Thursday, January 31, 2008
Back In Two Weeks
Sorry about the really light posting in the last couple of months. I won't be posting anything in the next two weeks either - we're headed to Sumatra for a break over Chinese New Year. I'll post lots of pictures upon our return!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Things About Taiwan
I'm trying to think of aspects of life in Taiwan that are unique to this country. Taiwan is of course similar in many ways to other countries in East Asia, but I think every nation has its unique points.
1. On days that are sufficiently auspicious, I'll walk down the street and pass tables set up in front of businesses, with various bits of food laid out as offerings to the gods. Sticks of incense are usually burned as well. There will be a metal container with a fire going; this is for the burning of spirit money and other important bits of paper (I've never been able to ascertain what, exactly). This is part of Chinese culture that the PRC has put an end to in mainland China. (I think much of the same things are done in other substantial Chinese communities around the world, but traditions probably continue the strongest in Taiwan.)
2. Lottery numbers are printed on receipts here; apparently there are several drawings each day, with prizes of various amounts awarded. On the one hand this means cashiers always expect you to want a receipt, no matter how small the purchase; this can be a bit annoying as you collect lots of small slips of paper. On the other hand, many businesses have collection boxes where you can donate receipts. I've never actually checked to see if I won anything.
3. Taiwan's the first country I've lived in to have its own calendar. Years are counted from the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the formation of the Republic of China in 1911. (It is not unlike Japan officially counting the years from the beginning of the current emperor's reign.) The year 97 just began - the years change at the same time as in the Western calendar. Most official documents in Taiwan use the ROC Calendar, although I also see Western years widely used.
1. On days that are sufficiently auspicious, I'll walk down the street and pass tables set up in front of businesses, with various bits of food laid out as offerings to the gods. Sticks of incense are usually burned as well. There will be a metal container with a fire going; this is for the burning of spirit money and other important bits of paper (I've never been able to ascertain what, exactly). This is part of Chinese culture that the PRC has put an end to in mainland China. (I think much of the same things are done in other substantial Chinese communities around the world, but traditions probably continue the strongest in Taiwan.)
2. Lottery numbers are printed on receipts here; apparently there are several drawings each day, with prizes of various amounts awarded. On the one hand this means cashiers always expect you to want a receipt, no matter how small the purchase; this can be a bit annoying as you collect lots of small slips of paper. On the other hand, many businesses have collection boxes where you can donate receipts. I've never actually checked to see if I won anything.
3. Taiwan's the first country I've lived in to have its own calendar. Years are counted from the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the formation of the Republic of China in 1911. (It is not unlike Japan officially counting the years from the beginning of the current emperor's reign.) The year 97 just began - the years change at the same time as in the Western calendar. Most official documents in Taiwan use the ROC Calendar, although I also see Western years widely used.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Cute Pet Photos
The Taipei Pets Expo was this weekend, around Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Xinyi.
It was a place for people to bring their pets - mostly dogs.
Though there were a few cats making the rounds too.
And some utterly miscellaneous pets, such as this flying squirrel.
These two huskies, identical except for the color of their leashes, were engaged in an epic play-battle.
Jenna and I volunteered for Animals Taiwan, a no-kill shelter which works to find homes for stray animals. This is Mitsubishi, who is very small, meowed nervously for the first few hours she was in her cage, and got adopted before the day was over.
Look at that donation box on Judy's chassis. I seriously think she made several times as much per hour as I do at my job.
This is Precious (left) and Bingo (right). One or the other was usually on a leash in front of our booth, greeting passers-by and other dogs.More pictures:
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year
The Taipei New Year's fireworks display is set off from Taipei 101.
These pictures were taken at five minutes to midnight at the intersection of Jilong and Xinyi Roads, Taipei.
And the fireworks go off:
These pictures were taken at five minutes to midnight at the intersection of Jilong and Xinyi Roads, Taipei.And the fireworks go off:
Tianmu Old Trail
On New Year's Eve, Jenna and I hiked Tianmu Old Trail. We never left Taipei city limits, but in the hilly north of the city we climbed to where we could get a beautiful vantage point of downtown Taipei.
The views are good, but an even better draw for me was the wildlife.
This spider is the size of my palm and getting the camera to focus on it took a few minutes of effort. There was also a large brown bird that I never got a really decent picture of.
For me, the biggest attraction was the monkeys. Seeing monkeys on this trail is by no means a sure thing - they're most active around dawn and dusk, and although they're not terrified of humans they are a bit cautious - but we got lucky this time.
These macaques can grow pretty large, and can defend themselves with teeth and claws. So it's a good idea not to make them feel threatened. We were cautioned not to make eye contact with the macaques - they see it as a challenge. We did our best to observe them, though - there seemed to be whole families that were active, and we watched them feeding, fighting (not too seriously, it looked like) and just moving around up in the trees.
