Photos from Taipei, Taiwan

MarkShot · October 30, 2012, 12:53:08 AM

I've been getting some requests to post photos of Taipei, Taiwan or one small part of it. So, I thought I would put them here. (not to overly side track my thread on submarine warfare)

We are staying a few blocks from NTU (National Taiwan University). This is Taiwan's top school and like all university in Asia you gain admittance by scoring at the top of national entrance exams. My wife attended here and we met on the campus about 30 years ago.

We are staying in a building for visiting falculty of NTU which is part of a much larger dormitory complex. A good friend here is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and all our friends are NTU alumni. Also, almost all are overseas Chinese from either Hong Kong or Macau who decided to settle in Taiwan or later come back like my wife.

So, of course, the room looks a bit like a dorm room. But it is priced very reasonable at $1,000 USD/month.

Why a shot of Starbucks on the corner? Well, when I lived and worked in NYC there was a time when on any corner of Manhattan you stood, you could see 2 or 3 Starbucks. Unlike the USA where Starbucks over extended a few years back, in Taipei they are everywhere and thriving.

As I mentioned, I am a vegetarian these days and vegetarian eateries are all over. Here are shots of two within a couple of blocks from here.

Roosevelt Road a major street which borders NTU.

But all around here a little back alleys with food stalls. These streets are packed in the evenings.

The Taiwanese love bread shops and bakeries. Scores of every type of bun imagineable.

Another shot from above Roosevelt Road.

And now for a brief stroll on the campus of NTU. Car traffic is largely prohibited. So, it is very quiet and peaceful with lots of walking or bicycling students.

Back across Roosevelt Road again to the neighborhood fresh food market.

MetalDog · October 30, 2012, 01:14:06 AM

That is outstanding, MarkShot! I really like your photos. Part of the reason I love history is because I love people. Those are some great shots!

Martok · October 30, 2012, 01:17:58 AM

Nice pics, Markshot; thanks for putting them up! But now I'm hungry from looking at all that food... ;)

Greybriar · October 30, 2012, 04:14:40 AM

Thanks for posting those photos, Mark. They are probably the closest I will ever get to visiting Taiwan.

besilarius · October 30, 2012, 07:16:14 AM

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post these shots.
This is really nice.
Will you, at some time, make some comments about the feelings and attitudes towards the mainland? Some reports, like in Strategypage, indicate there are deep divisions in the populace as to attitudes toward mergin with the Chinese government, presumably like Hong Kong's relationship?

MarkShot · October 30, 2012, 07:53:04 AM

I've only recently started following the local news over the last couple of days.

From what I know, there are two major parties here. The KMT which is the legacy party of the Nationalists that retreated here in 1949, and DPP which became the opposition party when democracy finally came to Taiwan. I am not sure when that happened, but when I was here in the 1980s, it was dictatorship by the KMT. However, it was nothing like Latin America ... it was mainly through the educational system and control of key institutions of power.

The DPP was in power a few years back. The KMT has always insisted that Taiwan is a province of China and the CCP in the PRC stole the country. But in that one sense, the KMT and CCP agree that Taiwan is Chinese territory (the CCP position being that it is a renegade province; South Carolina, if you will).

The DPP's position had been that Taiwan is a sovereign country that Taiwanese is an ethnicity that is not Chinese. That really p*ss*s off the CCP. They have always said that they would invade if Taiwan ever declares independence.

The DPP was in power a few years back. They began to institute the Taiwanization of Taiwan short of provoking invasion. Replacing the use of Mandarin with the Taiwanese dialect.

The rule of the DPP was a disaster and the former president was found guilty of all types of corruption and is serving a life sentence.

The KMT is currently in power. However, due to a poor economy which won't turn around, their approval rating is quite low. In the meantime, the DPP has mellowed quite a bit. Still they just decided the other day to table any discussion of the relationship of the ROC and PRC, because it is too contentious.

In the meantime, ROC and PRC are steadily drawn together as time passes:

* The return of Hong Kong and Macau to the PRC turned out to be good for both territories and wasn't the totalitarian bloodbath residents feared. Both former colonies maintain a great deal of autonomy.

* The generation of hard old men of both the KMT and CCP are passing on.

