FAPA YPG's Democracy in Action Taiwan Trip (II)

2008-04-02T10:40:00.001+07:00

As I started uploading the first batch of my pictures from the tour, I thought it would be a good time to settle down and write down my thoughts. I have no problem talking about how awesome the tour was and how much I miss everyone, but I have to admit that I’m not good at and don’t particularly enjoy writing. I’m sure everyone has already heard about my feelings on the election multiple times, so instead of rehashing that I’ll just stick to recaps of the events that stood out for me on this trip.

Kaohsiung, my hometown:
I had a fabulous time at Kaohsiung. The street sweep was definitely the highlight of our day, but I enjoyed hearing the deputy mayor Chiu Yi-Ren talk about the city. I also loved how Kaohsiung made a good impression on everyone (or at least I surely hope it did). I always have to justify to people why I am absolutely in love with the city, and surely learning more about the city itself as well as taking an in depth tour of the newly built mass rapid transit system just made me more proud that I can call Kaohsiung my hometown. The hospitality of Kaohsiung citizens was deeply felt when we went on the street sweep, but I was also very touched by the extremely passionate and friendly restauranteur who passed out free campaign hats and made up cheers for us while we took pictures. My only regret is not getting the chance like the others to be serenaded with “My Heart Will Go On” on the Love River.

Tainan:
Dinner with the students from Cheng-Kung University also turned out to be interesting. At first the conversation was a bit stilted because it seemed as if no one wanted to delve too deeply into politics. But I had a particularly good experience because the two students I talked to the entire time were both supporters of the KMT. I asked them questions about their views and patiently heard them out, and then supplemented my own opinions with the ever-so-useful “As an American…” point of view. They really seemed to be fascinated by what I had to say, and after discussing a few of the prominent issues that have been splattered over the news, we seemed to reach a much better mutual understanding. I was told that I was very convincing—whether that actually resulted in a vote for Frank I’ll never know, but still it was comforting to see that at least I was somewhat influencing them to think about things with a different perspective.

Taichung:
I believe the trip to Taichung was the most interesting, but what happened on the tour bus stays on the tour bus. ;) I also had a great time at lunch the next day with the professors from Chung-Hsing University. They were so friendly and eager to share their knowledge with us!

Taipei:
Our meeting with Shieh Jhy-Wey was unfortunately very short since he had to catch a train. But he entertained us with his rapping and I was a bit star-struck since I heard about him on the news all the time.

My favorite meeting was with DPP legislator Twu Shiing-Jer. HE WAS SO CUTE! I was so entertained by what he said and I loved how he would laugh at the jokes he makes himself. I learned a lot more about the health perspective of relations between Taiwan and China, and how Taiwan’s inability to join the WHO really harms us, as witnessed during the SARS crisis when WHO officials were not allowed to enter Taiwan at the onset of the outbreak.

Oh, and the best conversation ever:

(After taking a picture of me with Dr. Twu) Gloria: So cute!
Dr. Twu: Thank you!
Gloria: I was talking about her.
Dr. Twu: Awww…

Hahahahahahahhahahahaha cutie mc-cutester!!!

I will update with a Part Two once I get some sleep…which I haven’t gotten for the past five days due to a midterm and 20 page paper due on the same day.

P.S. EVERYONE FRIEND ME ON FACEBOOK! That's where I'm uploading all my pictures. I'll upload to the Flickr account too but they won't have any of my cool comments ;)

Afterthoughts (Part One)

2008-03-31T11:50:00.008+07:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's taken so long for me to write -- truth is, after the trip I did a lot of thinking and wanted to compile my thoughts before I put anything in writing.

As most of you know, I went on the trip pretty much to absorb everything thrown at me...it was interesting soaking everything in, and trying to digest it all has taken me a week. I wrote one of my final papers my senior year at GWU on Taiwan's Presidential election, so to participate in the events and watch everything unravel in person was quite the treat for me. I walked away not only with an amazing experience, but with a deep appreciation for everything Taiwan is and has -- its democracy, people, food, sights, sounds, and wonders all bundled into one big form of LOVE. It's amore, I guess.

I would have to say I was probably the most ignorant to Taiwan's history out of everyone even if I had toured Taiwan in 2006...and served as a Student Ambassador to Taiwan in 2001. It's quite embarrassing for me to admit especially since I had an academic focus on Taiwan. My parents never really talked about their homeland, and I'll admit I never really asked that they talk about Taiwan.

Anyhow, the trip was fabulous. Iris Ho, Iris Shaw, Julia, Allen, Enoch...THANK YOU GUYS.

Now as for the trip in pictures (PART ONE) --

Our first stop was the gorgeous Taiwan Foundation for Democracy building. Maysing Yang, the Vice President of Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and Vice Minister of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission spoke to us candidly...and provided each of us with a bag full of interesting books as well as a delicious bento lunch box! We also got to hang out with TFD's staff (who all knew Kharis quite well since he was a fellow there) and enjoy free coffee and tea.

The first picture is of Iris & Maysing Yang. The second is of the group with Ms. Yang & TFD staff.

Okay, more later...it's getting late and I still haven't adjusted back to PST!

...just for fun...

PS. I have over 1000 photos to share with you all, but until Mike holds up to his end of the deal (he knows what the deal is), I won't divulge the link [HINT: you should all pressure Mike].

228 Memorial

2008-03-30T02:57:00.004+07:00

oh, here is info on the 228 Museum, which a few of us saw from the outside but didn't have time to go to, and the 228 Memorial at Peace Park, which a few of us did get to see (translation of the inscription seems to be here )

wow

2008-03-29T11:58:00.004+07:00

This trip was as spectacular as I hoped it would be. I'm supposed to move on with my life, but I can't stop thinking about it. Two of the most powerful experiences for me were the "street sweep" and the Taiwan Human Rights Memorial. I am inspired by the determined & resilient democracy advocates we had the good fortune to meet, including Yao, who opened up his home to us, and VP Lu. I was trying to organize my thoughts, but I am still overwhelmed, so I'll just have to do soundbites: The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the fact that Taiwan is a leader in democracy building make me proud. I'm glad to have had the chance to go to Tainan, Taichung, and Kaohsiung, the latter of which will make a fabulous impression on World Games visitors next year. Minister Jhy-Wey Shieh has gotta be one of the coolest peeps ever. Rubbling elbows with foreign dignitaries at the CEC reception was another of the trip's many once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I loved the informative discussions with the Taiwan Thinktank, NCHU (we really should check into the violations of IP laws), and Freddy Lin, as well as the debates at the LSE/INPR post-election roundtable. I was totally surprised to find myself enjoying and learning from the briefings with government officials (felt like home!) at AIT, MOFA, and MAC. The candid conversations with Dr. Twu and Mr. Chen, two fascinating people, were insightful and fantastic opportunities to pick their brains. I had ooldes of fun taking pictures at the LY & Formosa TV (could everyone please upload their pictures? pretty please, with red beans on top?) I appreciated the yummy, generous meals from NCHU and Eva & Zoe's aunt/uncle, and I will have fond memories of meeting NCKU youngsters and a Taiwan-loving restauranteur. Watching the vote count at the polling station was definitely hands-on "democracy in action." And although I hadn't plan on it --to top off all that learning-- I had oh so much fun, fun, fun with my easy going, friendly, diverse, passionately Taiwanese-American tour mates.

