1068 42 8

Vol. 42 No. 8 August 2017

CHINESEENGLISH BILINGUAL MONTHLY ISSN 1991-525X

8
Taiwan Panorama

Local Groups

in the International Spotlight

OISTAT

g0v


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Chillin in the Summertime

H ot time, summer in the city! Some young children
take the opportunity to splash about in a fountain at
the Liudui Hakka Cultural Park in Pingtung County. Its a

sure sign that the dog days of summer are not far behind.
(photo and text by Jimmy Lin/tr. by Phil Newell)


10681
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Publisher: David Tawei LEE

Director: Paul Kuoboug CHANG


Editor-in-Chief (acting): DUAN Shu-hwa
LIMA 14
Editor: LIU Yingfeng

Deputy Editor: LUNG Pei-ning

Writers: Cathy TENG, CHEN Chun-fang,

Lynn SU

Director of Layout: HU Ju-yu
OISTAT1997
Art Editors: HSIAO Ying-tsen, Henry WANG

Photographic Coordinator: CHUANG Kung-ju
30

Photographic Director: Jimmy LIN * * *

Photojournalist: LIN Min-hsuan

English Editors: Audrey CHEN, Robert TAYLOR,
Phil NEWELL
g0v

Japanese Editors: YAMAGUCHI Yukina, 4
Shila SHIH

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128
2017 NGO

l

Reaching Out from
Taiwan to the World
T aiwan has always been an active player
on the global stage.
In this months cover story, we look at
Taiwanese sharing their experience with the
world, whether in the arts, medicine, Aborigi-
nal affairs, or Internet technology.
Led by Tuhi Martukaw, the LIMA Taiwan
Indigenous Youth Working Group has become
a voice on the world stage, speaking up for Ab-
original issues. Promoting international theat-
rical exchange, the NGO OISTAT was founded
in the Czech Republic, but in 1997 moved its
headquarters to Taiwan. This group of young
local talent has set to building bridges between
the Eastern and Western theatrical worlds.
Social media provider g0v.tw is built on a
spirit of cooperation and autonomy, and in
just four short years has found use among civil
groups not only in Taiwan, but also in Hong
Kong and Spain, becoming one of the worlds
top three civic tech communities.
In recent years, the Taiwan Foundation for
Rare Disorders has worked to improve the
medical environment for patients, helping cre-
ate a model that neighboring countries have be-
gun to look toward. Whether in the medical, ar-
tistic, cultural, or tech worlds, Taiwan is always
ready to contribute to the global community.
In the blood of todays cross-generational
artists seems to run an inherently rebellious
element, something that makes them fearless
trailblazers in the face of tradition.
Liu Kuo-sung, recipient of a 2017 National
Cultural Award and known as the father of
modern ink painting, has taken a traditional
Eastern art form and infused it with Western
elements to create a style uniquely his own.
Other artists of the new generation, like Ho
Ching Chwang, Kao I-min, and Kokia Lin, have
taken the intoxicating beauty of Chinese char-
acters and injected new ideas into the aesthetic,
whether through poetry or design techniques.
Chiayi is home to the 14-year-old perfor-
mance troupe Our Theater, who reinterpret
Western classics in Taiwanese. The expecta-
tions of tradition did not limit these artists, but
rather gave them an understanding of where
they came from. As renowned film director
Hou H siao-hsien has said, limitations can be-
come the foundation for new creativity.
Wandering through Taipeis narrow lanes,
one finds elegant homes and gardens that
have been witness to the citys history. In Wan
hua, for example, stands the U-mkt, an old
Japanese-era market that has been renovated
and revived. The horseshoe-shaped structure,
with its brightly lit interior, is like a tunnel
leading back eight decades in time, to when
the original market was new and bustling.
Neighboring the babbling Beitou Creek is
the Plum Garden, the house where renowned
calligrapher Yu You-ren spent his twilight
years. Amid a fusion of Western and Japanese
styles, Yus calligraphy decorates the build-
ing, while in the garden, plum trees provide
shade as we reflect on the life and tastes of the
gardens former master.
Our articles this month seek to highlight
how artists and NGOs are using action and
passion to protect our land, hoping to keep
the fires of their wills burning. l
(Liu Yingfeng/tr. by Geof Aberhart)
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CONTENTS 1068 42 8 Vol. 42 No. 8 August 2017

