Beigang, Taiwan. Mazu's birthday celebration....I ALSO miss Taiwan.
Showing posts with label Taiwan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taiwan. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
What year is it anyway? Hint: not 2009.
On my journey thus far, I have been to two countries for which the year is not, in fact, 2009.
In Ethiopia, I just missed the Y2k party, and am actually still chilling out in 2001.
Over in Taiwan, I'm actually getting ready to celebrate the year 100, since it's year 98.
I never figured out why it's still 2001 in Ethiopia, figuring the Ethiopian calendar had something to do with the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian church. Besides, the fact that I was still in 2001 in Ethiopia was just one of many eccentricities in Ethiopia; the clock begins at 6 am (sunrise) which is 0:00. Noon is thus 6 o'clock, 6 pm (sunset) is 12 o'clock. Things run differently in Ethiopia. Accept it.
A side note, since we are talking about numbers in Ethiopia. I learned the ever-useful phrase, "How much is this?" in Amharic, but neglected to study my numbers carefully. I learned 1-7 (and this is the only thing I can repeat on command). Intriguingly, the number of 7 is sabbat, i.e., the sabbath. Cool.
Well, Taiwan is currently in year 98. More specifically, it's the Republican year of 98, denoting the fact that the Republic of China was founded in 1911, the year the Qing dynasty fell. There's kind of an interesting story here about Taiwan, which is officially the "Republic of China" after Chiang Kai-shek fled the mainland in 1949.
For a country to even consider using a different calendar, other than the standard Gregorian calendar, is, I think, a sign of nationalism. I kind of enjoy it, getting little receipts that are dated with the year 98, or the giant electronic clock in Taiwan's post office that says "Republican Year 98." Or the giant millenium celebration billboard in Addis Ababa that was put up just last year. It's kind of endearing.
In Ethiopia, I just missed the Y2k party, and am actually still chilling out in 2001.
Over in Taiwan, I'm actually getting ready to celebrate the year 100, since it's year 98.
I never figured out why it's still 2001 in Ethiopia, figuring the Ethiopian calendar had something to do with the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian church. Besides, the fact that I was still in 2001 in Ethiopia was just one of many eccentricities in Ethiopia; the clock begins at 6 am (sunrise) which is 0:00. Noon is thus 6 o'clock, 6 pm (sunset) is 12 o'clock. Things run differently in Ethiopia. Accept it.
A side note, since we are talking about numbers in Ethiopia. I learned the ever-useful phrase, "How much is this?" in Amharic, but neglected to study my numbers carefully. I learned 1-7 (and this is the only thing I can repeat on command). Intriguingly, the number of 7 is sabbat, i.e., the sabbath. Cool.
Well, Taiwan is currently in year 98. More specifically, it's the Republican year of 98, denoting the fact that the Republic of China was founded in 1911, the year the Qing dynasty fell. There's kind of an interesting story here about Taiwan, which is officially the "Republic of China" after Chiang Kai-shek fled the mainland in 1949.
For a country to even consider using a different calendar, other than the standard Gregorian calendar, is, I think, a sign of nationalism. I kind of enjoy it, getting little receipts that are dated with the year 98, or the giant electronic clock in Taiwan's post office that says "Republican Year 98." Or the giant millenium celebration billboard in Addis Ababa that was put up just last year. It's kind of endearing.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Latin music in Taiwan
Latin music is surprisingly big here in Taiwan. Maybe people don't know who so-and-so singers are, or can't differentiate salsa from samba, but seriously, I've heard it all. Granted, often it's at Western establishments, but also at little street stall restaurants, somewhat fancier Taiwanese restaurants, at a hookah bar, on buses, at bus stations.
But seriously. I've heard it all. From capoeira music (no joke) to "La Bamba" in the elevator, to the meringue playlist of my gap year in Nicaragua. The Girl From Ipanema seems to like the smoggy streets of Taiwan just as much as the beaches of Ipanema. I don't know why. Maybe she just wants to make Taiwan a bit brighter, and the people a bit happier.