This one just sat himself down by the path for several minutes. A couple of locals walked past him, each one obviously looking straight ahead, ignoring him. Presumably there have been enough cases of monkey attack on this path before that the locals know how to stay safe.
Apart from the monkeys, it was a very nice hike.
This huge pig was tied up outside a closed restaurant that will presumably open for the peak hiking season. There were a couple of chickens wandering around loose as well.
The macaque-less parts of the trail are very nice and peaceful.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
I went to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at around noon. On Friday, workers had removed the Chinese characters glorifying Chiang Kai-shek from the massive arch in front of the hall, amid both protests and cheers.
This is part of the government's massive effort to de-Chiangify Taiwan - the main international airport, which was Chiang Kai-shek International Airport when I first came to Taiwan, has already been renamed Taoyuan International Airport.
The subway station still bears Chiang's name. (It's been confirmed that the station's name will not be changed, says the Taipei Times.)
This is what the scene looked like at around noon on Saturday. The three points of interest: (1) CKS Memorial Hall is completely sealed off with barbed wire, (2) the grand archway is completely devoid of any lettering, and (3) there are no large crowds. That last one really surprised me.
Lots of news crews, though.
Overall, I was surprised at the general peacefulness and the lack of crowds. I'd expected more protests.
I returned with Jenna at around 3:00, when workers were beginning to put the new lettering up on the archway - and things were getting more interesting.
Here's the scene when we came back. The guys on the crane are putting the first of the new letters up. There's a much bigger crowd. Still not many protesters - most of the people seemed more cheerful and/or curious than anything.
The work begins.
Despite a few people who were upset (mostly pro-KMT folk who didn't want to see the name changed), it was a very safe and peaceful crowd, as evidenced by all the little dogs.
And the guy with the parrot.
The crowds grew as the work progressed. There was much cheering after the first letter was firmly placed on the archway.
One person brought red wine and distributed it in plastic cups.
The work is half done.
A popular sentiment among the Green (anti-KMT) supporters.
The whole scene was very peaceful. Even among the protesting KMT contingent, few people became unruly, though there was one middle-aged woman wielding a Taiwan/ROC flag and shouting what I think were pro-KMT slogans, and one or two people seeking a verbal confrontation with the police officers. I was very surprised at the lack of organization among the pro-KMT people - I really expected more of an organized protest.
We did not stay to see the work completed, but the full scoop on the day's events and a picture of the completed work can be seen at the Taipei Times website.
This is part of the government's massive effort to de-Chiangify Taiwan - the main international airport, which was Chiang Kai-shek International Airport when I first came to Taiwan, has already been renamed Taoyuan International Airport.
The subway station still bears Chiang's name. (It's been confirmed that the station's name will not be changed, says the Taipei Times.)
This is what the scene looked like at around noon on Saturday. The three points of interest: (1) CKS Memorial Hall is completely sealed off with barbed wire, (2) the grand archway is completely devoid of any lettering, and (3) there are no large crowds. That last one really surprised me.
Lots of news crews, though.
Overall, I was surprised at the general peacefulness and the lack of crowds. I'd expected more protests.I returned with Jenna at around 3:00, when workers were beginning to put the new lettering up on the archway - and things were getting more interesting.
Here's the scene when we came back. The guys on the crane are putting the first of the new letters up. There's a much bigger crowd. Still not many protesters - most of the people seemed more cheerful and/or curious than anything.
The work begins.
Despite a few people who were upset (mostly pro-KMT folk who didn't want to see the name changed), it was a very safe and peaceful crowd, as evidenced by all the little dogs.
And the guy with the parrot.
The crowds grew as the work progressed. There was much cheering after the first letter was firmly placed on the archway.
One person brought red wine and distributed it in plastic cups.
The work is half done.
A popular sentiment among the Green (anti-KMT) supporters.
The whole scene was very peaceful. Even among the protesting KMT contingent, few people became unruly, though there was one middle-aged woman wielding a Taiwan/ROC flag and shouting what I think were pro-KMT slogans, and one or two people seeking a verbal confrontation with the police officers. I was very surprised at the lack of organization among the pro-KMT people - I really expected more of an organized protest.We did not stay to see the work completed, but the full scoop on the day's events and a picture of the completed work can be seen at the Taipei Times website.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Elections Coming Up
Both of the Asian countries i've lived in have Presidential elections coming up soon. And I feel almost bad because I don't think I care enough about either of them.
In Korea, President Roh Moo-hyun is legally prevented from running for another five-year term (he's quite unpopular, so it might not have mattered much anyway). Practically everybody expects the December 19 election to be won by former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak of the GNP (Grand National Party). It's not clear exactly who Lee's main opponent is; for the past few years the Uri Party has been the GNP's main foe, but the Uri Party has completely disintegrated over the past year. (Korean political parties are very unstable; despite being the main left-wing party for much of this decade, the Uri Party did not exist yet when the last Presidential election was held in 2002, and no longer exists now that the country's holding another Presidential election.)
