WHERE'S TAIWAN? I WILL SHOW YOU

Below is a promotional film produced by Taiwan, in which Chien-Ming Wang, NYY Bronx Bomber new prospect pitcher, sat in the back seat of a New York taxi cab having a conversation with the taxi driver.



Driver: Like Baseball?
Wang: Yeah!
Drive: Where're you from?
Wang: Taiwan.
Driver: Taiwan? (Chuckle) You wanna tell me where's Taiwan?
Wang: I will show you.

Wang did it.

During the FOX broadcast of the Yankees and Tigers on last Tuesday when Wang earned his first playoff win, a map of Taiwan popped up on screen accompanied with an introduction to the country (the same map came up screen again several days later for LA Dodgers starter Hong-Chih Kuo, another Taiwan-native MLB pitcher). Despite the 19-game winner Wang's incredible performance in this season draws share of critics and skeptics, his success has turned the 23 million people in this island all Yankee fans. Interestingly, there's a Chinese sports daily calling Wang a "Chinese pitcher" in its coverage title in August, leading to a huge protest from people of Taiwan, who acclaim Wang as the "Son of Taiwan".

So what's the difference between Taiwan and China?

Let's go back to the game on Tuesday, the Fox reporters had called Taiwan, the country where Chien-ming Wang comes from, for dozens of times – no China, or Republic of China, or Chinese Taipei, or anything about China. What's the big deal? Most people all over the world including U.S. official spokespersons call us, straightly, Taiwan. Ridiculously, when Taiwan President Chen suggested early this year that the country should consider applying for United Nations membership under the name of Taiwan if the official national title "Republic of China" cannot be used, guess what the U.S. reaction is? Deputy U.S. State Department Spokesman Adam Ereli harshly criticized that Taiwan's participation in the U.N. under the name of Taiwan would violate the U.S. policy against "unilateral change to the status quo".

What means Taiwan's "status quo"? One China, if we follow Ereli's argument? Definitely not.

A friend from Chile told me that when he applied visa to Taiwan through the Chinese embassy in Santiago, only to be rejected with the taunt, "You should go to Taiwan's embassy," a Chinese officer said. My Chilean friend was quite puzzled then: doesn't China always claim that Taiwan is a part of its territory? Actually Chinese government has never had its sovereignty over the island for any minute; nor have Taiwanese people ever paid any tax to China. That's the so-called status quo.

More absurdly, the diplomatic rhetoric (The United States does not support Taiwan independence and opposes unilateral change to the status quo by either Taiwan or Beijing. We support dialogue in the interest of achieving a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait differences in a manner that is acceptable to the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait...) was repeated, warning Taiwan would cross the red line of Washington, as President Chen announced to revise the constitution next year. Do you guys know the "official definition" of the national territory set forth in the Taiwanese Constitution made in China in 1936 still so far includes the mainland China and Mongolia? Chen did the revision just to reflect Taiwan's current status and reaffirm Taiwan's commitment to the status quo (i.e. no more reconquering Mainalnd China). It is Ereli's statement that contradicts the U.S. policy.

Everybody calls us Taiwan but, on many occasions, we are forbidden to call ourselves Taiwan. Especially in Olympic Games we are given a weird name "Chinese Taipei". What's more incredible is that Kaohsiung, the second largest in Taiwan, will host the World Games in 2009 and the World University Games in 2011 in the name of Chinese Taipei. However, Kaohsiung is not subordinate to Taipei; it is a metropolis 400km away from Taipei and has its own elected mayor. Calling Kaohsiung "Taipei" would be as foolish as calling Baltimore "New York". On the Internet we also see so may self righteous websites involved in such a kind of stupid political bias. A few weeks ago my computer was unfortunately kidnapped by a malicious spy software named Bravesentry. I went to find a removal program, which would charge me around USD30, and just followed its download instructions to restore my PC as soon as possible. I registered my personal data and rolled down the country menu to select mine, but I was mush upset to find the option "Taiwan – A Province of China" there. I shut off the register window right away. Do we Taiwanese people deserve that rude and unfair treatment? Or can we call you "the US – a former colony of British"? I aborted the solution and soon found another one, which would not force me to admit that Taiwan is a part of China, from Bleepingcomputer to remove the virus, and it was free and didn't take any dime from me!