But seriously. I've heard it all. From capoeira music (no joke) to "La Bamba" in the elevator, to the meringue playlist of my gap year in Nicaragua. The Girl From Ipanema seems to like the smoggy streets of Taiwan just as much as the beaches of Ipanema. I don't know why. Maybe she just wants to make Taiwan a bit brighter, and the people a bit happier.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Mazu's birthday
Mazu is a Daoist deity that is highly revered among Chinese immigrants, largely because she is considered a protector of fisherfolk and other seafarers. Apparently, she was the daughter of some official in Fujian province in the 10th century A.D. I think she's a big deal in coastal provinces like Fujian and Guangdong, as well as Southeast Asian countries with substantial Chinese populations, such as Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia.Anyways, Mazu's birthday is something like the 23rd day of the 3rd month (using the lunar calendar), which happened to fall on April 18 this year.
Mazu is a huge deal here in Taiwan, they have all sorts of festivals where villages bring their Mazu image to commune with the mother image, which is usually at some big temple. These photos are from Chaotian temple, one of the oldest and most important temples in Taiwan in the town of Beigang.
They had these huge floats with kids dressed up as Chinese gods throwing candies at adults. It was like Halloween, in reverse.
I've been telling people that the entire festival was very pyrotechnic and bloody. Yes, bloody (I'll get to pyrotechnic later). Some was fake blood, like in the two images below, where this handicapped guy would put these young guys into a (fake) trance.
This guy, pictured below, was actually using a sharp metal spiky thing and pounding it on his head and back. In other words, real blood. And I'm pretty sure he went into a real trance, if there is such a thing.
Tattoos are big here.Now we get to the pyrotechnic part. Firecrackers, lots of them. If you go to a Chinese street celebration, definitely bring earplugs. This bit almost seemed a bit masochistic: a guy would run around in circles in a costume as about 5 to 10 other guys would literally throw firecrackers at him. When the smoke had cleared, most of the costume was burnt.
The music was pretty cool, very loud trumpet-like horns that actually sounded a bit like bagpipes. I've got a sound recording somewhere.
Annalisa says, "Taiwan never ceases to amaze me." Exhibit 7c: One village decides to bring their Mazu image decked out in disco lights, dancing, and playing disco music.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Three months left
On April 1 I left New Zealand (did I say I went to New Zealand? I went to New Zealand for a brief and glorious two and a half weeks.) for Taiwan. April 1 marks the nine month mark of my fellowship, and also means I have three months remaining. It also means I have to send a "quarterly progress report" as required by the fellowship, which is a sort of informal report on how I'm doing, one of the few concrete requirements of the fellowship.
After writing my report, I began to realize why I was having some difficulty with photography when I got to Australia. I spent most of my time in Sydney, which has a huge Asian community. Up until Australia, I spent most of my time in cities with a proportionally smaller Chinese community; although the Australian census doesn't collect statistics on ethnicity, Sydney has a huge Chinese population, and Mandarin and Cantonese are together the most widely spoken second language. Now that I am in Asia, I will continue going to countries with even higher proportions of ethnic Chinese people (Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam are obvious examples) -- countries where the influence of the Chinese is even stronger. And the Chinese food will be better.
The way I'd approached photographing "the Chinese diaspora" up until Australia had largely been to focus on the Chinese immigrant experience, which meant documenting a minority ethnic group in a very different cultural environment. Now, however, I can't really do that. Simply put, the Chinese are everywhere!!
In other news, I've been taking some photos of beautiful light.
Sunrise on an alpine meadow in the Dart Valley, New Zealand
Rainforest in Australia
In Sydney's Chinatown:
Some pretty spectacular light in Chinatown: simultaneous heavy rain and sunshine (didn't see any rainbows, though). That's Sydney's monorail in the second photo.
And just some pretty things:
Some beach area on Australia's east coast
Cascade Saddle, New Zealand.
