I have just spent ten days accompanying John Seed on a trip around Taiwan. John is an environmentalist from Australia well known for his efforts protecting rainforests around the world and also as a philosopher of Deep Ecology. I met John at the Taoyuan Airport on the morning of 28 March. We then took the high speed train to Kaohsiung where we met Dr Lin Yih-ren who arranged John’s visit to Taiwan.

After lunch in Kaohsiung we went to visit the Qimei Community University and then went on a tour around the Meinong area. By the time night fell we were high in the mountains of Pingtung County staying at the Rukai village of Wutai. The photo at the top of this post shows Paiwan artist E-tan presenting one of his works to John. We met E-tan at the Autumn Moon Cafe (秋月e店) just above the town of Sandimen. The cafe is an amazing spot and is filled with great artworks. 

The next morning we went on a tour of Wutai village. The beautifully decorated stone buildings that fill the village are quite amazing. The church is also a very impressive building. Although many aboriginal communities go outside to raise funds to build a church, this church was built only using the resources of the community.

Driving out of Wutai we were able to see the deep scars that Typhoon Morakot had left on the landscape. There were still major roadworks going on in some places along the road. During this part of the trip we spent time in Gaoshu learning about the post-typhoon reconstruction and rehabilitation projects. John also gave a talk at the community university in Qimei (旗美社區大學). John has written an account of the first three days of the trip (pdf file) with photos by me.

On 31 March there was an eco-cultural night at Providence University. The evening featured performances by members of Rukai, Bunun, Seediq and Atayal communities that have close links with Providence University. The Xiao Rukai Band (小魯凱樂團 Drekai) put on an entertaining performance. They are very talented performers who combine music with stories about their experience of being aboriginal and the impacts of Typhoon Morakot on their communities.

The next day we travelled to the Bunun community of Kalibuan in Nantou County which I had also visited a few weeks earlier. In the evening we drove up to Dongpu to enjoy a bath in the hot springs. I had visited this town eleven years ago when it was still recovering from the effects of the 921 earthquake. This time the local businesses also appeared to be struggling in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. After dinner we saw some local Bunun people put on a show for the tourists in the foyer of the hotel.

The next part of John’s visit was to the Jianshi Township in Hsinchu County. John spoke at an Anti-Dam Concert in Jianshi and we then travelled to Smangus and Marqwang. I will write more details about this in a separate post.

The final place on the itinerary was Hongshi Buddhist College (佛教弘誓學院) in Taoyuan. John gave a talk about Deep Ecology and also spoke about some of his personal experiences practicing Buddhism. During several of his talks in Taiwan John mentioned that Arne Naess, the founder of Deep Ecology, defined Deep Ecology as “asking deeper questions.” There were some great questions at Hongshi College. Many thanks to Venerable Chao Hwei for hosting John’s talk.

John is still in Taiwan with the next part of his visit hosted by the Society of Wilderness (荒野保護協會). He is conducting a “Council of All Beings” workshop and then giving the keynote speech at the Environment NGOs Conference in Taipei on Sunday.

*More photos can be found in the John Seed in Taiwan set at flickr.

• John Seed in Jianshi and Smangus
• Hagay community protests against impacts of Baling Dam
• Tour de Taiwan in Taipei County
• Tour de Taiwan final stage
• Links 26 November 2007

The Mega Port Festival (大港開場) was held over the weekend of 5-6 March in Kaohsiung. The festival featured a few bands from Japan and the UK and some big name Taiwanese stars in Wu Bai and Jeannie Hsieh. However, it was largely a showcase of Taiwan’s best contemporary indie bands.

Bands played on three stages spread out along the side of the harbour in the Pier 2 Arts District (駁二藝術特區). The close proximity to the Love River and the harbour gave the festival a unique maritime feel.

With more than 40 bands playing over the two days it was impossible to see them all. I selected some of my favourites and also took some time to check out a few new bands that I hadn’t seen before. Among the latter category was Selfkill, pictured above, who played some good post-rock.

There was a great diversity of musical styles in the festival. Every band seemed to attract their own crowd of fans too. The festival was well organised with all the bands playing on schedule and few of the technical problems that often occur at these type of events. Full credit must go to the organisers.

