Take on Taiwan

The National Palace Museum

2011-04-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

Taiwan’s National Palace Museum began life in Beijing’s Forbidden City in 1925. It was established after China’s last emperor, Aisin-Gioro Puyi, was thrown out of the city; and the collection consisted of the former imperial family’s possessions. The collection only came to Taiwan in 1948, when fighting in the Chinese Civil War intensified. Chiang Kai Shek of the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) took the decision to pack up about 600,000 works of art and ship them to Keelung, and the collection finally arrived at its present home in Shilin, Taipei in 1985.

Over the years, the museum has expanded its collection and now possesses close to 680,000 works. Since there is only enough room to display a tiny fraction of these pieces, the displays are rotated every three months and new works are brought up from the vaults. Even with the artwork changing around so quickly, it would still take you 12 years to see the entire collection.

The museum’s most famous pieces are the Jadeite Cabbage, the Meat-shaped Stone, and their version of the Qingming Scroll. The 18.7-centimeter-high Jadeite Cabbage shows a locust and katydid nestling among the leaves of a head of Chinese cabbage. Art historians have commented that the sculpture is symbol of female virtue; purity is shown by the whiteness of the stalk, the lush green leaves represent fertility, and the insects signify children. Apart from the exquisite and intricate detailing, what makes the piece so special is that the various imperfections in the stone, such as cracks and discolorations, are actually incorporated into the design.

The Meat-shaped Stone is a piece of quartz with lines and layers that make it closely resemble a piece of pork that has been cooked in soy sauce. The colored and lined surface of the stone almost perfectly resembles the layers of skin, fat, and meat found in this food.

The Qingming Scroll, or Along the River During the Qingming Festival, is perhaps the most famous picture ever painted in China. It shows a day in the life of people in the Song Dynasty capital of Qingming. By showing men and women from all walks of society, the painting offers an insight into the customs, architecture, clothing, and practices of 12^th-century China. Although the scroll housed in Taipei is not the original version, it was painted in the 18^th century during the Qing Dynasty and is still considered a great work of art in its own right. Spanning a length of 11 meters, the Qing version is over twice as long as the original, and it features a poem by Emperor Qianlong.

Although these pieces might take pride of place in the museum, they are far from being its only treasures. On the first floor, there are exhibitions of rare books and documents, ancient religious sculptures, curios and ornaments from the Qing Imperial Collection, and pieces of Qing Dynasty furniture. The curios on display are beautifully decorated and full of whimsical design characteristics; they show off the rich diversity of the imperial collection and give the viewer an understanding of the joys of life in the palace. The furniture exhibited in the museum is similar to these pieces, in that their design incorporates both practical and artistic elements. Visitors with a keen eye and a knowledge of Chinese calligraphy will notice how craftsmen incorporated the delicate lines of calligraphic strokes into their writing desk and chair designs.

On the second floor, you’ll find displays of painting and calligraphy and an exhibition detailing the development through the ages of Chinese ceramics. China is obviously well-known for its development of pottery and porcelain, and this is brought to life at the museum by showing the evolution of design and craftsmanship throughout the ages. The exhibition is broken up into five sections, starting with “Pottery and Porcelain,” which provides an introduction to the art form. The next four sections chronicle different time periods in China‘s history and show how ceramics changed in each of them. In the “Neolithic Age to the Five Dynasties” section, everyday items are used to show how pottery developed from a primitive to a cultivated practice. The “Song to Yuan Dynasties” display shows the range of decorations used by different designers. In “Ming Dynasty,” we are presented with the change in ceramics brought about by interest in the craft by successive emperors. Finally, in the “Qing Dynasty” section, visitors can see the influence official models had on the art form.

Up on the third floor, there are exhibitions of bronze sculpture, Neolithic artifacts, and carved precious stones. The bronzes on display at the museum are interesting not only for their beauty but also for what they show us about centuries-old technological advancement. It is incredible to think that some of the cast-bronze relics on display could be as much as 5000 years old. The attraction of the carved precious stones is completely different, and with these pieces, perhaps more than with any other in the museum, visitors will be amazed by the attention to detail and level of craftsmanship on show. In the section labeled “Nature and Human in Harmony,” it is possible to see how Chinese artists adhered to the concept of working in harmony with nature. Instead of simply deciding what to carve and then choosing a suitably sized stone, the craftsmen would take a stone and let its own qualities and characteristics tell them what should be carved. The most famous examples are obviously the Jadeite Cabbage and Meat-shaped Stone, but there are many other wonderful pieces on show.

The main exhibition area is open every day from 8.30 in the morning to 6.30 in the evening. On Saturdays, it stays open until 8.30, and those extra two hours are free of admission. Adult tickets cost NT$160, people in groups of at least 10 will pay NT$120 each, student tickets are NT$80, and children under six and disabled visitors get in free.

It is possible to drive to the museum, but you’re encouraged to use public transport as parking spaces are limited. If you’re taking the brown MRT line, get off at Dazhi Station and take the Brown 13 bus to Jiannan Station, then take bus 620, Brown 20. If you’re on the red MRT line, disembark at Shilin Station and take buses 255, 304, Red 30 or minibuses 18 or 19.

Juming Museum

2011-04-12T02:32:00.000-07:00

An article originally written for the Taiwan Culture portal. for the original, go to http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1879&Itemid=156

For a nation that seemingly prizes academic success ahead of all other achievement, Taiwan has produced an astonishing number of world-class artists. There’s Lin Hwai-min of the Cloud Gate dance Troup, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Ang Lee, fashion designer Johan Ku, and, from the world of sculpture, there’s Ju Ming.

Ju Ming first achieved fame in Taiwan in the mid-1970s and has remained a well-known figure ever since. The thing is, although everyone knows he’s good, not many people are actually aware of just what an extraordinary talent he is. Make no mistake, Ju Ming is a great artist, one of the best that this little island has ever produced.

The most obvious thing to say about ju Ming’s sculptures is that they’re simple. Regardless of what material he’s working with, he’s not an artist who seems concerned with details. Instead, his pieces go straight to the heart of their subjects and capture their very essences. In his work, there’s something very reminiscent of the old Zen teaching about trying to grasp a handful of water – the harder you clench, the faster the water squeezes through your fingers. By leaving his sculptures in their most basic forms, he does not grasp too tightly and is able to capture reality and, more importantly, convey it to us all the more effectively. Nowhere is this feeling of expression through emptiness more apparent than in his Taichi Series.

The tai chi collection is magnificent. It’s made up of large, block-like sculptures that somehow portray an unmistakable sense of grace and elegance. The pieces, sometimes a single figure, sometimes two opponents facing one another perfectly capture the dual elements of solidity and fluidity that characterize tai chi.

