DIAMOND PRINCESS: Taipei

Nearly a third of a century ago (sentence came from this blog site in 2008), I took several trips to Taiwan:

One final anecdote is that PICHTR, exactly 20 years ago, worked with ITRI to produce an $80 million multiple product OTEC study for Taiwan, led by Paul Yuen and my engineering team.

Any type of visionary effort requires a dreamer.  This person was C.Y. Li.  Nothing much happened and the project faded when he retired in California.  I returned to Taipei several times, and there were numerous good memories, but the latest must have been a decade ago.  I was curious how the city had changed.

I also had project with Sun Yat Sen University in Kaohshung to study the potential of the whale shark replacing cattle for protein.  My visit to Churaumi Aquarium was helpful, for they showed some graphics with photos of 300 babies in a female whale shark.  Considering that a cow mostly produces one calf, the economics of a whale shark industry seems intriguing.

Today, Taipei itself has 2.7 million residents.  However, 16 miles away is Keelung Port, so if you include the whole metropolitan area incorporating New Taipei and Keelung, the population rises to 7 million,

That tall building is Taipei 101, with 101 floors.  It was #1 in the world until 2008 when the Shanghai World Financial Center was built, almost immediately surpassed by Dubai's Burj Khalifa.  T101 today?  #11.

The greatest collection of Chinese antiquities can now be found in Taiwan.  These artworks kept being moved during the Japan occupation and Chinese civil war until 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek retreated to this island, taking the very best, 600,000 pieces, on three ships.  8,000 years of history from the Neolithic to the modern.  And it was a good thing because Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1977 on the mainland destroyed much of Chinese ancient heritage.  The National Palace Museum finally opened in 1965. 

The political status of Taiwan is metastable.  The modern history is Japanese occupancy for half a century until the end of World War II, followed by American protection to check Communism.  The People's Republic of China says there is only one China, and it will only be a matter of time before they prevail.  Thus, that art collection?  No problem, they will all be effectively at home when the inevitable occurs.

The Diamond Princess was able to dock at Keelung Port.  We took the city tour.  The first stop was the National Palace Museum. How can I show 600,000 photos?  So I'll limit my post to jade plus:

Yes, don't look like traditional jade, but they were unusual.  The first one was the size of a wheel.  Vases, etc.

We then went to Martyr's Shrine to see a changing of the guards ceremony:

If you look closely, perhaps you'll see my reflection.

Then off to the Grand Hotel for an incredible Chinese buffet.  They had everything you would want, except for Shanghai Soup Dumplings:

There were ten stations of different food categories.  The beer was free.  Unfortunately, there was a mob of people and not much time to forage and eat.

Finally, my Blue-bar pigeon appeared at Confucius Temple and Da-Long-Dong Baoan Temple.  Not making this up.

Our final tour was to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall:

Chiang's reputation spans the full gap from revile to revere.  His respect in Taiwan has steadily declined because he executed many of the local educated and elite.  Interestingly, China is more and more portraying him as a hero for his anti-Japanese resistance during World War II.  Similarly, the U.S. twice tried to assassinate him, but now seems to look at him more favorably.

In any case, he ruled Taiwan from 1949 to 1985, passing away at the age of 87.  Madame Chiang Kai-Shek lived on for almost two decades till the age of 105.  She, Mei-ling, is one of the three famous Soong sisters, for older sister Ai-ling married China's richest man, H.H. Kung, while #2, Ching-ling, married Sun Yai-sen, Father of Modern China.  She went on to became the only Communist of the three, and became honorary President of China in 1981 just before her death.

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