For the past week, I was thrown back into my comfort zone- I visited cousins, aunts, uncles, and other relatives. I ate tastefully SALTED, SIR-FRIED, and STEAMED foods with flavors other than red bean paste and garlic... I can't complain, the food in Jeju is good, but there's little variety. And I missed that. I also hate to admit this, but I really was craving some Starbucks, mango ice, HOT POT! and bubble tea! i definitely got my filling of literally every type of food and drink possible.
My timing wasn't too shabby either. Taiwan celebrated it's "Independence Day" on October 10 (10-10 or Double Ten Day), and I was able to witness massive demonstrations on the days leading up to 10-10. I even watched the fireworks from the top of Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world! So the height of the building is disputed, but still, it was a pretty breathtaking sight! Also did some (meaning a lot...) of shopping...
Top of Taipei 101
To make a long and complicated story short.. Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian has been dealing with numerous charges of corruption. Since I wrote my senior honors thesis on Taiwan's democratization and youth, I was estatic. Like South Korean youth, Taiwan's "Strawberry Generation," or those who were born in the 1980's after the lift of martial law in 1986, has become disinterested in political affairs. Until recently, Taiwan's leaders have sailed a relatively smooth transition to a self-governing and free democracy, favoring the status-quo, which means neither for or against independence from the PRC or reunification. President Chen, in his second term in office, faces HUGE opposition from a demographic that reaches even the youth. Since I'm a democracy nut- Taiwanese under the age of 30 constitute about 20- 23% of the TOTAL electorate. (Voter turnout during presidential elections reaches an average of 80% turnout.) You do the math.
This 10-10 political rally I was able to see first hand was called "Million Voices Against Corruption," (Taiwanese love flowery titles and names.) Demonstrators have been calling for President Chen's resignation on allegations of corruption (I'm not clear on the exact facts, but this includes gambling, extortion, and bribery) for months. There were demonstrators EVERYWHERE.. wearing red and shouting "Depose Chen!" I consider myself a passivist in political affairs, I like to watch, but would rather write about it than throw fists in the air. I could write more.. but I just wanted to comment on how it's such an interesting time to be in Asia, and not just Taiwan. The next presidential election will occur in 2008, so who knows if Chen will resign or not...the youth certainly have the power to dictate their own future, but only if they politicized. Young people, so fickle these days...
Wow, how did that happen? Ok, let's talk about how bad my English has become. Not only do I have a LISP (no really, I can't have long conversations on the phone or Skype without slowing myself down), my spelling is terrible. I speak with my hands, and my tounge gets tired from trying to talk quickly. What is going on? I tend to have more conversations with myself instead of other people... because 1) I'm around non-native English speakers, and 2) I like talking to myself (kidding.) Since I"m still frustrated with this whole Korean language thing, I tend to burst into outbreaks of Chinese or fist throwing. Mostly the latter.
Ok, enough talk. Let's look at some more pictures!
Kim Tae Hee! Ximending
Da'an Park Music Festival!