All American officers or commercial website owners know the truth that Taiwan is de facto already an independent state, but why can't they just say it right from their mouth? Businessmen crave profits in the emerging Chinese market and avoid irritating the Chinese government with the controversial political issue. That's comprehensible. But why can't U.S. officers? There was an episode in "The West Wing" on December 1, 2004, which might answer the question.

"We got a question... about a flag the President received this morning at the National Prayer Breakfast." says Carol (starring Melissa Fitzgerald, Assistant to the Press Secretary).
"A flag?" Josh (starring Bradley Whiteford, as Deputy Chief of Staff) asks her.
"A green flag from the Taiwanese delegation.... green with a red flower."
"...No, no, no-no, no.... The Chinese are going to freak out.... The green flag is the original flag of the Taiwan independence movement.... You can see why I might be mildly concerned about the symbolism of the President accepting their flag on the eve of a major summit with China..."

The Chinese are going to freak out? Why did a Taiwanese flag make the White House staff answer so hysterically? What they were scared of is, simply put, war. War? It could be the last thing the U.S. government fears. In some dimensions America is regarded as a militant dictatorship. You'll never challenge my view once you look at what Americans have done to Middle East, Latin America, and Africa where they sent soliders to uphold democracy, freedom, human rights and justice, or what action they are going to take against North Korea over its recent nuclear test. The U.S. always considers itself the world's cop and likes to do so. Yet this is in no way true when the States are facing Chinese roguery; they do nothing but appease the awakening lion. In early 2005 China enacted the Anti-Session Law, which clearly commits the Beijing authority to using non-peaceful means against Taiwan. It was evidently a fundamental break with the status quo that has existed for decades across the strait of Taiwan, but we didn't see any severe response from the U.S. State Department, not to mention the US attitude toward China's deployment of nearly a thousand of guided missiles targeting Taiwan.

The dread of war with China makes the US acknowledgement of universal value rather selective. When 911 happened (Pardon me. I didn't mean to remind anybody of any awful memory), many Chinese people hilariously gathered on the street celebrating the attack or showed on cyber space praising Osama Bin Laden (if you read Chinese, you may find how Chinese were laughing at the tragic accident from the forum). It's clear which side that Chinese stand on. Unexpectedly the U.S. government turned to ask for China's support of anti-terrorism. No wonder Washington just keeps complaining Chen's administration for the pending NT600 billion military purchase from the US while ignoring the "pan-blue" coalition that blocks the purchase proposal to echo Beijing's claim. That's why Mr. Lee Teng-hui, former President of Taiwan, always sighs, "How sad to be a Taiwanese!"

View Chinese Version (中文版)

Against the Wind

Not a dime to spare.

Life was tough while we were young, and we had believed it would be getting better as time goes on. However, we are disappointed to find life tougher and harsher when we grow up - wish we didn't know now what we didn't know then - and we somethimes yearn to be back to those days of "not a dime to spare".

Tired of hearing RAP, R&B, and Hip-Hop? Try this one. Against the Windis a song composed and written by Bob Seger from the album of the same name originally issued in 1980. (What did you do and where were you then?) It's just something more than vintage rock'n roll, it's...mmm, my dear friend, you'll know what I mean if you fight the tears sentimentally as the music plays.

Against The Wind
Words and music by Bob Seger



(Lyrics)
It seems like yesterday
But it was long ago
Janey was lovely, she was the queen of my nights
There in the darkness with the radio playlng low
And the secrets that we shared
The mountains that we moved
Caught like a wildfire out of control
Till there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove

And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh so tight
Wish I didnt know now what I didnt know then

Against the wind
We were runnin against the wind
We were young and strong, we were runnin
Against the wind

And the years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded bv stranners I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home
And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or even how much I owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searchin
Searching for shelter again and again
Against the wind
A little something against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter against the wind

Well those drifters days are past me now
Ive got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out

Against the wind
Im still runnin against the wind
Well I'm older now and still running
Against the wind

*Another Bob's hit song Like A Rock and lyrics...

ILHA FORMOSA

福爾摩沙

第一個發現的人
不知道將它繪在航海圖的那個位置
它是徘徊北回歸線的島嶼
擁有最困惑的歷史與最衰弱的人民

劉克襄《漂鳥的故鄉》，1984年

(Translation)

*Ilha Formosa

Upon discovery of the island
The Portuguese sailors were puzzled:
Where to locate it on the navigation charts?