Thank you, FAPA, for my most meaningful and memorable (in a good way) trip ever.

oh, and to facilitate everyone visiting the Taiwan Human Rights Memorial, here's the link for more information: http://www.thrm.org.tw/

2 + 1

2008-03-28T09:01:00.003+07:00

Looking back on our tour, there are two most memorable moments and one afterthought:

1. Kaohsiung: Okay, since I spend most of my time in Taiwan in Kaohsiung City, I have become biased in its favor. But, I think everyone enjoyed it immensely, as well, if only for a day. Wasn't Tuesday morning and afternoon the most fun part of the trip? I think we all felt the warmth of its citizens over and over, from those welcoming our arrivals with fireworks to the truck driver who shared betel nuts with us (okay, me), to the friendliest restauranteur, to the most amazing tour guide... So, it is no wonder that Abian wants to move to Kaohsiung! Don't you?

2. Freddy Lim: The founder and lead singer of ChthoniC (http://chthonic.org/2008/ch/) has a very successful career, which also includes being a club owner and music festival promoter. Nonetheless, he took up the challenge to lead the "Reverse Taiwan" headquarters and activities. When we met with him on Wednesday, we could all see the fatigue of his body but not his spirit. He is a shining example of the power of youth; one report put the youth vote at 56% for Frank Hsieh. Also at the headquarters was his wife and bass guitar player, Doris Yeh, just as involved and fatigued. So, aren't these two good role models for us to follow?

*. Personally, my scariest nightmare is having my own country, the USA, become so coddling to China that it foresakes Taiwan. In the future, if the USA's support ebbs, leaving the Taiwanese little choice but to unify with communist China, then I couldn't imagine walking the streets of Taiwan without hiding my face in shame. Unfortunately, President George W. Bush chastised Abian in front of Chinese leaders, and Secretary of State Condolleza Rice called Taiwan's referendum "provocative". Meanwhile, there is an undefined status quo for Taiwan to adhere to. This leaves little room for exploration of just what Taiwanese want for their final status. The USA should never believe that independence is not an option. Fortunately, Congress, in passing the Taiwan Relations Act, has assumed some oversight role with respect to US-Taiwan relations. So, this is where FAPA comes in, fostering a Taiwan-friendly Congress. This is where you and I come in!

Thoughts and Reflections

2008-03-26T19:50:00.006+07:00

Now that I'm sitting at my desk back in Maryland, it is hard to imagine all that we have went through just this past week. I would first like to say to everyone on this trip how much I have enjoyed getting knowing every single one of you. Never have I ever met a group of people who cared so much about Taiwan. I had so much fun with all of you and I was able to learn so much from you too.

I would like to share some of my favorite events for me on this trip.
Tuesday, March 18th was an exciting day because we got to do a lot of sightseeing in Kaohsiung. This was the first time that I've been there since Frank Hsiesh had made it so great. We 'swept the street' in the morning, we were screaming waving flags, etc. It was comforting to see so many people give us the thumbs up on the street. And of course there were those who rolled their eyes at us. Kaohsiung is a city with great potential and many things to offer, no wonder the citizens there are so proud of their city.

At night we went to Tainan to chat with students of NCKU. It was so interesting to be able to talk to people our age and compare our ideas and experiences. I remember at first we were all a little shy at our table but once the conversation got going, it was hard to stop.
Visiting the Legislative Yuan was another one of my favorite events. To actually be inside where all the action happens was so exciting. Dr. Twu was a very personable and knowledgeable person, it's nice to know that at least we have someone like him in the LY.

For me, Friday was probably the highlight of this trip. Visiting the Human Rights Park was emotional for many of us. For me it really hit home deep down because these were my people who were tortured, jailed, and killed for what they believed in. I believe in the phrase, "Forgive but not forget." But it is hard to forgive when the KMT still doesn't recognize many of the events that happen. It is hard to forgive when students aren't taught the true history of Taiwan. Every citizen of Taiwan should visit this memorial Park, because without those people who had suffered so much, we would not be where we are right now. It also made me realize how important this Presidential Election was because we have to keep moving forward.

The Election rally that night was a great follow-up to what we saw that morning. It gave me hope to see so many people rally around a candidate who can best serve the interest of all Taiwanese people. I can't explain in words the excitement, the mood that was there. Even after Frank Hsiesh gave his speech, many young people went up to the stage and started shouting 逆轉勝逆轉勝 Needless to say my hope and spirit was at an all time high, I seriously thought that we would win this. I even went to bed that night with the chant in my head.

Reality quickly hit the next day when we visited a polling station. I don't think I can ever get the phrase "2 號馬英九一票" out of my head. Every time it got shouted, it was like a knife stabbing my heart. After that many people went to the CEC, while 4 of us went over to Frank's headquarters. I didn't even had to look at the TV to see the vote count, all I had to do was see the faces of the people that were there to know that we had lost... badly. Hearing Frank's speech that night was absolutely disheartening. Everyone was crying, young, old, male, female, everyone had tears in their eyes. After that we sat inside the HQ, faces and minds blank, hardly believing and accepting the results.

That night we were fortunate enough to go to the Residence of a first generation DPP member 姚嘉文 to chat. To hear him speak rubbed off some of my pessimism. It was probably the best possible way to end such a horrendous night.
So that about sums up the highlights for me.

Thanks to everyone who helped plan this trip, you guys are great. And to everyone who were on the trip, this past week wouldn't have been the same without any one of you!
Even this guy supports Frank!

I miss everyone!!! And Taiwan :(

2008-03-26T14:42:00.001+07:00

Hey guys!!

I got back to LA late Sunday night, and I really miss everyone so so much. Unfortunately I am completely bogged down with a ton of work this week so I probably won't be able to upload pictures or write more in depth blog entries until next week--but just wanted to give a shoutout to all those who came on the trip, and an EXTRA BIG thanks to those who helped plan it. I never imagined a trip could be this informative and fun at the same time; Iris was right: This is the highlight of my life.

Back to doing work...

Hugs and Kisses,
Tiffany

My thoughts on the elections

2008-03-23T21:43:00.000+07:00

for those of you who have been following our trip via our blog, apologies for not keeping it updated regularly. we have been very busy with meetings set up one after the next and though we have heard many interesting things, it has been difficult to find time to compile our thoughts.

i'd like to share what i have learned from observing the elections and hopefully my comments can help with your understanding of the big upset.

frank hsieh was able to make a tremendous comeback since the DPP lost many seats in the legislative yuan elections in january. with freddy's help, DPP was able to galvanize the youth vote on issues such as one China market (which would take away jobs from youngsters) and promising to help young people with housing. however, his efforts in the last 2 months were not enough to overcome the deep disappointment that many Taiwanese (including pro-DPP) felt over the economy and how President Chen behaved in office. Talking to my aunt, a blue supporter from Taipei, on the morning of the elections, we tried to convince her to vote green. But she argued that recently she feels unsafe where she lives and she admits that she cares more for the future of her kids (i.e. economics trumps all) than the ideals that Taiwan should stand for.

we also went to polling stations in Taipei to observe people voting and watched the votes get counted. it is really a unique example of transparency of the government in that any citizen can watch the ballots be publicly counted at every polling station. what is interesting though is that some people mentioned that the referendum vote was discouraged by the way the ballot boxes were placed (off to the side) or the officials at the polling site didn't explain how to vote for the referendum-- i don't know how true these comments were but i imagine that there is some truth to them. at the first polling station we observed, which apparently serves many old KMT people, was pretty depressing to watch. vote after vote was given to Ma and only every 50 votes was there one for Hsieh. the final results from this station was 75 Hsieh and 1010 Ma....pretty miserable to watch. there were plenty of KMT supporters from the neighborhood watching carefully, eager to make sure Ma is put back into power. but the other polling stations in the area showed the 2 candidates to be closer in votes (apparently these stations served districts that are more diverse with immigrants etc).

vote counting was completed pretty quickly and we soon found out that Ma had a big lead over Hsieh. at DPP headquarters, according to other members who our group who went there, many people were crying. Hsieh gave a concession speech in front of a large crowd of supporters, asking people not to cry for him and he declared that he took all the blame for the election defeat. it was a very noble gesture. on the KMT side, supporters were celebrating the KMT win with firecrackers.