One of my favourite bands is The White Eyes. They played a typically exuberant and entertaining set. Lead singer Gao Xiao Gao always looks like she is having great fun when she performs. The White Eyes are heading to the USA later this month to play at SXSW in Austin, Texas later this month. They will be playing a Taiwan showcase event on 18 March. Some other bands who played at Mega Port will also go to SXSW including Aphasia, Tizzy Bac and Orangegrass.

A highlight of the first day was ChthoniC. They are also heading overseas this month to play some shows in the UK.

Tainan band Solemn played their first show with two new members. Lala from the Eye of Violence was filling in on vocals with her awesome scream. The crowd goes wild for some of the metal bands. I have some video of the circle pit and moshing that I will eventually upload to YouTube. (Update: Video of Solemn now on YouTube and Vimeo.)

The final performance of the festival that I saw was English post-rock band 65daysofstatic. They put on a powerful and polished performance. They barely paused as they shifted from heavy guitar-based instrumental music to percussion, keyboards and sampled tracks.

I didn’t stay to see Wu Bai & China Blue play the finale. Wu Bai is one of the pioneers of live music in Taiwan. He is still hugely popular too. The Mega Port Festival, with its wide range of bands and musical styles, showed that the trail blazed by Wu Bai has borne much fruit. The next generation is more than ready to take over.

*More photos in the Mega Port Festival 2011 set at flickr (to be uploaded over the next few days).

**Uloud Music released a double CD titled “Mega Pride” featuring many of the bands who played at the festival. The CD is well worth picking up as it provides a good snapshot of Taiwan’s music scene. You can also listen to or download tracks from Indievox.

• Justice For All Concert in Pingtung
• Free Burma concert in Kaohsiung on 19 June
• Exploring the city of Kaohsiung
• Riding the Kaohsiung MRT
• Art and architecture in Kaohsiung

Every year the Taiwan Free Burma Network (台灣自由緬甸網絡) holds a concert on Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday. This year the event will be held on Saturday 19 June in Kaohsiung’s Central Park (高雄市中央公園) from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.

The event features acoustic performances by Tonic (主音樂團) and Panai (巴奈). There will also be postcard signing for people to show their support for a free Burma. Burma is holding elections this year for the first time since 1990. However, it is likely that there will not be a free and fair vote. Aung San Suu Kyi still remains under house arrest and along with other political prisoners will probably be unable to contest the election. The elections will probably lead to a continuation of the military junta’s rule and won’t bring about democracy.

Also in Kaohsiung on Saturday night two of Taiwan’s best post-rock bands, Aphasia (阿飛西雅) and Bugs of Phonon (聲子蟲) are also playing at The Wall (駁二藝術特區) in Kaohsiung. More details at Indievox.

• Action for Burma in Taipei
• Concert and CD release for Burma
• Concert for Burma in Taipei
• Words and music for Burma
• Free Burma protest in Taipei

Over the weekend I visited some of the areas affected by Typhoon Morakot in Kaohsiung County with a group of law students from Providence University. It is now more than eight months since the typhoon hit Taiwan. While there has been so much reported about the event in the media visiting these places provides a better understanding of the magnitude of the disaster.

The first part of the trip visited Liugui (六龜) and Baolai (寶來). In Liugui a Bunun elder related the history of his community. Following the typhoon they have been frustrated in their efforts to find a new place to relocate their village. Even though they have found a suitable place the government has repeatedly refused them permission to move there.

Dr Lin Yih-ren raised the important point that “moving the village” (遷村) is actually a normal part of the culture of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. Historically they also migrated to new locations within Taiwan. However, forced relocation by the government is something different and doesn’t respect the autonomy or integrity of indigenous communities.

A satellite photo in Liugui showed the extent of landslides. These occurred in both areas were people lived and also in other places were there were no people living and no agricultural or other activities. This indicates the problem is not just related to land use, but is closely linked to the geology of the area. The landscape is very fragile in nature.

Travelling between Liugui and Baolai was a chance to see some of the landslides. The roads are still under reconstruction and in some places there are temporary roads through the landslides. In some places the landslides are more than ten metres deep. The forces of nature that were unleashed were truly formidable.