The island
Wavers over the Tropic of Cancer
Involved in the most intriguing and intricate history, and
Populated with the frailest and weakest people

By Liu Ke-hsiang, Homeland of Migatory Birds, 1984
Translated by Jiang, 2006

On the last day of 2005, I went to the Santiago Lighthouse with some friends. Instead of joining hundreds of thousands of people for the kooky new year's eve countdown in Taipei 101 square, we had a bar-b-que party there to celebrate the coming year. Santiago, pronounced as San-Diao-Gah in Taiwanese language, is a cape situated at the easternmost of the Taiwan island, about a two-hour drive away from Taipei. When we reached the lighthouse, it was midnight, and everything's so dark -- except the illuminated tower -- so quiet and silent -- except the whistling wind, roaring waves, and rustling grass -- so peaceful, and, from a Taiwanese perspective, so exotic -- exactly because of the "casa blanca" (the house painted in white) and the cape's name given by Spanish explorers in the 17th century. The ambiance then was reminiscent of the Chinese poem, Ilha Formosa, written by Liu Ke-hsiang, which I translate into English as above.

I read this poem for the first time in 1986 when I was a university student in NCCU (National Cheng-Chi University). For Taiwan that was still a martial law era under Chiang's rule; any publication involving politics or history, particularly any writing in connection with the 228 incident, would be confiscated subject to censorship. In contrast, Liu's little poem book Homeland of Migratory Birds with underlying political implications, like a lighthouse in the dark, allowed us to find a way out of our perplexity in our younger days.

*The Portuguese found Taiwan in 1544 and gave it a name "Ilha Formosa" -- the beautiful island. And then came the Spaniards who called it "la isla Hermosa". The Spanish explorers named the cape as San Diego in 1626 and, in the same year, Spanish armada seized Keelung harbor, twenty kilometers from Santiago. Sixteen years later (1644) the Spaniards were expelled from the island by the Dutch, and then came Chinese, Japanese, and then Chinese again...

THE CADETS

It is foreseeable – if the competition between the dozens of Taiwan's TV-news channels becomes more drastic – that the movie Mad City will recur to the island.

On the afternoon of June 2, 2003, five young men, in their military academy uniforms on which "I have cheated; I am guilty," was written, walked to the NTU (National Taiwan University) campus with a parade of journalists following behind. These five former cadets were in the third day of their sit-in protest. Sitting on the edge of the campus square in an orderly manner, they showed their protest posters deliberately as though they had already rehearsed, while press photographers were itching for a shot at resentful, or perhaps shameful, expression on their faces, like vultures ready to nibble away at the residual flesh of a body. A gorgeously dressed lady reporter said, in front of a live camera, that these protesters aroused few compassion, "most NTU students despise cheating and pass by contemptuously."(I took the photo with their prior consent.)

Just a week ago, these five former cadets went to the Legislative Yuan (the Congress of Taiwan) looking for support, because the Whampoa Military Academy (WMA) where they had studied for almost four years had unfairly penalized them. They were caught cheating on their "Vehicle Engineering" graduate examination in March and were officially expelled. “It's an illegal punishment,” said Wang, the former trainee Brigade Commander of WMA (the highest post of cadets). "The Cadet Honor Court has made a proper judgment on this case, but Principal Yang (Lieutenant-General) insists on 'eradicating' us from the academy."

The media, of course, was then thrilled to see this conflict and presented it on Headline News immediately. At the very first, most news media tried to "package" the protesters as tragic heroes. In order to stir up public sympathy, journalists claimed that these dismissed cadets were just the victims under the bureaucratic system.

The military academy is always deemed as an autocratic organization, in contrast with Taiwan's open, democratic society. In addition, military procurement scandals have been frequently seen in recent years. The military seems a ripe target for the mass.

"Cheating? Is there a single military officer who dares to say that he has never cheated during his academic career? They went there to learn how to fight, not to take exams," a well-known press critic once commented cynically on this issue. Before long, however, the sympathetic news coverage received a tremendous negative reaction towards the petition. The audience unanimously censured the dishonesty.

