China

Our final tour with Thomas was of the port city of Keelung. The city still has much of the old Japanese-era architecture and offers a spectacular view of the sea (from a nearby summit you can sometimes see Okinawa in the distance).

We visited a beautiful Buddhist temple where we lit incense, rang the old temple bell, and gazed at the towering statues of Buddha and Guanyin, which overlooked all of Keelung Harbor.

From there we went to the rock formations lining the northern shore where we saw spectacular views and where I had a great conversation with Thomas about the recent flood of Chinese tourists.

History lesson: After 50 years of Japanese rule, Taiwan was handed over to the Chiang Kai-Shek government of the Republic of China in 1945. Focused on their civil war in China, the new regime did little to develop Taiwan, taxed and extorted the Taiwanese, and ruled with a brutality and militaristic and draconian style which rivaled the Japanese. In 1947, when a soldier attacked a Taiwanese woman selling cigarettes without a license, all tensions under the surface broke though and a riot erupted. Chiang Kai-Shek responded to the riot with terrifying violence and within weeks tens of thousands of Taiwanese were dead. Tens of thousands more would be killed, imprisoned, or tortured over the following few decades of the "White Terror". Until the 1980's, the Guomindang Party ruled with absolute power. From the East Coast of Taiwan I could see Green Island in the distance where Chiang Kai-Shek sent political prisoners (now the theme of a beautiful folk song).

Finally, after decades of reform, the People's Progressive Party rose to power in 2000, only to be ousted by the 2008 election after a corruption scandal. The new president, Ma Yingjiu, supported a policy of increasing economic interactions with mainland China, a loosening of the political and military divide across the strait, and policies which have made it possible for over 2000 mainland Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan every day.

Thomas was less than happy about the flood of Chinese tourists. "Maybe it helps some of the big tour groups that can arrange for such large tours but for most of us its a loss. There are economic gains but what might be lost?" He hinted that increased tourism from China and increasing economic relations with China might culminate in a loss of autonomy for the Taiwanese, Chinese dominance, and a loss of freedom for Taiwan. "Look at Tibet, you see how brutal China's government is. We like our life here, we don't want that." As we walked around the northern Chinese shore, Thomas pointed at Chinese tourists who had crossed signs saying "no trespassing" and were snapping photos. "These Chinese tourists break all our rules. They have no respect, no culture. They're used to so little freedom at home, so when they come here they act without restraint." Park rangers could be seen running around telling the Chinese tourists not to sit on the dangerous ledge, or not to stand on the fragile rock formations behind the "do not cross" signs.

Thomas did not see all of Ma Ying Jiu's policies as negative and felt it was good that he reduced the draft from 2 years to 1 and advocated releasing military tensions with China. Said Thomas, "China... we need them for their cheap labor and markets.... for survival."

The strongest anti-Chinese sentiments seemed to be in Tainan, where Koxinga had resisted the Manchu hordes centuries ago. Just like in Queens, I saw Falun Gong protesters handing out flyers, talking about the suppression of their religion, and attacking the mainland Chinese government.

While I understand these perspectives, I can't help feeling skeptical at notions of Taiwanese nationalism. Like any other nationalism, it emphasizes national identity and glazes over class differences within a country, and forces working class people to identify more with elites in their own country then working class people abroad. Does the piss poor Taiwanese aborigine living in a shack on a reservation have more in common with a Chinese peasant or with a prominent Taiwanese businessman. While the average working person in Taiwan has a better standard of living than most of China and much of America (certainly rather be clocking in at a bakery or as a janitor in Taipei then working and living in a Black ghetto in America), people in Taiwan face many of the same economic and social challenges as many people in China, for example unemployment among college graduates.

I also feel Taiwanese nationalism ignores the cultural ties between Taiwan and Fujian province, where the ancestors of the Taiwanese came from. "Taiwanese" is often reffered to as a language very distinct from "Chinese". While it is certainly not Beijing Mandarin, it is almost identical to a dialect spoken in parts of Fujian today and throughout Southeast Asia's Chinese community - Minan. Does it make sense to say Sino-Malaysian's native language is Taiwanese or millions of people in China speak Taiwanese as a native language? Just some ideas going through my head lately.

Pictures:

Marching soldiers at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial.

A smiling bronze Chiang Kai-Shek faces China.

A Falun Gong banner in Tainan reads "Only without the Communist Party will a New China emerge."

Unique formations on the North Coast (3 photos).

The docks of Keelung.

Guanyin and a guardian tiger at a temple in Keelung.

Guanyin and Milo Fo at a temple in Keelung.