although DPP lost the elections, they now have time to retreat and reorganize the party. clearly people are not happy with the party and even the DPP founding members believe that DPP was catapulted into power prematurely. we heard from a couple of older Taiwanese Americans who came back for the election that going south and into the towns, they found that DPP really has not reached the local level so that people don't really care which party they vote for and will be influenced by vote-buying. they vow to come back every summer with a bus tour to really reach out to the local level and educate people about DPP.

today we went to a roundtable discussion regarding the presidential elections, sponsored jointly by the Institute for National Policy Research and the Asia Research Centre, at the London School of Economics. a bunch of academics presented their impressions of the results of the elections. here are some of their thoughts:
-there was a power struggle in the DPP when trying to choose the presidential candidate; perhaps Hsieh as a candidate failed to integrate the various DPP factions and maybe one faction wanted to be in power so didn't let Hsieh win his own city of Kaohsiung.
-voters have matured and not as influenced by identity politics as previously; KMT's legacy of terror is retreating and DPP needs reorganization.
-Taiwan's democracy is maturing: there was a popular demand for clean government, spirit of compromoise, etc
-both KMT and DPP platforms were similar except for the fundamental ideals of independence or unification and both sides realized that neither is achievable in the near future
-Japan will continue to have a lock of a coherent plan regarding Taiwan because they are internally split by a conservative Right wing (favoring Ma) and a revisionist Right wing (who likes Hsieh because he speaks Japanese and they accept TW indep).
-the fact that only 35% of people voted for the referendum is really a bad sign to the world that TW doesn't care about UN representation, though it is clear that KMT worked hard to encourage ppl to boycott DPP's referendum.
-if the parties had made a joint platform regarding UN for Taiwan, then the referendum most likely have passed (as 97% of DPP's ref was approved).
-it is worrisome that the referendum's value in Taiwan is being degraded and being misused as an election tool
-it is important to keep in mind that the election votes DON'T represent voters' endorsement of one China and unification; it was domestic politics that voters were basing their decisions on
-Ma will have a long, uphill battle from here on because KMT has majority in Legislative Yuan as well so it may be tricky to balance all the various KMT faction interests as well as deliver on the promises Ma made during his campaign
-there is an exaggerated optimism in the KMT; it will be hard for Ma to move as fast as he wants on quotas, charter flights, etc.
-Ma will not rely on secret envoys to China, he will keep communication open and he is under scrutiny.
-both campaigns focused on President Chen as the common enemy; Ma will face many expectations as well as need to perform a balancing act within the KMT and with the DPP
-DPP needs to develop a more plausible economic strategy, and not just be obsessed with identity politics; even better if they can figure out a way for TW to be prosperous without reliance on China
- China doesn't like any Taiwanese leader and its own government is pretty fractionalized.
-the 100 EU parliamentarians that came out in support of TW in the UN is a small portion of the ~700 member parliament that really does not represent the governments of the EU countries
-shifting identity of Taiwanese people: there are 1 million business people and families living in China and this will greatly change self-identification of culture and nationality.
-Ma will be seen as a troublemaker too if he doesn't play along with Chinese interests

i hope some of these notes from what i have observed help you to understand a bit more what's going on in Taiwan with the elections. though it was an upset defeat, DPP will come back stronger (though it may take some time) and FAPA will have to work harder to help Taiwan now that DPP is out of power. just my immediate thoughts, hopefully the rest of the people on the observation tour can update the blog when they have a chance and share with you their impressions of the elections.

3am... tick.. tock.. tick.. tock..

2008-03-22T01:59:00.005+07:00

okay, it's 3am & i still can't sleep from the adrenaline high from the rally tonight...
so overwhelmed by the power of free and democratic people. it's hard to imagine that just <15 years ago, we would have all been arrested & thrown in jail for voicing our opinions!!

Instead, today, Taiwan's youths can show their views w/o fear of persecution...

And even better that we get to join them :)

Isn't she a cutie?!?!?!!? China's threats & 1300+ missiles impact her future!!! 台灣加油!!!!!

7 hours left

2008-03-22T00:46:00.004+07:00

The most important day of our trip

In the morning, we walked through Taiwan Human Rights Memorial Park. For me, this is a very educational 2 hours. Through the tour, I re-learned part of the history of Taiwan. So many people has suffered or murdered for Taiwanese democracy, I really hope that the result of the election will bring Taiwanese democracy movement to a new level.

Taiwan jia-yo!

So happy to see so many young people come out to show their love!

catching up

2008-03-21T00:56:00.003+07:00

We're not meeting until 9:10am tomorrow, so I'm keeping Tiffany up and typing a little:

Mon:

Taiwan Foundation for Democracy's Maysing Yang was a great way to start off the tour. She had been living in the US and came back, leaving her family behind, to help Taiwan's democracy. She's proud of the participation of women in politics in Taiwan, due in part to the requirement of DPP requires that 1/2 of candidates are women.

We learned that the American Chamber of Commerce believes that most companies that would move to China likely already has. They think the most important issues are increasing flights, decreasing regulations, and something else I can't remember this moment...

It was interesting to see at the NCCU Election Study Center colored maps of the past elections. Exit polls don't seem very predictive, so they don't use it much.

Afterward, we hung out at Starbucks, slept on the high speed rail after the bento, went to a 2-block night market, got a My Heart Will Go On sernade on a Love River cruise, heard some jokes I didn't understand cuz of my bad Mandarin skills, and switched hotel rooms.

Tues:

I remember as a kid being at home not understanding the stuff people were yelling out on the streets. Now, I've been a part of the yelling, cruising the streets, being looked at by the people in their homes. It's always touching to see people wave and give support to what they believe in, whatever country or cause.

Deputy Mayor sold me on Kaohsiung.

KRT was impressive. I could ask questions cuz of my subway experience. The war section of the glass dome was a little scary, as it was meant to be.

We bonded on the bus on the way to Tainan.

I didn't quite realize we would be talking to undergrads at NCKU...they were earnest and I got to practice my Mandarin...

The Taichung teacher conference hotel had a switch for the light, but I didn't realize that.

off to bed...

Some interesting photos

2008-03-20T19:33:00.006+07:00

Central Park stop on the Kaohsiung MRT has the largest covering in all of Asia. It is designed by a European architect. It is an awesome stop with the theme of spring in KH so there are many yellow flowers in a field of grass on each side of the stop. In the first 8 days open, the KRT has received more than 2 million passengers, granted the rides are free for the first month. KH is encouraging its people to use public transportation as there are 1.5 million inhabitants with 1.1 million scooters!

Dome of Light at one of the stops on the Kaohsiung MRT, has not yet opened. An enormous glass painting (with more than 400 panels) by an Italian artist serves to bring international attention to Taiwan and also enriches the lives of Taiwanese people.

We got a tour of the Legislative Yuan where Meng-Yu and Kharis re-enact a typical occurrence--fighting between the legislators.

Dr. Shieh, GIO minister and rapper

2008-03-20T06:46:00.004+07:00

Dr. Jhy-Wey Shieh, minister of the Government Information Office (GIO), is known to be partial to the DPP's cause. We were fortunate enough to talk to him briefly and he fulfilled our request to do a rap. Shieh is well-known for his rapping abilities and more importantly, he raps about Taiwan!! See for yourself how cool he is. YouTube link here.

