Zhanghua, Taiwan February 16, 2006
He sits on the steps leading up to the giant Buddha of Zhanghua, which was the largest Buddha in the world until Hong Kong built theirs at Tian Tan. Laid out on the ground around him are old, laminated newspaper articles about him when he was younger. As visitors to the temple come up the stairs, he strikes a pose for them, but few even look at him.
Taichung, Taiwan February 15, 2006
At this noodle shop in Taichung, they serve noodles made by slicing off slivers of dough from a bread-loaf block of dough, flicking them into a cauldron of boiling water.
The Taipei Times is reporting that “Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFCC), owner of Taipei 101, said it will start charging companies for any commercial usage of the image of the world’s tallest building in a bid to protect its trademark.”
Last year alone, TFCC found over 1,000 cases of other companies using Taipei 101 as a promotional tool — mostly in real estate advertising — that could potentially mislead consumers, Wei said.
As a result, TFCC decided to charge royalty for any commercial use of the building’s image. For example, a poster featuring the Taipei 101 tower will be charged NT$100,000 (US$3,099), Wei said.
[…]
Use for the government and public is free of charge, Wei said.The decision drew the ire of advertisers and TV producers, as other major landmarks around the world, such as the Empire State Building in New York City and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, have no such charges.
Unfortunately, the last statement seems to be only half true. In a clever manuever, photographs of the Eiffel tower itself are not copyrightes, but in 2003 a new lighting display was installed. Since the design of the lights is copyrighted, photographs of the lighting disaply are as well, which by extension means any photos of the Eiffel Tower at night.
As a result, it’s no longer legal to publish current photographs of the Eiffel Tower at night without permission. Technically, this applies even to amateurs. When I spoke to the Director of Documentation for SNTE, Stéphane Dieu, via phone last week, he assured me that SNTE wasn’t interested in prohibiting the publication of amateur photography on personal Web sites. “It is really just a way to manage commercial use of the image, so that it isn’t used in ways we don’t approve,” said Mr. Dieu.
It may be some minor comfort that owners of iconic buildings such as the Eiffel Tower or Taipei 101 claim that they won’t prosecute non-commercial infringers, but the fact is that there is nothing stopping them from being a nuisance to anyone that publishes such a photo, even on a personal blog like this one. Does anyone really think that laws allowing for these kinds of restrictions are reasonable? I can’t wait for 2012 (to be optimistic) when security teams are stealing cameras from tourists snapping photos of the new “Freedom Tower” at New York’s World Trade Center.
My translation of a Nikkeinet article.
“I even like sashimi” Taiwan’s KMT party secretary denies being “anti-Japan” to media
“Reports that the KMT walks lockstep with the mainland (China) in their anti-Japan campaign do not reflect my real feelings. I even love sashimi!” On the 10th Ma Ying Jiu (mayor of Taipei), chairman of the KMT[Chinese Nationalist Party], Taiwan’s largest opposition party, assembled Japanese reporters resident in Taipei and issued a denial of the viewpoint that he was himself a believer in anti-Japan ideology.
There are indications that the KMT has been intensifying their anti-Japan tendencies, such as stressing their own role in the Sino/Japanese war. “We criticize even the white terror (of KMT despotic rule) and (China’s) Tainanmen incident from the same basis of human rights and constutituional government. There’s no reason to make an issue out of only Japan,” Chairman Ma Ying Jiu said.
However, “I do not approve of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s Yasukuni Shrine visits,” he said, not forgetting that stab in the neck. Ma Ying Jiu is currently considered the favorite to win in Taiwan’s next presidential election.
Doesn’t the “but, I like sashimi defense” have the same ring to it as, “but I have so many black friends” or “but Jews are so funny”? I’m amazed that this is the best that Ma could come up with.
Q: West Palm Beach, Florida is to New York as what place is to Japan?
A: Taiwan.
If that makes no sense to you, then you probably haven’t read this article in Japan’s Asahi Daily.
Taiwan authorities ready longterm visitor visa aimed at Japan’s “baby boomers”
Starting on February 1st, Taiwanese authorities began issuing multi-visas targeted at retired Japanese pensioners. With an eye on the rush of retiring “boomers,” they are aiming to attract long term Japanese visitors thinking that “after retirement, I think I’ll live in Taiwan, where things are cheaper.”
With pensioner Japanese citizens as the target, they will have to produce documents such as proof of pension recieval and proof of a clean criminal record issued by the police department when applying for a visa. With this visa, the greatest period that can be spend in Taiwan at one time is 180 days. Within this period, the visa holder can leave and reenter the country as many times as the like. Their spouse will also be issued a multivisa.