Rebuffed by the irritated populace, the media turned the gun away and the bullet hit the cadets instead. The journalists began to query harshly the cadets' motives and morality, saying "Teachers have told us that cheating is wrong. Why do you still go on TV to claim innocence?" quoted a primary school girl's words on a call-in program.

Isn't it a Déjà Vu, a bit similar to Mad City (starring Dustin Hofman and John Travolta), a film in which the TV media first makes the kidnapper out to be an innocent victim and then slandered him as a devil, and, eventually, brought him to the scaffold? Some or all of the cadets might have intended to withdraw from the protest, yet the media didn't. How can the media discard such a nationwide sensation? Given the drastically competitive media environment, every reporter is more interested in audience rating than justice; nobody cared about what the cadets (22 or 23 years old) would feel or how they were pressured by innumerable interviews under dazzling flashlights. But the misconceived youths believed the powerful media can plead for them, unexpectedly, only to make things worse.

It is foreseeable – if the cut-throat competition between Taiwan's dozens of news channels becomes more intense – that Mad City will recur to the island. When SARS was peaking, there was a sarcastic joke going that we have three ways to keep away from this terrible contagious disease: "washing our hands, putting on gauze masks, and turning off the TV." Undoubtedly the mass media's search for the truth performs positive functions for society. On many occasions, however, they foment public opinions by misleading controversial issues, still worse, manipulating the issues. In this case, cheating is absolutely wrong and these cadets had to pay for their dishonesty. You may condemn their fraud the next time you see their protest on TV again; meanwhile, please take pity on these over-exploited children.

Now, raise your hand if you...vote against these five cadets

* This article was written on June 2, 2003. Despite sort of being obsolete, the topic still restlessly reminds me of that sizzling summer day.

View Chinese Version (中文版)

AU REVOIR MICHAEL

Isn't it so cruel to have a man climb to the career peak so early at his seventeen?

(This article was written in June 2003 in memory of Michael Chang, a greatest Asia tennis player.)

In the beginning of last month, Roland-Garros organizers released a list of male players who, in addition to the other 123 qualifiers, were granted wild cards to the 2003 French Open. The list consists of three French young hopefuls, one Spanish sixteen-year-old tennis prodigy, and, Michael Chang, aged 31, a former champion of this tournament who has announced to retire in the end of the season. M. Chang was scheduled to play the first round at the central court (Court Philippe Chatrier) – the largest stadium of Roland-Garros – on last Tuesday night. This merciful treatment did not give him any luck; it just seemed a considerate arrangement, heralding the one last send-off for the great tennis star. The result of this game is nothing more than expected, Michael was defeated by the host player, Santoro (7-5, 6-1, and 6-1) rigidly, which ended up the Cinderella's fourteen-year wonder in Paris. He wept while the audience stood up with unanimous applause to send him off. “It is the second time my eyes tear during my tennis career,” said Chang.

When, and where, was the first time? Let's retrospect what Michael did at the same red clay court in the 1989 French Open. As a rookie professional, he beat Landl, the No. 1 player in the world from 1985 to 1989, in Round Four. Michael's fans would take delight in talking about this game in which he served underhand (which a professional would never do) due to his badly cramped leg and wan the unbelievable victory. Later, Michael ran into the final and incredibly beat the honored tennis emperor Swede Edberg who had reigned over the tennis circle with seven Grand Slam titles in the 1980s. This stirring victory made M. Chang, at the age of seventeen and three months, become the youngest champion of Grand Slam title in history. No wonder he shed tears when he kissed the significant trophy at that eventful moment. Right in such a momentous occasion, Michael was still concerned about thousands of victims repressed in the Tien-An-Men Square massacre, with “God bless everybody, especially the people of China.” In the same year (1989), a series of democratic movements were spreading over China – the country where his parents come from.

Up to now, Pete Sampras, the invincible player, has swept away all his opponents in the other three Grand Slams – the US Open, the Wimbledon Open and the Australia Open – but can't approach the title in Roland-Garros anyhow, which, he has confessed, is the most regrettable in his career. Andre Agassi who is two years senior to Michael, didn't earn this red-clay championship until 1999, exactly ten years later than Chang. The remarkable achievement in 1989 ought to have brought M. Chang much favor, and he was anticipated to rise as a big star in the coming future.