Kea, the notorious alpine bird in New Zealand. Because of visitors feeding the kea, they are quite curious and can get aggressive and will start picking at anything of human origin. Like the camera. weeeth theeer POINTY beeeeeks.
After writing my report, I began to realize why I was having some difficulty with photography when I got to Australia. I spent most of my time in Sydney, which has a huge Asian community. Up until Australia, I spent most of my time in cities with a proportionally smaller Chinese community; although the Australian census doesn't collect statistics on ethnicity, Sydney has a huge Chinese population, and Mandarin and Cantonese are together the most widely spoken second language. Now that I am in Asia, I will continue going to countries with even higher proportions of ethnic Chinese people (Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam are obvious examples) -- countries where the influence of the Chinese is even stronger. And the Chinese food will be better.
The way I'd approached photographing "the Chinese diaspora" up until Australia had largely been to focus on the Chinese immigrant experience, which meant documenting a minority ethnic group in a very different cultural environment. Now, however, I can't really do that. Simply put, the Chinese are everywhere!!
In other news, I've been taking some photos of beautiful light.
Sunrise on an alpine meadow in the Dart Valley, New Zealand
Rainforest in AustraliaIn Sydney's Chinatown:
Some pretty spectacular light in Chinatown: simultaneous heavy rain and sunshine (didn't see any rainbows, though). That's Sydney's monorail in the second photo.
And just some pretty things:
Some beach area on Australia's east coast
Cascade Saddle, New Zealand.
Kea, the notorious alpine bird in New Zealand. Because of visitors feeding the kea, they are quite curious and can get aggressive and will start picking at anything of human origin. Like the camera. weeeth theeer POINTY beeeeeks.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Living in a Buddhist Temple, Sao Paulo
As you may know, I lived in a Buddhist temple for nearly three weeks upon my arrival in Sao Paulo. The temple, 中观寺 (Zhong Guan Si), celebrated its fifteenth anniversary during my stay there. It was opened by a monk from Taiwan; now, it is run by four nuns. Three are from Taiwan, and one is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The temple is located in an upper middle class district of Sao Paulo, Vila Mariana. Almost all of the people that go to the temple are Taiwanese -- the first large Chinese group to settle in Sao Paulo during the 1960s and 1970s.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
In the throat of the devil
"Galeria Page" is a shopping mall anonymously tucked inside one of many busy streets in the commercial center of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Although Galeria Page is busy with commercial activity all day, it is a hidden cove obscured by a barrage of signs advertising Adidas footwear, electronics, fishing gear, and batteries. All told, Galeria Page appears to be one of many shopping centers in Ciudad del Este, with little to offer.
But Galeria Page is special. The owner of Galeria Page is a member of the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, who apparently uses the Galeria as a front for all kinds of illicit activities -- such as money laundering, trafficking, and organizing of terrorist activities.
I knew that Hezbollah (and the Chinese mafia) had found Ciudad del Este to be a friendly place for their evil operations, but all the Chinese I talked to said the mafia had come and gone with the fortunes of this frontier town. That is to say, since business started souring about five years ago, the mafia has seemed to have left the area. But I had no idea where Hezbollah was -- nor did I particularly have any good way of asking. Despite living in the Lebanese part of town (Two shawarma and hookah cafes, "Edificio Lebanon" a block from me, as well streets "Mohammad Hussein Taiyen" and "Rahal Canan"), the last thing I was going to do was ask my neighbors if and where Hezbollah was in Ciudad del Este.
Anyways, I started talking with two Brasilians who worked in the area, and they brought up Galeria Page as the center for Hezbollah activity. Of course, I had to pay a visit -- it wouldn't exactly be guarded by terrorists armed with AK-47s (although a guard or two with shotguns is standard in CDE) -- as I learned in Ciudad del Este, organized violence is bad for business, and worse yet, draws official attention to the city. Better to keep things discreet and under the table.
I tried to locate the Galeria Page a few times, but even after asking around for it, I was unable to find it. It was simply far too anonymous for me to find by myself; few people could recall what street it was on, and if they did, there were far too many signs to be able to distinguish it.
