Who you are and what you do...

Did your elementary/middle school teachers wax philosophic about American culture demeaning the individual by focusing on occupation? More than one of mine did. Again and again, in school or in Church I would hear people talk about how we should find other ways to describe ourselves outside of our occupations. I won't argue that Americans tend to define themselves by their jobs but it is worth pointing out that other cultures fixate on aspects of a person that are at least as constraining.

In Taiwan it's very common for "get to know you conversations" to include detailed questions about your hometown/homeland and your family background. This stems from the understandable belief that who your parents are greatly influence who you are. This is different from the American emphasis on occupation. In the American perspective the choices you've made with your life are viewed as the most vital information about a person- while in the Taiwanese/Chinese paradigm the most important parts of you (where you grew up/what your parents are like) are outside of your control.

The Taiwanese/Chinese fixation on race as an indicator of who you are stems from this cultural preference. Until a couple hundred years ago (which only seems like a long time to Westerners) where you grew up and what your parents were like was easily guessed based upon your skin tone and hair/eye color. Where do brown skinned people come from? India. What do they eat? Curry. Therefore the brown skinned person in front of me is probably from India and probably likes curry- therefore I should assume she speaks Hindi and needs my help getting to the nearest curry house and I should probably not insult her by offering her Chinese food. You can apply this formula to lots of situations.

A lot of visitors/foreign residents in East Asia get frustrated at this paradigm because it impinges upon our sense of individuality. Sure I'm white, American, and of English descent but if you direct me to the nearest McDonald's (which more than one Taiwanese person has done without me asking for it) I will not respond graciously.

Of course you could find this focus upon family background and hometown in many pre-industrial societies- which is exactly what Taiwan was last century and what much of China still us. What puzzles foreigners is how modern Taiwan can seem on one hand- High Speed Rail, internet everywhere, 2nd tallest building on Earth, etc etc etc, and yet how concerned a person on the street can be about where my grandparents were born. Whether Eastern culture will change to focus on the individual as a result of the surplus options that are being shoveled at them thanks to globalization is anyone's guess.

One of the most rewarding parts of international travel is discovering my own culture. Had I lived in Colorado all my life I may never have seriously considered that large groups of people define themselves in the way many East Asians do. Beyond merely understanding this specific part of my culture I also increasingly appreciate it- I am an American, through and through. When I am getting to know you I will respectfully ask about your hometown- but what I really want to know is what you've chosen to do with your life.

White Men I Love, White Men I Hate by Chuck Snowden

Chuck Snowden (formerly of Casey Middle School and Fairview High School) is one man I will never forget. He was my PE teacher for all three years of Middle School. At the time he was known as the hard gym teacher (there was an alternative who taught PE at the same time) and anyone that wanted to switch into or out of his class was welcome to. I always chose to be in his class because he was one of the only teachers I've ever met who clearly loved his students. He loved his students so much that I was always exhausted from his class and he loved us enough to force us to write weekly reports to him about what was going on in our lives. He would read those reports in class and make comments, appreciative and instructive, right after we handed them to him.

Anyhow, I'm mentioning this story because I just finished his book White Men I Love, White Men I Hate. The prologue has an impassioned warning that the book is about LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and he means it. Despite the title most of the book is about white men, both his friends and historical figures, that he loves and only occasionally will he focus on the ones he hates. Of course every other third story (at least!) involves his wife, May, whom is obviously the primary desire of his over-sized heart.

He delves into history (his field of study) in a sort of uneven manner. It's vital to him to understand America's past and his determination to love people results in some unexpected people of affection. There's not a hint of resentment towards Thomas Jefferson, for instance. Coach Snowden is convinced that the Jefferson loved the slave he fathered a child with and even goes so far to suggest that a great man like Jefferson should be thanked for spreading his genes around. Snowden also heaps praise upon Winston Churchill (for the obvious reason) but doesn't mention any criticism at all of Churchill's questionable post WWII decisions. In Coach Snowden's eyes a man who was great enough to stop Hitler can be forgiven for his other sins. The author calls this kind of judgment the work of a "Wise Barbarian" and I am not about to argue with him.

His writing style is so straightforward I could hear his voice and his message so inclusive that you'd have to be an angry and sullen person to take offense at his observations about white people, black people, and America. He states again and again that he's an unabashed Christian, a lifelong Democrat, and a patriot so unless you're angry atheist Republican who hates America (I know you're out there) there's something in the book for you. I can't recommend it enough.