Unexpectedly, the sole Grand Slam title turns into a cynical epitaph. Among the past fourteen years, he has always participated in these four Grand Slam tournaments with full aspiration. However, he failed time after time. Although he has run to the final of the US Open twice and the Australia Open once, it seemed like a flash in the pan and, merely, left him and his fans long, long sighs. Michael obtained his career highest, ranked No. 2 in the world only behind Sampras, in 1996; he also keeps the record, wining at least one championship in ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tours for twelve years continuously (1988 – 1999). It's just that his unprecedented honor in Paris, like a curse, makes his second Grand Slam unrepeatable, which covers up all his splendid performance.

Michael began to fall since 2000 and is ranked No. 144 currently. Of course, Michael has ever attempted a comeback. Apart from regular weight trainings, he sought a longer racket, which might improve his skill in resisting the Western mighty, speedy serves. Yet his strategy could be his real fatal weakness as ever. He rarely makes aggressive net approaches, simply defends at the baseline and waits the competitor's unforced errors. This tactic could have worked because there were lots of Mr. Improvisation, e.g. Rios, Rafter, etc., who were used to playing back the ball without due consideration. But when the opponents play more deliberately, Chang’s existed advantage is lost consequently. Moreover, his fastest serve only approximates 165km/h which cannot compete against the Caucasian’s 190km/h. In recent years, he has often been knocked out of the tennis event in Round One. Constant frustration should be the key reason why he conceives to retire.

Instead of the frustration, people will remember his persistency. Just as Agassi has said after defeating Michael in Toronto earlier this year, “He is a respectable competitor, and I’ll miss his swift steps for every score; no matter how you smack the ball, he simply can find a way to send it back; he never gives up any chance.” Michael’s fans would never forget his brave eyes, willpower and restless effort for every game.

Chang never throws the racket to the ground fiercely even though the umpire makes the judgment unfavorable to him. Unlike another Michael – M. Jordan who retired spectacularly from NBA in April, M. Chang keeps low profile in his farewell journey all along. When every celebrated, handsome and rich tennis players are involved in love affairs, he is still alone in the court, except his mother and brother beside. Chang could afford a private jet, a luxurious yacht or mansion (Chang has hustled into USD 35 million in his career), but he didn't. As a loyal Christian, Chang likes to signs autographs for his fans with “Jesus Loves You.” These are his styles. When asked about the favorite thing he desires after the retirement, the gentleman always replies, without the least hesitation, that he would devoted himself to Asian juvenile tennis promotion campaigns. Nevertheless, we would recommend Michael to publish his biography soon so that fans can remain to enjoy in the abiding memory.

View Chinese Version (中文版)

INTRODUCTION

The 1960s. That looks like a pretentious or even insolent title, isn't it?

We, the generation of 60s or, to be more exact, the post-war generation born in 1960s, are so fortunate to witness the dramatic change of the world during the good time of our life. When we were twenty or thirty, the Berlin wall fell, the Soviet Union collapsed, and the cold war between the two giant ideological rivals ended all overnight. And then came the prevalence of mobile phone expediting the communications revolution, followed by the momentous era of the Internet, which kicked off just a couple of years before the end of the last century (and that's why you see me talking here). We had immortalized films made by some great directors like Oliver Stone, Stephen Spielberg, etc., who left us infinite fantasy when we were young dreamers. We got fascinating videos from the pop diva Madonna so that we may catch up with the last admiration for Marilyn Monroe, far more than merely the blonde hair, when compared to Mariah Carey, another superstar for the next generation. And all of us will definitely remember the grace of Princess Di, though whose death took out of everyone's sighs.

Of course, we had regrets, too. We have been exposed to the horror of AIDS, the global epidemic that was introduced as we prepared to enjoy the lust of the flesh. Did I miss something? The 911 tragedy? It's not an exclusive historical event for the 60s generation but a memory common to all.

People who are fifty or sixty years old now will soon pass by. Sometimes they behave too conservatively as if men never went up to the moon or Mrs. Thatcher or Gorbachev still remained in power. While the succeeding generations of 70s or 80s are not ripe enough to take over; they are too much addicted to the cyber space. Only the generation of 60s who cross the real and virtual worlds are ready to lead the way. Now we are forty something, and the world is on our shoulders. Let's look what we will do to it.