Finally, I found out that Mr. Huang, a major figure in the Taiwanese community in Ciudad del Este, happens to own a business very near Galeria Page. I asked him what he thought about his neighbors, simply saying that there were suspicions they were involved in "bad activities." He simply said, "I don't know, I don't want to know. I've been here for over twenty years, and I've done perfectly fine here."
Perfectly fine indeed. I visited his house, located in a private neighborhood called the "Parana Country Club," where Ciudad del Este's wealthy own sprawling mansions within a guarded, gated community. I'm hesitant to post photos here, but Mr. Huang's place (not exactly a house, nor a mansion, but a giant building) was so big, that at first I couldn't believe it was actually a house. Perhaps even more ostentatious was the house he built for when his "mother or guests come visit," as big as the mansions in Concord, Massachusetts. I think there must be some sort of contest going in the Parana Country Club, because even though the house was enormous, most of it seemed empty and unfurnished. But like most things Chinese, it is perhaps all about "saving face," or perhaps showing it off, of putting on a beautiful facade and showing off your success, especially in a commercial city like Ciudad del Este.
But now I'm getting off topic. I believe my only interaction with my Hezbollah hosts was when I asked permission to photograph their hookahs (permission denied), but being the intrepid photographer that I am, I took a photo, no, TWO photos anyway! Eventually the angry/suspicious stares won over, however.
In other news, "The Devil's Throat" (Garganta del diablo) is the most stunning area of Iguazu Falls, the part that lies on the Brazilian/Argentine border. Funny how accurate it seems to describe some of the illicit activity around here. Here are some photos of the Devil's Throat, which are not stolen from Google images, taken with my very own camera, straight from inside the throat of the devil.
Brasilian webpage with a list of accused Hezbollah members in the Tri-border area.
BBC page (unfortunately, in Portuguese... can't seem to search in English here in Brazil!) on the same topic.
But Galeria Page is special. The owner of Galeria Page is a member of the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, who apparently uses the Galeria as a front for all kinds of illicit activities -- such as money laundering, trafficking, and organizing of terrorist activities.
I knew that Hezbollah (and the Chinese mafia) had found Ciudad del Este to be a friendly place for their evil operations, but all the Chinese I talked to said the mafia had come and gone with the fortunes of this frontier town. That is to say, since business started souring about five years ago, the mafia has seemed to have left the area. But I had no idea where Hezbollah was -- nor did I particularly have any good way of asking. Despite living in the Lebanese part of town (Two shawarma and hookah cafes, "Edificio Lebanon" a block from me, as well streets "Mohammad Hussein Taiyen" and "Rahal Canan"), the last thing I was going to do was ask my neighbors if and where Hezbollah was in Ciudad del Este.
Anyways, I started talking with two Brasilians who worked in the area, and they brought up Galeria Page as the center for Hezbollah activity. Of course, I had to pay a visit -- it wouldn't exactly be guarded by terrorists armed with AK-47s (although a guard or two with shotguns is standard in CDE) -- as I learned in Ciudad del Este, organized violence is bad for business, and worse yet, draws official attention to the city. Better to keep things discreet and under the table.
I tried to locate the Galeria Page a few times, but even after asking around for it, I was unable to find it. It was simply far too anonymous for me to find by myself; few people could recall what street it was on, and if they did, there were far too many signs to be able to distinguish it.
Finally, I found out that Mr. Huang, a major figure in the Taiwanese community in Ciudad del Este, happens to own a business very near Galeria Page. I asked him what he thought about his neighbors, simply saying that there were suspicions they were involved in "bad activities." He simply said, "I don't know, I don't want to know. I've been here for over twenty years, and I've done perfectly fine here."