To practice the art, it is necessary to root yourself to the ground, to find your balance, and to make yourself heavy. The weight, both apparent and real, of these statues creates the impression that they were formed from the ground itself.

Tai chi practitioners must also be flexible, subtly moving to counteract their adversary’s attacks. Ju Ming expresses this through the uncomplicated, sweeping lines that make up these pieces. There is a simple economy of movement that communicates the fluidity and freedom of tai chi. There is so much life in these unmoving pieces that it seems they are just waiting for the right moment to spring into action.

In accordance with the series’ importance, it’s displayed right at the heart of the 11-hectare Ju Ming Museum. The museum, which was paid for by the artist himself, showcases the vast majority of his 40-plus years of work and has exhibitions featuring several other artists, too. Most of the artwork is kept outside, but there are a few buildings around the site. One of them houses some of Ju Ming’s most recent projects and a select number of his early wood carvings. There is also a gallery near to the entrance that rotates the works of local and international artists including Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso. It is a mark of the Ju Ming’s worldwide importance that his museum owns pieces by two of the western world’s most influential modern artists.

Back outside, statues from the Armed Forces collection dominate the site. Soldiers, some of them joyful, others injured and somber line the walkways around Ju Ming Museum. The idea, I suppose, is that the figures are a poignant tribute to Taiwan’s military. Unfortunately, I don’t think it really works. The first few statues do catch your eye, especially one of a soldier whose leg has been lost at war. His head hangs down in sadness and shame, and it’s impossible to look on the figure and not think of real-life soldiers who have suffered the same fate. After seeing the first few sculptures, though, the repetitive and unimaginative way in which they’re displayed means any further emotional impact is lost in a sea of monotony. The further you walk, the less the figures are genuine works of art, and the more they become simply props in photos of children and 20-something-year-old girls.

The Armed Forces pieces are part of the much larger Living World Series. This is a massive body of work that actually contains several different collections. Living World Series – Sport and Living World Series – Scientist are each exhibited in their own areas. Like the soldiers, though, I felt that these collections were a bit of a disappointment. While it is fun to see what Ju Ming makes of Einstein and Edison, artistically, I couldn’t really see what the point was.

Fortunately, that’s not the end of the story, and many of the other pieces in the Living World Series are just wonderful. They represent normal people in real-life situations, and each of them has its own charm. The real magic of these figures, though, lies in how full of life they are. It’s extraordinary how these sculptures that in so many ways appear so crude and simple can have so much humanity. Ju Ming has a rare and incredible talent, and his museum is home to some beautiful artwork. You may not fall in love with everything you see – I obviously did not – but with so many amazing pieces of art on display, you will find a few things that will stop you in your tracks.

The Ju Ming Museum is a big place; in fact, in this review, I’ve only really scraped the surface of what’s on offer. You will need at least a few hours to see it properly, but to get the most out of your visit, it’s worth taking your time and stopping off at one of the cafes or restaurants located around the site. A trip here is a great day out, and when you’ve finished with the art, you’ll still have Taiwan’s beautiful north coast to explore. You can’t ask for much more than that.

Getting there

By car – Leave Freeway 3 at the Wanli exit and turn onto Provincial Road 2 to Chinshan. At the 39.7 kilometer point, you will see signs leading up to the museum.

By bus – Take the Chinshan Line Bus from Danshuei MRT station or the Keelung Bus from Taipei Main Station. Get off at the Jinshan Township Office and catch the free museum shuttle bus from next to the Township Office.

For more information, visit http://www.juming.org

When East Meets West

2011-04-12T01:56:00.000-07:00

An article written for the Taiwan Culture Portal. For the original, go to: http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1733&Itemid=156

Cross-cultural relationships are viewed with skepticism, curiosity, amusement, hostility, and plain delight. I've been involved in a couple of these relationships, and as a result, I've been sworn at, stared at, and asked whether I suffer from "yellow fever" (an unfriendly reference to the color of Taiwanese skin.) But what's all the fuss about?

Well, whether I like it or not, cross-cultural relationships are different. It starts off, of course, with physical appearance, which explains why people stare, but the differences are by no means only skin deep. The reasons why these relationships inspire curiosity and skepticism are the linguistic and cultural differences between the two people. These differences can be so great that it's little wonder onlookers are sometimes curious about how couples get around them. It’s also unsurprising that many are skeptical about such relationships can ever work out.

But are these people right to doubt? To begin answering that question, let’s take a look at language. It's a problem that some cross-cultural couples find bizarre and interesting solutions to. For example, I once dated a girl who took one of those electronic translating machines with her whenever we went out. Our relationship carried on for a few months – sometimes talking, sometimes typing – until one terrible evening when she pressed a few keys on her machine and waited for the voice of Stephen Hawking to tell me it was over. It was brutal. Other couples “solve” the problem of language by simply pretending that it isn’t there. I know people who have communicated through mime, and others who simply smile at each other and share conversations that consist of sentences like, "Mmm, this chicken is good.” “Yes.”

It might be said that, depending on what you want from a relationship, a situation like this is perfect. But if you want something that goes beyond the purely physical, at some point you're going to have to be able to hold down a conversation. This may not be the problem it once was: foreigners are learning Chinese and Taiwanese are speaking English, but this isn’t the end of the problem. Even when people can chat without electronic aids or improvised sign language, unless they can become fluent in their second language, then there will still be a language gap, and it will lead to misunderstandings and possibly even arguments. And who wants extra arguments, really?

Language might be the first or most obvious problem a cross-cultural couple will face, but it probably won’t be the most important. For that, you’ll have to look at culture and upbringing. There are hundreds of differences between Western and Taiwanese cultures: our views on and ability to share and talk about our feelings, the role of the family, our attitudes towards those in authority, ideas about how to show consideration toward others, and deciding who pays for dinner to name just a few. While many of these differences are quite small, any one of them could wind up being the thing that pushes a couple over the edge.

The truth is that Westerners and Taiwanese are generally brought up to follow completely different value systems. Where Taiwanese are taught to obey their parents, put the family first, and accept figures of authority, Westerners are brought up to be much more independent, to question and debate. These can be hard difference to overcome.

But let's say that a couple can get past all this, can learn to understand and accept each other as being different but equal, what then? If the relationship lasts and the happy couple stay together then at some point they'll have to think about where they're going to live, and inescapable truth is that one of them will have to settle away from their home country. While many of us would be happy to do this for a few years, the prospect of spending your entire life overseas is an entirely different proposition.

After that, you have to think about children and answer the question of how you’re going to raise them. You might accept and even love your partner's differing value system, but do you really want those values to be passed on to your children?

