Simon Tisdall Scores! And Me Too

Want to take a break from the usual pro-Bejing stuff in the foreign media? Simon Tisdall of the Guardian has a good piece on Taiwan-China-US relations that manages to avoid many of the pitfalls (still reproduces the "renegade province" formulation, though, a phrase that is an invention of the western media) that plague foreign reporting on Taiwan. It manages to be informed, not make egregious errors, not incorporate Beijing propaganda, not say that Chen "provokes" China, and include comments from Taiwanese officials. Few pieces in the international media are as good. Thanks, Simon! Here it is:

While the US frequently encourages Taiwan to buy new and second-hand US weaponry to be better able to defend itself, it has criticised Taipei's indigenous development of the long-range "Hsiung Feng' cruise missile, which it (and China) views as an offensive weapon. Chen was recently obliged to pledge to "consult" Washington before firing the missiles. US fears about fuelling cross-strait tensions, stoked by Beijing, also appear to have delayed Taiwan's purchase of 66 state-of-the-art, US-made F16 fighters.

Taiwanese officials say China has become adept at manipulating the Bush administration. "They are under pressure from China. China is very clever. If they want to do something on Taiwan, they call the White House and tell the Americans that Taiwan is rocking the boat. Then the US government puts pressure on us," a senior official said.

"We tell the Americans they should deal directly with us, they should take our national interest into consideration. But of course we are afraid about the growing cooperation between the US and China. It is a problem for us. It is definitely squeezing Taiwan."

Political factors are also straining Taipei-Washington ties as Taiwan moves towards next year's contentious legislative and presidential elections, in January and March respectively. Chen, who is standing down after two terms, is determined to hold a national referendum before he goes on changing the country's official name - Republic of China - to the more familiar Taiwan. The plan is then to apply for UN membership (it is currently excluded) under the new name - thereby raising "global awareness" of the Taiwan issue.

Poll watchers say the referendum proposal, opposed by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) but backed the ruling Democratic Progressive party (DPP) and 3 million signatures, is likely to pass as matters stand now. That prospect infuriates China, which rightly sees the vote as a ploy to emphasise Taiwan's separateness, and alarms the risk-averse US.

Mayhap Tisdall can flip this piece to his colleague Jonathon Watts in Beijing, whose articles are generally disastrous regurgitations of what Beijing is thinking.

++++++++++

Meanwhile Highway 11, the East Coast's leading expat magazine, graciously consented to run my piece on drowning. The regular editors must have been out at the bar, I guess, when the editorial decision was made. Also in this month's issue are a collection of articles held to a much higher standard, including a piece on hostels in Hualien, and an article on the craft fair there. Show your support for Highway 11 by clipping one of the many ads and taking it to a local restaurant next time you're in Hualien.

[Taiwan]

Drowning

Foreigners in Taiwan are always amazed at the inability of Taiwanese to swim despite living on an island surrounded by water and cross-cut by numerous rivers. Swimming pools abound, too. Even more alarming is that despite an avowed inability to swim, Taiwanese often go down to the water to play, resulting in many otherwise avoidable deaths. Yesterday the Taipei Times reported that Taiwanese kids are at unusual risk of drowning:

According to numbers released by the WHO and cited by the foundation, only 0.5 out of 100,000 children up to 14 years old in Australia died while playing in water in 2001.

The figure in Taiwan, however, was 1.8 per 100,000 person, "which is three times higher than the figure in Australia," Lin Yue-chin (林月琴), executive director of the foundation, told the press conference.

Statistics released by the foundation showed that accidental death has been the No. 1 cause of death among children since 1994.

Drowning is the number 2 cause of accidental deaths here among kids, and in the world among all people. An NOAA report noted that drowning is actually underreported as a cause of death, since typical "accident" definitions exclude drowning due to catastrophes such as flooding or storms.

The Taiwan problem is global -- death rates by drowning in India, Africa, and China are much higher than in the developed world, where many people learn to swim. In the developed world marginalized and minority populations, typically poorer than the majority, also have higher death rates due to a lack of education in swimming and water safety. Taiwan is no exception in the Chinese world. According to the NOAA report above, drowning is the leading cause of injury death for children 1-14 in China.

In Taiwan, another drowning risk often overlooked is the constant presence of water in farms, including innumerable irrigation ditches, dams, culverts, and aquaculture pools. In one Australian study, farm irrigation facilities cause more than 3/4 of all drowning deaths in the 5 and under cohort.

The Foundation recommended that Taiwan put greater emphasis on education:

Education is another measure the government should take, Lin suggested.

"Our field investigation found that only 3.56 percent of schools nationwide require that their students learn to swim," Lin said.

"In addition, swimming lessons should consist of more than just letting students learn to swim. Students should be taught practical survival skills in water, especially in emergencies," Lin said.

Meanwhile, Lin emphasized that parents must also share the responsibility.

"During our field investigation, we also saw many parents allow their children to play in rivers alone, or while being monitored from a distance," Lin said.

"An emergency can occur at any moment and can take your child's life in just seconds," Lin warned.

Only 4% of students obtain swimming instruction at their schools. The Foundation also made clear that the famous Taiwanese indifference to safety is also an issue.

My first year at the university I lost two students to drowning, one by death, the other to injury. They were "playing" in shallow water outside of Taichung Harbor, apparently, and drowned in water that was deep enough to stand up and walk out of. The same thing happened to the kids who died last month in Ta-ken. Panic and inexperience will claim your life in seconds in the water. In addition to pushing them to have a plan for what to do after graduation, one of the stock speeches I give to my students is that they have to learn to swim, which should be regarded as a necessary skill, not a leisure activity. Generally I find that about half my kids are unable to swim at all, including my adult students. That's a recipe for a continuing high death rate by drowning.

[Taiwan]

Drowning

I often hack on the China Post for its completely unreliable political reporting, but once they get outside of politics they do a great job on local stuff. The other day the China Post published a list of dangerous seashores in Taiwan.

Paishawan beach on the northern coast of Taipei County was listed as one of the ten most dangerous seashores in Taiwan by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA).

Other locations on the CGA list of places where people should take precaution when escaping the summer heat include Peace Island off Keelung, Santiao Cape on the northeast coast scenic area in Taipei County, and Chishintan in Hualien County.

Kenting National Park also made the list, with CGA listing an area near the Chuanfanshi rock as a dangerous seashore, while Anping Harbor in Tainan and Chichin in Kaohsiung are some of the prominent scenic spots on the list.

I constantly tell my own students that they have to learn to swim. Swimming, I tell them, should be viewed as a necessary skill, not a leisure activity. I read several years ago that drowning is the number 2 cause of death among Taiwanese students abroad, while at home, 411 people drowned last year on Taiwan. Many of those people might have survived with a little swimming ability.

The paper also reported:

Officials are warning people to take heed of warning signs along the coast or rivers and lakes in the inland area in pursuing swimming or other water activities during the summer.

Yesterday, a high school student drowned near a waterfall in the Taiping scenic area in Taichung County after jumping from a 10-meter high cliff.

Police had to maneuver through steep cliffs along a river to recover the body of the student

My friend Jason, on a visit from the US, and Andrew Kerslake (more on them later) were out at the waterfall yesterday and sent me these pictures:

Here Andrew looks down over the falls. Meanwhile the two of them stumbled upon a disturbing sight:

A hastily abandoned picnic site, with food still sitting halfway done on the BBQ. This appears to be the picnic of the drowning victim. Note the beer cans. Alcohol and water do not mix.

[Taiwan]