Perfectly fine indeed. I visited his house, located in a private neighborhood called the "Parana Country Club," where Ciudad del Este's wealthy own sprawling mansions within a guarded, gated community. I'm hesitant to post photos here, but Mr. Huang's place (not exactly a house, nor a mansion, but a giant building) was so big, that at first I couldn't believe it was actually a house. Perhaps even more ostentatious was the house he built for when his "mother or guests come visit," as big as the mansions in Concord, Massachusetts. I think there must be some sort of contest going in the Parana Country Club, because even though the house was enormous, most of it seemed empty and unfurnished. But like most things Chinese, it is perhaps all about "saving face," or perhaps showing it off, of putting on a beautiful facade and showing off your success, especially in a commercial city like Ciudad del Este.
But now I'm getting off topic. I believe my only interaction with my Hezbollah hosts was when I asked permission to photograph their hookahs (permission denied), but being the intrepid photographer that I am, I took a photo, no, TWO photos anyway! Eventually the angry/suspicious stares won over, however.
In other news, "The Devil's Throat" (Garganta del diablo) is the most stunning area of Iguazu Falls, the part that lies on the Brazilian/Argentine border. Funny how accurate it seems to describe some of the illicit activity around here. Here are some photos of the Devil's Throat, which are not stolen from Google images, taken with my very own camera, straight from inside the throat of the devil.
Brasilian webpage with a list of accused Hezbollah members in the Tri-border area.
BBC page (unfortunately, in Portuguese... can't seem to search in English here in Brazil!) on the same topic.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
General update
Hi readers,
Sorry I have gone AWOL over the past week. I'm still in Ciudad del Este, wrapping up this stage of my project; it's now been a month since I came here.
Although Ciudad del Este is not a particularly pleasant city, I have had a wonderful time here. I met many incredibly kind people, who have helped me understand this place and invited me into their lives.
I spend most of my time trying to document daily life, banal as it may be. In order to make things more interesting and to focus the scope (avoiding the "lens" pun, or not) of my project, I've dabbled in various themes of documentary, which I won't get into now. Nevertheless, the major event I did cover this past week was the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China (ROC) which was celebrated here with a big banquet dinner, dance performances, and in typical Chinese fashion, karaoke.
Fang sheng
I also attempted to cover the Buddhist practice of Fang sheng, or "releasing life," in which one buys condemned animals and sets them free. They usually aren't big animals -- nobody (to my knowledge) goes out and buys a cow and set it free on some pasture -- instead, they are usually birds or fish.
Alas, the releasing of animals was cancelled due to inclement of weather: torrential rainstorms all day on Saturday. Hopefully I will be able to witness it before I leave Ciudad del Este. Maybe the fish will end up condemned down Iguacu falls or the Itaipu dam -- the world's largest hydroelectric dam before the Chinese outdid them with the Three Gorges Dam.I suppose I'm being pessimist.
New Zealand out, Southeast Asia in
In other news, I've been thinking over the past couple weeks of making some slight changes to my original itinerary. I was planning on going to New Zealand in April, but have now decided that my project time would be better spent with more time in Southeast Asia. Malaysia is the last designated stop on my itinerary, but I will likely add Thailand, Vietnam, and/or Indonesia. Of course, I probably cannot cross of New Zealand and add all those countries, so I'll have to pick and choose. It's all up in the air -- I need to think about this more and do more research before proposing such a major change.
Sorry I have gone AWOL over the past week. I'm still in Ciudad del Este, wrapping up this stage of my project; it's now been a month since I came here.
Although Ciudad del Este is not a particularly pleasant city, I have had a wonderful time here. I met many incredibly kind people, who have helped me understand this place and invited me into their lives.
I spend most of my time trying to document daily life, banal as it may be. In order to make things more interesting and to focus the scope (avoiding the "lens" pun, or not) of my project, I've dabbled in various themes of documentary, which I won't get into now. Nevertheless, the major event I did cover this past week was the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China (ROC) which was celebrated here with a big banquet dinner, dance performances, and in typical Chinese fashion, karaoke.
Fang sheng
I also attempted to cover the Buddhist practice of Fang sheng, or "releasing life," in which one buys condemned animals and sets them free. They usually aren't big animals -- nobody (to my knowledge) goes out and buys a cow and set it free on some pasture -- instead, they are usually birds or fish.
