The Zhang Mingqing Incident

As I commented on The View From Taiwan, I'm disappointed in the perpetrators of the attack on Zhang Mingqing.

Don't get me wrong - I don't like the man's politics. I am also, however, a strong believer in the civilmindedness of Taiwanese society - there will always be bad eggs in any population but it seems that in general, Taiwan is much less hotheaded and self-serving than some other countries I could name (*ahem* China, the USA - I'm looking at you).

The attack - whether it was just a push, whether it was a push and a punch, or as my Chinese teacher said, a push, punch, slam to the back of the head and attack on a car - projects a very poor image and an even worse example. Taiwan should be seeking to maintain its image as being more developed, more civil, more reasonable and more civically oriented than Big Red. It is all of those things, but it sure doesn't show in the light of this incident.

I understand the anger and frustration that led to this happening - I'm not even Taiwanese and I feel the same frustration at times. It hurts, it really does, to see Taiwan so often sidelined. Not by China - being yanked around by them is kind of like being manipulated by a gaggle of sorority girls...you know they're beyotches and what they do only reflects that fact. Rather, by the rest of the world who ought to know better - who does know better - but parks Taiwan on the bench because they have to play nice with the sorority girls of Commie Commie Sig. It's saddening. I get that. It sucks. I get that. It sucks giant hanging balls off a stray dog in Xinzhuang. I get that.

Unfortunately, you still can't vent all of that frustration and sadness by punching an old guy in the face when he's on his way to the Confucius temple for personal, spiritual reasons.

It just doesn't make you look good, and it doesn't make Taiwan look good. Who are the grownups here? Taiwan ought to show that it's them. Fight for real - don't punch an old dude and pretend that it does your cause a jot of good.

Reason #3 to Love Taiwan

Inexpensive beauty care! I got a full facial and upper back massage today for $600 NT, about 1/3 the cost of one in the USA. Maybe 1/4.

I had a particularly stressful day today, capping off an almost-complete stressful week. Six new one-on-one social etiquette and writing skills classes (six!) at the Taipei offices of a major IT firm have just started, and I'm well on my way to breaking my monthly earnings record at this job.

Although that's not normally a priority - free time and quality of life are at the top of the list - it's certainly welcome cash as we plan our trip to Egypt, India and the USA next year.

As a special treat to help me unwind I stopped in the beauty care shop in Jingmei Night Market (towards the southern end, just before the food stalls) and got The Works.

First they wiped me down, laid me down on a comfy massage bed and covered my face in sticky goo. Then they covered the goo with layers of paper until I looked (and felt) mummified. While chatting in Taiwanese they rubbed that Icy Hot stuff all over my shoulders and gave me a good old-fashioned pounding until I relaxed and my vertebrae cracked into place. It feels nicer than it sounds.

"Don't talk while it's drying!" they insisted in Chaiwanese - that night-market-centric language that seems to be half Chinese and half Taiwanese.

After it dried, they pulled it up, bringing lots of gunk with it, covered me in more lotion and proceeded to use an electric scrapey thing to coax even more gunk out.

Lovely.

After I'd been scraped down like an Orwellian torture victim, they painted me with runny, milky goo.

I won't tell you what that reminded me of. Heh.

Then they covered me in a face-shaped felt thing and let me sit for about 10 minutes while they pounded me some more (which felt really nice, but slightly violating considering what my face seemed to be covered in).

Then they took that off and wiped me down again.

My skin has never looked better or felt cleaner, and the tension I've carried in my shoulderblades all week is finally gone.

I might just have to get this done every month...

GAH!

So I received and sent in my absentee ballot from the Virginia elections board - I bet you can all guess who I'm voting for.

The envelope the ballot came in was addressed to me in "Taipei, Taiwan, Province of China".

GAAAAAH!

The one I got from Arlington Democrats before the ballot came (funny, I was pretty sure I chose "independent" as my affiliation when I registered to vote. Huh) was just as bad, if not worse: Taiwan, PR China.

PR China! For effing eff's god-forsaking goodness gosh-diddly-arned I-wanna-swear-so-bad sake! Never have the letters "W", "T" and "F" been so appropriate.

Again, GAAAH!

It happened awhile back, but coming across the envelope again, I'm still annoyed...and I'm not even Taiwanese!

I checked my boyfriend's ballot envelope from Maine, and they just addressed it as "Taiwan". I'm waiting to hear on the address noted for my friend registered in New York, and wondering what other states use the offensive designation of "China" in their election mail.

I realize that there's some "standard" list out there that has Taiwan down as "Province of China" - that's something I dealt with on my favorite message board, as well (they changed it; they hadn't noticed it and when they did it was also offensive to them). That doesn't mean it's right, doesn't mean it's fair, and really does not mean it's OK.

I'll have to write to Virginia and Arlington Democrats (may as well stay on their mailing list, I'm "independent" but pretty much never vote Republican 'cause I'm far too socially liberal and all the socially liberal Republicans seem to be in Maine) after the election, when they have time on their hands and at least register a complaint.

Might not change anything. Probably won't. But I have to try.

If anyone cares to leave a comment letting me know what their state designates for Taiwan on absentee voter mail, I'd love to hear it. If I can find that many states do not use the ire-inducing "Province of China" moniker, it will build a stronger case.

The Camotes

Obligatory Beautiful Sunset, Mangodlong, Camotes

As I mentioned a few entries ago, Brendan and I spent Double Ten weekend back in the Philippines. I haven't posted about it because I have been too lazy to upload my photos until now. We went to the Camotes, which is relevant to Taiwan in approximately zero ways...