China's stealing Taiwan's fruits of labor...literally

2008-03-19T19:56:00.002+07:00

Today we visited National Chung Hsing University where we talked with a panel of professors. NCHU is one of Taiwan's top universities that focuses on agriculture and biotechnology among other disciplines. We learned from deputy head of agriculture and fishery Mr. Wu that when Taiwan began to collaborate with China in sharing agricultural technology, China ended up taking the information to make their own produce and now competes in Taiwan and in the world market. You can find Taiwan's seeds for plants and fruits in factories all across the major Chinese cities. They even put Taiwanese brand logos on their packaging as well as pretend to be Taiwanese grown fruit. Some of this fruit is even making its way back to Taiwan. China's cheap prices are competing internationally with Taiwan's goods. For example, organic corn from China will sell for $9 in Hong Kong whereas Taiwan's corn sells for $45, even though both corn was originally cultivated by Taiwanese people. The idea of a common market proposed by Ma Ying-jeou will be troubling to Taiwan's farming and fishery that is already suffering from major competition from the Chinese. Opening the doors to further Chinese influence and competition is something that Taiwan cannot afford to do.

Some Pics from Trip thus far...

2008-03-19T07:10:00.010+07:00

For those who weren't able to join us... See what you're missing out on?!?!?!

Group picture @ NCCU Election Study Center after briefing:

The brand new high speed train!! TPE to KSH in 1hr 45min:

Tiffany, Angela & Julianna enjoying the bento box on the high speed train ride down to KSH:

The awesome UN for Taiwan display out front @ Hsieh's KSH Campaign HQ:

Meet our Pres & VP candidates:

Thanks to Eva & Zoe's Aunt and Uncle for lunch in KSH:

Exciting day!

2008-03-19T01:25:00.002+07:00

Hey everyone...

So today was quite exciting. We started the day by going to Frank Hsieh's campaign HQ...and in a random turn of events we hopped onto his "street sweep" parade and got an impromptu tour of Kaohsiung!

I've never seen so many firecrackers being lit up in my life! It was kind of like a war zone with how it sounded...but it was SO exciting.

We also had dinner with some students from Cheng Kung University (sp?). That was definitely a highlight...they were SO interesting to talk to!

Anyhow, it's really late and I should sleep now...a couple of us went to the night market and bought food...ended up chatting in Juliana & my room until now. :)

Hi!

2008-03-16T05:31:00.003+07:00

Hey everyone!

I haven't even finished half of my packing yet, but I'm taking this short break to say how nervous/excited I am.

I can't wait to meet you all, and I'm definitely looking forward to all of the things I'll be experiencing this week....

Back to packing!

excited

2008-03-15T18:30:00.002+07:00

I keep saying that I'm excited cuz well, I am!

All packed, including the overnight bag. I'm trusting that the hotels have irons.

When I explain the trip to people, they don't seem as excited as I am. Am I the only one that's this excited?

Through getting involved with FAPA and learning Taiwan's history, I realized how little I knew when I was in Taiwan when I was a kid. Obviously --how much do kids know about politics! Even as adults, people in DC may be odd for knowing so much about politics and government. Anyways, I more clearly see why my parents immigrated. I also understand better how much the oppressed culture is ingrained in me. This trip is perfect for me since I get to learn about Taiwan and talk with people -- and can pretty much understand only English.

I wonder how the DPP and the will of the people will proceed after the election...I feel like we're flying/swooping in and looking in the fish bowl with a magnifying glass, versus the people actually living in Taiwan who may not have the substantive conversations we will be having, but who may not need to cuz they're living the lives that we'll be talking about.

Oh, did I mention that I'm excited?

hello!

2008-03-13T14:34:00.004+07:00

Hey guys, I just thought for my entry I would introduce myself and blab a little about pre-election jitters.

I'm a sophomore at Duke majoring in Economics. This semester, I'm studying "abroad" in Los Angeles with a program offered by Duke. Basically it's for students who are interested in the entertainment industry and we get to take classes at USC and do an internship of our choice. I currently work at The Film Department, which is an independent film financing, production, and international sales company based in West Hollywood. We're fairly new--just got started in June 2007, but I love working there. (If anyone ever needs recommendations on where to eat in LA, I'd be more than happy to give you some suggestions on the best places to eat)

Anyway, I'm admitting to be kind of cranky, groggy, and just overall really tired because this past week was our midterm week, which for me meant I had to study for an exam worth 40% of our grade and write a 20 page research paper. It was not fun. I haven't slept for three days. I thought I'd be able to relax tonight, since I fly to Taiwan tomorrow, but I have so much packing to do and just a bunch of miscellaneous hoo-ha that is preventing me from ever getting my eyes closed. I swear I'm just going to get on the plane and pass out for 15 hours. There goes my plan for doing work on the plane...

But in the midst of my hectic life I have found a little bit of time to watch the news and keep up with some of the events in Taiwan. I watch a lot of those talk shows and I watched the second debate between Hsieh and Ma. I'm really worried that Ma is going to win. He says the most ridiculous things and his face is written all over with "Once I sell Taiwan to China I'm flying first class to the US." Needless to say, I have no respect for him whatsoever and it boggles my mind when I hear people proclaim their love for him. Barf.

I look forward to seeing all of you in Taiwan though! I'm so excited to be able to drink legally!! :)

links

2008-03-08T19:29:00.007+07:00

Since I know nothing, I starting looking up some links to the places on our itinerary (besides the links on the right)
American Chamber of Commerce Topics magazine
Election Study Center (links to the university)
Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation
Kaohsiung City
National Cheng Kung University
National Chung Hsing University VP Huang
Government Information Office
Government's page on participation in APEC
American Institute in Taiwan
Formosa TV English News Edition
Central Election Commission
and just for fun: KTV

Welcome!

2008-02-21T02:20:00.002+07:00

Welcome to our second FAPA YPG Democracy in Action Taiwan Trip! For those of you who will be participating on this trip, you are encouraged to check out the reading list (see sidebar) and posts from the previous trip back in December 2006. The trip is less than a month away. Hope you're all getting excited for it!

A glimpse of Taiwan's Pentagon

2007-03-17T03:36:00.000+07:00

We were so lucky to get to see Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense - many stars in the room ......

Every officer we met that day was super nice, knowledgeable, fluent in English and friendly. Their patriotism towards Taiwan and their professionalism impressed us all.

President A-Bian's Doll

2006-12-17T08:40:00.000+07:00

Thanks to Iris, Cindy, and Eva, the trip was a great success. I tried to make an entry into the blog in Taiwan, but everything came out in Chinese, and I can only read food (which is VERY useful in Taiwan, but doesn’t help me log in…). I am now back in the states, in (usually) sunny southern California, although it sprinkled a little bit this morning.

Others have already described our visit to the President, so I won’t repeat the details, but I’ll just tell you a little anecdote. My aunt who lives in Japan had mailed me an A-Bian doll several years ago, and I brought it to Taiwan hoping that I could get President Chen to autograph it for me. On the bus on the way to the Presidential Office, I showed everyone the doll, and Carolyn asked (I’m paraphrasing), “How come his pants are down?” I tried to pull the pants up but they kept coming down. It’s the way the doll is designed, I guess.

The President was surprising humble and seemed just like a normal (but important) guy chatting with us. After he was done talking and we took group pictures together, I rushed up and asked him to autograph my doll. He took the doll and looked at the front and back of the doll, presumably to decide where to sign it, when he said to me, “Nai4 Teng4 Koh3 ?” which roughly means “why are the pants down/ why did you pull the pants down?” in Taiwanese. (I romanized in my own way, using Mandarin’s four tone marks since I don’t know how to number the seven tone marks of Taiwanese). I was horrified, because I thought I had pulled the pants back up, and I was afraid I had just majorly insulted the president. However, he flashed me a grin, and started signing his name on the doll. I guess he didn’t take offense…

For those of you who wanted to go on this trip but couldn’t, I encourage you to go on a future tour. And thanks to all those people at FAPA who made this tour possible. Everytime I go to Taiwan, I learn more about my own background. I also learn about how the Taiwanese think of America and Taiwanese-Americans. And I ALWAYS go to Din Tai Fung as well as eat lots of tswa4 bing (shaved ice) and other delicious food and drinks.