There's an assortment of candidates opposing Lee. The main center-left party now is the UNDP (United New Democratic Party) and their candidate is Chung Dong-young, but one recent poll shows independent candidate Lee Hoi-chang as the main challenger.
I expect Lee Myung-bak will probably win (although Roh scored quite a come-from-behind victory in 2002, and I suppose it could happen again), but I find I'm not all that concerned with the outcome.
Then there's Taiwan, which has its Presidential election on March 22. President Chen Shui-bian is barred from running again due to term limits. Ma Ying-jeou, former mayor of Taipei and charman of the KMT, is expected to win. There's still plenty of time for Frank Hsieh of the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) to close the gap. (About half of Taiwanese politicians use Anglicized given names. It's really rare to see that in Korea.)
Taiwan has as many political parties as Korea, but in Taiwan they align themselves into two broad alliances: the Pan-Blue Coalition, centered on the KMT, and the Pan-Green coalition, centered on the DPP.
Even though I live in Taiwan, I don't have strong feelings about the upcoming election. On the single most fundamental issue in Taiwanese politics (independence from China, or unification with China?) I generally agree with the pro-independence Greens. Otherwise, I don't think the world will end if Ma wins, as he's expected to.
But the election dominates domestic news here, and always leads the front page of the English-language Taipei Times (which has a fairly obvious pro-DPP, anti-KMT slant - someday I'm going to pick up the other major English-language daily, the China Post, to see if it's as obvious about leaning the opposite way).
That huge sign in Yonghe is pretty typical of the huge election signs that have sprung up. That's Ma on the left; he's shaking the hand of some pan-Blue politician seeking local office.
The other day, I was walking down Zhongxiao East Road when a car with loudspeakers blaring a patriotic-sounding song I couldn't understand sped by - while waving the flag of the People's Republic of China. It's not unusual to hear political songs being blasted out of cars festooned with political signs and slogans, but I was amazed to see a pro-PRC version. You wouldn't expect the Beijing government to be popular here, to say the least. I think there's a lot I have to learn about Taiwanese politics.
In Korea, President Roh Moo-hyun is legally prevented from running for another five-year term (he's quite unpopular, so it might not have mattered much anyway). Practically everybody expects the December 19 election to be won by former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak of the GNP (Grand National Party). It's not clear exactly who Lee's main opponent is; for the past few years the Uri Party has been the GNP's main foe, but the Uri Party has completely disintegrated over the past year. (Korean political parties are very unstable; despite being the main left-wing party for much of this decade, the Uri Party did not exist yet when the last Presidential election was held in 2002, and no longer exists now that the country's holding another Presidential election.)
There's an assortment of candidates opposing Lee. The main center-left party now is the UNDP (United New Democratic Party) and their candidate is Chung Dong-young, but one recent poll shows independent candidate Lee Hoi-chang as the main challenger.
I expect Lee Myung-bak will probably win (although Roh scored quite a come-from-behind victory in 2002, and I suppose it could happen again), but I find I'm not all that concerned with the outcome.
Then there's Taiwan, which has its Presidential election on March 22. President Chen Shui-bian is barred from running again due to term limits. Ma Ying-jeou, former mayor of Taipei and charman of the KMT, is expected to win. There's still plenty of time for Frank Hsieh of the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) to close the gap. (About half of Taiwanese politicians use Anglicized given names. It's really rare to see that in Korea.)
Taiwan has as many political parties as Korea, but in Taiwan they align themselves into two broad alliances: the Pan-Blue Coalition, centered on the KMT, and the Pan-Green coalition, centered on the DPP.
Even though I live in Taiwan, I don't have strong feelings about the upcoming election. On the single most fundamental issue in Taiwanese politics (independence from China, or unification with China?) I generally agree with the pro-independence Greens. Otherwise, I don't think the world will end if Ma wins, as he's expected to.
But the election dominates domestic news here, and always leads the front page of the English-language Taipei Times (which has a fairly obvious pro-DPP, anti-KMT slant - someday I'm going to pick up the other major English-language daily, the China Post, to see if it's as obvious about leaning the opposite way).
That huge sign in Yonghe is pretty typical of the huge election signs that have sprung up. That's Ma on the left; he's shaking the hand of some pan-Blue politician seeking local office.The other day, I was walking down Zhongxiao East Road when a car with loudspeakers blaring a patriotic-sounding song I couldn't understand sped by - while waving the flag of the People's Republic of China. It's not unusual to hear political songs being blasted out of cars festooned with political signs and slogans, but I was amazed to see a pro-PRC version. You wouldn't expect the Beijing government to be popular here, to say the least. I think there's a lot I have to learn about Taiwanese politics.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
A Couple of More Sunday Pictures
Here are some more pictures I took on our Sunday hike.
This cat was reasonably friendly. We weren't sure if he was a stray or not; he sure didn't act much like one, but he didn't have any visible owners around (halfway up the hill).
These statues guard the path to...
...a Christian gravesite.
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