My parents have just spent the past week in Taiwan. This was their second visit to Taiwan following their first visit in 2008. The week long visit was just enough time to see a few of Taiwan’s highlights.

The first day was spent relaxing and enjoying some of the good things in Taichung. We drank Taichung’s best coffee at Orsir. Then we had lunch at Hotel One with a great view of the city. In the evening we visited the Fengjia Night Market. Thankfully it wasn’t too busy and crowded on a Monday night.

The next day we travelled to Hsinchu and then into the mountains. In the afternoon we reached our destination Smangus. This was a great place to escape the summer heat. We hiked to the Yaya Qparung on the second day. Mum and Dad completed the 12 kilometre hike in good time enjoying the magnificent forest and mountain views along the way. I was really glad that I had the chance to take my parents to Smangus so they could know and understand more about this special place.

After Smangus we headed to Jiufen on Taiwan’s northeast coast. Jiufen was the ideal place to relax and ease back into urban life after the peace and isolation of Smangus. We enjoyed the beautiful views and some nice tea and snacks.

After spending a night in Jiufen we went to Taipei. Last time Mum and Dad visited they weren’t able to go up Taipei 101 because the weather was so poor. This time they had a clear view and were able to check out the view of the Taipei Basin. We travelled on the high speed train back to Taichung for the final leg of the journey. Mum and Dad flew out from Taichung Airport to Hong Kong where they caught another flight back to Australia.

• Links 9 June 2008
• It’s a boyz world
• Starting Chinese classes
• Will Ma meet the Dalai Lama?
• Travels in Zhonghe and Yonghe

The Taipei 228 Memorial Museum (台北二二八紀念館) reopened in February this year after being closed for almost a year for renovations. The reopening created some controversy over how the new exhibits interpreted the events of 228. On Sunday I went to visit the museum to see for myself how it had changed.

I had visited the museum about five times since my first visit in 2007 so I had a good understanding of the previous layout and content of the exhibits. The first thing I found on arriving was that the audio guide, which was previously available in English and several other languages, was not available. The staff said that it wasn’t ready yet and did not know when it would become available. All the exhibits are described in Chinese characters with only a small amount of English and Japanese.

The first display section of the refurbished museum presents the history of the broadcasting station that the building once housed. The first date given is 15 August 1945, the date of the Japanese surrender that marked the end of World War II. The next set of exhibitions steps back in time to the Japanese era, but they don’t give as much detail about this period of time as they did previously. There is also some negative portrayal of the Japanese period as shown in the “Incomplete Democracy” display above.

The photo above shows the report sent to Chiang Kai-shek on 5 March 1947 reporting on the situation in Taiwan. However, the report is reproduced so the characters are so small as to be barely readable. The problem with the museum is not that it fails to present the facts, but the way it presents the facts.

The museum previously had sections about the White Terror Era and the democracy movement following on from the events of 228. These have been much reduced in the new museum. Photos of politicians such as Frank Hsieh and Annette Lu who went on to play a key role in the Democratic Progressive Party are now totally absent. There is a large bronze bust of Cheng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), but the description of his life is just written on two small pieces of paper.

The museum now has a more modern feel, but the problem is that it fails to provide sufficient context and an overarching narrative for the events of 228. After visiting the museum people may know some facts about 228, but they still may not have a clear idea of the reasons why it happened. While the museum was in need of updating I don’t believe the changes are an improvement.

I then went to visit the National 228 Memorial Museum (二二八國家紀念館) which officially opened on 28 February this year. I actually first visited this museum in 2007 when it hosted a temporary exhibition. The museum is on Nanhai Road in a building that formerly served as the United States Information Service.

Like the Taipei 228 Museum, the National 228 Museum also takes the surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II as its starting point. Some brief information about the Japanese period is given and like the Taipei 228 Museum it focuses on the negative aspects.

The events of the 228 Massacre are presented without shying away from the facts. A large wall shows photos of those killed in the massacre with the blank spaces representing the people who have no photo. It is really quite sobering.

