I got a Typhoon Day in Taiwan

Living in Wisconsin for more than 20 years and having taught at UW-Green Bay for 6 years, I was always yearning for "snow-days" breaks at school and at work. I did not have too much luck though. Although Wisconsin states may close elementary schools or high schools, the state does not have authority to close the university.

I have been in Taiwan for only two months and there are already three Typhoons. The Typhoon on September 28, 29 was a super Typhoon (Typhoon Jangmi) with wind speed tops at 224 kilo-meters per hour (comparable to the speed of Taiwan's High Speed Rail Trains. The government finally closes all schools in Taichung City. I got a Typhoon Day in Taiwan.

Artifacts of Ping-Pu Tribe (平埔族): A Five-Rock Arrangement of the Flood Barrier

Over the Big-Plain Organic Farm (大草原有机農場) located at Wuai-Pu Village (外埔鄉) of the Taichung County (台中縣), one can see some flood-barriers made of rocks and straws along the edge of the rice fields. The rocks in the flood-barriers are arranged according to the so-called 5-rock arrangement (It means every rock in the barrier is surrounded by another 5 rocks in its perimeter) which has an amazing flood-stopping functionality.) The flood-barriers were the artifacts of the Ping-Pu tribe (平埔族) which is an agriculture-based aboriginal tribe. There were a lot of inter-racial marriage between a Ping-Pu woman and a Han-Jin 漢人 man . They could be the ancestors of the modern Taiwanese.

Photo shows such a flood barrier seen at Big-Plain Organic Farm (大草原有机農場).

Medicinal Plants grown at the Sun Moon Lake

The forests at the Sun-Moon Lake are treasures with many plants that have medicinal values. One of them is Kim-Kao-Mou (金狗毛). It belongs to fern category. Its roots are lumpy and hairy. The hairs on the root lumps can stop bleeding should those hairs be applied to the wound surface.

Photos show the plant Kin-Ko-Mau (金狗毛), and its hairy root lump hairs.

The Founder of The Taiwanese Red Tea Industry

Taiwanese Red Tea is renown in the world. Its export, mainly to Japan, brings huge cash to Taiwanese economy. The Red Tea is grown and processed around the neighborhood of the Sun-Moon Lake in the Nan-Tou County. The Red Tea industry started in the Japanese-Occupation era and was pioneered (grew researched, and produced) by Arai Kokichiro, a Japanese technician who also died on his job in his 40's.

Photos show memorials for Mr. Kokichiro for his contributions to Taiwanese Red Tea development.

Floating Islands along the Shores of the Sun Moon Lake

Along the shore of the Sun Moon Lake, one can see floating islands with water-borne plants growing on the islands. The purpose of the floating islands is to damp waves (caused by the boats) so that the damages of the waves to the shores are at minimal. The floating islands are made by tying together several buckets together and by covering those buckets with thin layers of soils on which water-borne plants such as ginger and taro plants.

Photos show some of the floating islands of the Sun Moon Lake.

The damage caused by Sinlaku Typhoon reveals fundamental infrastuctural problems in Taiwan

Taiwanese are slowly going back to the normal life after suffering severe damages caused by the Sinlaku Tyhoon which causes more than 500 mm of rain fall in most of the Taiwanese counties in Taiwan. The damages including breaking bridges in half, and collapsing tunnel to bury passengers trapped inside vehicles alive.

Three-quarter of Taiwanese lands are mountains or hills. Most of them are not suitable of building residences. During the Japanese occupation, there were strict building codes on the hills and mountains. When Nationalist Chinese took over Taiwan in 1945, those codes were relaxed because of the influx of additional 1.5 million Chinese refugees. This factor plus 65 years of mis-management, Taiwan has lost many forest to either farm or residence. Additionally, most of the grounds that can absorb rain falls to underground are covered with concrete. Each time, there is a rain fall, there are floods, and mud-slides.

The mis-management includes building bridges or tunnels not according to the codes. Some bridges should be repaired and close are still allowed to open. The tragedy is heart-wrenching.

Photos shows the newspaper report about the damages caused by the Sinlaku Typhoon in Taiwan.

Chinese Poison Powder-Milk Processed and Sold in Taiwan's Market

Taiwanese are panic. The powdered-milk manufactured by the San-Lu Company (三鹿公司) in China had been confirmed to cause death to one child and more than 400 children become ill in China; the milk had been tested and had been found to be contaminated with melamine (三棸氰胺) which is made from amino-cyanide or H2N-CN. Chinese authority knew about the contaminated milk powder to cause health problems in China as early as June of 2008. Chinese authority notified Taiwan on September 11, 2008. During this three months, about 60% of 25-tons of Chinese powdered milk has already been processed and sold and probably consumed by Taiwanese.

How did the melamine get into the milk powdered? Melamine is a cheap materials for the nitrogen sources in wood adhesives [melamine-formaldehyde], in flame-retardants [after reacting with acid]. I would imagine some Chinese food processor thought melamine might be a cheap amino acid sources for baby milk formula. What a brutal ignorance !!