6
Cover Story

6
OISTAT@
Connecting the World of Theater:
OISTATs Headquarters in Taiwan
OISTAT

14
LIMA
LIMA: Young Indigenous People Working
for a Better Future
LIMA

14 22

Linking Hands Across the Sea:
The Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders

30
g0v
Pioneers of Open Government:
g0vs Civic Hackers

48
Photo Essay

48
Oyster Bed March

Editors Note
Postcards from Home

1 40
Reaching Out from Taiwan to the World Chillin in the Summertime Variety Pages

 Old Residences

58

Cover: Local NGOs activities in the arts, healthcare,
Aboriginal rights and online civic participation are bringing The Plum Garden:
Taiwan to the international stage. (photo by Jimmy Lin, Retreat of Calligrapher Yu You-ren
design by Hu Ju-yu)

Artists and Artisans

68

At War with TraditionLiu Kuo-sung,
the Father of Modern Ink Painting

68
Cultural Renewal

80
New Roles for Ancient Characters

90
Our Theatre:
Roots in Chiayi, Eyes on the World

Urban Spaces

100

80

Taipeis U-mkt: A Traditional Market Reborn

Southeast Asian Focus

108

Ted Tsai:
Two Decades of Indonesian Musicology

116

100

The New Arrivals:
Southeast Asian Immigrants and Migrant
Workers in Taiwan

COVER STORY

OISTAT@
Connecting the World of Theater:
OISTATs Headquarters in Taiwan
OISTAT

6 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


OISTAT T he headquarters of the International Organisation of
Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians can
be found in the Center for Innovation Taipei, on the west side of

the site of the old Zhongshan Soccer Stadium. The plaza of neigh-

boring Expo Park is visited by throngs of tourists, and occasion-

ally one of them will wander over, knock on the door, and ask: What
is it that you do here?

OISTAT The full Chinese name for the organization is a

mouthful, extending for 20 characters, but it is commonly
known by the acronym OISTAT, which comes from the
20
French: Organisation Internationale des Scnographes,

Techniciens et Architectes de Thtre.

OISTAT
The three key elements here are scenographers,
theater architects and technicians. Basically, OISTAT
OISTAT is a platform for exchange among international theater
professionals. It is also one of the few international NGOs
OISTAT with a headquarters in the ROC and with local member-
ship in the organization under the name of Taiwan.
Joining as Taiwan
Established in 1968, OISTAT originally served as a
platform for theater professionals in eastern and western
1968OISTAT
Europe to gain new knowledge via exchange across the
Iron Curtain.
OISTAT From the start, OISTAT aimed to move to various
places in the world and deeply embed itself in the local
OISTAT culture. That has remained one of the organizations
unique features. OISTATs first general headquarters
was in Prague, and in the 1990s, after the fall of the Ber-
OISTAT
lin Wall, it moved to Amsterdam.

In 1997, thanks to hard work by senior theater

hands, ROC membership in OISTAT was attained under

OISTAT the name of Taiwan. In 2006, with the support of the
Council for Cultural Affairs (the forerunner of todays
Ministry of Culture), the OISTAT secretariat moved to
Taiwan, and in 2011 the secretariat was upgraded to be-
O I S TAT come the organizations headquarters.

Wei Wan-jung (second from left), executive director at OISTATs

Based in Taiwan
headquarters, is adept at leveraging the latest youth-oriented Taiwan is the first non-European site of the OISTAT
trends to breathe new life into a nearly 50-year-old institution.
(photo by Chuang Kung-ju) headquarters. Its a demonstration that OISTAT has

7
 OISTAT OISTAT

OISTAT OISTAT
OISTAT OISTAT
1990 OISTAT

1994OISTAT
1997
OISTAT2006 OISTAT
OISTAT
2011OISTAT
2015OISTAT

2020
OISTAT

OISTAT
OISTAT OISTAT
2015
Henk van der Geest
2016
Sophie Jump

20172015
N O99
Unified Estonia Assembly
2017NO99 201444

4
In 2017, the Estonian company Theatre NO99 was invited to
Taiwan to share its insights into the possibilities of political
performance art. (photo by Wang Bizheng)
NO99