After displays about the events of the 228 Massacre, the next exhibition hall depicts the history of the building the museum is housed in. The building began its life as the Taiwan Education Hall from 1931 to 1945. During this time it hosted exhibitions of artwork and space is given to introduce some of Taiwan’s famous artists. However, the inclusion of this section creates a major disconnect in the narrative of the museum.

The building was the Taiwan Provincial Senate from 1946 to 1951. The next exhibitions show this and provide some connection to the events of 228. The Provincial Senate was a place were Taiwanese voices were able to criticise the government in the wake of the Republic of China’s (ROC) takeover of Taiwan. However, most of the senators were killed or arrested in the wake of the 228 Massacre.

The problem of the National 228 Museum is similar to that of the Taipei 228 Museum. It presents important information about the 228 Massacre, but fails to put it in sufficient context. Although the museum has only been open for a few months it already has a feeling of being old and outdated. There were very few visitors and staff were only present at the entrance downstairs.

• Museums at NTU
• Visiting some museums in Taiwan
• Folk Arts Museum in Beitou
• End of semester at NCCU
• Photos from the weekend

Tony Coolidge was born in Taiwan, but moved to the United States of America with his mother and step-father at a young age. While growing up in the USA his mother kept details of her life in Taiwan hidden. She encouraged her children to speak English so they could fit in. A year after his mother passed away from cancer Tony returned to Taiwan to meet his mother’s family. Only then did he discover that his family were indigenous people belonging to the Atayal group.

After making this discovery Tony returned to Taiwan again several years later along with his younger brother and Taiwanese wife to further explore his roots and connections with Taiwan’s indigenous people. His journey of self-discovery takes him into indigenous communities around Taiwan.

In particular Tony meets with several elderly Atayal and Truku women who have facial tattoos. These women represent a living connection with an ancient tradition. We get a sense of how these women have lived through a period of extraordinary change, first coming under the influence of the Japanese and then Chinese Nationalist governments. Pilin Yabu’s documentary The Stories of Rainbow (彩虹的故事), which I saw two years ago, reveals more details about the lives of these women.

As well as being a personal story film is also an appeal for recognition of the value of indigenous wisdom. It shows some of the difficulties indigenous peoples face to maintain their culture in the midst of pressures to assimilate into the mainstream society. Tony has established an NGO called ATAYAL which aims to promote indigenous culture and build connections between indigenous people in Taiwan and the USA.

The documentary explores themes of cultural identity, belonging and finding family and community. I think it can connect with audiences in Taiwan as it is essentially about a search for identity. This is not just relevant to Taiwanese who have grown up abroad and return to Taiwan, or those who discover they have indigenous heritage. It is something relevant to all Taiwanese as they seek to find their own place within the rich, complex ethnic structure of Taiwan.

Links

• Voices in the Clouds – official website
• Voices in the Clouds – IMDb
• Voices in the Clouds – trailer at Vimeo
• Past imperfect – Taipei Times article
• ATAYAL – Tony Coolidge’s NGO

• Smangus documentary to screen on PTS
• Interesting weather
• Links 31 December 2007
• The sun sets on 2006
• Taiwan romance novel

Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) spoke to a group of foreign residents in Taipei yesterday morning. She first spent some time outlining her vision for Taiwan before taking questions from the floor.  Tsai is currently on leave from her position as chair of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as she competes in the party’s primary for the presidential nomination. The primary will be decided by opinion polls conducted in the next few days with the announcement of the result expected on 4 May.

In outlining her vision for Taiwan, Tsai focused mainly on relations with China and economic policy. She had some interesting ideas about Taiwan’s future economic development.

On the issue of jobs Tsai said, “We don’t have enough jobs and enough good jobs. Despite the fact you may be able to find a job, you may not be able to find a job with good pay. So the quality of jobs is important too.” Tsai then discussed how this was related to the structure of the economy. Since the 1990s as Taiwanese businesses and capital moved to China the restructuring of the economy was delayed.

This led to Tsai mentioning the effect of large numbers of Chinese tourists coming to Taiwan. “With the outward movement of industrial production to China we are exporting higher pay, better jobs to China. With the inflow of Chinese tourists we are actually importing lower pay service jobs,” Tsai said.

