SHARED THOUGHTS........22-06-13.
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Musings from Kaohsiung (Taiwan – The Republic of China ROC ).
Office work brought me to this beautiful city, on the south of this small island nation, of 23 milion, living constantly in the shadow of big brother - the mainland China. For me, “Made in Taiwan” is a familiar label looked upon with a casual “aaaahhhh” … that I’ve known from childhood.
This short visit to Taiwan has changed all that. Proves yet again, our impression can be so biased that only a personal visit and a proper understanding can change our perspective to know where we (India) stand in the global standards – be it by any parameter. So I set about looking for information during leisure and casual talks with anyone who would bear with me…my incessant questions and simple curiosity to know better, the place I visit…..and what I came up was astounding. Let me share with you all that I have been able to put together.
On the society front - Mandarin is the lingua franca, but Taiwanese is spoken as the primary language by some 70% of the population.
Taiwan is slowly creeping towards an ageing population – nearly 50% in the middle age group, 25% below 25 years ( as against 50% in India, S.Africa).
While the slogan in India and China is Make love not babies.. slogan in this part of the world – Taiwan, HK, S.Korea is “Make love for babies” !! Youngsters marry less, living together more and highly career minded. Increased cost of living compels double income with no choice. Govt is trying best to promote population growth by means of liberal maternity benefits - 2 months full pay, 6 months half pay, 2 years no pay, but job assured. Yet, the choice is to build career over family. Pressure shows.
Education - What is striking is that good quality higher education has influenced the younger population; without exception, all offices are staffed by educated, smart intelligent girls, while men pursue vocations different from those of girls. Within my own business contacts, I visited 4 offices / factories – female employees were close to 98%, at least – my rough guess.
Five Taiwan Universities are among the top 100 YOUNG Universities of the world (less than 50 years) in the new rankings of Times Higher Education. Taiwan is the Asian country with the highest number of Universities on the top 100 list. The list is not fully available, but I understand just about one or two Indian universites feature in the top 100.
Four Taiwan Universities also feature in the top 50 Asian University Rankings. To get an idea of what this means, let us look at others featuring in the top 50 Asian Univ’s… this should give a wider perspective of where India stands with such prestige names of IIT, IIM, ISB, BITS etc.
Japan – rank 1,7,13,16,17,26,42,44, 48.
China – rank 4,6,24,25,35,40,41,45,
Hong Kong – rank 3,9,12,19,33,50.
S.Korea – rank 5,8,10, 20,23, 38.
Taiwan – rank 14, 27, 46, 47.
Turkey – rank 28, 31, 37, 38.
India – rank IITK 30, IITB 33.
Israel – rank 15,18, 21.
KSA – rank 49,
Iran – rank 42
Singapore – rank 2.
( nonetheless, the achievements of Indians from various institutions in their post college pursuits in USA and elsewhere are noteworthy indeed, comparing to any other migrating population – of which Taiwanese are not known for, like the Japanese. Homing birds perhaps, may be also due to no need for looking for better quality higher education, is it? ).
Politics: Taiwanese politics remain dominated by the issue of relations between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, which still claims Taiwan as a "renegade province" and regularly threatens military action if Taiwan attempts to break away from the current awkward One China status quo, where both sides agree that there is only one Chinese nation, but disagree on whether that one nation is governed by the PRC or the ROC.
Unless you know your listener well, it is unwise to say anything (either positive or negative) about the current government, about historical figures in Taiwanese history, about Taiwan's international relations, or about relations with mainland China.
People tend to think of Taiwan as a small, crowded island filled mostly with electronic factories, and if you stay in Taipei or along the west coast you might indeed maintain that impression. However, the island is also home to high mountain ranges, great beaches and stunning national parks - many with hot springs.
Taiwan is home for electronic consumer brands - Acer, Asus, Garmin, Gigabyte and HTC, major assembly plant for Apple’s iPhones, iPads.
Capital Taipei is ranked 18th in top world travel destinations, 8th most popular city in the Asia Pacific region - with over 5.2 million travelers through Taipei. (Bangkok, London, Paris ranked top three out of 132 cities worldwide).
Taipei is home to the world's fourth tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101. Kaohsiung where I am past week, is the second-largest city on the island. It has one of the busiest sea ports (the Port of Kaohsiung) in the world. The hotel I am put up, the Splendor was the tallest hotel in the world at 85 floors, until the spoil sport Dubai took over as it did for many other claims.
This hotel claims in its brochure, it has the world’s fourth fastest elevator going up 75 floors to the viewing deck in 42 sec.
The new train backbone is Taiwan High Speed Rail a bullet train based on Japanese Shinkansentechnology that covers the 345 km (215 mi) route on the West Coast from Taipei to Zuoying (Kaohsiung) in 90 min. imagine, this has been in operation since March 2007… ( come on, Shatabdi … Chennai to Bengulu – same distance in 5 hrs and we are proud of you.)
