Marketing and Singing Pics

On Saturday, after geocaching on Friday, The Bushman and I headed off to the Taichung Fish Market, women and children in tow.

The only thing new since my last visit was this shaded walkway...

Sugar cane for juicing.

The Bushman, my wife, and Sheridan

The vendors were setting the food out for lunch, sumptuous colors illuminated by bright flourescent light.

Pick a fish, any fish.

Jurassic Park: the closest we'll ever get.

Lots of big pots of delicious soup.

Cod is not cheap, but it is a lot cheaper here. We also bought a ton of sashimi.

As evening came we went up to Hukou to the Barrio Fiesta to meet friends, eat fried food, drink Red Horse Beer (shouldn't it be Ma Ying-jeou's personal favorite?) and sing like madmen.

Here I sing with one of my closest friends, Jeff.

Michael performs to everyone's amusement. I have to admit I've become a convert to beer and KTV. Hope to see you there soon!

[Taiwan] [Taichung]

KMT: Nobody wants the job

Ma Ying-jeou's resignation as Chairman has left some big shoes to fill. Taiwan News reports on the problems the KMT is having finding a replacement:

No one within the Kuomintang has shown any willingness to run for the party chairman post in a by-election tentatively slated for mid-April or early May, not even acting Chairman Wu Po-hsiung, KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said yesterday.

Wu Po-hsiung is a Hakka from a faction in Taoyuan. Wu Den-yih is the former mayor of Kaohsiung, whom DPP stalwart and likely Presidential candidate Frank Hsieh sent scurrying from office before taking over to make large-scale improvements in the city. The article then goes on to give the reactions from the two major sides in the struggle, the Party Machine represented by Lien Chan and his protege Wang Jin-pyng, and the forces of former Chairman Ma Ying-jeou.

KMT Lawmaker Wu Chih-yang, Wu Po-hsiung's son, categorically denied the media rumors that his father is gearing up to run for the party's chair.

Wu Chih-yang said that "the top priority for my father now is building party unity and pushing Ma and Wang to discuss their presidential rivalry."

According to lawmaker Hsu Shu-po, "it would be best" if Lien were to be handed the KMT chairmanship without having to take part in the by-election, and he called for members of the KMT to support this idea.

Wu Po-hsiung has yet to make public any intention to run for the KMT chairmanship, and Ma's aides had better not to speculate over the issue, Hsu said.

Lawmaker Wu Yu-shen, a protege of Ma, argued that Lien should have to run in the by-election in accordance with the party's mechanism if he is interested in assuming the KMT chairmanship.

"Whoever wants to become KMT chairman must follow the party's system and get elected through the by-election in line with the party's reform efforts," he said.

If Lien Chan ascends to the position, which seems likely, his prospects for a third presidential run will improve markedly, and so will those of legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng. Traditionally the Chairmanship of the KMT is enormously powerful, a key position for placing supporters in key posts in the party, and for gaining access to party resources.

Note that the Ma side prefers elections, the Lien side wants him to simply ascend to the post. Because of longstanding cultural habits of deference to older authority -- in this case, Lien Chan, the honorary chairman of the KMT and a party elder and insider -- it is likely that no one will declare until Lien himself makes clear his position.

[Taiwan] [KMT] [Ma Ying-jeou] [2008 Presidential Election]

Shih Betrays Again

Former DPP Chairman and turncoat Shih Ming-te, who recently led the anti-Chen protests in Taiwan, is off to the US, going back on his promise to remain in isolation....

Some of the remaining members of the self-styled "Million Voices Against Corruption" campaign were outraged to discover that their headquarters on Chongqing S Road has been closed without warning and that their erstwhile leader has left the country, the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday.

About 10 protesters gathered outside the locked metal door to protest on Wednesday, but were dispersed after campaign leaders called the police.

The office was closed just days after former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德), who had pledged to "imprison" himself in his apartment until President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) left office, traveled to the US on Feb. 15, reportedly for medical treatment.

Campaign spokesperson Chang Fu-chung (張富忠) said yesterday that Shih had undergone surgery for liver cancer.

Shih also plans to stop in Japan for media interviews on his way home early next month.

Who didn't predict this would happen? Everyone but the dupes who forked over $100.

Jim Mann in Seattle for Booksigning

Perry at Taiwan Focus passed around this book signing news for the Seattle Area:

+++++++++++

For those in Seattle Washington USA Jim Mann will stop in Seattle on Monday, March 5 for a discussion and book signing at the University Book Store..If you want more information you can call the book store at (206) 634-3400.

Here's the information:

Monday • March 5 • 7pm
James Mann
The China Fantasy: How Our Leaders Explain Away Chinese Repression (VIKING)
Discussion & Book Signing
University District Store
What if, after all the talk of capitalist free markets bringing open, free democracy to China, it doesn't happen? What if instead it remains an unyielding Leninist system unwilling to stop its abuse of human rights and hold free elections? James Mann follows this provocative line of thought in his newest book.

[Taiwan] [China] [US] [democracy]

Weekend Fun

What good things could we find on our weekend?

I spent this weekend hanging out with The Bushman in Taichung and Hukou. So expect more pics tomorrow....

Explosives are an important component of a fun Taiwan weekend...

Fireworks arrayed on a roadside table.

A local alley.

Taichung, Taiyuan Rd.

Michael's friend and my wife enjoy a hearty laugh. We had originally planned to go geocaching on Tatu Mountain on the west side of Taichung, but when Michael fired up his GPS receiver, it showed a geocache less than 1 km away, near the famous Wind Moving Stone in Ta-ken. The stone no longer moves, thanks to the government's decision to "return the stone to its natural state" by cementing it in place. But the cache was there. So we headed up the hill...

Slowly we made our way up the hellish log steps...

Michael heads up.

Michael and Hui-chen take a break.

It was a crowded day at the top. My son attempts to locate the geocache with Michael's GPS.

Sheridan looks on.

Michael shows the kids how the GPS works.

I won't show you where the cache was. Here my daughter inspects its contents. You're supposed to leave a trinket, and take something out.

Each cache has a book and a pencil so that visitors can leave a record of their names, the date, and what was put in and taken out. Here is an entry from those who have gone before.

Carefully we re-wrap the plastic box in the plastic bags so it will be safe from the elements.

Returning back down the hill, we ponder this oddity: a crossbow bolt impaled on a tree. I thought crossbows were illegal here.....

At the base of the hill are several country KTVs. On a Saturday they were going full blast and the road was lined with cars. You can here them for at least a kilometer in any direction. So much for fantasies of bucolic quiet.

Some enthusiasts had even erected an outdoor system with absolutely gigantic speakers.

In the evening, it was out to the local restaurant, where we ordered way too much food...

But ate it anyway....

UPDATE: The Bushman's account of our journey, with excellent pics.

[Taiwan] [geocache] [Taichung] [geocaching]