And now, I’m a bit stuck. When I was planning this article, I had intended at this point to include a few paragraphs that would argue that, yes, people in relationships with those from another culture face problems, but that so do people in every other kind of relationship. It doesn’t matter, I had planned on writing, whether they're from different countries or not, or even if they’re from the same town, no two people are the same and so all couples will face difficulties. There is, undoubtedly, some truth in this, but to conclude that a cross-cultural relationship is no more challenging than one with someone from the same culture would be ridiculous. The difficulties created by language and culture are real and can be significant; different outlooks on life and attitudes on bringing up children could easily force two people apart.

But what if you have no intention of living together or having children? What if you’re just looking for fun? Here, too, there are problems. People from different cultures have different ideas over what constitutes fun and what kind of relationship is not serious. While things like dating someone for a few months, saying “I love you,” and having sex might be treated very lightly by people of one culture, they are often viewed very differently by those from a different background. So you should think carefully before dating someone from another culture, because people can, and do, easily get hurt.

This article has been fairly negative, but I wouldn’t want to give the impression that I think cross-cultural relationships are impossible or even undesirable. If you can get past or work through the difficulties then being with someone who has different ideas and opinions about life can be a wonderful experience. But, regardless of whether you’re looking for something serious or casual, you should probably think a lot more carefully about all the issues involved and decide whether it’s really worth it.

Lantern Festival

2008-03-04T01:28:00.000-08:00

Lantern Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar. It marks the first full moon of the year, and it also signals the end of the Chinese New Year period.

The origins of the festival are unclear; one story goes that the lanterns are part of the birthday celebrations for Tianguan, the Taoist god of good fortune. Others say that the festival started in ancient times, in worship of Taiyi, the god of heaven. Another story says that the origins can be traced back to the first century emperor, Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In accordance with his newly found Buddhist belief that the aura of the Buddha can overcome darkness, he ordered his subjects to light lanterns.

In modern-day Taiwan, Lantern Festival is a bright, colorful celebration. All the major cities around the country put on huge lantern shows. Every year the central government selects one city to host the official, Taiwan Lantern Festival display, and in 2008 the city chosen was Tainan.

2008 is the Year of the Rat

The first thing to say about the display was that it was huge; it occupied an area of land measuring 7.5 hectares, and it showcased thousands upon thousands of lanterns. There were big lanterns and small, traditional and modern, those made or sponsored by big companies, and hundreds made school children around Taiwan. The level of creativity was extraordinary with lanterns shaped like people, cartoon characters, animals, buildings, and even religious figures. There was also a laser show, an orchestra, and fireworks displays going on throughout the night.

It was good, so good in fact that seemingly the whole of Taiwan came out to enjoy the festivities. In a small, densely populated country, it’s normal for big events like this to have a big turnout, but the numbers of people in Tainan that night were big even by Taiwanese standards. The more popular areas of the site were swamped with people, all jostling to get a good view, or a good photo, of the lanterns on display. It was outside though, where the numbers created the biggest problems.

All around the site, cars were backed up for kilometers, and the only parking spaces you could find were over a kilometer away from the display. The police were out in force but, where they weren’t ineffectual, they somehow found a way to be worse than useless. Their efforts to channel and control the traffic were nothing less than a complete debacle.

But did I tell you about the lanterns? They really were very good.

The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

2008-03-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

I didn’t know what to expect from the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. I’ve enjoyed, and been bored stupid by different art museums in the past, so it was with mixed feelings that I made the trip to Taichung.

I remember being taken to art galleries as a child, and I remember hating it. I don’t care what I’m looking at, being led over creaking floorboards through a procession of stuffy, dimly-lit, and slightly too small rooms, is not my idea of a good time. Over the past few years however, I have been able to visit some more modern museums like Paris’s Pompidou Center and the Tate Modern in London. Places like this are bold, bright, and, dare I say it, even fun. So which group would the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts belong to? With its imaginative design and architecture, it would have to be the later.

Sharp angular lines and a range of textiles give the museum its distinctive appearance. A patchwork of brightly colored marble tiles covers the main building, and in other places, bare concrete and metal cladding lend an industrial feeling. Exposed bolts, and concrete that mimics the appearance of steel add an extra layer to the collage of diverse yet harmonious elements.

Heavy open spaces and exposed white walls dominate the interior, and create the perfect environment in which to view the art on display. The museum displays work from its own collection and also shows the work of contemporary Taiwanese artists. Exhibitions are separated into different galleries, and are shown for only a few months before being changed.

Before you look around inside though, you really should take the time to walk through the gardens. Both beautiful, and immaculately kept, the grounds are something of an oasis in the middle of Taichung. Sculptures, well-groomed hedgerows, and trees decorate the pristine lawns; and you can enjoy them all at your leisure from either the walking paths or the benches around the site. You could easily spend a few hours here enjoying the grounds and I shouldn’t think there are many better places in Taichung to wile away the afternoon.

Rather than just house art, NTMOFA, as it’s affectionately called by those in the know, also aims to inspire and educate. Its digital art program is just one way in that it reaches out to young artists, and young museum goers. There are a number of excellent educational programs, and to ensure that no one misses out, the museum actively sponsors visits by schools from isolated areas. There is a family room and, in addition to the library, there is also a comfortable picture book area to help inspire and educate the museum’s youngest visitors.

The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts is both thoughtful and provocative. There is so much to see and do that I would be surprised if anyone could come away from here feeling anything less than completely satisfied.

Rivers of cloud

2008-02-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

The weather in Taiwan is extraordinarily changeable; bright sunshine in the morning can easily give way to torrential afternoon downpours, hot sunny days can alternate with cold, murky ones, and several times this winter alone, thermometers have recorded 10 degree overnight drops in temperature.

When you go up into the mountains, the potential for change only increases. So it was a few days ago when I visited Alishan 阿里山. I was riding my motorbike and the weather was glorious, with warm sunshine and clear blue skies. Then in front of me, what I can only describe as a river of cloud was pouring down the mountain. A few seconds later I was driving through it, suddenly cold, damp, and only able to see a few meters in front of my bike.

Driving through cloud is great, dangerous maybe, but also great, especially when it's moving as fast as this cloud was. You can see, and also feel it rushing by you. A few minutes later I was back out of the cloud, but for the next few kilometers I was driving through alternating bands of warm sunshine and freezing cloud. It was beautiful.

For more on Alishan, go to http://travelsintaiwan.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

Chinese New Year: At the Temple

2008-02-12T00:54:00.000-08:00

I love going to large temple towns over the New Year holidays. The goings on, both inside and outside of the temple walls are fascinating. The sight of thousands of worshippers, hawkers, and tourists pack themselves into narrow streets is incredible; people praying, eating, begging, cooking, artists making their crafts, and families playing games, all of this going on side-by-side as people rub, clash, and barge shoulders. It may well not be your idea of fun, but one thing you could never say is that it's dull.