--Thomas

Desultory memories from Taiwan, Part 1

2006-12-15T11:07:00.000+07:00

A little disgraceful and disgusting story of Carolyn's misadventure pre-FAPA trip: (Please skip if easily disturbed.)

The voyage to Kaohsiung

My uncle was originally going to drive me to KH, but he was unable to due to a buddhist retreat. Instead, he decided to have a private "bus" (more like a Ghanaian 'trow trow' or a rickety old van) take me. What should have been a 1 hr ride ended up taking 3.5 hours, as I was the first person picked up and the second to last out of 6 to be dropped off. Right before I stepped on the bus, I had eaten a load of oysters and hot pot, a feast prepared by my aunt-in-law. It was delicious, but I started feeling uneasiness in my stomach as we picked up the 2nd passenger. The rickety van did not absorb any impact from the bumpy local roads we traveled. By the 3rd and 4th passengers, I began to sweat profusely and my throat was constricting uncomfortably, but I managed to subdue the discomfort. The driver did not know I was ill, so he continued to ride mercilessly over the potholes while my stomach lurched in dismay. When the last man to be picked up came and sat next to me, my heart sank. He was a garrulous old man who started probing all of the passengers with questions. I pulled out a plastic bag because I knew my "moment" would come soon, and it was divine comedy that he started asking me questions about myself right as I felt the sweat and lunchtime oysters rising. He asked me where in Kaohsiung I was going and I told him, "Sorry, I don't really speak Chinese", mistakenly hoping it would end the conversation. Of course not. Instead, it opened the pandora's box of questions regarding my American upbringing, and just as he was lecturing me on how I really should cultivate my language skills, I threw my face into the plastic bag. Oh, the glorious mixture of food... I hoped that, incognito style, I could bypass any attention, but I think the reaction of my neighbor passengers was immediate. The girl sitting next to me lunged to open the windows, and the man stopped talking. After that horrible moment was over, I tried to apologize and act as gracefully as I could to retrieve my dignity. No, my Audrey Hepburn efforts failed me when I soon had to ask, "Excuse me, does anyone have a plastic bag I can borrow?" The old man quickly asked the driver, adding, "She's going to throw up again!" and the girl next to me quickly handed me a bag that she had been previously using to carry a box of cookies. Yep, for the rest of the 2.5 hours, I held my bag of tossed cookies as low away from our seats as possible so no one would see the contents of my stomach. The old man would eventually tell me that I was brave for traveling by myself, but that it was unsafe for a non-native Taiwanese high schooler to be alone. To which I responded in surprise, "I'm 23!" When the ride finally ended, I was uncomfortable and drained. I ended up in Kaohsiung with just enough time to take my wretched self to the hotel. When I first met a few of the gang, we were sitting in a car with Henry driving. I felt bad for feeling antisocial and distant, so I explained this story. They wanted me to share it over the blog, and perhaps I have done too detailed a job describing it. Hopefully it's as amusing to you as it is now to me.

Meeting the President

Although I don't believe this session was the most informative from the ones we attended, it was certainly one of the most memorable. We walked into a richly decorated room to await President Chen. The wall held a frame of artistic Chinese calligraphy, and each corner of the room contained a pot of perfectly arranged orchids. I glanced at the oriental carpet and was not disappointed by the wealth of colors - asynchronous to the rest of the room, but creating an overall elegance. Media cameramen passed through the double doors, and each time, my head would turn swiftly in that direction. I felt my heart counting down the moments before... he stepped in. We all rose, shook his hand, and sat down. President Chen gave an opening statement, praising FAPA's role and dedication to improving relations with the US Congress and Taiwan's state of current affairs. I believe Cindy posted the link to his statement. After his statement and tag-along English translation, the cameramen left. He joked, "Now that they are gone, we can really talk."

The question and answer session began slowly, as we were all recovering from shock and nervousness. I think he felt the initial silence, and filled it comfortably. We asked him rather light, open-ended questions. Some pertaining to his time as President, greatest/most memorable achievements, and globalization's future effects on Taiwan. I don't mean to be overly flattering, but I do believe he was very natural as a speaker. I felt at ease in his presence, and from his responses, I could sense the intelligent inner-workings of his mind. He was a graceful, well-spoken man, one who easily impressed you with warm-heartedness. Overall, the visit seemed to me like an informal chat with the President. While this environment was nice and safe, I felt slight disatisfaction that we had not asked more pointed, more difficult questions to our polemical president. But I'm sure this is just my opinion...

While I want to write more, especially about the Thinktanks and NGOs we met up with (I think they were a great contrast to the government divisions/politicans we met), I'll have to save my impressions for a later date. I'm still jet-lagged from the plane ride back.

Leaving Taiwan...

2006-12-13T08:16:00.000+07:00

Well, I just got back from Taiwan last night and was back at work this morning. Needless to say, I'm definitely jetlagged and looking like a panda bear from the lack of sleep! But it's worth it when I think back on last week and all that I've done. I can't believe that just last week we were visiting President Chen, campaigning on the streets of Kaohsiung, making bubble tea runs and so much more. Every time I'm in Taiwan I seem to lose myself in everything that's happening around me, and I find myself hardly missing my life back in the States. Taiwan is so full of life, energy and promise! I'm sure others would agree with me.

As I was lugging my enormous suitcase to the bus stop in front of Taipei Main Station, I thought of how we wouldn't be meeting in front of the McDonald's on Guanchian Road this morning as we had done every morning before. Iris, Cindy and I were usually the first ones to arrive, and every member of the "herd" would join us, some slower than the others (You know who you are!). Then we would set off on our small bus to the first destination.

Saturday was the culmination of our entire trip as we held high hopes for our favored candidates. Although Frank Hsieh lost in Taipei, he did surprisingly well and garnered more votes than anyone had predicted he would. As one of the scholars at the post-election briefing sponsored by Taiwan Thinktank said, KMT didn't win but DPP didn't lose. The mood at Hsieh's campaign headquarters was somewhat somber, but everyone cheered when Hsieh appeared on stage. Before he could begin speaking, the crowd starting chanting, "Hsieh, run for President!" His relative success in this election make him a likely candidate presidential candidate, but it's too early to say. But at least DPP won in Kaohsiung...yay, go Chen Chu!

I certainly hope that this trip was a learning experience for all participants as it was for me. My initial purpose behind organizing this trip was simply to give people the opportunity to learn more about Taiwan through firsthand experience. There is so much that we cannot experience sitting behind the computer reading news articles about Taiwan. This was YPG's first group trip to Taiwan and certainly not that last. Perhaps we'll work on one for the next election--Legislative Yuan next fall--not too far away. That means we gotta get cracking! Yikes, maybe some sleep would be better first.

Dinner with Formosa Foundation Ambassdors

Last Night In Taipei

2006-12-11T07:17:00.001+07:00

Last night I said farewell to my new friends here in Taiwan: Kyle, Eva, and their son Nathan. I met them when I first arrived in Taipei, sleep-deprived, disoriented, and somewhat overwhelmed. Kyle and Eva were full of helpful advice for me. They run a convenience store near my hotel. Their store is way cheaper than Seven-Eleven, with superior customer service. When I broke the alarm clock I bought from them, Kyle took it apart and fixed it himself. Plus, I don't think Seven-Eleven sells bb gun ammo or high-end whiskey. Kyle does.

Little Nathan (eighteen months old) must be the happiest kid in Taiwan, if not the planet. I've never seen him without a smile on his face. Last night I saw him trip and fall on the sidewalk. It wasn't pretty. Most kids would have burst into tears. Nathan thought it was funny.