Two additional issues regarding this incidence: 1) China knew the problem as early as June, 2008. Why China waits until now to notify Taiwan when so many Taiwanese had already consumed the contaminated product? 2) Why Taiwan authority did not detect the health problem when the product entered Taiwanese Port? How diligent Taiwanese officials are in testing the safety of the imported product?

Photos the chemical formula of melamine, and newspaper story about where did the contaminated milk powded product go?

What is so special at the Sun-Moon Lake?

On September 11, our friend at Pu-Li, Mr. and Mrs. Tsai took us to the Sun-Moon Lake for a tour. Coming from Wisconsin which has lakes everywhere, lake itself is not a special curiosity to me. Yet, after Mr. Tsai's guidance, I have learnt two things about which the Sun-Moon Lake is different from those of the Wisconsin lakes . Those two things are the tea shrubs and the betel nuts. Both tea and the betel nuts are important agricultural products of Taiwan.

Photos from the Top: the Sun-Moon Lake; the betel nut trees, and the tea trees.

Chiang Kai-Sheik's ghost is still looming over Taiwan

One thing I have noticed in Taiwan since I arrived in Taiwan last month is that you can see Chiang Kai-Sheik's statue in almost every school from elementary schools to universities.

Why this is a surprise to me?

Chiang Kai-Sheik was a notorious dictator whose brutality against Taiwanese was well documented. None of the dictators other than Chiang was eventually treated well. The Russians whipped Stalin's body. The Iraqis toppled down Saddam Hussein's statue. Yet, Chiang Kai-Sheik's statues still stand in every school's campus; they even stand in the national parks like the Sun-Moon Lake.

Why is that? I have to bite my tongue to admit that Chinese colonialism is taking deep roots in Taiwan's society. After 65 years of Chinese occupation, Taiwanese is brain-washed to regard Chiang Kai-Sheik as a hero. How sad it is.

Helicopter and Formose

There are two new Taiwanese words that I did not know it before I came to Taiwan. These two words are 'helicoptering' and 'Formose'

'Helicoptering' is a word describing a parent's behavior over their children. An 'protecting parent' can be called 'helicoptering' if their supervision interfere with their children's life. I believe I have heard this expression in the US. I believe that Taiwanese has borrowed this word from the American except the Taiwanese uses Mandarin character to express the meaning of 'helicoptering'. 直升机 父母.

"Formose' is a word describing a woman's behavior over her husband, lover, or boyfriend. An 'over-controlling' woman who 'directs' every details of her boyfriend, lover or husband's daily life is called a 'Formose-type' 佛亇磨斯-type woman. The word 'Formose' (Note, it is not 'Formosa') had puzzled me a long time until I had a chance to read over a very popular detective story written by a British writer, Mr. Doyle. The title of the book is 'The Investigation of the Pink'. The name of the detective character in the book is 'Formose'. After reading few chapters of the book, it is not surprising to understand the meaning of 'Formose'.

Taiwanese Wal-Mart: 7-11

Few weeks ago, I had reported that Buddhist's temples decorates Taiwanese city landscape just like churches in Tennessee decorates Tennessee's streets. Well, if you walk more on Taiwanese streets, you will also not to miss the 7-11 stores which usually strategically locates at street corners for Taiwanese to shop: anything from TV dinners to newspapers. In fact, the 7-11 stores are all well-managed; the stores are very clean. I believe the foods sold there are also relatively clean compared to other food shops.

Photo above showing the 7-11 stores near Taichung High School of Agricultural Technology.

Egg here, Egg there

If you are buying a 15NT sandwich, or a 60NT lunch box (便當), chances are very high that there are eggs in your food. Eggs are very cheap here. Why is that?

This is my theory, which may be true or may not be true. Although Taiwan is not in the 'epidemic' of 'bird-flue', Taiwan's neighbor, China is. Now, Taiwan has opened both arms to welcome Chinese tourists; Taiwan residents are afraid of Chinese tourists would carry 'bird-flue-virus' with them to enter Taiwan, like the case of SARS few years ago. Although the government authority has reassured the population that eggs and chickens are safe to eat, most Taiwanese stay away from food products related to bird food products. Farmers who produce chickens and eggs have to sell them very cheap to get rid of their products.

That is my explanation. What is yours?

In the classroom, Taiwan Information Technology Support is at least 10 years behind US

For a teacher like me who got sufficient IT support in the US universities gets really frustrated to teach in the universities of Taiwan. Of course, Taiwan has e-mail system; yet I have no way to e-mail to any colleague in the same university without exchanging the business cards to learn about the individual's e-mail address. The university does not support 'global address book'. No classrooms in the chemical engineering department has direct Internet support, Ethernet, or wireless. I have to make a special request; the department chair finally agreed to make an Ethernet connection in the classroom I will teach in next few weeks.

Photo above shows Ms. Ku (on the right) trying to set up an Internet connection for my notebook computer and was not successful. She called a student supposed to be a 'computer genus' to help (photo on the left). It was still not successful.