This year, my wife and I went to Beigang北港 in Yunlin County. Beigang is home to Chaotien Temple朝天宮, the oldest and largest Matsu Temple in Taiwan. For information on Matsu, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsu_%28goddess%29 Due to its importance, Beigang can always expect big crowds over the holoday period, and this year was certainly no exception.

Inside the Temple

Hundreds of people offering incense and paper money were packed inside the Temple. There are two kinds of this paper money, gold paper金紙, and silver paper銀紙. Silver paper is burnt to help your ancestors in the afterlife, and gold paper is used as an offering to the gods. At New Year people mainly, or perhaps only, burn this gold paper. You can see from the flames just how much of it is being burnt.

Incense is offered to the gods. The belief is that the thick smoke, along with its aromatic scent attracts the attention of the gods so that they might better hear your prayer.

The air inside the temple is thick with this smoke, there's so much of it that after a few minutes, my eyes were starting to tear up.

Outside the Temple

There's a lot going on outside the temple walls, and scenes like this one, where an apparantly paraplegic man crawls on the floor begging for money, are fairly commonplace.

Then there's begging of another kind; monks and nuns standing on street corners with alms bowls are regular sights in Taiwan. There is a growing mistrust of these people though, and certainly, as a number of reports on Taiwanese TV have revealed, some of them are fraudulent. This is just a personal opinion, but I have a hard time believing that there aren't any genuine monks and nuns on the streets of Taiwan. I certainly wouldn't want to cast any aspersions on this particular lady.

This is one of the more unusual things you're likely to see. A candle burns inside a jar and the resulting vacuum pulls the wax out of your ear. The process lasts around 15 minutes, and the amount of wax that gets extracted is incredible.

Mainly though, what happens outside the temple revolves around food. The Taiwanese love to eat, and anytime you go to a festival, or major tourist site, you'll find food stands lining the roadside. Stands often serve only one particular type of food, but this doesn't matter as the sheer numbers of vendors ensure you get great variety.

Most towns in Taiwan are famous for one kind of food. Beigang's food are these 大餅 (dabin)which literally translates as "Big Cakes".

But cakes are not all that's on offer and the following photos show just a selection of the food you can buy.

Roasted corn

Salted fish

Goose eggs

Deep-fried squid balls

Driving in Taiwan

2007-10-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago in Chinese class, my teacher told me what he thought about the standard of driving in Taiwan, “People in Taiwan are excellent drivers.” I stared at him open-mouthed. I have no idea how anyone can hold this view. After traveling through Eastern and South-Eastern Africa, through Europe, and a few countries in South-East Asia, I would have to say that Taiwanese roads are the most dangerous that I have ever seen.

Though the basic rules of the road are the same as in most other countries, Taiwan has a widely practiced, alternative highway code. This alternative code is built around getting to your destination as quickly as possible with little or no regard to the safety of yourself and others. Some of the main points:

1. Driving on the Right

In Taiwan people drive on the right, but under certain special circumstances, especially if riding a motorbike or moped, driving on the left is accepted,
i) You’re only traveling a short distance.
ii) Your destination is on the left and it’s inconvenient to drive on the right.
iii) You’re on the left, the traffic is busy, and it’s just too difficult to get across the road onto the right hand side.
iv) You’re having a good day and simply don’t feel that anything bad is going to happen to you.
These rules particularly apply to the elderly.

2. Red Lights

i) You don’t always need to stop for them. If you think you can get through ok, then go for it.
ii) If you do stop, then don’t stop completely. Keep edging forward. You’ll shave valuable milliseconds off your destination time and you make sure that guy next to you cant get in front and cut you off. In the competition to be first off the blocks, think nothing of edging out so far that you start to obstruct legally moving cars.
iii) Don’t wait for your light to change to green before putting your foot down. Keep an eye on the other light, wait for that one to change from green to red or even to orange, then go. You’ve got places to get to and waiting for a green light will add 7 or even 8 seconds on to your journey time. It’s not worth it.

3. Turning Right

When turning right, even onto a busy road, it’s not necessary to wait for a gap in the traffic. In fact, you don’t even need to look and check if there any cars coming your way. Feel free to put people’s lives in danger.
Even if there’s a red light, ignore it. Red lights only apply to people turning left or going straight on.

4. Overtaking

i) Overtake on both the inside and outside.
ii) Overtake on blind corners.
iii) Do it like Schumacher.

5. The Fast and The Furious

Great movie, right? You can do it too!

6. Speed Limits

These are more of a guideline than an actual rule. They’re meant for new drivers, women, not for the likes of you. You’re a good driver, people have told you so, and you’re driving an SUV that has an engine big enough to power an airplane. You go as fast as you like.

7. Big Cars

Buy one. Not only will spend a lot of money running them, waste the Earth’s dwindling resources in a bid to make yourself look cool, add to the Nation’s chronically bad air pollution problem, but you can also intimidate people in smaller cars. Why bother with the hassle of overtaking? Instead just drive right up to puny car’s bumper, they’ll move for you. If they don’t, drive even closer, possibly honk your horn, you’ll get ’em.

8. Parking

Double parking, blocking someone else in, parking on a corner, these things might be considered lazy, selfish, and inconsiderate. But hey, what do you care?

9. Motorbikes and Mopeds

i) Never look in your mirrors.
ii) Weave in and out through cars and slower bikes, cut them off if you want.
iii) Mopeds can be specially adapted with a small wicker chair on the foot plate. What better or safer way to transport a baby?
iv) Child passengers don’t need a helmet. Hasn’t a scientific report shown that in the event of a 40 kmph bike crash, a child’s head will simply bounce off the tarmac?
v) A 125cc moped can easily seat a family of four.
vi) Carrying very large, and very long objects on a bike is totally safe.

Taiwan’s roads are extremely dangerous and to survive them you need to do more than just prepare for the worst. Expect to be amazed by some new act of lunacy every time you get on your bike or in your car. Even then, even if you’re a careful driver, and many are, there’s no guarantee of safety when the roads are filled with so many complete idiots.

There are numerous causes for this terrible state of affairs: the teaching and testing systems are laughably inadequate; police routinely turn a blind eye to indiscretions; drink-driving is not socially unacceptable; even the laws governing liability for a crash are hazy. I am told that things are changing in this last regard, but in many cases compensation must be paid to whichever party was most seriously injured, even if the accident was their fault.

The number, and scope of these causes ensure that, even if the government took immediate and drastic action, Taiwanese roads will remain dangerous for many years to come. Perhaps the most worrying thing is that very little action, drastic or otherwise, is forthcoming.