Despite how horrible Middle School was I can always rely on memories of him and how much he cared to make it seem a little brighter. One of the primary reasons I always opted for his class was because it was the only place in Boulder where my twelve year old self could walk into a gym and have a giant African American bellow out "Hello, Mr. Ford! How are you today?" I was an awkward, Star Trek loving, mid-pubescent*, drama nerd, whose home life was imploding- having a guy like Coach Snowden interested in me nearly every day could be the difference between self-worth and self-pity. That's a debt I can only pay forward.

*Even if little else has changed at least I am done with puberty.

We made the front page of CNN.com!

Recently President Ma of Taiwan made some surprisingly frank statements regarding Taiwan's relationship with the US (article here). He stated that Taiwan would never ask the Americans to fight China for Taiwan. This of course was met with a hail of criticism from pro-Independence Taiwanese groups. Some said this indicated his attention to reunify with China and others simply accused him of damaging relations with the US. I think he did neither- but first a little background.

Taiwan has a celebrated and storied "ambiguous relationship" with the United States. For most of the 20th century America never expressly stated whether it would come to the aid of Taiwan if the Chinese attempted an invasion. George W. Bush was the first American President to say what we would actually do (article here). No points for guessing whether he promised to turn tail and run or stand and fight for our tiny democratic ally. Anyhow, that was just one statement and measured over sixty years of ambiguity it don't amount to much. Plus, when Pres. Bush said that it was before we were in Afghanistan + Iraq x unsustainable debt.

So- as for President Ma... when he mentioned that he was not going to ask the Americans to fight the Chinese he also mentioned that Taiwan was capable of defending itself BUT it required American weapons to do so. The chances of America starting World War III with the Chinese over Taiwan (when a negotiated settlement would be much easier, cheaper, and less bloody) are minute; the chances of the Americans continuing to sell weapons to a tiny island ally whose very existence prevents the Chinese navy from wondering to far into the West Pacific is very high. President Ma was probably just reassuring the leadership in Beijing that he was not out to start World War III and to reassure the Obama administration that the weapon sales are appreciated AND they are worthwhile. A Taiwan that can defend itself well against a Chinese incursion is less likely to need American assistance in the end anyway.

Anyhow- a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would take months to pull off. First the Chinese would have to win an air war. Then they would have to invade Jinmen, Matsu, and Penghu. Then they would have to isolate Taiwan proper. It would take weeks before the troop transports were even loaded (assuming China had enough troop transports for the 70,000 soldiers it would minimally need... and it doesn't have those troop transports because most of its spare steel goes to apartment buildings for its rapidly urbanizing population.)

During those weeks America might decide to get involved regardless of what Pres. Ma says, the Japanese might decide to get involved, but bare minimum China's trade with the outside world would plummet and the possibility of a domestic revolution would dramatically increase. All this to assert political control over an island whose political and economic freedom have actually benefited the mainland via trade with the outside world?

The Chinese government is very savvy, they aren't going to plunge the world or their country into a war they don't need.

Is it always a zero-sum game?

The Chinese media is now portraying the Google vs. China issue as a political plot by the White House!

While this is technically possible it can't be proven- the paper makes a reference to a meeting between Google and State Department officials prior to Google's anti-censorship/Chinese hacking announcement. Of course the paper has no idea what was actually communicated in this meeting (Google was probably giving the government a courtesy heads up imho) so accusing the White House of controlling Google is about as well founded as the "Iraq is responsible for 9/11 meme."

Of course the irony here is that a government controlled Chinese newspaper is accusing Google of being controlled by the American government. This sort of accusation will probably stick with many Chinese readers because of the paradigm China works under- the Communist Party (and therefore Chinese government) CAN stick its fingers into any company and make purely political decisions so why can't the American government?

Plenty of people in China probably already believed that the US government was behind the Google decision- that the Party decided to put it in print is revealing of how seriously they take the Google affair. The Chinese government is undoubtedly aware that stoking nationalism can have unintended results and they usually only do so for threats to Chinese sovereignty.

