碑亭, the characters of which mean "old pavilion housing a stele (or steles, in this case)". The significance was lost on me, however.

Virtually every burg in Taiwan has a Zhōng​zhèng Road 中正路, and ours is no exception. Named in honor of the brutal and corrupt dictator Chiang Kai-shek 蔣中正, in this area the road is a busy thoroughfare connecting Fēng​yuán (railway) Station 豐原車站 with the No. 1 Freeway 中山高速公路.

Amber pauses outside a shop selling Buddhist and Taoist artifacts. The masks she's pointing to are frequently seen in Taoist temple festivals.

Not the best of times

My daughter tucks into a hot dog at Narita International Airport 成田国際空港 as we kill time waiting for our flight to Seattle

Back to the grind. Our once-a-year visit to see my family in the Pacific Northwest came to an end yesterday as we returned to Taiwan from the U.S. I wish I could say it was a great visit, but I can't this time. My mother is not in the best of health these days, and she has been staying in hospital rooms and nursing homes since the start of the new year. My father is coping well under the circumstances, but he understandably feels the strain at times. My sister has been doing her best to help out, but it isn't easy for her considering the distance between her home and my parents' house. I wish I could be there to do what I can, but I feel helpless being so far away. 

It didn't help matters that I arrived in Washington with a raging case of the flu, which combined with the jet lag to knock me out for the first 20 hours or so I was back at my parents' place (I went to bed shortly after noon on a Friday, and didn't wake up until 8am the following morning). Being sick prevented me from seeing my mother at the nursing home for the first few days I was back in Bremerton, and then, just as I was recovering, we got snowed in for a couple of days. It was a full week before I finally got a chance to see how Mom was doing.

The end of our visit wasn't much better than the beginning. My mother had a setback that necessitated her being moved out of the nursing care facility and back into the hospital, while Amber spent most of the long flight back to Taiwan throwing up in the airsickness bags...and on her father. Still, despite the circumstances, it was wonderful being back home and with family again. My dad appreciated having his granddaughter around the house, and Amber's presence also cheered my mother up a lot. Pamela was a great help with the household chores, which also did a lot to lift Dad's spirits. Hopefully, my mother can return home soon and bring a sense of normalcy back to everyday life. I only wish I could've been able to stay at least a few more days longer.

Some scenes from our two-week visit:

The Pacific Northwest was hit by a large snowstorm during the latter half of our first week back. Our area received six inches (15 centimeters), and we were housebound for a couple of days. The temperature outside when these photos were taken was 27°F (-2.8°C).

Mother and (especially) daughter enjoy the white stuff. They probably saw more snow on this trip than most Taiwanese will ever see in their entire lifetimes.

While some people had fun making snowmen and snow angels, and throwing snowballs, others had to work. This was the first time in my life that I ever had to shovel snow from the driveway (I grew up in Southern California and Sacramento).

The scene in the backyard...

...and down the road.

Amber explores the backyard in the evening.

We also went out into the snow at night, when the temperature had risen to a balmy 30°F (-1.1°C).

It wasn't all snow on this trip. On January 21, Amber turned six years old. We had a small party for her at home, which included cake and presents. Here Amber shows off her new Ken doll to her grandad:

The green-icing white cake in the shape of a pig was personally selected by my daughter at the local Safeway:

Amber did pretty well on this visit home. The day after her birthday was the eve of the Lunar New Year, and she received a red envelope filled with cash. Note the satisfied smile:

The weather improved significantly during the second week of our trip back, and we were finally able to get out and do some things. Here's Amber by the waterfront in Poulsbo:

Amber also asked to be taken to the Kids Discovery Museum on Bainbridge Island. Her favorite part was getting to be the cashier at the grocery store, but she also had fun being a dentist:

Mother and daughter pose on the streets of downtown Bainbridge:

I was hoping to get outside and do a lot of walking on this visit, but the weather and my mother's condition precluded much of that. Still, I did take Amber out for a short stroll along the Cedar Creek Trail in Silverdale:

Some family shots:

My sister Karen, Pamela, Amber, my nephew James and my father

Dad has been a pillar of strength during these trying times.