Tiit Ojasoo



Tiit
Ojasoo


4

8 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

OISTAT not set that precedent, argues Wei. She cites an example:
OISTAT often takes advantage of international conferences
to arrange tours of the local arts scene. The photo shows the
Roman Theatre of Mrida in Extremadura, Spain.
truly reached beyond Europe, says executive director
Wei Wan-jung. It wasnt until that [first] day [in Taiwan]
that OISTAT could say it was truly an international or-
ganization. By moving the headquarters to Taiwan, the
theater arts of East and West have been given greater op-
portunities for crosspollination and greater possibilities
for exchange.
Whats more, with Taiwans special international situa-
tion, the headquarters has come to more fully consider the
unique international circumstances that each nation faces.
The headquarters once encountered an incident when an
OISTAT national branch was assisting with an event but
the host government was refusing to allow another na-
tions OISTAT branch to participate. As soon as Wei heard
the news, she immediately decided that OISTAT would
pull out. As an international organization, OISTAT can-
Say one day we were holding an activity in Egypt, and
Egypt banned Israel from participating. Then what?
In 2015, OISTAT and the Ministry of Culture signed an
agreement to allow the headquarters to remain in Taiwan
until 2020.
Forging new conceptions
Wei has actively leveraged the advantages inherent in
OISTAT being headquartered in Taiwan to introduce new
international concepts here. In 2015 she invited Dutch
lighting master Henk van der Geest to Taiwan to hold
seminars and master classes. In 2016 Sophie Jump, winner
of the Gold Award at the World Stage Design exhibition,
came to lead the Jump Out of Theatre: Design as Perfor-
mance forum and workshop.
In 2017, the Estonian company Theatre NO99, win-
ner of the Golden Triga for Best Exposition at the Prague
Quadrennial 2015, was invited to Taiwan to talk about
the Unified Estonia Assembly project, a combination of
performance art and politics that the company led over
the course of 44 days during the 2014 Estonian elections.
The company had proclaimed the launching of a new
political party: the Unified Estonia Assembly. At the
9
 2015~2025C o r e
S t r a t e g y
OISTAT


4OISTAT
3050
2011OISTAT



OISTAT

OISTAT






2011


T

2013

2016

In 2016 the Jump Out of Theatre: Design as Performance forum 2017

and workshop used skits to get participants to open their senses
and explore their environment. (photo by Zhang Zhiyuan)
Ye-Tai

OISTAT

2017OISTAT
World Stage DesignWSD

Scenofest
2013OISTAT2 Theatre Architecture CompetitionTAC
Technical Invention Prize

10 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

performance site, it then went on to design political adver-
tisements, come up with a party platform, and hold large
campaign rallies. Thanks to excellent planning and perfect
performances, the UEA caused a sensation, and at the
finale participants voted on party representatives. When
party chairman Tiit Ojasoo, the companys director, got
up on stage, he said but one sentence: Now you are free.
The work reflected the bizarreness of contemporary
democratic politics, and it made an ironic statement about
political manipulation.
For those involved in theater, politics and social
movements in Taiwan who were already skilled at using
theater to comment on society, the lecture opened new
vistas on how political issues can be played with in ways
that challenge prevailing conceptions and methods.
Youth groups, turbocharged creativity
Since 2013, the OISTAT headquarters has been recruit-
ing interns to participate in daily activities. Wei hopes to
enable young Taiwanese both to engage in international
exchange without needing to go abroad and to gain an
understanding of how an international organizations
headquarters works.
2015
Aura Seeker was a forum and master class on lighting that was
held in 2015. (photo by Wang Bizheng)
There are only four formal professional staffers at
the headquarters, but with an average age of 30, they
are skilled at making use of the latest trends, and they
have injected youthful energy into an organization that
is nearly 50 years old.
Meanwhile, Wei, who has a background in foreign
affairs and art, is adept at using the vocabulary of dif-
ferent disciplines, and she has helped OISTAT attain
greater efficiency in its communications and opera-
tions.
Furthermore, young Taiwanese have been making
their mark in the theater community, says Wei. In 2011,
the first year of OISTATs Technical Invention Prize, the
top award went to Hu Hao-en for his Improved T-Joist
Backdrop Stretcher. In 2013 at the World Stage Design
competition in Britain, the cutting-edge director Chou
Tung-yen won the Interactive and New Media Award
for Emptied Memories. Wei repeatedly emphasizes that
the work being done in Taiwan is quite good enough
to garner greater international visibility. With OISTAT
providing international connections, there will only be
greater opportunities for Taiwanese in the field.
11

2013WSD

Anarchy Dance Theater and Ultra Combos were invited to perform

The Seventh Sense on the opening night at World Stage Design in
2013. (photo by Song Heng, courtesy of Anarchy Dance Theater.)

