Preserved leaders...

I may be among a small group of people who can claim they have seen 4 major Communist leaders embalmed in their home countries: Mao Tse-Tung in Beijing; Lenin in Moscow; Ho Chi Minh in Saigon; and Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang.

They've all been kept for posterity and lie in imposing, guarded mausoleums. The most spectacular in terms of setting and build-up is Kim Il Sung's in Pyongyang..there is a long process before you are allowed in; a bit of queuing (though as a foreign visitor who are swept ahead of the locals patiently standing in line..); then you have to go through a machine that blows off any speck of dust from your shoes, coat or other clothes; hand in any bags and then, finally, your are admitted into the vast and darkened room.

"I've seen them all", I thought. But when I was travelling in the Philippines I discovered that former President Marcos (not a Communist) had also been embalmed...

As I was visiting the Spanish colonial town, Vigan, which wasn't far away, I decided to go to the town of Batac.

Here he lies..behind these doors (sorry, no pictures allowed inside)

the caretaker outside the room where the ex-President is laid out
I have to say it is a weird experience seeing former world leaders laid out in front of your eyes. They look like waxworks...and the small stature of many of the men surprised me.

Ex President Marcos is laid out in a heavily air conditioned room in Batac - his boyhood home. There was some melancholy music playing out too.

I had to find someone with a key to open the door - which shows how few people actually visited. But adjacent museum did seem to draw large groups..especially of schoolchildren.



His legacy is still controversial. Regarded as a dictator by some, he's revered by others. My trike driver said he thought he was a good man, and recalls his school getting new uniforms and food when the President visited.

Talking of controversial leaders, here is a picture of Chiang Kai-Shek, shown visiting another former Philippines President Elpidio Quirino in Baguio city, in 1949 to discuss the formation of a Far - Eastern anti-communist alliance (he had fled China to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists)

Holiday in the Philippines

Bacuit archipelago, northern Palawan

I had a great trip to the Philippines over Chinese New Year..taking advantage of a cheap flight, courtesy of Cebu Pacific..one of Asia's growing number of budget airlines (why doesn't Taiwan have one??? The local airlines are haemorrhaging money; seems to me that offering cheaper cheaper fares may be a way to lure more customers back)..

Near Paoay

It was a country that surprised me with its diverse geography and culture. I've travelled most of Asia..somehow, the Philippines was never high on my wish-list of places I wanted to go to. But I'm so glad I finally made it.

The people, in particular, were amazing. So open and friendly; such a great sense of humour; and an ability to laugh at themselves and life in general.
The incredible rice terraces, 2 thousand years old

Banaue's rice terraces

ampitheatre rice terraces at Batad village

My holiday was roughly divided into two parts: week one, trekking in Mountain Province, northern Luzon.

I flew to Manila, immediately taking a night bus to Banaue...I'd originally planned to go to Batad...but I met a group of great guys, all mountain bikers, who convinced me to travel with them to Sagada. A fiesta was underway...and I thought - why not? That's what travelling is all about; changing plans; being open to new experiences.

Hanging coffins, Echo Valley, Sagada

Anyhow, hi to the mountain bikers if they are reading this! You guys are inspiring. The group have different jobs and backgrounds and ages, but share a passion for mountain biking and seeing more of the Philippines beautiful environment. Every month or so, they get together for a long weekend and cycle somewhere. Believe me, the route from Banaue to Sagada was tough enough in a 4 wheel drive...but these guys were cycling the distance on what was pretty much an uphill dirt track road. Quite a feat.

My first week was quite exhausting - a lot of travelling; a lot of strenuous hiking to villages, waling across the rice terraces; seeing some amazing scenery. Exhilarating and liberating.

I especially loved the village of Batad with its ampitheatre views of the rice terraces. I stayed here a couple of nights.

Then back to Banaue and up to Vigan - where its Spanish colonial past is very much in evidence. Lovely old buildings, architecture; atmospheric heavy wooden furniture and elaborate doors...loved it.
The second week, I flew to Palawan and basically island hopped. I was based outside El Nido - i found a great basic thatch hut on the beach with my own view of the ocean. It was fabulous. I took some trips by boat to some of the many islands in the Bacuit archipelago - stark karst limestone cliffs (if you've been to Krabi, Thailand, or Halong Bay, Vietnam, its a little similar in atmosphere; but these all had white sand beaches around them and were good snorkelling spots too).