Being back in the States also means being able to (over)indulge in the comfort foods. For me, these include Cap'n Crunch cereal, maple bars, Hostess cupcakes and fruit pies, Reese's peanut butter cups, two tacos for 99¢ from Jack-in-the-Box...and craft beer. My daughter, however, was insistent that I only drink amber ales:

I could use a Fat Tire Amber Ale now, for as I write this, I'm in the throes of the post-visit blues. Only the depression has been made much worse by my mother's situation. Why the hell am I still here in Taiwan? I don't belong here, I've never felt comfortable in this society and I'm just wasting my time and talents going nowhere fast in an ugly part of the center of an ugly island (the urban areas, anyway), yet I can't seem to break free and get out. I'm most definitely not looking forward to returning to work tomorrow and falling back into the same stifling rut. 

My belated New Year's resolution is to avoid reading those "golly gee whiz, this sure is a beautiful, swell place with lots of friendly folks. I'm so happy to be here" blogs for fear of aggravating my already sensitive stomach.

Baltimore vs. Washington: A Taiwanese Rivalry?

A Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation 台灣菸酒公司 "research and development center" located close to my daughter's kindergarten. Although there's a large poster of a bottle of beer on the side of the building, cigarettes are produced here. You can often smell the aroma of rolled fags (that's British English for those who aren't in the know) as you pass by

From the sports desks of the Associated Press, courtesy of Japan Today:

Taiwanese left-hander Wei-yin Chen 陳偉殷 and the Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a three-year contract worth $11,338,000 (NT337.9 million), a move aimed at improving a starting rotation that struggled last year.

  

Chen went 36-30 with a 2.48 ERA in 117 games, including 88 starts, over the last four seasons with the Chūnichi Dragons 中日ドラゴンズ of Japan’s Central League セントラル・リーグ. The 26-year-old will become the first Orioles player born in Taiwan.

  

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette says Chen has “exceptional command” with a 92-94 mph (148-150 kph) fastball and a hard breaking ball as his “out pitch.”

  

Chen gets a $250,000 (NT7.45 million) signing bonus and salaries of $3,072,000 (NT91.5 million) this year, $3,572,000 (NT106.4 million) in 2013 and $4,072,000 (NT121.3 million) in 2014. The Orioles have a $4.75 million (NT141.5 million) option for 2015 with a $372,000 (NT11.1 million) buyout. 

The China Post's article on Chen's deal adds some additional details:

If Chen makes the Orioles roster, he will become the first Taiwanese player to have played at Japanese professional baseball before singed by a U.S. Major League team.

He will also become the first local player to sign multi-year contract with an MLB team. 

Chien-ming Wang 王建民 of the Washington Nationals had previously sought a multi-year contract during his years with the New York Yankees failed in the attempt. 

Chen's reported deal with the Orioles pays him just under US$4 million a year and therefore does not rank as the highest single-year salary paid to a Taiwanese player in the U.S.

That record is still held by Wang, who made US$5 million (NT149 million) in 2009 in his last year with the Yankees...

 ...The southern city Kaohsiung 高雄-native will be the second starting pitcher signed by new Orioles GM Dan Duquette out of the Japanese leagues this offseason, joining Japanese lefty Tsuyoshi Wada 和田毅.

The Orioles previously signed the 30-year-old Japanese southpaw under a two-year, US$8.15 million (¥627.4 million) deal.

Chen is also the first Taiwanese player to be signed by the Baltimore team.

Though the Orioles hope Chen will fit into their starting rotation, the Taiwanese lefty will face stiff competition, with eight pitchers potentially vying for only five starting slots.

Though their teams are in different leagues, Baltimore and Washington are natural geographic rivals, and should meet every season (especially from 2013, when the Houston Astros move from the National League Central to the American League West). Should Wen make the Orioles' rotation, you can expect a great deal of local interest when his team and the Nationals play each other.

Further clarification

Today's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ has the Kyōdō News 共同通信社 account on the apparent end to the case of the tragic murders of two Taiwanese students last week:

A 30-year-old Taiwanese man wanted on suspicion of fatally stabbing two female students from Taiwan at their apartment in Tōkyō's 東京 Taitō Ward 台東区 on Thursday has committed suicide in Nagoya 名古屋, police said Monday.