Tsai presented some of her ideas for creating better jobs in Taiwan. These revolved around promoting R&D industries and locating these in rural areas. She also mentioned encouraging artists to move to rural areas. Tsai also mentioned the importance of agriculture. She said Taiwan needs more professional farmers and that people from the cities need to move to the country to get involved in agriculture. These ideas are laudable but I would like to see some more concrete details of the policies.

After Tsai had talked about her vision for Taiwan there was a question and answer session. Letters from Taiwan has written about his question to Tsai on how she would deal with Beijing’s potential hostility and aggression towards the DPP.

During the question and answer session I asked Tsai, “If you are elected president will you impose a moratorium on the death penalty and will you take measures to permanently abolish the death penalty?”

Tsai replied, ”The [abolition of the] death penalty is a global trend, but before you move in that direction you have to make sure your people are prepared. If your people are not prepared you’re creating more obstacles for yourself to move towards that direction.”

“How do you make them prepared for that? You have to give them this sense of security. That is you have a good social system that protects people. And secondly you have a good judicial system which makes right decisions in cases brought to them. And then when people feel comfortable you start to tell them what we need to do in order to move forward to that goal,” she said.

Her reply only focused on the issue of abolition and she didn’t mention whether she had any intention of implementing a moratorium on the death penalty if elected to the presidency. A moratorium is a first step and doesn’t require the legal changes necessary for abolition. Taiwan had a moratorium from December 2005 to April 2010.

Unfortunately it seems that in the present political environment politicians from both the DPP or the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) are unwilling to take a principled stand on the issue of the death penalty. However, it is only through politicians taking leadership on the issue that abolition will be achieved. I hope Tsai will be more willing to directly confront this issue if she gets elected.

In responding to another question Tsai made some more substantial comments about the importance of judicial reform. ”To strengthen the protection of human rights we need to carry out a comprehensive judicial reform here. I was a law professor for a long time. I know this judicial system is not serving as the protector of justice or the protector for the disadvantaged people here. So the judicial system is the most important thing to make sure that your democracy is functioning properly and your human rights are protected,” she said.

The current controversy over appointments to the Grand Council of Justices, the gross miscarriage of justice in the Hsichih Trio case as it goes to another retrail and concerns about politicisation of the judiciary show that this is a vital issue. A professional and independent judiciary is vital for a healthy democracy. Ma Ying-jeou’s KMT government has repeatedly failed to deliver on its promises of judicial reform. Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP deserve a chance to see if they can do better.

*Video of the entire event can by viewed on YouTube. I have collected the six videos in a playlist. Also see CNA’s report on the meeting.

• Possible DPP & KMT vice presidential candidates
• Who will be Tsai’s running mate?
• Time to speak out against injustice
• Thousands march for Tibet in Taipei
• Will Ma meet the Dalai Lama?

Some well known Taiwan bloggers including Scott Sommers, Steven Crook, Jerome Keating, Craig Ferguson and Carrie Kellenberger will be speaking at the event. I am running a discussion on “Blogging and Citizen Journalism” at 4pm on Saturday 23 April. I welcome anyone who is interested to join the discussion and share their ideas.

When: 1:00-6:00pm Saturday & Sunday 23-24 April 2011
Where: Alleycat’s Pizza Restaurant, Huashan Creative Park (華山創意文化園區), No.1 Bade Road, Section 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段一號)
Website: http://taiwanbookfest.com
Entry: free!!

• A Tibetan in Taiwan
• 2009 Taipei Book Exhibition
• Taiwan romance novel
• Taipei Book Fair
• Books and e-readers at the Taipei Book Exhibition

Members of the Atayal community of Hagay (哈凱部落) protested outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei today. They called on the government to provide permanent housing to replace the temporary housing they have been living in for ten years. They also called on the government to take responsibility for the impacts of the construction of the Baling Dam in the catchment of the Shimen Reservoir.

The Hagay community originally lived in a remote location in Fuxing Township of Taoyuan County (桃園縣復興鄉). About twenty years ago the community decided to move to a new location near the Baling Bridge (巴陵橋) on the Northern Cross Island Highway to make it easier for the children to get to school.