TIP

178

ScenofestScenography
Festival

40

2017

2310225

719
l

OISTAT1990-
200510



OISTATs World Scenography 19902005
includes ten works of outstanding stage
design by Taiwanese theater artists
among them Lai Xuan-wus design for a
Golden Bough Theatre production of Troy,
Troy Taiwan. (courtesy of Lai Xuan-wu)

12 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 Quadruple satisfaction
In July 2017, OISTAT is holding four major events
in Taiwan: The World Stage Design exhibition, the
Scenofest festival, the Theatre Architecture Competition
and the Technical Invention Prize.
World Stage Design this year is bringing together 178
different designs from around the world, documenting
the different design paths adopted by various nations.
Scenofest features 40 projects from different nations, in-
cluding Russia, Germany, Thailand, Hungary, Canada,
Egypt and Brazil.
Meanwhile, the Theatre Architecture Competition fo-
cuses on theater architects, using the drawings entered
for the competition as launching pads for enlightening
discussions on the possibilities of theater architecture.
This year 102 works were submitted from 23 countries,
from which 25 have been selected to be exhibited at
World Stage Design. The Technical Invention Prize en-
courages theater technicians to reveal their secrets and
thus promotes technical exchange among the theater
tech communities of various nations.
To be held at Taipei National University of the Arts
from July 1 to 9, these events promise a veritable feast
of global t heater. l
(Cathy Teng/photos courtesy of OISTAT/
tr. by Jonathan Barnard)
13
COVER STORY

LIMA
LIMA:
Young Indigenous People Working
for a Better Future
LIMA

14 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 LIMA
L ima, meaning hand, is a word common
to Austronesian languages. Young people
from Taiwans indigenous peoples, whose languages
LIMA
are Austronesian, have organized the LIMA Taiwan

Indigenous Youth Working Group to participate in in-

ternational initiatives on behalf of Aboriginal peoples
worldwide and defend the rights and interests of Taiwans
own first residents.

2006 In 2006, Tuhi Martukaw, then studying in the Depart-

ment of Diplomacy at National Chengchi University, went
UNPFII with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy to attend a
meeting of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indig-
enous Issues, making connections for further activism on
UNPFII
international issues of concern to Aboriginal peoples. Since
then, Tuhi has actively sought out every opportunity to par-
ticipate in the UNPFII and related meetings.
The founding of LIMA
2009 The first few times that Tuhi Martukaw attended the
UNPFII, she went as part of a group from a particular
agency or institution. But in 2009, while studying in Ger-
many, she sought out like-minded people concerned about
indigenous issues and they

f o r m e d a n i m p ro v i s e d
LIMA
group to go to the forum.

Since its founding, the LIMA Taiwan Indigenous Youth The members came from all
Working Group has participated every year in the United
over, some being students
Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
studying overseas, others
being based in Taiwan. For
this reason it was impossi-

ble for them to gather for

preparatory discussions

before going.

B e f o re t h e t r i p t h e y
didnt really have a chance
to get to know each other,
and for many it was only
when they arrived at the
airport in the host country
that they a ctually met face

15



LIMA








LIMA
LIMA2013

2013LIMA
12UNPFII N G O
LIMA LIMA

The general public still has little understanding of the richness
and depth of Aboriginal cultures. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