English in Taiwan

2007-10-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Written earlier this year in response to several letters in the Taipei Times, all of which were bemoaning the apparently poor standard of English in Taiwan.

It is with interest that I have read the last few days’ letters on the standard of students’ English. I have been an ESL teacher for more than five years, four of them in Taiwan, so it is a subject that is close to my heart.

After Eileen Han (Letters, March 27th) bemoaned the low scores on college entrance exams, Chaim Melamed (Letters, March 29th) came up with a ten point plan to solve the problem. While some of his ideas made good sense, especially his proposal that changes be made to exam and teaching methodology to de-emphasize memorization of grammatical rules, a few of the other suggestions appeared to be a little misguided.

The standard of English teaching in Taiwan is obviously poor. Millions of dollars are spent each year on English education, both by the government and by parents, and yet students’ results remain low. Chaim Melamed calls for more foreign teachers, but will this really help solve the problem? Just because a person is a native speaker does mean that they will be a good teacher. Indeed, given that most foreign teachers in Taiwan come here for a working holiday, and have had little or no teacher training, it is more than likely that they will not be good educators. I remember hearing the boss of a cram school chain (a chain which only hires Taiwanese teachers) say that 70% of foreign teachers were incompetent. At first I was outraged, but after thinking about all the foreigners I have known here, I couldn’t help but agree with him.
What I would want to add to his statement though, is that about 70% of Taiwanese English teachers must also be incompetent. Many are university students who are teaching part time and who, like those “holidaying foreigners”, have a much more important agenda away from the classroom. Many have all too obvious problems with pronunciation, obvious to everyone but themselves and their students that is. Grammatical deficiencies can also be a big problem. With such a great demand for English teachers, schools are often not able to demand very high standards when hiring new teachers.

All these factors combined give rise to a situation where a good many bushiban classes are a complete waste of time. I have visited schools where children who had been learning for 2 or more years couldn’t readily answer the question, “What’s your name?”, and others where students’ pronunciation was so bad that I couldn’t understand them when they asked me that question.

The solution to Taiwan’s English woes will not be easy, and it will not be quick. I cannot agree with Mr. Melamed’s call for more foreign teachers. The vast majority of foreigners who come to teach here are both lazy and incompetent. There is no reason to suppose that this will ever change, as schools are unable to pay salaries high enough to ensure their foreign teacher will be qualified and proficient.

Instead, the solution must come from within Taiwan. Professional training schemes need to be initiated so that Taiwan can free itself of its reliance on foreign teachers, and so that the next generation of Taiwanese educators will not suffer from the same deficiencies that undermine today’s teachers.

Self-inflicted wounds

2007-10-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

When it comes to Taiwan’s growing ex-patriot community, stereotypes abound. More often than not these stereotypes, which aren’t always exactly positive, are so firmly held that if any “waiguoren” deviates from the expected behavior gasps of disbelief, or cries of, “You’re not a real foreigner” can be heard.

Expected to be rude or difficult, counted on to get drunk and do something “crazy”, small acts of kindness are often met with confusion or baffled surprise. Understood to be sexually “open” and perennially up for a one night stand, it is also presumed by many a girl and her parents that we are incapable of long term relationships, or of remaining faithful. In the workplace we are routinely given the tasks of going into the classroom to just “have fun with the students”, or to “practice conversation”, a good many school bosses wouldn’t dream of giving us any real responsibility.

There are of course exceptions to these rules. Trusting bosses, people who see us as individuals, and parents who give their blessing for a foreign guy to date or marry their daughter all exist, and possibly in increasing numbers. But they are still exceptions. For every story of trust, there must be more than a dozen that tell of doubt and suspicion.

A few years ago I was dating a Taiwanese girl who was told by her parents that foreigners couldn’t be trusted, that we all cheat on our wives and girlfriends. She also was scared that I wouldn’t be faithful. So, to give herself some security in case things between us didn’t work out, she continued to see her old boyfriend behind my back. Oh, the irony.

A teacher friend of mine, on telling his boss of his students’ problems and difficulties, was sat down and told that foreign teachers are not supposed to care too much about their classes. Chinese teachers take the responsibility, she told him. “Native Speakers” (in that cram school chain, foreigners are not even called teachers) shouldn’t care too much, just have fun.

Just yesterday while riding my scooter, I saw an old man who had fallen off his bike. He was lying on the ground and had nobody to help him, so I stopped and went over. As I was picking up his bike, he shouted at me and evidently thought I was trying to take it from him. A few more people came by, glaring at me as if I were the reason he was lying on the ground in the first place.

While living as an ex-pat in Taiwan is often like a dream, these prejudices and expectations, which amount to nothing less than racism, can quickly turn it into a nightmare.

Despite this though, I find it difficult to feel too badly towards the Taiwanese for the views they hold. The reason is that I share their mistrust of foreigners. The news that my school will be getting a new foreign teacher depresses rather than excites, or pleases me. When I’m out with my Taiwanese wife and I see a group of ex-pats, I’ll avoid them. It may well be, that by doing this I miss out on the opportunity of meeting some great people, but the truth is that that’s a price I’m willing to pay. I’ve just met too many ex-pats who treat the Taiwanese with complete contempt, who are rude and obscene, who get abusive at those who cannot understand English. I don’t want to be around people like that, and I certainly don’t want my wife to be.

The stereotype of the typical ex-pat is not flattering, and it does many of us a great injustice. It causes us to be laughed at, avoided, mistrusted, and disrespected. The simple fact is though, that as a community, we have brought this upon ourselves.

Sacrificing Sovereignty?

2007-10-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

Written just under a year ago as a response to a Taipei Times Editorial, this piece deals with next year's election and makes for interesting still reading.

In his piece for the Dec. 6th Editorial section, It’s got to be Annette Lu for 2008, Richard Hazeldine wrote of cross-strait relations that,
…it is unlikely that things will improve whoever wins in 2008, unless they are willing to sacrifice Taiwan's sovereignty, something the electorate will not accept.

I’ve read comments like this before in the Taipei Times. I wonder what it is that makes you so sure. As far as I can see, the Taiwanese electorate is prepared to put up with quite a lot. Following the 2004 Presidential election pan-blue legislators have caused havoc in the Legislative Yuan, holding up all bills proposed by the Pan-Greens. Many of these were bi-partisan bills which would have improved the lives of ordinary Taiwanese people. With the Parliamentary Elections earlier this year, the country had an excellent opportunity to deliver a message to these legislators, to tell them their actions were unacceptable. Instead of punishing their behavior however, the electorate instead voted them back in with an even greater majority.

