This ain't Greyhound
So last weekend, I was happily embarking upon a trip to Tainan to visit my Uncle. Tainan is Taiwan's oldest city, the formed capital for both the Dutch and Japanese during their occupation periods. My friend and I decided to ride the bus, looking for a cheap and relatively shadier travel experience. The ride certainly was affordable by American standards(500 NT one way, about 15 dollars US) but the Bus ride itself was a far cry from the comfort, affordability, and safety standards that we enjoy from Greyhound in the US. When I boarded the Bus, I found seats that were larger than any first-class seat that I had seen on a airplane, and also reclined and could give you a back massage at the push of a button. In addition each seat had its own LCD screen with video games, tv shows, and movies. The ride itself took 6 hours, quite a bit of time compared to the 1 hour plane ride, or the speed at which high-speed rail service will link the west coast of Taiwan come October, but atleast I had plenty of entertainment to bide the time with.
Unfortunately, the trip back on Sunday was not so pleasant, as I soon discovered not only the ending of the new Harry Potter Book on the headlines of the newspaper, but also that current Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou had been elected to be Chairman of the KMT or Nationalist Party. While as a Greenie, in both the US and Taiwan, I am sceptical of the KMT and its intentions towards the people of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou is a particularily divisive candidate.
Ma Ying-jeou, while he is very popular among KMT's grassroots supporters, is an extremist candidate who obtained most of his support from ethnic Chinese who comprise the core of the KMT's membership and a minority in the overall electorate(less than 10%). He lacks the support of the party apparatus, with nearly all of the KMT's current elected officials endorsing his opponent. In addition, his behavior during the election so offended his opponent that Wang Jin-pyng(current Speaker of the House) refused to accept a position as Vice Chairman.(See http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/Politics/2005/07/21/1121910005.htm)
THe ethnicity issue, an issue that the KMT has successfully deflected in recent elections with more moderate rhetoric that emphasized preservation of the status quo and peace with China, may become a larger issue as Ma isan ethnic-Chinese originally born on the mainland. In addition, ethnicity is directly part of his appeal. As Mayor of Taipei, he changed the english pingyin system used on signs to match China's pingyin system, making Taipei the only city in Taiwan that uses such a system. It has proved not only confusing to tourists, but to residents as well, as the name of the street that they live on according to street signs outside their apartments don't match the address that they use for mail service (See http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/GG21Ad04.html)
As an example, my father's workplace is on Zhongxiao according to street signs, However, his mailing address says Chung-Hsiao.
And to top off all my misery, it still is raining even today...A sad set of events for this kid from Sunny Southern California...
Peace Out!
Mitch
Unfortunately, the trip back on Sunday was not so pleasant, as I soon discovered not only the ending of the new Harry Potter Book on the headlines of the newspaper, but also that current Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou had been elected to be Chairman of the KMT or Nationalist Party. While as a Greenie, in both the US and Taiwan, I am sceptical of the KMT and its intentions towards the people of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou is a particularily divisive candidate.
Ma Ying-jeou, while he is very popular among KMT's grassroots supporters, is an extremist candidate who obtained most of his support from ethnic Chinese who comprise the core of the KMT's membership and a minority in the overall electorate(less than 10%). He lacks the support of the party apparatus, with nearly all of the KMT's current elected officials endorsing his opponent. In addition, his behavior during the election so offended his opponent that Wang Jin-pyng(current Speaker of the House) refused to accept a position as Vice Chairman.(See http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/Politics/2005/07/21/1121910005.htm)
THe ethnicity issue, an issue that the KMT has successfully deflected in recent elections with more moderate rhetoric that emphasized preservation of the status quo and peace with China, may become a larger issue as Ma isan ethnic-Chinese originally born on the mainland. In addition, ethnicity is directly part of his appeal. As Mayor of Taipei, he changed the english pingyin system used on signs to match China's pingyin system, making Taipei the only city in Taiwan that uses such a system. It has proved not only confusing to tourists, but to residents as well, as the name of the street that they live on according to street signs outside their apartments don't match the address that they use for mail service (See http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/GG21Ad04.html)
As an example, my father's workplace is on Zhongxiao according to street signs, However, his mailing address says Chung-Hsiao.
And to top off all my misery, it still is raining even today...A sad set of events for this kid from Sunny Southern California...
Peace Out!
Mitch