Some miscellaneous pictures of people and sights from my travels...

Subterranean river, Sabang

woman and child, Vigan

Woman, market Bontoc

happy Chinese New Year!

I've been absent from my blog over the Chinese New Year - took the chance to take a holiday in the Philippines, which was a fascinating place to visit and such friendly people! I will blog more about my travels when I've caught up with some of my workload. It was a short trip, but I had a great time in Northern Luzon (trekking and visiting the acclaimed rice terraces) and island hopping in Palawan.

So good to escape a chilly Taipei winter!

will he go or will he stay?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8Yp-xfdIew

Taiwan's information ministers rarely stay out of the headlines.

Shieh Jhy-wey is no exception.

He's one of the three "controversial" figures at the centre of a row over the DPP's defeat in the recent parliamentary elections.

First he said he would step down, now he is reportedly saying he will stay on.

I don't want to be political on this blog, but Minister Shieh has been one of the most entertaining and creative ministers we've had in that post (and there have been many in the time i've lived in Taiwan).

He may be accused of many things...but never dull.

Recycling the old

When I lived in London - and even when I travelled on holiday - one favourite pastime at weekends was to visit street markets - especially "flea markets", selling vintage clothing, furniture, objets d'art...and yes, junk. You never knew what gem you might discover...even if you didnt buy anything, it was endlessly fascinating; a real journey back in time...

Living in Taiwan (and South Korea before) those places rarely exist...People's attitudes to old or second hand goods are a little different..they prefer to buy brand new; or maybe there's also a religious/cultural rejection of having things that were owned by people who have passed away.

In South Korea, people's attitudes did start to change when a local non profit charity organisation started to open shops specialising in 2nd hand clothing and household goods..which were immaculately cleaned and repaired before they were displayed for sale . The first opened in a neighbourhood I was living in.

It was called the Beautiful Store. A few years back, they also started running a flea market. They were trying to introduce the culture of recycling.

[You can read more about the idea on this link...
http://www.beautifulstore.org/english/index.asp]

So I was intrigued to spot something that looked like a flea market in Taipei when I was on my way to do an interview last week.

After my work was finished, I walked back to try to find the place..its on the corner of Bade Lu and Jianguo...an aladdins cave of unwanted goods..from clothing, to old electrical stuff, kitchen gear and some furniture.

I found out it was run by the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation...

One volunteer let me take a peep upstairs ..which is normally only open for schoolgroups for educational purposes; lots of Japanese-era items and other old paraphernalia from old fashioned telephones and cameras to suitcases.

It was pretty cool. No, i didnt buy anything that morning, but plenty of people were making purchases...one woman told me she tries to come almost every day to find great stuff, which she would then try to sell via her internet site.

One person's waste could be another person's treasure ..and the money all goes to a worthy cause.

shortage of good men!

I'm going to monitor this blog to see how much impact a UDN story is going to have on the number of people who visit my site

I was interviewed about my views on Taiwan...but the headline picked up one comment I made about how there were many smart, financially independent women in Taiwan who were still single into their 30s, bemoaning the lack of good, available single men who had evolved as much as they had ie weren't looking for a wife who would be willing to give up career and freedoms to cook, clean and look after their kids.

According to one story I read on Taiwan's news agency, there are more than 8 million singles. And roughly 30% of women over the age of 16 are single. The island has one of the lowest birth rates in the world.

For men living in rural areas, one solution is to find women to marry from other , poorer Asian countries.



UPDATE:

Thanks so much to everyone who has posted their comments and taken the time to look at the blog; I appreciate them.

I think Taiwan is a "hidden gem" in Asia when it comes to tourism..and the longer I am here, the more fascinated I become by the island and its diverse people and cultures.

I hope to keep updating the blog reguarly. Keep checking in!

Final update:
Wow, what an incredible week...one of the people who left a comment talked about the power of UDN and I agree with him! I've had more than 1700 hits on this blog since the UDN article appeared... which is amazing. If only my blog was advertising some product, I would have probably made some money!! (thats a joke)

Seriously, I'm happy that so many people have checked out the blog.
I'm always looking for new ideas, stories to write about ..both for the blog and for my radio/tv reports...so feel free to let me know about anything you feel deserves wider attention .

