Death, hunger strike, and execution reveal mounting tension between Taiwan and China

by Brenda Yun on

The father of a family friend of mine recently passed away in Taiwan. He was a well-respected Taiwanese dignitary, and mourning his death will continue until his burial next week. In the meantime, family members leave the front door of their home open and people stop by to express their condolences.

There’s a lot of crying going on in Taiwan these days. Former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian ended his two-week hunger strike that was an effort in protesting his recent arrest. He has been accused of bribing and money-laundering – the proof of which has been uncovered in three Swiss bank accounts. Despite this proof, he wrote a poem that was published in the Liberty Times on November 25th, saying he would die for Taiwan’s independence from China. He continues to accuse Taiwan’s current administration of pandering to its communist neighbor. To be certain, if Chen had been arrested in China he would be executed immediately (none of this hunger strike business!), as was the case of Wo Weihan, a biomedical researcher and businessman who was accused of spying for Taiwan. Wo was executed Friday, leaving no final words and saying no goodbyes. The E.U. and U.S. contend that Wo did not receive a fair trial.

Tension is mounting between these two Asian neighbors. Death, hunger strikes, and executions certainly cannot resolve the deeper issues that will surface in the months to come.

Hong Kong bird market: The sound of music

by Jamie Rhein on

I haven’t been to the Hong Kong bird market, but I’ve been to bird markets in Taiwan– and the bird market in Singapore.

When Taj Reid over at www.wejetset.com sent us a link to this lush post on song bird love in Hong Kong, and the delights to be found at the bird market, I was reminded of my own pleasures when I sat in a courtyard sipping on coffee, listening to birds sing on a Sunday morning.

Owning song birds is just not a matter of heading to the local pet store and picking up a canary, you see. In Hong Kong, as with my experience in Taiwan and Singapore, picking out the right bird and the right cage is an art that depends on personal taste.

As the post states, men are the ones who prize their birds. Like doting parents who show off their toddlers at a playground, men gather at a park with their birds in order to see which person’s bird sings the best. There is a certain order to how the cages are hung so that the owners can achieve the best responses from the birds. I never quite figured it out, but I loved trying.

As gorgeous as the birds are, the cages are just as fantastic. My favorite type of cage is similar to the ones pictured here. The white and blue floral porcelain food and water bowls are simply lovely. Check out the wetjetset post for more wonderful photos and details about birding Hong Kong style as well as the places to enjoy the singing.

(photos courtesy of wetjetset)

Taiwan’s road signs will make more sense next year

by Jamie Rhein on

When I lived in Taiwan, I normally didn’t have a clue where I was going. The signage was not particularly helpful. I didn’t read Chinese, and, outside of Taipei, that’s mostly what you saw. Even when there were signs in English, there was an inconsistency with how street names were spelled.

Ask people to spell a word phonetically, and you’ll see variation. In Taiwan, up until recently, there were various systems used to translate words from Chinese into English. Unless there are standardized rules that everyone adheres to, variety might remain the spice of life, but getting from here to there is problematic.

Recognizing that when visitors come to Taiwan, whether for business or pleasure, they have a desire to be able to find their way easily, Taiwan has officially adopted the “hanyu pinyin writing system” for translating Chinese to English. This Reuters article explains the details about how the government is publishing a spelling guide in order to redo road signs in order to reflect the consistency. The changes will start in 2009.

No longer will you see “Minquan Road,” “Minchuan Road,” “Binjiang Street,” and “Pin Chiang Street” on various signs for the exact same street. See what I mean? Wouldn’t that drive you a bit NUTS?!

(Although, as you can see from the Flickr photo by onkio & di’s, some signs in Taiwan do reflect the adage, “A picture speaks a thousand words.” At least the part about the car getting towed.)

Photo of the Day (9.19.08)

by Aaron Hotfelder on

This shot from arex was taken in Taiwan’s Shi-lin night market. Ahh, I can almost smell the garlic-filled sausage sizzling on the grill, and I can almost hear the white noise of a language I’ll never understand.

Anyone have a free plane ticket to Asia?

To have your photos considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day, submit your best shots here.

Photo of the Day (9.14.08)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

A mailbox is not exactly the most fascinating subject for a photo. But somehow, I can’t take my eyes off of this particular mailbox, captured by Flickr user arex while in Taiwan China. There’s a number of things that caught my eye. It’s a flat photo but yet it manages to give an impression of pattern and texture – the yellow mail slot, the peeling paint of the walls, and the bright blue signage combine to make the image jump out at you. Add in the ghostly black edges around the frame and the result is something that seems almost cinematic. Nice work.

Have you taken any photos of mailboxes in Beijing? Or perhaps just the post office in Boston? Why not add them to the Gadling pool on Flickr? We might just pick it for our Photo of the Day.