After Nathan went to bed, Kyle and I headed across the street for some Taiwan Beers (and this was after multiple shots of whiskey at his store). Notwithstanding the language barrier (we had always relied on his wife for translation), we had a lot of fun. It was a perfect cap to a fantastic stay in Taiwan.

A Musical Send Off...

2006-12-10T14:56:00.000+07:00

For our last night together in TPE, we partied it up Taiwanese style... @ the KTV, and BOY, did we have fun!!

In addition to 1 small pitcher of draft beer & 2 six-packs of Taiwan Beer (drink of champions), we devoured a plate of munchies & burnt through the english song selections @ Cash Box.

Here are a few memorable photos:

Carolyn & Megan, the dynamic duet duo for the night....

Nathan, the reluctant japanese music KTVer...

I'm sad that it's our last day on the trip. I just said "bye" to everyone :(
The last week has been so wonderful & I hope to see everyone again soon!!!!

Thanks for the great memories, gang!!
And for the record, I still think Angelina's WAY better than Jennifer!!! :D

The votes are in...

2006-12-10T09:53:00.001+07:00

Well, it looks like I'm the first to post after the election...by now most of you have probably heard the results, but I'll post them just in case: Frank Hsieh lost Taipei by more than 170,000 votes, and Chen Chu won Kaohsiung by a mere 1000 votes to become the first elected female mayor in Taiwan (her predecessor, Chu Lan-yeh, is also a woman, but was not elected). I'll save the election analysis for someone more qualified than myself, but wanted to make sure we got a post-election post up here on the blog. I don't know what the turnout was here in Taipei, but the experts we met with earlier in the week projected that it would be around 65%, down from 70% in the last elections.

We were able to observe the entire election process yesterday, and were very impressed by the transparency and accuracy of the system. When people arrived at their polling places (most are in schools, temples, churches, and storefronts), they presented their identification cards, stamped their seals/signed their names on the registry, and were handed two separate ballots: a yellow one for the mayoral election and a white one for the city council elections. Each ballot included the names, pictures, parties, and ballot numbers of the candidates. The voters took the two ballots into their voting booths, put a red stamp above their candidate of choice on each of the two ballots, then dropped the yellow ballot in the mayoral box and the white ballot in the city council box.

When the polls closed at 4:00, the poll workers took over. One person removed the ballots one at a time, clearly announcing the name and number of the candidate selected on each ballot. Another poll worker kept a tally on a large poster on the wall, while several other workers checked the announcer's accuracy and put the ballots in piles according to the candidate marked on the ballot. Once all of the votes were counted, the candidates' piles were counted and double checked with the tallies on the wall. The ballots were bound, put back in the ballot box, and taken to a central election headquarters (I'm not sure exactly where) with the rest of the city's ballots. All of the results were tabulated and announced by 8:00 p.m.

Two police officers observed the entire process at each polling place, and everything was public--we were nine of about 30-40 people who stayed to watch the results being tabulated.

I know that many of you have a much better understanding of Taiwan's election process than I do, and I know we'd all love to hear your insights (and corrections to my purely observational analysis).

Today is the last official day of our trip, and we're meeting for our last lunch in about an hour. I'll be sorry to say goodbye to the rest of the group--they've been a pleasure to get to know over the past week, and I look forward to (hopefully!) seeing them again soon in the U.S. I'm very fortunate in that I will get to stay an additional nine days here in Taipei, visiting my husband's relatives and getting to know the city better. During that time, I'll try to continue posting about our experiences on the FAPA-YPG trip.

Complete web addresses

2006-12-07T18:37:00.000+07:00

Sorry, didn't realize the text that scrolls to the right on the compose screen gets cut off.
Here are the complete addresses for the Presidential Webpages on the YPG visit.

I'll just recreating the links here:

English posting of the YPG visit on President Chen's Website
Chinese posting of the YPG visit on President Chen's Website

Enjoy :)

Hot off the presses...

2006-12-07T17:34:00.000+07:00

As Megan casually mentioned yesterday, we were lucky to make it into President Chen's schedule :) And to the group's surprise & delight this morning, we made it to the Liberty Times in Taiwan!!

Here's the official photo, published on the President's website.
You can read the details of his speech to the group there (see links below)...

English:
http://www.president.gov.tw/en/prog/news_release/document_content.php?id=1105499315&pre_id=1105499315&g_category_number=145&category_number_2=145

Chinese:
http://www.president.gov.tw/php-bin/prez/shownews.php4?Rid=12405

We're in the newspaper!

2006-12-07T17:19:00.000+07:00

Wow, it's been an incredible trip. Today is Day 4 of the trip and it's beginning to wind down. To tell you the truth, it's kind of sad for me because this trip has been the culmination of 3 months of crazy hard work and planning! I honestly can't believe how this trip has come together and really happened!! We have a great group of people--dynamic, loud, funny and altogether just FUN :) We're lucky!

Well, today we found out that we managed to appear in the Liberty Times newspaper because of our visit with President Chen yesterday. It's exciting news for all of us! We were joking that Liberty Times must have had a spike in newspaper circulation today since we all went to the nearest convenience store to buy up many copies of the newspaper.

This morning we visited DPP HQ--my home last year when I was interning in Taiwan. We heard a presentation from the Survey Center about polling results. It's interesting to hear that DPP candidates are considered capable in more areas than KMT candidates . Unfortunately, because of party politics, elections end up being all about the party rather than the candidates. The funny thing is we heard about the NCCU polling results again. Everyone, including President Chen, has been quoting the study to show how more people believe they're Taiwanese and support independence...It's kinda funny. Following our visit to DPP, we had some free time and got to walk around the Hsinyi area where Taipei 101 is.

In the afternoon, we went to Daan Park where Frank Hsieh was holding a press conference promoting Taiwan's bid for the 2020 Olympics. They got a bunch of young Taiwanese to rollerblade along with the Premier himself! We all shook hands with the Premier and told him that we were rooting for him. We also got to take a group picture with him while the media was looking on. Hopefully, we won't end up on the news or newspaper again...We're not supposed to endorse anyone...ooops, oh well :P

Tomorrow is our last day of official visits and we're gonna check out Frank Hsieh's campaign rally tomorrow night. It should be exiting. Hope we don't lose anyone amidst all the chaos! Go Chen Chu and Frank Hsieh. Don suan!! Ga-yu!!

the Awesome Eight!!!

2006-12-06T14:22:00.000+07:00

It's about half way through the tour, and i just have to say how absolutely AWESOME the group on the trip is!!!
Iris, Eva & i were worried about how people would get along, whether everyone would be participative & articulate in sessions with these high profile members of the Taiwanese political community. After having met & hung out w/ them for the past 3 days, i am thoroughly impressed :)

Our awesome eight consists of:
1) The deceptively young looking Ching who works for a DC think tank
2) Our blonde Taiwanes e"shen-boo" Megan
3) The always impeccably dressed & smiley Christine from Congresswoman Linda Sanchez's office
4) Our sole Canadian rep & the soon to be married Joyce
5) The energetic, extroverted Dr. Thomas
6) Our Nicolas Cage look alike, Tim
7) Our cute Caroline whose 1st story about her Chiayi to Koahsiung trip i'll forever remember
8) Of course, our long standing friend & YPG supporter, Nathan :)

Iris & i were just saying, despite the high level of effort & energy that's been required of us, we are SO HAPPY we decided to do this tour. We've now had the privilege to meet/get to better know 8 wonderful new friends!!

..Cindy

Shaking Hands w/ the President!

2006-12-06T14:07:00.000+07:00

It's hard to imagine I'm already in Taiwan and participating in the FAPA-YPG Democracy in Action observation tour! I'm still reeling from the hour and a half long meeting we just had with President Chen this morning. The entire experience thus far has surpassed anything I could have imagined. Everyone on the tour brings to the table such differing experiences, that I'm learning not just from the observation tour, but from the members of the tour as well.