16 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


to face for the first time. But as far as the other delega-
tions were concerned, Tuhi and her party represented
Taiwans indigenous peoples, and each time any of
them spoke, it was a reflection on Taiwans image. If
any member of the group said something inappropriate,
or if there were differences of opinion within the group,
this would create contradictions in the way others per-
ceived Taiwans presumed representatives. This forced
Tuhi to come to grips with the importance of dealing
with problems like loose organizational structure and
lack of time to reach consensus.
For Tuhi, participation in international conferences
on indigenous issues is a long-term strategy that re-
quires a standing, coherent group of partners with con-
cern for and consensus on these matters. Therefore she
decided to gather together some young Aboriginal peo-
ple from among her circle of friends and acquaintances
and form a permanent organization, rather than simply
drumming up an ad-hoc batch of people.
She recruited young indigenous people with various
backgrounds, including urban and rural development,
land policy, linguistics, and law, and they chose the
word LIMA as their name, because it is common to
many Austronesian languages and creates a sense of
inclusiveness and connectedness. And so the LIMA Tai-
wan Indigenous Youth Working Group was formed in
2013, with Tuhi as its director.
Since 2013, when LIMA attended the 12th UNPFII
and its peripheral meetings, they have always orga-
L I M A
Drawing on the capabilities of young indigenous people from
many backgrounds, Tuhi Martukaw (first from left) and the
members of LIMA try to participate in as many international
meetings as possible.
nized reading groups to prepare themselves. For exam-
ple, for the first year, given the theme of the current
status of indigenous peoples in the world, LIMA pre-
pared materials that looked at that subject from angles
as diverse as climate change, health and healthcare, and
the environment. Members did individual research on
subjects of personal interest, and the group invited ex-
perts to join in their discussion sessions. These measures
provided group members with concepts that they would
need to participate in relevant forums, as well as prac-
tice in expressing and presenting their views.
Human rights issues are Aboriginal issues
It is commonly assumed that most issues of concern
to indigenous people revolve around education and
culture. But Tuhi emphasizes that all human rights prob-
lems are relevant to indigenous peoples. However, in the
current Aboriginal movement you rarely hear people talk
about these other issues, whether at the level of policy
or just general orientation. There is also little exchange
or interaction with non-indigenous NGOs, because they
dont understand the lives of indigenous people. It is for
these reasons that LIMA wants to be active in issue areas
beyond only education and culture, and you can see their
presence, home and abroad, at all kinds of conferences as
well as at reviews of international legal instruments.
Although the ROC is not in the UN, in 2009 Taiwan
voluntarily adopted the two most important interna-
tional legal instruments related to human rights: the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
17
 LIMA

During the Sunflower student protest
movement, LIMA held an indigenous
youth forum right at the protest site,
showing how they take advantage of
every channel for getting their message
out.

LIMA LIMA
NGO

LIMA


LIMA 2014LIMA
CEDAW

LIMA

LIMA

LIMA

NGO
LIMA
2013
81

18 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

and the International Covenant on Economic, Social,
and Cultural Rights. Following the UN model, Taiwan
invites international experts to come here periodically
to review the implementation of these agreements.
LIMA has participated in the review of the two con-
ventions since its first year in existence. Heres how the
process works: After getting reports from both the host
government and the non-governmental sector, inter-
national experts hold several days of public hearings
before presenting their concluding observations and
recommendations. Each ministry is then required to
produce a report in response to the experts views, and
non-governmental groups will follow up on whether
the government amends relevant laws or measures.
Before the ROC government drafts its reports, it
first meets with NGOs, one of them being LIMA, and
the NGOs continue to take part in follow-up meetings
with the government. Early in 2017, when international
experts came for Taiwans second review, they investi-
gated whether or not improvements suggested in the
first review had in fact been implemented. They spoke
with LIMA and other NGOs, who regularly followed
up on the governments progress. Although in many re-
spectssuch as the issue of disposal of nuclear waste
there has been only limited progress, causing some
people to question the effectiveness of the authorities
actions, LIMA members have still maintained their
communication with
the government. LIMA
In 2014 LIMA also
LIMA holds a variety of low-key activities like salons
participated in a review and sharing sessionsor just hanging out in someones
apartmentto encourage dialogue among Taiwans different
conference on the Con- indigenous peoples.
vention on the Elimi-
nation of All Forms of
Discrimination Against
Wo m e n (1981) . A n d
LIMA will also make its
presence felt at interna-
tional conferences sched-
uled to be held later
this year on the Con-
vention on the Rights
of the Child (1990) and
the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (2006).
To participate in reviews of any convention, LIMA
members have to digest an enormous amount of data
and attend countless seminars and discussion sessions.
While the process can be exhausting, it permits them to
take what they have learned at international conferences
and translate it back into substantive policy positions in
Taiwan. Being able to compare the contents of these con-
ventions or link them to domestic laws lends real depth
to the reading group discussions and makes them much
more meaningful. It is even possible that observations
made in field research, or actual experiences of life in Ab-
original communities, can be manifested in international
review conferences. This permits policymaking to genu-
inely address the vital issues of life in these communities,
and within the communities themselves, to precipitate
changes in ways of thinking or in how things are done.
Beyond street demonstrations
Taiwans sensitive diplomatic status sometimes
makes it hard for LIMA to formally participate in the
UNPFII, but they still are active in the specialized meet-
ings (e.g. the Pacific Working Group or Youth Working
Group sessions) that are held in conjunction with the fo-
rum. This year LIMA attended the UNPFII preparatory
conference for Asia, held in Thailand, allowing them to
share the recent Ketagalan Boulevard protest movement
with activists from other lands. But it is important to re-
member, Tuhi Martukaw remarks, that the issue of land
rights is a long-standing
one, and hasnt arisen
just because of the Keta
galan protest. Boosting
public understanding
and visibility of Aborig-
inal issues through as
many channels as pos-
sible is precisely what
LIMA has itself been
doing.
B a c k i n Ta i w a n ,
LIMA holds workshops,
and through innovative
activities like providing
opportunities to sample
handmade indigenous
foods, or rewriting song
lyrics, they hope to help
19