Alas, the releasing of animals was cancelled due to inclement of weather: torrential rainstorms all day on Saturday. Hopefully I will be able to witness it before I leave Ciudad del Este. Maybe the fish will end up condemned down Iguacu falls or the Itaipu dam -- the world's largest hydroelectric dam before the Chinese outdid them with the Three Gorges Dam.I suppose I'm being pessimist.
New Zealand out, Southeast Asia in
In other news, I've been thinking over the past couple weeks of making some slight changes to my original itinerary. I was planning on going to New Zealand in April, but have now decided that my project time would be better spent with more time in Southeast Asia. Malaysia is the last designated stop on my itinerary, but I will likely add Thailand, Vietnam, and/or Indonesia. Of course, I probably cannot cross of New Zealand and add all those countries, so I'll have to pick and choose. It's all up in the air -- I need to think about this more and do more research before proposing such a major change.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
(No) photos from Paraguay (yet)
I apologize for not posting any photos from Paraguay yet. The main reason I haven't is that my internet connection is very slow here, and I can't resize my photos to make them smaller in my new camera, like I could with my old camera. That makes posting photos online very difficult. If I can figure out a way to resize them -- or get a decent internet connection -- I will.
The project is coming along quite well here, I think. I've been able to follow several individuals and a family. Here are some sketches:
Mr. Yu is the owner of Dou Jiang Dian, or Soy Milk restaurant, which advertises vegetarian food and Paraguayan food. Mr. Yu came to Paraguay twenty-six years ago, spurred on by a failed business venture in Taiwan. He apparently tried to open up a business here in Paraguay, but that failed, and for the past ten years, has run Soy Milk Restaurant. The restaurant appears quite successful.
Soy Milk Restaurant is special and therefore successful, I think, for two reasons. Firstly it is the only Chinese restaurant that specializes in breakfast food and vegetarian food. I'd contend the former is more vital for business than the latter; although there are vegetarians here, there aren't many, while everyone needs a good breakfast, especially when you have to wake up at 4 or 5 am. Soy milk restaurant has tons of Chinese breakfast pastries, congee (rice porridge, delicious), oil sticks (also delicious...), and pretty much every other traditional Chinese breakfast food. The Chinese business community here loves it.
Secondly, Soy Milk Restaurant sells Paraguayan food as well. I'd argue that the restaurant is beginning a process of gastronomic syncretism (thanks to my liberal arts degree from Wesleyan, I am allowed to make up obnoxiously complicated phrases for simple concepts), that is, it is beginning to mix Chinese and Paraguayan food. Along Avenida Avay, there are five or seven (depending on how you count a restaurant...) Chinese restaurants, and as far as I can tell, the only one that regularly attracts non-Chinese customers is Soy Milk Restaurant. They sell Paraguay soups and mains, with a little Chinese ingredients and flavors added in.
I think this may be the first step toward a greater melding of cuisines that you'd see in Peruvian-Chinese chifa cuisine or American Chinese cuisine, such as chop suey.
Mr. Yu wakes up every day at 2:30 am to begin preparing breakfast by 3:00 am. I had the sleep-deprived pleasure of accompanying him last week at 3:00 am. For some reason I doubted he'd be punctual for our date, but then I realized that this was his job, whether some American was there to photograph him or not. He prepares the soy milk, the porridge, everything, until his workers start coming at around 4:30 am.
People start calling and placing orders as early as 5 am, and business is open by 5:30. Mr. Yu's wife comes in around 6, and Mr. Yu then retires home.
Hopefully, I'll be able to post some photos of Mr Yu, and continue the sketch, since there's more!
The project is coming along quite well here, I think. I've been able to follow several individuals and a family. Here are some sketches:
Mr. Yu is the owner of Dou Jiang Dian, or Soy Milk restaurant, which advertises vegetarian food and Paraguayan food. Mr. Yu came to Paraguay twenty-six years ago, spurred on by a failed business venture in Taiwan. He apparently tried to open up a business here in Paraguay, but that failed, and for the past ten years, has run Soy Milk Restaurant. The restaurant appears quite successful.