Working for a U.S. Member of Congress and being involved with the democratic process in the States, it's really exciting to see how the Taiwanese people participate in the relatively young democracy here in Taiwan. The President spoke of the need for a Free Trade Agreement between the US and Taiwan and the implications of Taiwan's increasing role in the global economy. And just being here in Taiwan to witness the improvements being made everyday to the infrastructure, to the local economy and to the general well-fare of the Taiwanese people, it inspires me even more to go back to the States and really impress upon my boss, and other Members of Congress the need for a US-Taiwan FTA.

Okay, so aside from the political jargon - having not been to Taiwan since I was in 6th grade, I must say Taiwan has changed and developed exponentially. I arrived in Kaohsiung on Sunday morning and spent the day touring the southern port city and enjoying the incredibly friendly people. It just so happened that the President and the DPP Mayoral candidate for Kaohsiung were holding a rally by the Love River and it was amazing to see the thousands of Taiwanese people lined up holding hands and participating in an event that just some odd years ago could not have been possible. Standing on the side just watching the crowd, I was excited when the Vice President of Taiwan happened to walk by and I got to shake her hand!

We arrived in Taipei on Monday evening and started meetings bright and early on Tuesday. I'd say the most notable for me was the meeting with a legislator representing a district of Taipei, Hsiao Bi-Khim. I was already a huge fan of hers before the meeting, but after the meeting, I think it's safe to say all of us were "starry-eyed" and incredibly hopeful for Taiwan's future because of her vision and drive. Her understanding of the economic realities of the Cross-Strait relationship and the future possibility of Taiwan independence is probably in the minority of her own party, and yet, she still holds strongly by it and seeks to implement it in the future.

It's only day 3 of the Democracy in Action tour and already we've done and experienced so much. Can't wait to see what's up next and update later!

Greetings from Taipei!!

2006-12-06T14:03:00.000+07:00

Our FAPA group is having a wonderful time in Taiwan so far! I am incredibly grateful to be part of such an exciting trip, and am thankful to all of you who helped to make this experience possible for us.

We started our journey in Kaohsiung, where we had the privilege of meeting both Kaohsiung mayor Chu-lan Yeh and mayoral candidate Chen Chu. We even had the chance to observe a campaign rally for Chen Chu, and it was very exciting to see so many people out to support her. There were female candidates, politicians, and leaders from all over southern Taiwan at the rally--I am extremely impressed by the number of women involved in Taiwanese politics. After the rally, our bus followed the campaign trucks through the city--people stopped to watch, wave, and wave green flags at our little parade. It's so much fun to see Taiwanese democracy in action.

Campaigns are out in full force here--street corners are filled with banners and signs for the various candidates, and trucks drive through the city with banners and loudspeakers advertising for candidates. Being able to meet with people at National Chengchi University's Election Study Center, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, and the Mainland Affairs Council has helped me to better understand the election system and the central issues in this election cycle. We were also fortunate enough to have an appointment with Bi-khim Hsiao, a member of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan. I feel so lucky to be learning about Taiwanese politics from such influential and knowledgeable people.

I've saved the most exciting news for last: we got to meet President Chen this morning!!! We were able to spend more than an hour conversing with him, hearing his opinions on both domestic and international issues. I was especially impressed by how down-to-earth and personable he was, and by how much time he took out of his busy schedule to meet with FAPA-YPG. Iris presented President Chen with an American flag that once flew over the U.S. Capitol Building and a U.S. Capitol Building snow globe. Rumor has it that pictures of our group with President Chen have been airing on Taipei television stations, but we haven't had a chance to see the news yet.

Thanks again to all of you who are supporting our trip--it's been an incredible learning experience so far, and I'm looking forward to observing the election on Saturday!

2006-12-04T21:14:00.000+07:00

Being a Taiwanese American, living in Taiwan for over five years now, has been an invaluable learning experience. I am always happy to share my experiences with others through the sharing and exchange of ideas, thoughts and connections.

So I was very excited to hear about FAPA-YPG's Democracy Action visit to Taiwan, and to later realize that I could contribute to the planning of trip. Through this trip FAPA-YPG wanted its members to not only learn more about Taiwan's political landscape, but to also get different perspectives on life in Taiwan. One such unique perspective that they sought was that of English language bloggers in Taiwan. This active community of bloggers in Taiwan, who blog about Taiwan in English also happen to meet every first Saturday of the month in Taipei. FAPA-YPG had hoped to meet with them but Eva told me that unfortunately, there were some scheduling conflicts in arranging a meeting with the bloggers.

After hearing this and realizing that FAPA-YPG was coming down to Kaohsiung at the beginning of their trip, I told Eva that I could try to organize something in a similar vein for FAPA-YPG in Kaohsiung. One thing for sure, is that between Taipei and Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung always seems to get the short end of the stick. Everyone always focuses on what's going on up in Taipei. I saw this as a unique opportunity to shed some light on Kaohsiung. The other thing is, you just can't compare Kaohsiung and Taipei; they can seem like entirely different worlds, not only in terms of political leanings.

I have lived in both Taipei and Kaohsiung. Living in Taipei was so easy. I had an instant network of like-minded friends and endless socializing options, but ultimately I ended up living in Kaohsiung which is where I have lived for these past few years. Networking and acclimating to Kaohsiung was no easy feat for me. In the past few years, I have been fortunate to have met quite a few amazing long time residents of Kaohsiung- my "big-nosed" foreigner friends- as they are referred to in Taiwanese. What's impressive is not just that they have been living in Taiwan for about the same time I have (some even longer), but it's how they have and are making incredible contributions to Kaohsiung's English speaking community. I am Taiwanese American, being here is about understanding my roots, but I'm humbled to have learned things about Kaohsiung and myself from these individuals.

The photograph above is of FAPA-YPG members and speakers of panel discussion which was held in the morning of Monday, December 4, 2006. The speakers are sitting in the front row from left to right they are : Eric Chang, Pieter Vorster, Sebastian Thomas, Melissa Wriston.

Eric is a Taiwanese American who has been living in Tainan for about 5 years. He has been involved with the Taiwanese American Foundation for several years as a participant and counselor. Currently he teaches at the American Language Center and is obtaining an MBA from Cheng Kung University in Tainan. He has plans to run a youth leadership camp in Taiwan working with both Taiwanese and Taiwanese American kids in a kind of cultural exchange.

Pieter hails from South Africa and has been living in Kaohsiung for over 3 years. He is the editor of FYI South, a bilingual (Chinese and English) magazine that serves as a guide to things to do around town in the south (Kaohsiung, Ping Tung and Tainan).

Sebastian came to Taiwan in 2000 from Australia with the intention of studying martial arts under a master. Ironically, he has ended up teaching martial arts to others in Kaohsiung. Three years later, he, another foreigner and other inspired souls established Mindful Phoenix Performing Arts. MPA offers classes in kung fu, tai qi, yoga, belly dance, salsa and tap dance. Members study drama and also perform in improvised and short performance pieces, as well as full scale dramatic productions.

Melissa has been in Kaohsiung for nearly 5 years. She is from Canada. She runs Access Kaohsiung, a community resource center for the English speaking community. The center has been open for 2 years. Access Kaohsiung was initially started by Bread of Life Church and Melissa. They were asked to manage an information center in cooperation with the Kaohsiung City Government, Bureau of Human Resources. The International Friendship House is Melissa's newest venture; it provides short-term housing for those moving to Kaohsiung or in town just visiting.