City – clean, well kept and with plenty of open spaces, too many parks (for an Indian eye), tree lined streets, boulevards in business districts lend an atmosphere of being somewhere in the suburb of Sydney or Paris.
In Taiwan you need to hail the bus you want as you see it coming - much like hailing a taxi. Taxis are a dime a dozen. You don't need to look for a taxi - they'll be looking for you.. cab drivers are strictly forbidden from taking tips. As good luck would have it for one cab driver yesterday, I mistakenly paid him HK.$200, instead NT$200, which was 3.5 times higher………. It just happens, right?
Scooters – separate scooter lane is notable, keeping roads free of the purr-purrs of 50 cc scooters than swarm their dedicated lanes…It is to be mentioned that since 2007, scooters and motorcycle over 550cc are allowed to go on expressway providing that they have a red license plate. They are however to be considered as cars, and as such cannot be parked in scooter parking spaces.
Shopping – popular items are Jade. Although it can be hard to know for sure if the item you're buying is real jade or not, some beautiful objects are sold. Most cities have a specific jade market dealing in jade and other precious stones. Computers – no need for any mention. Lingzhi A type of bracket fungus that is often used as a Chinese herb. It supposedly has many health benefits with an apparent absence of side effects, earning it a high reputation in East Asian countries and making it rather expensive. Taiwanese lingzhi is particularly famous for being of the highest quality. Tea. Taiwan is particularly famous for its Oolong tea ;Tea tasting in Chinese culture is akin to wine tasting in Western culture. (my opinion of Oolong……..aaaaghhhh!!! ; jasmine tea is any day better). Iron eggs Irresistible delicacy… must try the wonderful dessert – kah li lou; I am carrying a two pack to Kuwait. Hope it lasts.
Eating – the standard benchmark for a good eatery is the quality of Beef Noodle. Oyster omelet, Aiyu jelly made from the seeds of a local fig and usually served on ice, Taiwan Sausage usually made from pork, Taiwanese Porridge is rice porridge cooked with sweet potato; also called Conjee, reminding me of our very own Kanji in God’s own country of my mother’s standard menu for dinner all thru our school days.
The usual traditional Chinese taboos when eating with chopsticks apply in Taiwan as well. For instance, do not stick your chopsticks straight up or into your bowl of rice. This is reminiscent of incense sticks at a temple, and has connotations of wishing death upon those around you. When putting down chopsticks, either place them on the provided porcelain chopstick rest (at fancier restaurants) or rest the chopsticks across the top of your bowl. Also, do not use your chopsticks to spear your food or move bowls and plates. To be on safer side, avoid chop sticks. Trust your fork & knife or your own 5 fingers.
Traditional alcoholic drinks in Taiwan are very strong. Kaoliang is the most famous alcoholic drink. A distilled grain liquor, it is extremely strong, usually 140 proof or more, and often drunk straight. ( I was offered twice, politely declined) ; Taiwan also produces many types of Shaoxing rice wine, which are considered by many as being some of the best in the world ( I can vouch for that). Taiwanese beer is also popular.
Culture: I did not notice floor 44 on the lift floor panel. Then I noticed there was no floor 4 either. After awkward questions to many, understand some numbers associated with 4 is unlucky and so best to avoid. Taiwanese are superstitious about anything connected with dying – unlucky things should never be mentioned. One thing to note is that the number 4 (four, pronounced 'si' ) sounds like the word for death in Mandarin.
This led me to find out more of the superstitions ; came up with some interesting fears –
-- Do not write people's names in red. This again has connotations of death. When writing someone's English name, this is not a problem, but avoid writing Chinese names in red.
- Do not whistle or ring a bell at night. This is an "invitation to ghosts".
- Do not point at cemeteries or graves. This means disrespect to the dead.
- There are numerous taboos dictating that certain objects shouldn't be given to others, often because the word for that object sounds like another unfortunate word:
o Umbrellas, which in Mandarin sound the same as the word for "break up". Friends should therefore never give friends umbrellas. Instead, friends will euphemistically "rent" each other umbrellas for a tiny amount ($1, for example).
o Clocks. The phrase "to give a clock" ("song zhong"), in Mandarin, has the same sound as the word "to perform last rites." If you do give someone a clock, the recipient may give you a coin in return to dispel the curse.
o Shoes. Never ever offer shoes as a gift to old people, as it signifies sending them on their way to heaven. This is acceptable only if by mutual arrangement it is nominally sold, where the receiving party gives a small payment of about $10.
o Knives or sharp objects, as they are made for or could be used to hurt the person.
As with mainland China, symbols resembling backwards swastikas are commonly seen in homes and Buddhist temples. They are a Buddhist symbol and have no relationship to Nazism or anti-Semitism. I saw this many times today, while visiting many temples which are beautiful and of unique architecture.
So it goes … on and on… Taiwan, I respect you and have begun to love you; your people are tenacious, sincere, quality conscious and value time. Factors we Indians can learn a lot from.
Nee ha (hello)… from Kaohsiung with regards..... tomorrow at a new place - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
MOHANDAS. KP.
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