On the second day of the trip we visited Tzu Chi’s Da Ai Village in Shanlin (杉林慈濟大愛村). The development of the village is still ongoing, but there are presently about 800 people living in the village. One good thing about the village is the use of surface drainage that doesn’t rely on large amounts of concrete. It is more natural and is a good example of ecological design. However, I didn’t see this reflected in the construction of the buildings or the layout of the site. The long grey lines of concrete boxes did not include any elements of passive solar design and there were no solar hot water systems installed on the roofs. The square layout and box-like designs don’t reflect the natural environment or necessarily promote the development of community. It seems more authoritarian in nature.

In two days there was only enough time to gain a preliminary understanding of the situation. It was a chance to hear some different voices at the grassroots level speaking about how they had been affected by the disaster. But ultimately in the short time there were a lot more questions than answers.

In the time immediately after the disaster people need basic assistance like food, shelter and medicine. But in the long-term they need to be self-reliant. This means government should not just think about how to provide basic assistance, but put long term plans in place that consider sustainability and security for local people. Dr Lin Yih-ren said that we should think about “people in the disaster area” (災區裡面的人民) instead of “disaster victims” (災民).

Local people need to be able to make decisions about the future, but they cannot do this while there is continuing uncertainty or if the government is unwilling to listen to their voices. It is important to make a proper assessment of local people’s needs and ensure their voices are heard and they play an active role in decision making. Local people have a lot of knowledge about the area and they are also the ones who have to live with the consequences of the decisions that are made.

Disaster also brings benefits such as construction projects, gravel and driftwood. But who actually benefits from this? This is a fundamental issue of social justice. What if infrastructure is built in a way that satisfies demands of contractors and corporations but is not appropriate or of poor quality? Who takes responsibility for this? If infrastructure needs to be rebuilt every time there is a big typhoon then corporations and contractors can profit from this, but the local people and the taxpayers are the ones who bear the burden.

While the central government is controlled by the KMT, the local government in Kaohsiung County is controlled by the DPP. The problems are not just related to political parties, but are linked to the nature of the political economy in Taiwan.

*Thanks to Dr Lin Yih-ren and Lin Shu-ya for inviting me to join this trip.

Post-script: After returning from the trip to Kaohsiung County I learnt of the landslide across the freeway in Keelung. It again highlights the fragile nature of Taiwan’s geology. While the immediate response to the disaster is important, in the long-term it is also necessary to seek answers about why this event occurred.

• Typhoon Sinlaku hits Taiwan
• After the storm
• Typhoon Fanapi strikes Taiwan, causes floods in the south
• Typhoon Morakot hits southern Taiwan hard
• Typhoon Jangmi

The first and the biggest is Legacy located in the Huashan Culture Park (華山文化園區) in Taipei City. They have a great line up of bands over the next few weeks starting with Chinese rock legend Cui Jian (崔健) tonight and Wu Bai (伍佰) & China Blue and Yo La Tengo later in the month. It seems that rather than competing directly with smaller venues like The Wall, Legacy will have more well known acts with higher ticket prices. David Chen has the full story in the Taipei Times.

A smaller venue dedicated to jazz is also opening in Taipei. Roxy Jazz is a small basement club in Heping East Road. Again David Chen has the word in the Taipei Times. The south of Taiwan is not forgotten either. Brickyard is a new venue opening in Kaohsiung. Alita Rickards has more details.

Finally if you want to know what’s on and where check out GigGuide Taiwan for listings of live music events around Taiwan.

• Erhu rock battle at Emerge Live House
• Wild Berry House opening
• Adoration of Shepherds exhibition opening
• 2010 Taipei Film Festival
• Freak Out Beast in Ximending

I went to Kaohsiung (高雄) over the weekend. The sunny skies and warm temperatures were a nice contrast to Taipei of late. As well as enjoying the weather I was keen to see two sites of artistic and architectural significance that weren’t open to the public when I visited last year. My first stop was the Formosa Boulevard Station (美麗島捷運站) of the Kaohsiung MRT to see the Dome of Light (光之穹頂), a public art installation created by Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata.

I borrowed an audio guide from the KRTC Art Shop for NT$30. The guide gave a comprehensive narration, in English, of the key features of the artwork. The dome is very rich in detail and you can spend a long time visually exploring the it. The dome is divided into four sections: water, earth, light and fire. It also takes the form of a yin and yang symbol. Beginning with water it takes a journey through human life, exploring the stages of life and the place of humans in the universe.