One common theme that seemed to emerge from the speakers comments, was the leaps and bounds by which Kaohsiung and Tainan have changed and improved. In Kaohsiung garbage collection has been steadily improving, there's been beautification of the city through the creation of public spaces and parks, road signage has improved, and in Kaohsiung in particular, the Love River is now pretty much stench free and cleaned up, revitalized and reincarnated- couples and friends stroll along the banks of the river in the evening, imbibe and chat at the various cafes, take in various live performances, and on the weekends double decker tour buses teeming with visitors idle alongside the Love River.

And these comments and observations were extended to Taiwan as a whole, which has seen an explosion of growth and change- sometimes sadly at the expense of her environment. If Taiwan, or rather, the people of Taiwan have been able to accomplish so much thus far, we can't even imagine what is yet to come. That is the beauty and excitement of Taiwan.

There were a few "juicy" moments in the discussion, like when Pieter basically said that the Taiwan News was an English publication not worth reading in Taiwan. Eric countered by giving a summary on his thoughts on the three main English dailies published in Taiwan, stating that of the three English language dailies published in Taiwan, the China Post, by virtue of it's name alone, is the most questionable newspaper.

There was some criticism of the choice of speakers on the panel since none of them are actually able to vote, nor did they talk much about their awareness of politics in Taiwan. Or to some it might seem that presumably, these people don't have a very deep understanding of the political situation in Taiwan. Nonetheless I think that the speakers provided an alternative perspective to life in Taiwan. I invite all those who were present at the discussion to give me your honest feedback and comments.

We actually somehow steered clear of political opinions until towards the end when some hot buttons in the audience were pushed. After Eric got into the issue of media bias in Taiwan, Pieter said that he was shocked by all the reports of corruption and that he had once admired President Chen, but with everything that's being reported in the news lately, he's been disappointed. Leave it to Pieter, who always speaks his mind, and I love him for it; it often amuses me, but it also more than often than not leaves an indelible first impression on others.

I can't comment on the "main players" in the English speaking community in Taipei, but I think Kaohsiung is unique in that there are several self-starters focused on giving back to the English speaking community by enriching peoples lives, and committed to assisting others in their transition to life in Kaohsiung. Perhaps it is simply because there is such a need for this kind of support in Kaohsiung, but it's not always easy for newcomers to Kaohsiung to find these resources until they come across the right website or dig deeper into the community and find that one connection that opens it all up.

Excitement Countdown

2006-11-29T04:55:00.000+07:00

Somehow the full weight of exactly what will happen within the upcoming weeks hasn't hit me yet. All of my friends, family, and coworkers ask me whether I'm ready to go, and I'm not. I have yet to pack, settle things at work and at my apartment - essentially, I still need to check in my "Boston baggage". With each inquiring face, though, I feel the day coming closer... I know that only then, on the plane, I will finally realize it --

I'm going back to Taiwan!!!!!

My brother and I discussed our itinerary. He's jealous, but I feel nervousness more than any other emotion. My Chinese skills have deteriorated; my knowledge of Taiwanese politics is lacking. I fear I will meet some of the most important people in Taiwan, but unable to ask the questions I want. I fear I will waste the rarest of opportunities.

I'm armed with a package of information, with my Chinese dictionary, with my Chinese textbooks. I can see that my plane ride will be spent rekindling/learning all these qualities I lost or never had...I'm on a mission: cultural-identity pursuit. It's this one thing I have meant to develop all my life, but for one reason or another, couldn't find the time or the strength to do it. I'm thankful for this trip. There are more opportunities to be found than just the ones printed on the itinerary.

(Apologies for a serious entry. I'll be light-hearted soon enough!)

Last minute packer!

2006-11-26T12:13:00.000+07:00

Ah, Cindy is way ahead of me on packing. I always manage to be a last minute packer, scrambling around to stuff and pack everything into my suitcase. But somehow I manage to remember to bring everything I need. That's no easy feat! :)
Well, it's been a busy last couple of weeks with all the trip planning. I'm excited for all the meetings and visits we've got planned. And I'm also looking forward to meeting all the people coming on the trip...It's a small but good group of people! I also can't wait for some gooood food...yum, bubble tea and delicious Taiwanese food! Who's up for some??

If only i could go too

2006-11-26T11:53:00.000+07:00

hi dear ypg members,

i'm one of those unlucky people who can't go on this trip although i really want to. just reading about the itinerary and all the events and places and people you will be meeting makes me turn green (no pun intended) with envy. if only i wasn't one of those taiwanese wannabe doctors going through med school i'd be there in a second.

i was at dinner with family friends today and all we talked about was taiwan. i realize that we all have some connection there, but i have to admit, even the daily quick takes of taipei times, listening to taiwanese radio, or reading the ypg listserv and talking to congressional aides about taiwan makes the whole issue seem kind of foreign to me. but it's times like these family dinners, arguing over why no one eats turkey in taiwan (besides me, apparently, there's a great place in tainan that you should all check out if you had the time to go :)), arguing about the best place to buy fish (my family is full of farmers), or wondering why almost half the taiwanese youth can't even speak taiwanese, that make me realize that what we're fighting for, what we lobby for, what we talk to our friends about a little each day, and what this trip is all about, is real. I know that there is so much division in taiwan now, and i try my best to maintain a neutral ground when i think about things, although i do have my personal biases. but this is democracy, no matter how much we hate one party or adore one. it's real, and it's working. we are the only successful democracy in east asia. we are for real yalls. This ugly, yam-shaped island we have a connection to is real. My little personal smile to myself when i hear Taiwan in the news is real. My horribly incomprehensible, taiwanese chinese is real.

anyway, i tried my best to set up a reasonably useful packet for you, although eva and zoe really did all the work. i supplied the ghetto taiwanese adobe software we worked with. i know you will all appreciate all the work various people have put into this trip, and i wish you all the best on your flight and observations in taiwan. i really really really wish i could go, but instead, i'll sit back here and wait to hear the word from you all. know that you really do make a difference. my relatives never believe the things i do in the US all for taiwan. no matter what people say, our job is important. haha, so enjoy the trip, learn a lot, and teach us!! jiaaaa yo :)

www.wheresyours.org

Prep & Pack...

2006-11-26T04:51:00.000+07:00

Okay.. thanksgiving dinner's over, family gather's done & out of the way. So now, it's time to prep for the big trip coming up.

I had picked out a few outfits last week, hung them all up in the corner of the rack designated as "trip clothe." Don't know if one suit is going to be enough though. According to the schedule, looks like a few days requiring "formal business wear." Think i'll have to pick out another one just to be safe.

Think i'm covered in the shoe department. Got some super cute Cole Haan patent leather baby heels about 3 weeks ago. Have been wearing them to work regularly to get them fitted properly. Since there will be TONS of walking in Taiwan, i made sure to get comfortable low heels that are still cute (quite the impossible feat!!). So those will be my "official trip shoes." But my running shoes and flip flops will also be along for the action.

Damn.. i think it's going to rain almost the entire time we'll be in Taipei... That convinced me to take my stretchy fabric boots out of the suitcase. Instead, i replaced them w/ the leather boots. Nothing worse than treadging the streets of Taipei w/ your feet soaked.

So now that i've got the difficult stuff figured out, it's on to pack the regular traveling pack: toothbrush, toothpaste, contact solution, etc.. Can't believe there's still that insane on-board restriction that keeps you from taking aboard regular sized lotions, contact solutions, etc!! How's anyone to survive a 14 hour flight w/o LARGE tubes of hand/face/body lotions?!?!? Now i gotta buy trial size versions < 3 oz, and cram them all into a quart size zip lock bag. Really!! We need to convince more women to diverse into various jobs/industries, starting w/ the TSA!!

November 22, 2006

2006-11-22T22:19:00.000+07:00

We are leaving for Taiwan in a week. Exciting!
(This is a test.)