The construction of a check dam to control sediment at Baling and the impacts of Typhoon Herb in 1996 and Typhoon Aere in 2004 washed away the community’s land. They were forced to move into temporary housing. In the photo above Dai Li-juan (戴禮娟) is talking about the difficulties families face in the temporary housing which they have had to live in for more than ten years.

The community presented a letter of appeal to a representative of the Executive Yuan. They called on the central government to provide them with permanent housing and to take responsibility for the damage to their land and the ecology of the river caused by the construction of the Baling Dam.

The experience of the Hagay community also raises broader concerns about the impacts of engineering works and construction of dams in the Shimen Reservoir catchment area. Eight major check dams have been constructed in the catchment of the Shimen Reservoir in an attempt to reduce sediment flows into the reservoir. The Baling Dam was destroyed by Typhoon Wipha in 2007.

The photo above shows the Yufeng Dam in July 2010 at Marqwang which is further upstream from Baling. The dam is already filled with sediment so it serves no useful function except to harm the ecology of the river. I have only been making observations in the area for about a year but residents of the area tell of how the stream was much deeper and full of fish before the dam was constructed.

The government spends billions of dollars on engineering works in an attempt to maintain the quality of water in the Shimen Reservoir, but the effectiveness of the works is questionable. The case of the Hagay community shows the direct effects of these works on people living in the catchment area. If the construction of the Gaotai and Bilin dams goes ahead then the impacts on the Atayal communities in the area will be of an even greater magnitude.

• The ancient trees of Lala Shan
• 314 Tibet protest in Taipei
• Visit to village relocation site in Alishan
• Close Songshan Airport
• New media in Taiwan

On the evening of 26 February a group of Taiwanese university students in Taipei went out to show their support for the Jasmine Revolution in China. While attempting to cross the road they were blocked from crossing by a group of plain-clothes people claiming to be police officers. The video embedded above shows the incident. The Taipei Times has also reported on the incident.

The students involved in the incident have established the “226 Students Self-Help Group” (226學生自救小組) and have created a blog, Facebook page and YouTube channel. I have translated the description of the event from the 226 students’ blog below.

On the evening of 26 February a group of students supporting the Jasmine Revolution in China headed to Taipei’s Xinyi District in the hope of sending a message supporting democratisation and political reform in China to the Chinese government representative Chen Yunlin. At around nine o’clock about 20 students from National Taiwan University, Tsing Hua University, National Chengchi University and Tunghai University encountered and were blocked by about 40 people, believed to plain-clothes police officers, who did not clearly identify themselves. Then a violent verbal and physical conflict occurred which resulted in one student suffering bruising to the head and arm. This group of unclearly identified police were clearly acting against the Police Duties Enforcement Act by not wearing a uniform and not producing identification. Furthermore they did not give the three warnings required under the Parade and Assembly Law and just encircled the students. They also made threats that all the students would be arrested. No matter whether they are police or not, why did the government engage in violent actions in the middle of the busy eastern district of Taipei?

The entire event was captured on video by the students and has been uploaded to the internet. The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-vr0k0qWdo [video embedded above].

During this incident that occurred at the corner of Songshou and Songren roads, the students asked who are these people claiming to be police officers but not wearing uniforms? From the beginning to the end they resisted showing their identification badges or telling their police identification number. They also had no identifying marks or symbols on their clothing. Yet throughout the event they acted towards the students as if they were exercising police powers. If they really were police why didn’t they show their identification? Those plain-clothes people acted illegally. They also created a wall preventing the students’ free movement and they singled out students for intimidation. When the students tried to cross the zebra crossing the plain-clothes people violently attacked them and made verbal threats. What makes us most angry is that these plain-clothes people claiming to be police forcefully dragged and pulled the students crossing the road. One student was forcefully pushed down and injured. At the same time they unceasingly made threats such as “We’ll arrest all of you,” and “You don’t want to try it on too much.” They threatened, “You’ve made us start collecting evidence.” They demanded that the students show their ID card and said, “You’ve already broken the Parade and Assembly Law.” When the students asked why they hadn’t given a clear warning according to the Assembly Law, they gave no positive answer. At the same time pedestrians were coming and going. It was clear that the area wasn’t a controlled area as only the group of students was prevented from moving.

