A Subjective Perspective on Taiwan
While life in Taiwan has certainly changed as China surged ahead since I wrote the following in my travel journal in 1991, there are many parts of the Taiwan/China relationship that remain remarkably the same. Some of the differences between 1991 and 2009 are also notable. There is much more interaction and travel both ways between Taiwan and China. Many businesses in Taiwan have established business ties in China. The DPP has had its time in power and now the pro-China party is back in charge, forging new pathways for reconciliation with China and finally establishing direct air transportation between China and Taiwan.
Taiwan was once a beautiful island peopled by aborigines who lived a close-to-nature lifestyle much like the American Indians did. The Chinese from Fujian Province in China came over long ago and pushed the aborigines into the mountains. Basically untouched by white men, except for a brief time by the Dutch, the Hakka people developed into Taiwanese. Japan occupied Taiwan for 50 years from 1895 to 1945 when the Taiwanese threw them out at the end of World War II. In the present generation, there appears to be little anger left about this long occupation, perhaps because the Japanese instilled a certain orderliness and modern technology that made it easier for Taiwan to become a “developed” country.
In 1949, Chiang Kai Shek escaped from mainland China with inumberable followers to set up the Kuomintang government on Taiwan in defiance of the Communists. In the process, the occupiers murdered thousands of the Taiwanese.
And there it rests today. The aborigines have become a focal point for Christian missionaries, as well as a tourist curiosity. The present day Taiwanese-born whose parents came from mainland China feel they are in exile from their motherland. Even Taiwanese from Fujian extraction feel they are connected to China by being Chinese.
Though physically indistinguishable to me, there is tension between the Taiwanese and the Chinese who arrived after 1949. The older generation of Taiwanese hate the mainland Chinese for their cruelty to the Taiwanese and the systematic degradation of the Taiwanese culture, especially the Taiwanese language which is different from the mainland Chinese language and is not allowed to be spoken in school or government.
The Kuomintang government remains in power, although it has been losing to the DPP Party, which calls for Taiwan’s independence. That means that Taiwan will no longer be a province of mainland China, which the Kuomintang and Communist China claim it to be. Like David and Goliath, tiny Taiwan lives in dread of being attacked by the gargantuan mainland if Taiwan declares itself a separate country. China constantly renews its threat of invasion. Taiwan, like Israel, lives in constant fear and preparedness for war.
What are the people of Taiwan like? Like most of the world, they are in awe of the U.S. and its lifestyle. However, having become newly rich in the last ten years or so, they can teach even Americans something about materialism. They flaunt it every way they can, in as obvious and gaudy a way as possible. Everything is overdone. If budgets allow, they are willing to pay any price and have little regard for quality. They pay out money as freely as they make it. They are generous in ways and to a degree that Americans aren’t. A lot of the generosity is kind and sincere, while some is for gaining “face.”
While Americans stress self-respect, Chinese want the respect of others. This emphasis on acceptable codes of behavior reminds me of both the Arab and Ethiopian cultures, which rely heavily on a group mentality. And, like Ethiopians and Arabs, they also have a very strong, durable, devoted family system. The father rules, and girls are of less interest and value. There is a responsibility to each other, and respect for the old. Arabs, Ethiopians, and Chinese make the best students because of a solid respect for teachers ingrained in them.
In bureaucracy and politics, Israel and Taiwan seem similar. Both say what they feel they have to, but do what is expedient. What Americans call “lying,” Taiwanese and Israelis might call “survival.” And, if a law is not liked for whatever reason, it will be ignored if possible, or circumvented if necessary. Rarely would it be openly challenged as in America because that’s inefficient, a waste of time, impolite, and unnecessary.
As in all cultures, there are the paradoxes. The polite, gentle, kind Taiwanese become something else when behind the wheel of a car or motorscooter. Even Israelis would find it a challenge to cross a street in Taiwan, or drive down one. The only other place I have seen such aggression is in competition. They are bred for competition from an early age since their educational system is limited and geared for the best. This unfortunate fact has put too much pressure on little ones who need play as much as study. Some teenagers dump responsibilities and join the pleasure circuit, which has led to a higher juvenile delinquency rate, as well as a climbing crime rate which includes arson, kidnapping, and extortion as ways to get rich.