Soy Milk Restaurant is special and therefore successful, I think, for two reasons. Firstly it is the only Chinese restaurant that specializes in breakfast food and vegetarian food. I'd contend the former is more vital for business than the latter; although there are vegetarians here, there aren't many, while everyone needs a good breakfast, especially when you have to wake up at 4 or 5 am. Soy milk restaurant has tons of Chinese breakfast pastries, congee (rice porridge, delicious), oil sticks (also delicious...), and pretty much every other traditional Chinese breakfast food. The Chinese business community here loves it.
Secondly, Soy Milk Restaurant sells Paraguayan food as well. I'd argue that the restaurant is beginning a process of gastronomic syncretism (thanks to my liberal arts degree from Wesleyan, I am allowed to make up obnoxiously complicated phrases for simple concepts), that is, it is beginning to mix Chinese and Paraguayan food. Along Avenida Avay, there are five or seven (depending on how you count a restaurant...) Chinese restaurants, and as far as I can tell, the only one that regularly attracts non-Chinese customers is Soy Milk Restaurant. They sell Paraguay soups and mains, with a little Chinese ingredients and flavors added in.
I think this may be the first step toward a greater melding of cuisines that you'd see in Peruvian-Chinese chifa cuisine or American Chinese cuisine, such as chop suey.
Mr. Yu wakes up every day at 2:30 am to begin preparing breakfast by 3:00 am. I had the sleep-deprived pleasure of accompanying him last week at 3:00 am. For some reason I doubted he'd be punctual for our date, but then I realized that this was his job, whether some American was there to photograph him or not. He prepares the soy milk, the porridge, everything, until his workers start coming at around 4:30 am.
People start calling and placing orders as early as 5 am, and business is open by 5:30. Mr. Yu's wife comes in around 6, and Mr. Yu then retires home.
Hopefully, I'll be able to post some photos of Mr Yu, and continue the sketch, since there's more!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
A few points about the Paraguayan Taiwanese
Earlier I wrote that most of the Taiwanese immigrants here came in the 1949 immigration, but that seems to be less true than I originally thought. In fact, many of the people I've talked to have said that their family has been in Taiwan for hundreds of years, part of an earlier Han-Chinese migration to the island.
One family said that many of the first Taiwanese immigrants in the 1970s left Taiwan not only because of poor economic conditions, but also because of political reasons as well. It may seem hard to believe now, but the "East Asian tigers" (Taiwan, S. Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong) were very poor countries even in the late 1960s. I can't remember the exact ranking, but I remember in my East Asian and Latin American Development class the GDP ranking of Taiwan and South Korea was in the ballpark of countries like Congo and Sudan, which they have obviously surpassed. Suffice it to say, only thirty or forty years ago, these were poor countries.
Furthermore, only in the past thirty-something years has Taiwan (as well as a slew of other developing countries, such as S. Korea, Brazil, South Africa... and notably NOT mainland China) moved towards a functioning democracy. Apparently the Kuomintang, (KMT) the ruling party in Taiwan after 1949, suppressed any kind of opposing political activity for its first few decades in Taiwan. As a result, many immigrants came to South America. That same family that came to Paraguay for political reasons told me that the father went panning for gold in the Brazilian Amazon during the late 1970s and early 1980s, getting malaria a remarkable eighteen times!
One final remark about Paraguayan-Taiwanese relations: they exist (diplomatically, that is). Taiwan, or more correctly, the "Republic of China," is only recognized by 23 countries, mostly countries you haven't heard of. Surprisingly, most are in the Americas, mostly Central American countries (Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras...), and little Caribbean islands. Paraguay is the only country in South America that recognizes Taiwan.