Due the plain-clothes people claiming to be police refusing to show identification from start to finish, the students at the scene said they couldn’t comprehend how this group of people had any legitimacy under the law. Even if they really were police they couldn’t act in this way towards the people which was against the law and infringing on human rights. They improperly blocked, interrogated, threatened and acted violently. They even prevented the students from simply crossing the road. When using the Assembly Law they didn’t follow the procedures or act in a reasonable manner. From early on they seriously violated the Police Duties Enforcement Act and exceeded the legal authority of the police.

On the night these events occured the students mentioned in this statement had no illegal intentions or actions. However, they met these group of people claiming to be police who didn’t clearly identify themselves. In the context of a free, democratic and open Taiwan this is a major public security and judicial incident. We hope that the relevant authorities can quickly open a special investigation. When the truth has been ascertained and announced the people who are responsible should apologise and accept punishment in order to give back a sense of fairness and justice to the students and the greater society.

It is now more than two years since Chen Yunlin first visited Taiwan. Chen’s first visit shone a spotlight on police abusing their powers and gave rise to the Wild Strawberry Movement. However, since that time there has been no reform of the Parade and Assembly Law nor have police been held accountable for human rights transgressions.

While the scale of protests against Chen Yunlin have diminished with each visit, the police have been unrelenting in restricting the rights of the people to protest and freely express their opinions. Another disturbing event occurred during Chen Yunlin’s just completed visit to Taiwan. In Yunlin County a group of men in black shirts, suspected to be gang members, were present when Chen Yunlin visited a university.

The KMT government of Ma Ying-jeou has been in office for almost three years now. It is clear that the more and more the government engages with China, the more and more it adopts China’s authoritarian methods. Some people naively hope that Taiwan can encourage democracy in China. However, on the present evidence it seems that China is encouraging authoritarianism in Taiwan.

• Police, the law and human rights
• Another 228 museum
• Once was a prison
• Four characters removed from Democracy Hall
• Links 10 December 2007

The Freak Out Beast (吵年獸) music festival began in 2006. It is held in Taipei each year around the time of the Lunar New Year holiday, when there is usually a lack of live music events. I attended the festival for the last couple of years in Ximending. This year the event moved to Da’an Forest Park.

The amphitheatre in Da’an Park has a big stage where plenty of bands had the chance to strut their stuff. The weekend also had beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures. This was quite a contrast to the typical Lunar New Year weather in Taipei and the crowd enjoyed both the music and the sunshine.

One of the first bands to play on the big stage on Saturday was My Skin Against Your Skin (MSAYS). The band made great use of the big stage with a polished performance. Their new EP sold out at the festival.

The event had several stages set up around Da’an Park in addition to the main stage. The “noise” (吵) stage in the northeast corner of the park also had a market selling food and crafts. The “year” (年) stage was for DJs and the “beast” (獸) stage featured acoustic performances.

As the sun set on Saturday evening the appropriately named Sunset Rollercoaster (落日飛車) took to the noise stage and attracted quite a crowd. The band includes some of the members of BOYZ & GIRL and they put on a great show with their own brand of psychedelic and experimental rock.

On Saturday evening several metal bands with names like Bazooka and Selfish Sucker amped it up on the noise stage. The photo above shows the guitarist of Selfish Sucker.

For those who prefer it a bit quieter the acoustic stage provided some aural relief. The photo above shows the two-piece band Summerbred (夏生). There were many bands playing on the various stages over the two days and there were still many bands that I didn’t get the chance to see. All in all it was a great two days of music.

*More photos in the Freak Out Beast 2011 set at flickr (with more to be uploaded in the next few days).

• Freak Out Beast 2010 edition
• Freak Out Beast in Ximending
• Taipei then and now
• Public art in Nangang
• Trip to Jinguashi

Thousands of people* marched through Taipei in a protest against the expansion of the petrochemical industry. They shouted “Oppose Kuokuang, save Taiwan!” (反國光，救台灣) as they marched. This was in reference to the Kuokuang Petrochemical Plant which is slated to be built off the coast of Changhua County.