Another paradox is that this Chinese culture, which is able to paint, draw, and compose delicate verses to the beauty of nature, defiles and violates nature flagrantly and unabashedly. This does not only apply to garbage being strewn carelessly, but the worse pollution in every category. The wonderfully sensitive and aesthetic Chinese have turned their water and air into an abomination, and they have constructed the ugliest cities of any I’ve seen in the world. Only the wild, uncooperative mountains defy destruction. In conjunction with a mentality that lags behind its technological capabilities, safety standards of all kinds are far behind western standards.
How do they differ from their mainland Chinese brothers? Basically, the Taiwanese have kept traditions that communism has destroyed in China. Buddhist temples here are very alive with children, parents, and grandparents in contrast to the temples in China filled mostly with curious foreign tourists. Religion is part of their daily lives, filled with superstitions and ancestor worship. I find their caring for dead ancestors a very effective way to feel rooted to something, to feel a part of something bigger than oneself.
Taiwanese girls differ from their Chinese mainland sisters in giggling more and being more delicate and traditional in spite of the fact that their ideas are more westernized.
Of course, the biggest difference between Taiwanese and mainlanders is that the Taiwanese are free — free to think, free to choose, free to leave, free to do. However, the hardships of the mainland Chinese young people have forged a deeper character, yet purer and more innocent.
Taiwan is in many stages of transition. I am grateful to Taiwan, my Taiwanese friends, and my Taiwanese students for warmly accepting me into their homes and hearts. I value them, and I value what Taiwan is — and is becoming. It’s an exciting place to be. If only I could breathe here, I’d linger longer. I’m sure I will never find a place that will offer me as many teaching jobs or make me feel more wanted.
Tags: Taiwan in 1991; Taiwan and China; Taiwan and Israel, Travel
March 30th, 2009 at 6:01 am
A very enjoyable reflective post.
The temples are mainly “Daoist” or a kind of folk religion. There are certainly Buddhist temples as well, although Buddhism in Taiwan has been evolving rapidly and has taken on characteristics similar to Christianity.
Many of the perceived “Chinese” aspects of Taiwan are actually unique traditions particular to Taiwan and wouldn’t be found in pre-cultural revolution China either.
Taiwan certainly is in a state of transition; I think there is some explosive potential there. Taiwan is certainly unique among East Asian countries that has both strong connections to China, the US, and Japan. The connections to China and the US are obvious–the connection to Japan is especially noteworthy because almost everyone in East Asia hates Japan (WWII), but it is by far the most economically advanced country here, and still the world’s second largest economy. Much of East Asia industrialized through Japanese investment and technology and know-how.
The multicultural democratic society here is also pretty unique. The financial crisis and the complete disappointment of the Beijing Olympics with regard to China and human rights I think is creating a kind of realignment. The environmental issues, local-vs-central government struggles, ethnic group-vs-ethnic-group-vs-immigrant struggles, the transition to branded industries–these are all important problems that sooner or later, East Asia will have to face with greater and greater intensity. I think Taiwan, while still making progress, has already gained quite a lot of experience in this area as well, and has a lot to share with its neighbors.
It seems you are still looking for your place in the world. I wish you best of luck finding your niche out there.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:06 am
Thank you for your comments.
There are certainly a variety of types of temples in Taiwan. I wish I had understood more about the differences I saw. Each one I saw was colorful and fantastic in its own way, and sometimes in beautiful mountain locations. And there certainly is a strong element of Christianity that I also got to see firsthand because of some of my Taiwanese friends and then teaching in a Catholic university in Taichung.
In 2004, I spent some time living in Hualien, which gave me yet another perspective on Taiwan. My next post will be about my time in Hualien. And I still have a few close Taiwanese friends that I am in contact with. So, I continue to feel quite connected to Taiwan and its future.
As to “finding my niche,” I think I have discovered that my niche will never be only in one place. Except for visiting my parents in the U.S. for various durations of time, I had a wonderful nomadic existence from 1983 to 1998. I became a hybrid. I discovered that my roots were in Israel, my heart was in China, and my spirit was in Bali. I became the honorary grandmother of six Chinese children, two of whom are now living in the U.S. And, I still get itchy feet from time to time.