The Formosa Boulevard Station is also currently hosting a Human Rights Exhibition for 30th anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident. On 10 December 1979 Taiwan’s opposition movement staged a protest to mark Human Rights Day. Agent provocateurs in the crowd sparked off violence and in the subsequent crackdown the leaders of the movement were arrested including Chen Chu (陳菊) who is now the Mayor of Kaohsiung.

Inside the station you can also find the recently opened Human Rights Learning Studio (人權學堂). The studio opened earlier this month and hosts regular human rights education activities.

Later on Saturday afternoon I visited the World Games Stadium designed by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Built especially for the World Games held in July this year, the stadium not only looks stunning but incorporates 8,844 solar panels into its roof. The solar panels can generate electricity to power the stadium and the electricity is fed into the grid when the stadium is not in use.

Outside the stadium there is an installation of public art titled “Message of Peace” created by Yaacov Agam.

On Sunday I went to an exhibition at the Pier 2 Art Centre (駁2藝術園區) about the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Games. The exhibition detailed the many parts of the opening and closing ceremonies as well as having some of the costumes and sets on display. The NT$99 entry price included a free DVD of the opening and closing ceremonies. Outside the Art Centre there was an exhibition of container art — artworks created out of 40-foot shipping containers.

There was plenty to do and see in Kaohsiung. I wandered around the Lotus Lake with its distinctive Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. The city also has a well developed bike hire network with the new C-bike system at MRT stations. There are also other outlets offering bike hire. The MRT makes getting around the city very easy too.

*More photos in the Kaohsiung set at flickr.

• The good, the bad and the ugly
• Free Burma concert in Kaohsiung on 19 June
• A website of culture
• Second Skin at Taipei MOCA
• Expat interview with David

The journey began with an early morning train ride on Tuesday from Taichung to Tainan. In Tainan Ben and I got the motorbikes ready and hit the road. We were soon beyond Tainan’s city limits and riding through verdant countryside. After a few hours passing through towns like Qishan, Meinong and Gaoshu amidst the rolling hills,  we reached the edge of much more substantial mountains and the entrance to the Maolin National Scenic Area (茂林國家風景區) in Kaohsiung County.

We had lunch in Maolin before heading further up the valley to the Rukai village of Dona (多納). This village is one of the few places in Taiwan where you can find slate houses. Slate is used as a building material in the village for constructing fences and the walls and rooves of houses. It is a traditional building method of the Rukai and Paiwan peoples.

After exploring the village for a while we headed down to soak in the hot springs for a while. Dinner was at one of the local restaurants that specialised in cooking on a slate BBQ (石板烤肉).

The next day started with a visit to the Dona Suspension Bridge (多納吊橋) which spans the valley at a height of about 100 metres. It is a very impressive bridge and I was surprised to see the locals riding their motorbikes across it. It obviously makes a good shortcut for them.

The next spot we visited was the Meiya waterfall (美雅瀑布). The bridge across the river was destroyed by a typhoon in 2005. However, it was possible to hike along the riverbed to get to the base of the waterfall. The pool at the base of the waterfall wasn’t really suitable for swimming so we went for a swim lower down.

After that we headed out of the Maolin Valley to the Hakka area of Meinong. There we visited the Meinong Hakka Museum (美濃客家文物館). The museum had plenty of interesting and informative displays and was a good place to learn some more about the local area. After a nice hearty lunch of Hakka food we went on to Liugui (六龜). Here there is a series of tunnels that were built by the Japanese for harvesting camphor. The tunnels run parallel to the main road and are all passable by motorbike. There were signs in the area saying “Little Guilin” (小桂林) but the scenery actually reminded me more of Thailand.

The trip came to an end with an early morning motorbike ride from Dona village back to Tainan. It took about three hours to cover the distance. From there it was a train to destinations further north.

*more photos in the Maolin set at flickr.

• Trip to Xinzhu and Miaoli
• Links 19 November 2007
• Yellow jerseys and yellow dresses
• Tour de Taiwan in Taipei County
• Tour de Taiwan final stage

On my visit to Kaohsiung I was keen to check out the Kaohsiung MRT system. The red line (north-south) officially opened in March this year and the orange line (east-west) is scheduled to open next month. They were still busy doing work around the entrances of the orange line stations, so I am not sure whether the work is on schedule.

A stored value card called a puka (普卡), translated as “usual”  in English, can be used on the MRT and Kaohsiung’s bus system. Tokens for a single trip can also be purchased from the automatic vending machines in the station. 