Large contigents travelled to Taipei from Changhua and Yunlin counties to join the protest. Many of them were mobilised by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The photo above shows Liu Chien Kuo (劉建國), a DPP legislator from Yunlin County, Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), a DPP legislator, and Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬), Yunlin County Commissioner, leading a section of the march.

A group of young people dressed as Na’vi, characters from the movie Avatar, caught the attention of the media at the start of the march. There was active participation by young people from various groups in the march.

After the marchers arrived at Ketagalan Boulevard they took seats for speeches. Most of the speeches were in Hoklo Taiwanese so I can’t report on exactly what was said. However, I think the protest reflects a strong grassroots opposition to the petrochemical industry.

Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤) took to the stage to sing their song “Civil Revolt” (官逼民反). They altered some of the lyrics especially for the occassion.

While the protest was on Ketagalan Boulevard a laser was used to project slogans onto the outside of the Presidential Office. I was unable to get a clear photo of it though (you can see it in the YouTube video linked to below). Although the people of Yunlin and Changhua are not participating in the elections on 27 November the protest succeeded in putting pressure on the government to reconsider the plans for new petrochemical plants.

Links

• Anti-petrochemical rally demands suspension of Kuokuang project – Focus Taiwan
• 反石化萬人遊行 促石化政策轉彎 – PTS News report on YouTube
• Anti-petrochemical protest in Taipei – my photos on Demotix
• Say No To Petrochemicals Demonstration – Craig Ferguson’s photos on Demotix
• 11/13 protest against petrochemical industry – photoset at flickr

*The Apple Daily reported 5,000 people. The organisers said “nearly 10,000″.

• Peak oil and petrochemicals in Taiwan
• Hunger strike for referendum law amendment
• The cost of nuclear power
• Toxic practice spreads to Taiwan blogosphere
• A million march for Taiwan

An estimated 30,000 people joined the 8th annual Taiwan LGBT Pride (台灣同志遊行) march in the centre of Taipei yesterday. Light rain did not stop the crowds from coming out to march with the numbers up on last year. The march is said to be largest LGBT Pride event in Asia.

The theme for this year’s event was “Out & Vote” (投同志政策一票). Politicians in Taiwan often make promises about gay rights, but have failed to implement their promises or pass legislation to benefit the LGBT community. The Taipei Times has a good article giving some more background on some of the key issues.

The parade began on Ketagalan Boulevard and then marched on a route through Ximending. The march stopped on Zhongxiao West Road outside Taipei Station and the crowd held up signs with the symbol used to mark ballots in Taiwan.

This year I marched with a coalition of human rights groups in Taiwan which included Amnesty International and the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty. The group handed out postcards about the case of Su Chien-ho (蘇建和), one of the Hsichih trio. The next verdict on his case, which has dragged through the courts for 19 years, will be handed down on 12 November and there are events around Taiwan in the next few weeks to increase public awareness of the case. More details are available at www.hsichih-trio.url.tw.

Sung Chia-lun (宋佳倫) is the Green Party candidate for Taipei City Council in the Wanhua and Zhongzheng districts. According to the Taipei Times article linked to above she is one of three openly gay candidates running in the election for Taipei City Council. The Green Party also had a strong presence with many of their candidates for the forthcoming five cities election joining the march.

While the parade was on Zhongxiao West Road a pastor from a Christian church stood up and gave a speech. He said that every year around the time of the LGBT Pride Parade some Christians will say things like gays cause typhoons. However, we shouldn’t listen to them because God loves everybody. The Chinese characters on the sign in the background say “God loves gays” (上帝愛同志).

The rally ended on Ketagalan Boulevard with more speeches and performances. I had to leave early so I missed most of them including a performance by Amit (Chang Hui-mei, 張惠妹) who was this year’s rainbow ambassador.

*See more photos on Demotix and also at flickr.

• LGBT Pride Parade in Taipei
• Loving out loud and proud
• Hopes and dreams on parade
• Around the World – new Kou Chou Ching MV
• Bikes on show in Taipei