Why so few? Well, the People's Republic of China, aka mainland Communist China, makes cutting relations with Taiwan a prerequisite for diplomatic relations. Most countries, such as the US and all of Europe (sans the Vatican City, which still recognizes Taiwan), have jumped ship and joined the PRC sometime in the 1970s or 1980s... Taiwan also lost its seat in the UN then.
So why recognize Taiwan? For small, poor countries -- which describes every country (excepting the economic powerhouse, Vatican City) with diplomatic relations with Taiwan -- Taiwan can offer lots of aid and economic opportunity. While the PRC is obviously an economic powerhouse, Taiwan is perhaps more willing to engage in "aid-diplomacy," exchanging lots of cash and economic aid in exchange for diplomatic recognition. Hospitals are built. Public facilities constructed. Money injected into the economy. Let us not forget, either, that Taiwan is not excluded from the World Trade Organization: whereas the UN can function politically without Taiwan's participation, the world economy is far more dependent on Taiwan's participation. If anything is going to keep the current status quo and keep Taiwan afloat, it's Taiwan's economy.
Okee, one final anecdote. So the Lonely Planet guidebook alleges Paraguay is the most bribe-hungry country outside of Africa. I haven't seen much police around here, and saw my first police car earlier this week -- which had decals all over it reading "donated by the Republic of China."
One family said that many of the first Taiwanese immigrants in the 1970s left Taiwan not only because of poor economic conditions, but also because of political reasons as well. It may seem hard to believe now, but the "East Asian tigers" (Taiwan, S. Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong) were very poor countries even in the late 1960s. I can't remember the exact ranking, but I remember in my East Asian and Latin American Development class the GDP ranking of Taiwan and South Korea was in the ballpark of countries like Congo and Sudan, which they have obviously surpassed. Suffice it to say, only thirty or forty years ago, these were poor countries.
Furthermore, only in the past thirty-something years has Taiwan (as well as a slew of other developing countries, such as S. Korea, Brazil, South Africa... and notably NOT mainland China) moved towards a functioning democracy. Apparently the Kuomintang, (KMT) the ruling party in Taiwan after 1949, suppressed any kind of opposing political activity for its first few decades in Taiwan. As a result, many immigrants came to South America. That same family that came to Paraguay for political reasons told me that the father went panning for gold in the Brazilian Amazon during the late 1970s and early 1980s, getting malaria a remarkable eighteen times!
One final remark about Paraguayan-Taiwanese relations: they exist (diplomatically, that is). Taiwan, or more correctly, the "Republic of China," is only recognized by 23 countries, mostly countries you haven't heard of. Surprisingly, most are in the Americas, mostly Central American countries (Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras...), and little Caribbean islands. Paraguay is the only country in South America that recognizes Taiwan.
Why so few? Well, the People's Republic of China, aka mainland Communist China, makes cutting relations with Taiwan a prerequisite for diplomatic relations. Most countries, such as the US and all of Europe (sans the Vatican City, which still recognizes Taiwan), have jumped ship and joined the PRC sometime in the 1970s or 1980s... Taiwan also lost its seat in the UN then.
So why recognize Taiwan? For small, poor countries -- which describes every country (excepting the economic powerhouse, Vatican City) with diplomatic relations with Taiwan -- Taiwan can offer lots of aid and economic opportunity. While the PRC is obviously an economic powerhouse, Taiwan is perhaps more willing to engage in "aid-diplomacy," exchanging lots of cash and economic aid in exchange for diplomatic recognition. Hospitals are built. Public facilities constructed. Money injected into the economy. Let us not forget, either, that Taiwan is not excluded from the World Trade Organization: whereas the UN can function politically without Taiwan's participation, the world economy is far more dependent on Taiwan's participation. If anything is going to keep the current status quo and keep Taiwan afloat, it's Taiwan's economy.
Okee, one final anecdote. So the Lonely Planet guidebook alleges Paraguay is the most bribe-hungry country outside of Africa. I haven't seen much police around here, and saw my first police car earlier this week -- which had decals all over it reading "donated by the Republic of China."
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