Chang Chih-yang 張志揚, who had been missing since Thursday, slashed his throat with a knife while being taken in for questioning by police, Tōkyō police said.

Questions are being asked as to why the police failed to search and handcuff Chang before taking him into custody, but for all intents and purposes, his death brings this terrible episode to its sad conclusion.

Today was a glorious one weather-wise, which only added to the disappointment I felt when I discovered I wouldn't be able to get in one final hike before our departure to the U.S. this Friday. I had intended on doing a loop along Trails 5, 2 and 3 by approaching from the Zhongxingling 中興嶺 area, a ridge located behind the Dakeng 大坑 mountain region. To my bitter surprise, however, the narrow lane leading to the No. 5 trailhead was pretty much impassable due to some road surfacing work. Instead of the chance of trying out a new hiking/walking route, I had to content myself with riding my scooter around the top of the ridge. At least the scenery made up for some of the frustration I was feeling.

The mountain in the background is the one traversed by Dakeng trails 1-5.

Looking down on the mushroom farms of Xinshe 新社

The Central Mountain Range  中央山脈 looks large in the background

A road sign pointed the way to a "Radio Station", so I duly followed. The signs outside indicated the complex belonged to Chunghwa Telecom 中華電信, but the camouflaged antenna suggested something else. I wasn't sure about the legality of taking pictures of the site. If it is illegal to have done so, I'll save the government the time and trouble of tracking me down - it was me. I did it.

The power of pork - a new, expensive-looking and unused pedestrian bridge spanning a dry riverbed, in an expansive area filled with vacant lots and roads with little vehicle traffic.

Clearly speaking

As you can see in the pictures above, we've had some really clear weather recently. The first two photos were taken around noon today, while the last one was shot in the late afternoon. The line of mountains in the distance are part of the Central Mountain Range 中央山脈, and it isn't often that they can be seen through the usual haze and smog. 

Also apparently becoming clearer is the search for the killer of the two young Taiwanese women murdered last Thursday in Tōkyō 東京. The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ ran the Kyōdō News 共同通信社 story on the not-so-surprising suspect in the case:

A Taiwanese man is being sought in connection with the fatal stabbings of two female Taiwanese students in Taitō Ward 台東区, Tōkyō police said Sunday.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Chang Chih-yang 張志揚, 30, who has been missing since Thursday after telling his roommate at around 10 a.m. that he was going to Ōsaka 大阪. Chang was a student at the same Japanese language school the slain women attended.

Police suspect Chang of killing Lin Chih-ying 林芷瀅, 22, and Chu Li-chieh 朱立婕, 24, at around 9 a.m. Thursday at an apartment rented by the school as a dorm, police said. The two women each had about 10 stab wounds, mostly around their necks, and the cause of death was apparently blood loss, police said.

Chang is believed to have been fond of Lin as he recently complained that she had been giving him the cold shoulder since mid-December. He was spotted by security cameras near the crime scene at around the same time as the murders, police said.

On the day they were killed, Lin promised to go on a trip with male friends from the school. They were to meet at a subway station at 9:30 a.m., but when Lin failed to show, her friends contacted a school official who used a duplicate key to enter the apartment where the women were found.

Lin was found lying in the hallway in a jacket and boots, while Chu was found bleeding in the room's bottom bunk bed. 

Japan Today has a similar article on its website.

When this story first broke, I had a feeling that the killer might have been another Taiwanese. Not because I think a Japanese is incapable of murder (they are, just like anybody else), nor because Taiwanese people are more prone to killing (they certainly aren't). The reason I thought so is that it seemed that in most cases where foreign students are murdered, the killer or killers often turned out to be compatriots, or at least fellow classmates. I don't have any crime statistics to back up that last assertion, but it is a fact that in most murder cases, the victim(s) knew their killer(s). Add to that the tendency among students studying abroad to socialize with classmates from their home countries, and/or with others studying at the same school, and the odds increased in this particular case that the main suspect would turn out to be from Taiwan. 

According to the latest news, which I heard from a student this evening, Chang committed suicide, and it appears the case is being brought to a close. A sad end all around.