...well, maybe one.

Many people who find themselves based in Taiwan are interested in visiting neighboring countries such as China, Japan and - yes - the Philippines. Writing about our time there is a bit of information that can help people get a feel for the place if they haven't been to Southeast Asia before. What I love about the place, though, is that it's totally unlike the rest of SE Asia. It's been influenced more by Western colonialism (English is an effortless second language for most Filipinos and the country is overwhelmingly Christian) and Oceanic cultural norms than the rest of the SE Asian subcontinent.

Oh, and the beaches are better.

I'll write more about the trip later; we have to get up early tomorrow and I have to go to bed soon. But here are some photos:

Danao (Cebu Island) Coral Stone Church




Sunset on Pacijan Island

Little Girl Who Laughed - Then Cried (Danao)

Adorable Kid on a Banca (motorized passenger boat)

Mangodlong Rock Resort - Pacijan Island

Kids and a Bike, Danao

Kids Behind a Fence, Tulag Island

Grandmother, Tulag Island

Tulag Island Village

More Tulag Island



Green Lake Flowers



Green Lake Tree

Altavista View, Poro Island

Two Boaters, Mangodlong, Pacijan Island
(This isn't a very good photo from a technical point of view, but I am drawn to it. I don't know why I like it so much.)

Things You Never Knew Until You Looked

We decided to spend the day - sun! Finally! - lolling about Dihua Street and looking at the puppetry (bu dai xi) museum one block over (coming from Nanjing E. Road, turn left at Xiahai temple on Dihua and it's at the end of the lane on the right).

Afterwards we got shaved ice at the old-skool place under the old Dihua market facade; the famous one with only three flavors of ice - red bean, green bean and almond - and coffee around the corner. That's when I noticed that the ugly newer building behind the old market facade had businesses in it! I'd assumed it was closed because the only other time I looked, it seemed abandoned.

The only market I knew about was the fairly small one that doesn't seem to be connected to this one, also with lots of fabric vendors, but including fruit, meat and religious item stores as well.

It's not abandoned - the inside is a massive fabric, clothing making, alterations and clothing accessory/bead/feather/ribbon/string market. You can buy any cloth imaginable - from silver tutu fluff to elaborate Chinese silk to fake black fur with white fur hearts on it to old-fashioned floral-print cottons. You can get the cloth made into almost anything, or get old clothes altered or repaired.

And to think - I used to believe that the best way to shop for fabric at Dihua Street (well-known among locals and in guidebooks as a mecca for cloth) was to go into each separate store and vet their inventory!

When It Rains

Sometimes, when the weather in Taipei is just unremittingly crap - when it drizzles for days on end and the sky has been bleak for as long as you can remember - I wonder what the hell I'm doing here.

The feeling rarely lasts long because I genuinely love this country, but it does come. I really don't like overcast skies. Rain is fine, as long as it's good and heavy, or a relief from humidity...and thunderstorms are, of course, awesome. But a gray sky and a light drizzle? Ick. It's unfortunate that this seems to be Taipei's dominant weather pattern.

After chugging a CC Lemon (I need my C) I usually cheer up, but yesterday that wasn't doing it for me.

Then, after our workout, Brendan and I met my sister at Zhongshan to get something to eat. We took the bus to Jilin-Nanjing, planning to go to Ali Baba or Silverfish Thai (such an unfortunate name). Both were closed before the dinner rush.

We ended up in an alley on the north side of the road, by a 7-11...I realize that doesn't help much direction-wise. We had beef noodles under an umbrella, sitting on damp stools.

Those noodles were delicious. They weren't overloaded with MSG, weren't too thin or cheap but not gummy or fat either. I'll take gummy and fat over thin noodles anyday, though. The soup was hearty and the beef chunks were high-quality without being too fatty.

And that - a typical Taiwanese dish that you can find on any streetcorner for 50-90 kuai - cheered me up immeasurably.

You can find the beef noodle guy near the Nanjing-Jilin intersection, north side of Nanjing, by turning right at a 7-11. I realize "turn at the 7-11" is not very clear as there are usually 5 or 6 of them to choose from, but it's not hard to find. Facing Nanjing at Silverfish Thai, it's to the right.

The Asian Canada

Inspired by this hilarious video on Slate (and since I just got back and have nothing else of interest to write about until I get back in the swing of things):











I thought about when exactly I started planning my move to Taiwan. I arrived approximately two years ago, but began planning the move about two years before that...which was just six months after I returned from China, but that's another story.

Basically, I started to plan this move right about the time that Bush was elected to a second term of office - I made good on that pledge to get the heck outta Dodge if we put that yahoo back in office.

And that got me thinking, in many ways, Taiwan is like the Asian Canada. Yes, it's true that Taiwan is small and Canada is big. Taiwan is crowded and Canada is (mostly) sparse. Taiwan is hot and muggy, and Canada is cold and snowy. But bear with me. It really is the Asian Canada.

Think about it:

- Taiwan has national healthcare
- Taiwanese society is generally openminded, at least when compared to its propagandatastic neighbor
- There are a lot of Canadians here - though some of them look a bit worse for wear
- There's some big ol' mountains in there somewhere
- Maple syrup is available
- Both have indigenous people
- Lots of Asian folks
- Things are safer, cleaner, healthier and friendlier than in some nearby countries we could name