If the nation would not accept a President prepared to sacrifice Taiwan’s sovereignty, then why would the KMT seriously consider Lien Chan as their 2008 Presidential candidate? Lien’s fawning attitude toward the Chinese Communist regime reveals that he is more than prepared to be their lapdog.

Then there is the chance that the nation will unwittingly elect a leader prepared to sacrifice their sovereignty. Given that Ma Ying Jeou is one of the favorites for the 2008 race, this is a very real possibility. Here is a politician seemingly prepared to jump on any bandwagon to further his own interests. His machinations over the Taipei Mayoral campaign makes you wonder who he’ll consider selling out next. Can anybody truly say that they know what Ma would about cross-strait issues?

We might hope the electorate wouldn’t accept a leader prepared to sacrifice Taiwan’s sovereignty, being sure of it though? I fear that’s just wishful thinking.

Top Ten Reasons To Love Taiwan

2007-10-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Lost in thoughts of what was “better” in our own countries, we can easily forget how great Taiwan is. Here’s a reminder.

10. Taipei 101
The world’s tallest building has to count for something. It’s also a mark of Taiwan’s progress. 40 years ago, this was a primarily agricultural society, now it’s heavily industrialized, a world leader in high-tech industry, and owner of the world’s tallest building.

9. Fried Rice
It’s true, there is a lot of strange and disgusting food here, and in Stinky or Fried Tofu we have something that smells like a hot room full of sweaty arse.
Fried rice though, is a bit different. Simple, versatile, and very moreish, it is perhaps the finest “eat every day food” in the world.

8. Culture
From Dragon Boat Racing, to the ancient history of a Confucian ceremony, to having 100,000 fireworks blasted at you in Yenshui’s celebration of the lantern festival, Taiwanese culture is extremely rich and varied. At the very least you should leave Taiwan with a much broader outlook. With all that variety at hand though, as long as you get out and experience this country, it must only be a matter of time before you find something that you’ll love.

7. Bin Lan
Ok, it’ll rot your teeth and give you mouth cancer, but hey, anything that causes semi-naked women to stand at the road-side must be good.

6. Master Cheng Yen – The “Mother Teresa of Taiwan”
In 1966, with the help of a few housewives, this humble Buddhist nun established the Tzu Chi Foundation, you’ve probably come across one of their hospitals or colleges. 40 years later she still works tirelessly, not only to improve health and education facilities in Taiwan, but also to provide disaster relief around the world.
Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996, it’s surely only a matter of time before those honest and brave Norwegians bestow this honor upon her.

5. The children
As teachers, many of us are in a good position to appreciate the huge difference between the children here and those back home in England.
Generally, kids here have an innocence that their Western counterparts are all too quick to throw off. A smiling, respectful kid who isn’t too “cool” to let him or herself have fun would be the exception in the West, here it’s the norm.

4. Xpat Life
How many other ex-patriots do you know? How many, and how diverse are the friendships you have made or stories you have heard? Now ask yourself how many of these things would have been possible if you weren’t all thrown together in a foreign land. How many of these friends would you have even spoken to in your own countries?
For this reason alone, I would always be happy I came to Taiwan.

3. Taroko Gorge
Taroko is awesome, a stunning natural feature that in my opinion, must rank as Taiwan’s best. Though it may be true that other countries such as the U.S. or Canada have places with more beauty, we shouldn’t forget how big Taiwan is.
For a country this size to have so much, and such varied natural beauty is incredible. I for one, feel lucky to experience it.

2. 24 hours a day
Whatever you want, whenever you want it. Nothing’s too difficult in 24 hour Taiwan. Back in England shops close at 6 p.m., how quaint.

1. The people
Hands up, how many of you speak Chinese? Now tell me in what way has that ever been a problem?
Instead of making us feel bad for our fecklessness with their language, people here feel guilty for not knowing enough English to be able to help us better. Instances of this take place so often that it’s easy for us to take it for granted. We shouldn’t though, because it’s a truly incredible thing.
It’s not just the language, people here are also very helpful. I don’t know how many times I have been in a place in need of some assistance, only to look up and find that, sure enough, some kind soul is asking me what I need. Not only am I helped though, I’m helped with a grace and humility that I have never experienced in any other country.
For these reasons, and a hundred others, the Taiwanese people rightly take their place as the No. 1 reason to love Taiwan.

Taiwanglish

2007-10-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

“I wearie whi shoeser.”
Apple is a 21 year old student whose part-time job is to corrupt my students with this brand of Taiwanglish. One of the main rules of this language is that you should either, 1. miss off the final sound, or 2. add an extra syllable. Apple doesn’t have any teaching qualifications and isn’t even studying English at University. That doesn’t matter to the kindergarten though, because she can sing and dance to a whole range of English songs.

Every year Taiwanese people spend billions of dollars on English education. I wonder whether they getting their money’s worth. Last week, in the hopes of changing my job, I visited a buxiban in Chiayi. The interview went well so I asked to watch a class. As I entered the classroom the kids were learning rote from Book 3 of the excellent series, “Let’s Go Speak Bad English”. That soon changed when I sat down though. I think the teacher wanted, as a special treat for me, to showcase her students’ English,
“Jerry, what’s your name?”
“Huh, gan ma? wo tin bu dong.”
I realize Jerry may have been nervous, apparently I was the first foreigner to enter that classroom, but he was on Book 3. His parents must have been paying for English classes for at least a year, and he can’t handle, “What’s your name?”

Something is terribly wrong here, and it’s not just bad teaching. There are so many students, especially adult students, who have these fixed ideas about how to improve their English. Yes, native speakers use idioms but that doesn’t mean that someone studying with a pre-intermediate textbook should. I absolutely hate it when, after getting a group discussion going, somebody brings it to an abrupt end with their phrase of the day, “Ahem, I am like the fish who is out of the water.” Not only that, but then they give you this look, a mixture of an inquiry, “did I get it right?”, and pride, “who cares, I just used an idiom. I am the cat who has the cream”

There are just too many English learning aids that are worse than useless; too many bad teachers (both Chinese and foreign), too many who, for one reason or another, don’t care about their students’ English; too many students who won’t listen because their Taiwanese teacher in school taught them something different.

There is also too much of an absurdly careless attitude from the government. Take, for example, public signs and notices. They spend millions every year putting up these signs in English, and yet don’t bother to have someone check the grammar and spelling. If you’re going to spend all that money, hire someone, someone good, pay them a lot of money and have them check the wording and the spelling.

Until these attitudes to English change, too many Taiwanese people will continue to wearie why shoeser.

Sex in Taiwan

2007-10-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

I remember sitting in a high school geography class, laughing while the teacher told us about sex hotels. Born and raised in middle-class, middle-England I had never heard of these places where you took a girl, or had one found for you, and where you paid for your room by the hour. Now, just down the road from my home in a small and sleepy Taiwanese town, one is just about to open up for business. This hasn’t caused much of a stir in the neighborhood as there are a couple of others nearby, and because they’re actually regular sites throughout Taiwan.