Of course the implied next move is that the White House can either confirm or deny these allegations. Denying them puts some distance between the White House and Google's free speech rhetoric while confirming that the White House can order Google around (which is incredibly stupid) would play into Chinese nationalist paranoia in which everyone is trying to keep China down. Of course the other option is to ignore the allegations- which is probably the best move for this incredibly China friendly administration.

Taiwan Up? Who owns English anyway?

Over the last week there's been a flurry of controversy over how Taipei chose to illuminate Taipei 101 for New Year's Eve. Taipei 101 is one of the tallest buildings in the world and every New Year's Eve fireworks are set off from it. This year it also had the proudly displayed slogan of "2010 Taiwan Up." I've barely run into a foreigner in the last week who hasn't been condescendingly amused by the poor grammar and I've hit upon several blogs that are severely critical of the incident. To all of them I have but one message: That fireworks show was not made for you.

Most Tawainese people have a limited command of English. Many can understand a large amount of basic words, "up" being among them. "Up" was written there to give the idea that Taiwan was going to get better and better. The best translation might have been "Taiwan prospers" but that wouldn't have fit on Taipei 101 and most Taiwanese people wouldn't be sure what it meant. But, seeing the phrase "Taiwan Up" makes good enough sense to most Taiwanese people. It was basically using English words in a Chinese way where the central idea of one word automatically adapts to the context of a sentence or to another word around it.

I agree with many foreigners that official English translations in Taiwan are often terrible. When it comes to maps, emergency information, subway instructions, etc etc etc I think the responsible parties should make sure that their translation is accurate but that is not what Taipei 101 was illuminated for- it was there to make its audience happy... an audience of largely Taiwanese people.

English also imparts a notion of cosmopolitanism. There's a magazine in Taichung which has the slogan "Your gateway to the English lifestyle," meaning the language of commerce and travel and mass culture. Even using English instead of Chinese is rife with symbolism; an English speaking Taiwan feels like an important part of the wider world and not just an isolated island in the shadow of China.

With English being the decidedly dominant language in the world diverse groups of people, many of whom have studied it for decades, will use it in ways that are immediately culturally relevant. We shouldn't be offended by other cultures adapting our language to themselves- it's mostly flattering. But once they have English they are free to use it however they want. Language is like open source coding for software- it's free for people enrich their lives as they see fit.

So, in summation, I agree with the city of Taipei. This year I want nothing more than "Taiwan Up."

Jinmen Dao

Recently I had the great fortune to spend a weekend on Jinmen Island. It's a political oddity in that it an island that is controlled by Taiwan but most people will admit that it is actually a part of Fujian Province in China. Not only that it- at its nearest point Little Jinmen Island (as opposed to large Jinmen Island, see below) is about eight kilometers away from the Chinese Mainland.




The island is a wonderful, near idyllic, place now but that belies its sordid history. During the Cold War Mainland China chose to bombard the islands with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells resulting in thousands of dead islanders and Nationalist troops. One would think that this would engender a fair amount of animosity towards Mainland China (and one would be right) but life is even more complicated than that. The Jinmen Islanders (and the Matsu Islanders to the north) were not active participants in the Chinese civil war. As the KMT army retreated to Taiwan they militarized the peaceful islands and put the inhabitants into the middle of shooting war. The inhabitants are aware of the pawn that they became between the Nationalists and the Communists and chafed under Marshall Law for many decades. I often asked the locals if they thought they were Taiwanese or Mainlander and I received what became a familiar refrain: I am Jinmenese and my parents are Mainlanders. (Translated, obviously.)

That being said Jinmen is now a thriving community. The Taiwanese army has poured money into the islands and they've been serving as an in between point for the Mainlanders who want to do business in Taiwan and vice-versa. It was, without a doubt, the cleanest place I've visited in Taiwan and the its oft noted wide and well maintained roads are very inviting.

Jinmen also enjoys full county status in Taiwan and elects its own representatives to the Taiwanese parliament. In preparation for an approaching election we were treated to a semi constant barrage of campaign advertising. One of the candidates had bleach blond hair but I think he got stiff competition from another candidate who was always pictured next to a giant hamburger. Was he a hamburger mogul or was he using the hamburger to explain his policies? I'll never know but I hope he was the winner. (Bleach blond Asian dudes sort of creep me out.)