Thanks so much!
caro

election fever ..or not

The election trucks are coming!!!

In the past few days, i've become used to the sound of fireworks and loudspeakers in my neighbourhood as election hopefuls speed by on jeeps soliciting support from voters.

Yes, its election time. But since 2001 Taiwan has had elections almost every year..and voter fatigue is setting in.

But these elections - to choose the make up of a new parliament - are a little different from the past. Thanks to electoral reforms, the number of seats is roughly halved...scaled down from 225 to just 113. The voting system has changed too. In the past, multiple candidates, some from the same party, vied for a number of seats in the same district. Now, only one candidate can be selected for each district. Previously, voters cast one vote; now they need to cast two - one for the candidate; a second for a preferred party.

The aim of the parliamentary reforms - which got strong support from the public embarrassed by their unruly legislature, where fist and food fights often erupted - was aimed at creating a cleaner and more efficient system, which would encourage more moderate, less corrupt or extremist legislators.

"You need to be much more hard working. .Its very competitive. because there is only 1 seat where you can get elected", said DPP candidate, Julian Kuo.

"In the past, we had 10 seats elected in a multiple seat district. I would say you got 8% of total voters and you got elected…sometimes you only pursue some fundamental factions or interest groups, and you got elected. But [now] you cannot do that. you need to have 51% . You need to pursue every group, even those who are not interested in politics.

DPP candidate Julian Kuo (on the right, wearing the number 5 badge) hoping for a 3rd term in office

In many parts of the island, its been a heated, ill humoured and bitterly fought campaign. Candidates are fighting for their political survival.

High ranking officials from the two major parties have campaigned with their party's legislative candidates, using very different tactics.

The DPP has focused on national identity and Taiwan's ability to withstand pressure from Beijing. They say if the KMT wins big, there's a danger the island will be "sold out" to China.

Its also pushed for a referendum, also to be held on Saturday, asking the public to support legislation to force the KMT to return state assets it says were illegally amassed while the party was in power for more than five decades.

For its part, the KMT has called for a boycott of the referendum - despite tabling its own, targeting alleged corruption by the government. The party has focused on the poll as a chance for voters to evaluate the poor performance of the Chen administration - focusing on the sluggish economy with the island trailing behind the other Asian "tiger economies".

But for candidates campaigning on the streets, its all about very local - rather than national policy issues.

"People care about the economy ..and also education" , said KMT hopeful, Diane Lee..aiming for a fourth legislative term.

"If you are not satisfied with life for the past eight years..you have to come out for the future of the country. The KMT will have a big win", she predicted, "because the DPP did so bad".

. Kmt candidate Diane Lee

But while this election campaign has been heated and bitter at times, many members of the public say they’ve no interest in voting. In the last parliamentary elections, the turnout rate was just above 59%; this time round, it could dip to below 50%.

"The competition (for the elections) is very fierce…but the climate is very cold", said Lo Chi-Cheng, professor of political science at Soochow University. "I think we are going to have a historically low turn out."

My unscientific straw-polling of passers-by on a busy intersection in Taipei appeared to confirm that view - with more than three quarters saying they wouldn't vote. "Its boring. I don't care about the elections.. its too complex for me. I think the politicians are all trash. I don't trust them", said 25 year old Lee Shun-Ho, who also admitted he had never voted in any election.

"They still control the political power and brainwash us…" said Diamond Si Singlim, cycling past a KMT election van. But he had equally disparaging words for the DPP . "I wont go and vote", he said.

"The majority of Taiwan are sick of being played by these politicians. they are real opportunists. " "I'm not interested and judging the two main parties I'm not satisfied with either" said Veronica Wang.

"Taiwan can stand on the international stage because our economic power is very strong, but if we don't go continue to move ahead, we have nothing. We always focus on this politics issue, but economics, it's the most important thing… without it we don't have anything."

Apathy and voter discontent are high. A low turn out rate could also frustrate the efforts of election analysts gazing into their crystal balls trying to accurately gauge just how much impact the result will have on the crucial presidential race in ten weeks time.