* The PRC has opened itself and is only communist in name only. In many ways, the PRC is a rampant and ruthless form of capitalism which would put the USA to shame, but would be more familiar to Americans of the 1850s-1930s.

* There are strong economic between the ROC and PRC. Most of Apple's products are produced by Foxconn in the PRC. But Foxconn is an ROC owned and managed company.

* With China's reemergence on the World stage, people in the ROC are proud to be Chinese even if they don't want to join the PRC. In the recent dispute with Japan over whether some islands belong to China or Japan, it has been the Taiwanese who were most aggressive in provoking confrontation with Japan.

Yesterday's paper had another article of how mainland brides will have their wait period for ID cards further reduced. It was originally 8 years, then 6 years, and now 4 years.

So, I hope that gives you a sense of things. We wouldn't have come here to live if we didn't believe that Taiwan and Taiwan vis-a-vis the mainland is not politically stable.

W8taminute · October 30, 2012, 08:05:14 AM

Beautiful images of a land far away from me. Like Greybriar said it's the closest I'll probably get to visiting Taiwan. I appreciate your political and economic background of the country as well. Very good to hear that day to day life in Taiwan is stable and from the look of the images you provided, safe and happy.

Bison · October 30, 2012, 08:11:50 AM

Cool photos.

MarkShot · November 01, 2012, 08:22:42 AM

What I was referring to with DPP rule being a disaster. Nixon got pardoned. But here they sent him to jail.

http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=2062202

eyebiter · November 01, 2012, 01:07:07 PM

Will you get a chance to visit any rural areas? Looking at a map many mountains in that part of the country?

Also would be interested to see a few photos of Taipei port. Or any beaches on the west side of the island.

MarkShot · November 01, 2012, 06:19:11 PM

30 years ago I had a motorcycle. I used to love sightseeing in the mountains. There were great and tall mountain tops to visit with exciting and treacherous roads for motorcycles. My favorites were Five Finger Mountain and Seven Star Mountain. Crossing the hump of Seven Star Mountain one could go from my village Nei Hu (well known for it's lake North East of Taipei) down to the costal plain on the other side of the Northern tip of Taiwan where Tamsui River meets the sea. All beautiful scenery. No more motorcycles for me, but if we don't get a car, then we'll probably rent a car from time to time.

With regards to request, I am not sure if you are trying to be funny or not. It is akin to asking if I will take some scenic snapshots of nuclear powerplants in the USA for you.

In the past, many coastal areas had signs posted saying "No Photos". When I lived here last, Taiwan was under martial law and technically still at war with the PRC. Particularly, in the evenings, all infrastructure like bridges were guarded by armed troops.

Although it wasn't publicized, there are large military installations in the mountains. Although I rarely spotted pillboxes, you knew were getting close when dinky asphalt roads would turn into heavy concrete. (Peasants rarely needed anything beyond a dirt trail to bring their goods down to market.)

undercovergeek · November 01, 2012, 06:26:09 PM

did anything 'halloweeny' happen over there Markshot.

And thanks for the pics, its always interesting to get little snapshots of peoples lives who are faraway - good luck out there

Bison · November 01, 2012, 06:33:08 PM

From what I've gathered off of Bizzare Foods on the disovery channel, or something like that, is that asian food markets can be down right freaky regarding the stuff they sell to eat.

MarkShot · November 01, 2012, 06:33:27 PM

I didn't really pay attention to the holiday here, but I did notice one elementary school with an English "trick or treat" sign in the window the other day. Certainly, if it is celebrated here, it is not the huge commercial holiday that it is in the USA.

The biggest holiday of the year in all Chinese societies is the Lunar New Year. Everything shuts down for a week or more.

In the past, my neighbors were kind enough to remind me:

買東西吃

meaning stock up on foodstuffs, since there would be no markets or food stalls open for a week.

MarkShot · November 01, 2012, 06:36:46 PM

It's general acknowledged among the Chinese that they are will eat many type of foods with most saying that the Cantonese will eat everything! Before becoming a vegetarian, I wouldn't eat intestines, tripe, chicken or duck feet, pigs blood, tripe, fish eyes, etc ... Now, I just won't eat the local favorite "stinky tofu".