Monitors display information about the time of arrival of the next train. They also advise the arrival time of the second train. It makes it easy to calculate the headway which seemed to be 5-6 minutes during peak times and 10-11 minutes off-peak.

I took the MRT at several times during my visit. It seemed at its busiest on a Sunday afternoon. During peak times on weekdays there was a good number of passengers, but it was never really crowded. At present the trains running are only three carriages long. This is because the platform at Kaohsiung Railway Station is shortened to allow for the future construction of the underground Kaohsiung Railway Station. The platforms at the other stations are long enough to accommodate six carriages.

One feature of the system is that in the underground stations the platforms are sealed by automatic sliding doors. This makes the airconditioning more efficient and also improves safety.

One special feature of the MRT is that folding bikes can be carried on at any time. I really hope the Taipei MRT can follow this example!

I was disappointed to find the Formosa Boulevard Station was not open. This station will connect the red and orange lines. The four sweeping glass structures at the station entrances look quite impressive. The station also features a large glass art installation by Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata.

The Central Park Station is also very distinct with an entrance down long escalators from inside the park.

North of Zuoying the MRT goes above ground. The station pictured above is the World Games Station.

Zuoying Station provides transfer between the MRT and the HSR and Taiwan Railways. The MRT Station is underground while the HSR and TRA platforms are at ground level. It is possible to transfer directly from the MRT station up the stairs to the platform of the TRA station. However, transferring to the HSR involves travelling up two flights of stairs to the HSR station and then down to the platform. Everything is very well signed and integrated together though.

Overall the system seems to have been built to high standards. My one criticism is that many of the passengers seemed uncertain about how to use the ticketing machines and gates. There really needs to be more staff on hand to familiarise and help people with the system, especially as it is so new. Even though Taipei’s MRT has been in operation for 12 years there are still staff and volunteers on hand to assist people who are unfamiliar with how things work.

*more photos in the Kaohsiung MRT set at David’s Formosa Photo Gallery.

• Merida team dominates Tour de Taiwan
• Tour de Taiwan final stage
• Art and architecture in Kaohsiung
• Tour de Taiwan in Taipei County
• Cycling to Wulai

I recently spent a few days in Kaohsiung (高雄). I have only passed through the city briefly before, so I wanted to take some time to look around the city and explore a little. I also wanted to see Kaohsiung's new MRT system which I will write about in another post.

On the first day I visited the Kaohsiung Museum of History which provides a good introduction to the city. The museum is located in the old city hall building which was built in the 1930s. It starts telling the history of Kaohsiung from the time its original inhabitants, the Makatao people. The name Takao came from the Makatau language and probably means bamboo forest. This was later represented by the Chinese characters 打狗 (dǎgǒu) which mean "hit the dog". The Japanese later changed the characters to 高雄 (gāoxióng) which have a much more elegant meaning and that how is the city became known as Kaohsiung.

The city is built around the harbour and there are many places to experience the waterside feel of the city. The Love River has a wonderful promenade alongside it. The Museum of History and also the Kaohsiung Municipal Film Archive are both located by the river. I saw a group of school children out sailing on the river too.

Qijin Island is reached via a short ferry ride. This is the place where you can see some of Kaohsiung's history preserved be it in the Mazu Temple established in 1673 or the hilltop Qihou Battery and Lighthouse. It is also a place for recreation with bikes for hire and a beach. I even saw some surfers out catching some waves.

Shou Shan (壽山) is the large mountain to the north of the harbor. It is quite a steep hike to the top, but the views are magnificent taking in all of the city and the harbor.

The Dream Mall is an enormous shopping mall in the south of the city topped by a ferris wheel. It contains a vast array of shops and department stores. I am not a fan of shopping malls but for those who are then the mall is probably a must visit.

The 347 metre tall 85 Tower dominates Kaohsiung's skyline. It was Taiwan's tallest building until Taipei 101 was completed. Overall Kaohsiung seemed a very pleasant city and a nice change of pace from Taipei. With the orange line of the MRT set to open soon the city will be even easier to get around and well worth a visit.

*more photos in the Kaohsiung set at flickr. 

• Art and architecture in Kaohsiung
• Riding the Kaohsiung MRT
• Taiwan Review goes green
• More on population density
• Cycling events in March