While on the island we visited war memorial after war memorial after war memorial. It was cool! We found an amazing beach that was completely empty. It felt more like being on an unpopulated alien planet than a cold war flashpoint. On the beach we found an awesome tank that was covered in barnacles and no island weekend would've been complete without the land mine warning signs. Jinmen is also famous for a peanut candy and a knives made out of artillery shells. I wanted to buy a knife but I just couldn't figure what I would do with it... oh well, just another reason to return to Jinmen- hopefully with someone who looks better in a bathing suit than Sean.

Below is a temple where you pray for good grades at:




Alone:




If we ever start a band this'll be our first album cover:



Awesome:

The linguistic battle of wills

A fascinating socio-linguistic phenomenon to observe is the battle of wills between two people who are each trying to practice the others native language. It can happen in any place, at any time, and to nearly anyone.

You could be at the local 7-11 (ok... one of the local 7-11's) buying a bottle of 酒 and instead of quoting the sales price to you in Chinese the tiny and meek attendant slowly but deliberately says "seventy four dollars, please!" followed by the proudest and toothiest (and in Kaohsiung, the reddest) grin you may ever encounter. It's sweet, it's cute, it's wonderful, and it's one of the most annoying things on the face of the Earth.

The linguistic battle of wills occurs most often between foreigners and natives in Taiwan. Some foreigners come to Taiwan hoping to practice Chinese only to discover that an increasing number Taiwanese people want to practice their English with almost anyone who will talk to them.

Imagine being Taiwanese and spending every single year of your school life learning English! Imagine your parents sending you to an English language tutor nearly every day after school! Now imagine that at long last there is a real live American right in front of you that you can finally speak to!

Now imagine your disappointment that he refuses to speak to you in English and insists upon using sub-standard Chinese to communicate the very simplest of ideas.

Of course there's the opposite disappointment of being from the English speaking world. We say goodbye to our family, friends, and dog, fly all the way to Taiwan, enroll in Chinese classes, go out of our way to make Taiwanese friends only to find that our dream of "total language immersion" is impossible because everyone wants to practice English, the language we are trying to escape from!

There's even another layer to it: Taiwanese culture demands a large amount of courtesy be shown to guests and many Taiwanese feel as though all foreigners are somehow guests in their country. In Taiwan, as in much of Asia, the locals don't want to cause the guest a loss of face by speaking to them in a language the guest can't understand; instead of even trying to speak Chinese it's just safer to speak to the guest in English. In most other ways this courtesy is extremely appreciated.

Although there is no strict rule in the West the general convention is to only use one language in a conversation- and whichever language is spoken first should be the language used to respond. If I start a conversation in Chinese and someone insists upon answering me in English they've actually caused me a loss of face; they've just implied that they don't think my Chinese is very good. There's not even a good way to respond because in American culture it's rude for me to tell you that I'd rather you speak Chinese. My Taiwanese friends tell me that it wouldn't be rude in Taiwan but I'm still not comfortable doing it.

Must we be locked in this ridiculous duel for all time? No, probably not. Following the 4th World War of 2038 the majority of survivors will upload themselves into the technological singularity and all of our conversations will look like this:

0100001001100101011101110110000101110010011001010010000001110100011010000110010100
10000001110101011011100110001101101100011001010110000101101110
0100001001100101011101110110000101110010011001010010000001110100011010000110010100
10000001110101011011100110001101101100011001010110000101101110
0100001001100101011101110110000101110010011001010010000001110100011010000110010100
10000001110101011011100110001101101100011001010110000101101110
0100001001100101011101110110000101110010011001010010000001110100011010000110010100
10000001110101011011100110001101101100011001010110000101101110
0100001001100101011101110110000101110010011001010010000001110100011010000110010100
10000001110101011011100110001101101100011001010110000101101110
0100001001100101011101110110000101110010011001010010000001110100011010000110010100
10000001110101011011100110001101101100011001010110000101101110
0100001001100101011101110110000101110010011001010010000001110100011010000110010100
10000001110101011011100110001101101100011001010110000101101110

(Good luck babelfish.yahoo.com on that one!)

Note:
Missing is my obligatory swipe at foreigners who are always complaining that Chinese is impossible to learn. Since most Taiwanese people look around and see 20 million Taiwanese people who managed to learn Chinese (plus another billion people across the strait) they can be forgiven for concluding that foreigners suffer from pigment induced, Chinese specific, aphasia.