Taiwanese authorities, which are trying to promote an increase in visiting tourists, have noticed an increasing movement of Japanese seniors spending long periods in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia. Plans are moving forward to construct special “long term visitor condos” in places such as Nanto county, where the climate is warmer.
Sounds like a good deal all around. Japanese retirees will get to live in a nicer climate where prices are lower, and yet the standard of living is not dramatically lower, and the Japanese government has to spend less money on its own expensive domestic healthcare. On the other side, Taiwan’s coffers gets to make up some of the tax shortfall caused by their own aging population, and local service industries get a significant cash infusion.
I should not that a standard Taiwanese visitor visa has an absolute limit of six months, but must be renewed in person every two months at the local police station’s foreigner services office, which I imagine they are rightfully considering would probably be too much of a hassel for elderly people. Of course, a large part of the reason that Taiwan has such strict visa rules is to keep out illegal foreign labor, which from what I’ve seen includes a truly astonishing number of illegal language teachers, in addition to the expected factory and construction workers. Of course, elderly retirees are unlikely to take away jobs from local people, and instead of burdening the local government to pay for more services, they only import wealth.
One key thing remains unclear to me though. With a six month visa, would these residents be elegible to apply for an Alien Residence Certificate (ARC)? If so, that would let them register with Taiwan’s generous national health program, which would be rather counterproductive to the whole scheme.
Sorry, but it’s all downhill from the headline. It’s not that it’s a bad article exactly. Something about how the new Japanese cartoon Sergeant Keroro (ケロロ軍曹-main character pictured at left) has gotten so popular that toys modeled after the character are being bootlegged, and the anime downloaded illegally all over Taiwan and China. Ok, fine, interesting to know I guess-although seriously, by now wouldn’t you expect the same thing to happen with any even halfway popular cartoon show? I mean, after that headline I was really hoping for something with a little more juice than a story about toy pirates.
Ah well. If you’re curious, you can download bootlegs of the show from this anime fansubs bittorrent site. I’ve seen a few minutes here and there on Taiwanese TV, and while I couldn’t really tell what was going on, what with it being in Chinese and all, it did look pretty funny.
Former front yard of a decaying mid-demolition Japanese style house in Taipei.
The mahjong tiles are scattered on the floor just inside the door you see in the background here.
January 28 2006. Canon EOS 300D with 50mm 1:1.8 Mark II lense.
Large image here.
One of the last traces of whoever used to live in an abandoned old Japanese style house behind my apartment building in Taipei. The house is currently being demolished, so I went inside to explore.
January 28 2006. Canon EOS 300D with 50mm 1:1.8 Mark II lense.
Larger size image is here.
Yes, I know that Beijing and Peking are different ways to write the same thing, but when have you ever seen “Beijing Duck” written on the menu of a Chinese restaurant?
Anyway, today’s Taipei Times mentions that the famous Quanjude duck restaurant in Beijing is planning to open a branch (or branches) in Taiwan. I ate at this restaurant during my trip to Beijing a couple of years ago, along with Saru and Younghusband, and I’ve got to say that their Peking duck was among the most delicious things I have ever eaten. I have, before and since, had Peking duck perhaps somewhere between a half dozen and ten times on other occassions and at other restaurants, but there is absolutely no comparison.
The article states that, due to avian flu concerns, the Taiwanese government will (maybe quite reasonably) not allow the import of actual ducks from China, but the unique glaze and signature multi-hour slow roasting process of the duck is what makes Quanjude so amazing.
The entrance to the restaurant in Beijing.
This is actually the statue they have in front of the building. You can see the restaurant’s name written on the duck’s hat.
A chef wheels the entire duck over to your table on a cart, and then slices the meat right in front of you. A waitress then prepares one pancake for each person, presumably so you can see how it’s meant to be done, and then leave you to your feast.
You may have already heard that researchers here in Taiwan have just perfected the technology of genetically modifying pigs to glow in the dark. This is apparently going to be very useful for research, since every scrap of pig material also glows green, and I imagine lets you more easily locate bits that you’ve dropped on the floor.
According to the report, “In daylight the researchers say the pigs’ eyes, teeth and trotters look green. Their skin has a greenish tinge.”
There is no word yet on how bioluminescence will affect the God Pig industry. According to a report last year in the Taipei Times “some farmers even pour metal into their pigs before a contest in order to increase the swine’s weight.” All said, we seen to be well on the way to one-ton partially metallic bioluminescent god pigs. All it takes it one minor lab accident and we’re in the middle of a 1950’s horror movie.