The issue of sex is an interesting thing in this country. It is at once taboo, and “in your face”. Difficult father/son or mother/daughter talks are completely avoided by many families. 30 year old virgins are not an uncommon thing, and a lot of people can’t even bring themselves to refer to sex directly. Not that there’s anything wrong with these things, well the last two anyway, but they are strange features of a country that has references to sex at every turn.

I wrote in another entry about the “spicy girls” who, wearing provocatively little clothing, stand on the roadside selling betel nut. That’s not all you’ll see as you drive along a Taiwanese road. There are also the adult movie stores and KTV bars. KTV which I can only presume stands for Karaoke TV is huge in Taiwan, and apparently throughout much of eastern Asia. There are two kinds of KTV establishments. There are those filled by groups of young people looking to sing and have fun with their friends. Then there are the other kind, seedier places where men go to sing with, and be entertained by girls. It’s quite easy to tell one kind from the other, 3 meter high images of women in bikinis are hard to miss. Open your newspaper back at home and you’ll find adverts for “Special Massage Parlors”. Not that there wouldn’t be anything wrong with these things either, on their own.

When it comes to sexuality, a marriage of brazen and coy is strange at the very least. A state of affairs where the fact of sex is so open, but where the people doing it are so secret, cannot be healthy. It creates a culture where sex is a dirty thing, something to lie about and to try and cover up.

As with just about everything else in Taiwan though, things are changing. Over the last few years the government has worked hard to impose laws banning pornography, to get Betel nut girls to cover up, and to control what goes on at KTV bars and massage parlors. Any effort to remove the sleazy and sordid connotations that, in this country, are often attached to sexual activity, can only be a good thing. With Taiwan’s accelerating HIV infection rate, it is also true that more needs to be done in school to educate the nation’s students about safe sex.

This would be good advice though, not just for Taiwan, but also for the rest of the world. Perhaps nowhere more so than my home country, England, which not so proudly boasts the worst teenage pregnancy rate in the developed world.

(And I think to myself,) What a Wonderful World

2007-10-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

I believe that life is beautiful. Look up from your computer and you will undoubtedly see a world full of extraordinary wonder. The only question that remains is whether you perceive it as such, or do you instead see a world of disappointment, of hostility and vulgarity, of ugliness? Is it a place to be celebrated, or one to be escaped?

So often we close ourselves off from the world, preferring the shelter of our safe little corner. Little not by chance, but because we have made it so. As people we are afraid of what we don’t know, and it is all too easy to give into this fear retreating when we meet something unfamiliar. The more we allow ourselves to be controlled in this way though, shying away from new things, the more afraid we become, and the smaller becomes our corner.

Instead of backing away like this, many of us try to hide our fear. Neither wanting others to see it, nor to admit it ourselves, we mask it with cynicism, skepticism, snide remarks, and even hostility; anything to belittle that which scares us. It is fear that leads us to turn our noses up, decide that a person is no good because of how they dress, or where they live. It is also fear that makes us size others up, label them, and put them in a box. People are less scary that way, all their mystery removed, stripped down to a personality sound bite. Then there are those people who constantly lose their temper, ranting and raving at anyone in their way, their actions also originate in fear. They are terrified of the idea that someone might get one over on them, and so lose themselves in anger to stop it from happening.

To control our fear, we all use various means and strategies to make ourselves superior to those around us. With these designs we don’t have to live so much in fear, do not have to always cower back to a private hideaway. We believe we are safe, but like everything else in life that safety comes at a cost. Distance is the price we pay. Through sizing people up and labeling them, we hold them at a safe distance. We do the same if we use sarcasm or cynicism. With anger or threats of force we cause others to stay away from us. We are safe, but unfortunately if someone is far enough away that they cannot hurt us, they are also too far away for us to be able to see their merits.

Whether we are running away from our fear or attempting to defeat it, our motivation is the same. We are trying to protect ourselves. To fully appreciate the world around us, and especially its people, we have to do something different. We must accept our fear, and accept that we will sometimes get hurt, or be embarrassed, or look foolish. In so doing we can free ourselves to be open, to come out from our safe corner, drop our guard and really interact with people, and with life itself. From there we must seek to understand rather than to cut down, to look past the unusual and the unnerving. Do this and the full gloriousness of life will open itself up for us.

Look up from your computer, the world is beautiful and so is everyone and everything else around you.

Teaching in Taiwan. Part two; A day in the life of a Cram School Teacher

2007-10-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Work starts at 4.30 in the afternoon with a kindergarten class. Such is the importance of English in Taiwan, that kids as young as four are packed off to cram schools to perfect their skills. Twice a week I have morning classes in an actual kindergarten where I “teach” children from 2 years old upwards.

My class today has 10 children and they’re really a pleasure to teach. They haven’t always been that way though, and I’ve got to say that no kindergarten class I have taught has ever started out as anything other than a pain in the arse. They don’t know any English, and even if you do know some Chinese it’s not a good idea to use it too much. The more they hear Chinese, the more they expect to hear it in the future, and the harder it is trying to enforce the “No Chinese in the classroom” policy most cram schools rightly adopt.

Quite apart from their language ability, they are very small children and are in an unfamiliar environment. They are with other children who they don’t know, and have a strange-looking foreign teacher. In short, it’s a scary environment for them and you have to build up a level of trust. It takes time for them to feel that this is a safe place to be in. Until that happens, you can expect tears, stubborn and scarred silences, mass fidgeting, and also kids who suddenly decide they need to get up and move around. When this period is over, most young classes are great, and have a real enthusiasm for learning, and for the games we play in the classroom.

Most cram school bosses are desperate that the students should have fun, for many this is more important than how much English the children learn. If children have fun, they go home happy and say good things about the school, their parents will then continue to send them there. I play games with my classes because it gives the students a good chance to use what they have learnt. It is also an incentive for them to learn, the better their English, the more points they will win.

At 5.30 I have another class, these guys are little older, about 10 or 11. This is my favorite age, they’re still young enough that they will take a real natural enthusiasm in whatever game you give them to play, but they have the benefit of a few years learning. For simple things their English, reading, writing, speaking, and listening, is now pretty good. Kindergarten students might come up to you outside of class, but after saying, “How are you?” will just chant your name over and over again. In the beginning it’s sweet, but after they’ve said your name 15 times, it can get irritating. 10 and 11 year olds can ask you questions, and if they’re good, you can have little conversations with them.

7.00 and it’s time for my junior high school class. This is my most interesting class of the day. If you have a class of older students who you know well, it can be a lot of fun. If you don’t know them however, it will almost always be difficult. In the same way that very young children need time to get to know you, junior high school students, 13-16 year olds, also need a settling in period. They don’t fidget or get up from their chairs but long silences broken only by Chinese, (the newer you are to the class, the louder it will be) should be expected.

I know this class well and I usually enjoy teaching them. For the last few weeks however, they have been quite badly behaved. To solve the problem I will change their seating positions, alternating the boys and girls. It’s amazing how well this works, I’m sure it wouldn’t in England where students are more socially developed. The pressure on students to study hard means they have relatively little time for boyfriends and girlfriends. It is common therefore, for teenagers to be uncomfortable with members of the opposite sex, and seating them next to each other in class will often solve most discipline problems.

There are bosses here who do not fully trust foreign teachers, seeing us as irresponsible and unreliable. Working for one of these people can be a dispiriting experience. Find the right school though, put in the work, and you’ll have a good time teaching in Taiwan.

Teaching in Taiwan. Part one; An Introduction to the Education System

2007-10-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

As a foreigner in Taiwan you’ll most likely spend your working hours in a cram school, or bushiban. Cram schools are a huge business here and form an integral part of the country’s education system. It’s not necessarily that parents don’t trust the regular schools, just that they would always want to provide their children with extra tuition.

Due to the influence of Confucius on Taiwanese society, people here prize education very highly; both education for its own sake, and for its ability to get you into one of the top professions.
Reading this in another country, you might be thinking that what I’ve described doesn’t sound very different to what happens in any other country. Parents everywhere want their children to have a good education and then get a good job. True enough, but there can’t be many kids outside of Southeast Asia who study as hard as those in Taiwan. To illustrate my point, before coming to Taiwan, I was teaching at a month long international summer school course in England. Most of the students in my class were European, there were also a few Russians, and one Taiwanese girl. One day she amazed us saying that she spends her evenings and weekends in different schools, having extra classes. We found it difficult to believe. However, of her own free will she had chosen to wear her Taiwanese school uniform every day that month, even on weekends and trips, so who knew?

Coming to Taiwan I realised that not only was it true, but that she wasn't particularly strange either. Firstly, it's quite normal for kids here to wear their uniforms all the time. Secondly, and this partly explains the uniform thing, many children spend all their time, weekends and all, at school. On the rare occasions that I manage to get out of bed for my "daily" 6am bike ride, I see kids going off to school. 9, 10 o'clock at night and you can still see them coming back home. I can't help but feel sorry for them when I'm out enjoying myself on Friday night, and they're standing there at the bus-stop, waiting for their ride home. It wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that a lot of them will be back off to school early on Saturday morning.

Many of these extra hours are spent in cram schools where students learn Chinese, math, music, art, and most importantly, English.

That’s where I come in, part 2 of this entry will be a more personal “day in the life an English teacher”.

Environmental concerns

2007-10-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

Written nearly a year ago as a letter to the Taipei Times, this piece is still very relevant

Reading the [Taipei Times] Editorial piece, “Act now to deal with climate change.” Jan. 2nd, I wasn’t particularly surprised to learn that Taiwan is a relatively large producer of greenhouse gasses. It contributes 1% of the world’s carbon emissions but accounts for less than 0.4% of its population. environment

To rectify the situation, the article claimed that businesses need to change and become more ecologically aware. No doubt this is true, but I think another problem needs to be tackled first.
Since coming to Taiwan a little over 4 years ago, I’ve been amazed by people’s lack of regard for environmental issues. Whether they’re pumping gas into their SUV’s, filling their garbage cans with huge amounts of plastic and paper, or burning up the gas and emptying the water tanks with daily hour long showers, it seems that many Taiwanese people are only too ready, not only to emit huge amounts of carbon, but also to use up the world’s resources.

There are a few silver linings to this black acid-rain cloud hanging over Taiwan. On an individual level, more people are recycling. With ever stricter controls over what, and how, we throw away, this is a trend that looks set to continue. On a national level, Taiwan is looking to various forms of renewable resources to meet part of its energy demand. These things are just small silver linings though. More needs to be done.

The most important thing is that people make changes to their daily lives. Driving smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, buying products with less packaging, and turning down the air-conditioner would be a good start. Changes like this however, will not simply happen of their own accord. The obligation to make them happen must lie with the government. By legislating against environmentally irresponsible behavior, passing laws that would tax vehicles with high fuel consumption, or fining households that use excessive amounts of water, they would force people to become responsible for their actions. This would only be half the answer though, it is also important that the nation become enthusiastic about green issues. By educating people about the harmful effects of pollution and about how they can make a difference, the government could both raise awareness of, and interest in environmental issues.

Not only would these measures do a lot to clean up the country, and to reduce the 10 tonnes of carbon the average Taiwanese person generates each year, but it is only when these things happen and people become interested, that businesses here will get serious about reducing their impact on the environment.

The Ugly Face of Beauty

2007-10-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

Written a few years ago in response to an article in the Taipei Times, this piece was published in the above-mentioned newspaper's "Letters" column.

It may well be a paradox, but there really is an ugly face to beauty. The question is though, whose face is it? Could it be the faces of the stick thin models banned from Madrid Fashion Week? Perhaps it’s the pale faces of models on TV selling skin whitening creams? Or is it the faces of the TV “doctors” telling us about their wonder medicines that will help women to lose weight or develop bigger breasts?

Whoever it is, it’s someone who tells us ordinary people that we are not beautiful. It’s someone who points out that there are standards which we simply don’t measure up to. All countries have these standards of course, but I have yet to come across anywhere else with standards so narrow and rigidly enforced as those in Taiwan.

Whereas other countries may have several ideals of physical beauty, Taiwan seems to have only one. Young women in other countries also don’t have the same pressure put on them to be beautiful. There is a greater acceptance of the idea that beauty is only one of a number of positive characteristics which are no more or less important.

In Taiwan, where does the pressure to be beautiful come from? Would the real ugly face of beauty please stand up? …Mothers, I’m talking to you.

In other countries a mother will, regardless of her child’s facial features, only see the beauty. Children grow up being told they’re beautiful. People are more secure in how they look, and are more willing to accept alternative ideals of beauty.

Many girls in Taiwan though, grow up knowing only criticism. Their mothers tell them that they are not tall enough, not pale-skinned enough, have eyes that are too small, or cheek bones that are too wide; the list could go on. We get a society of people who are compelled to overemphasize the importance of beauty and, at the same time, feel unnecessarily insecure in their own appearance.

If anything is to be done to improve the self-esteem of Taiwanese teenage girls, the change has to start at home, it has to start with the mothers.