LIMA LIMA
UNPFIILIMA




LIMAUNPFII LIMA




LIMA LIMA
UNPFIILIMA
LIMA

LIMA
LIMA
LIMA

LIMA LIMA

l

20 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

the general public understand that participation in in-
digenous issues doesnt have to involve obscure legal
and political discourse. And the sharing of daily life
experiences creates opportunities for dialogue between
different indigenous peoples and different generations.
The members of LIMA often bring ideas about in-
digenous issues to bear in their professional work or
academic research. For example, Tuhi Martuk aw is a
news anchor with Taiwan Indigenous TV, and when
she reports international stories she focuses on things
that are relevant to Taiwan, such as climate change or
land development. LIMA member E
leng Kazangiljan is
another example. During a meeting of a reading group
he introduced the case of Perus Potato Park Commu-
nities. Other members of the group were then able to
tie this back in to the cultivation of traditional foods
by Taiwans indigenous peoples and the preservation
L I M A
(
) of the young can help create a better life on the ground
One of the international groupings in which LIMA participates is
the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (GIYC). LIMA always aims
to bring what they have learned abroad back home and use it to
make a brighter future on the ground in Aboriginal communities.
(photo courtesy of GIYC)
of biodiversity, providing different perspectives in the
context of a world in which economics seems to take
precedence over everything else.
Recently more and more young indigenous people in
Taiwan have taken note of the groundwork being laid by
LIMA in regard to issues that affect them. When friends
of LIMA members encounter issues relevant to Taiwans
Aboriginal peoples, they often go to LIMA members to
ask about how these issues are being handled interna-
tionally, for comparison with the situation in Taiwan.
These under-the-radar transformations are an affirma-
tion for all the work the LIMA members have put in.
But if you ask them about the sense of purpose that
drives them to volunteer time out of their busy sched-
ules for LIMA, they are modest. As Eleng says, I cant
really say were on any kind of grandiose mission here.
But if we can get a bit more done on behalf of indige-
nous peoples than would have been done otherwise,
thats very gratifying. The hope is that LIMA can con-
tinue to attract more young Aboriginal people to partic-
ipate in public affairs, so that the new ideas and energy
in indigenous communities. l
(Chen Chun-fang/photos courtesy of LIMA/
tr. by Phil Newell)
21
COVER STORY

Linking Hands Across the Sea:
The Taiwan Foundation for Rare
Disorders

22 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


R are diseases are those that affect less than one
in 10,000 people. Given how few sufferers there
are and the difficulties of diagnosis and treatment,

families and patients groups have had to turn to one an-

othersometimes even crossing international bordersto

20 lend each other moral support.
Over the last 20 years, Taiwan has built a framework for
dealing with these diseases, which includes National Health
Insurance, the Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Act, and the
Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders. This framework has at-

tracted considerable international attention, and representatives

from Taiwan were even invited to make a presentation about it to

the United Nations NGO Committee for Rare Diseases.

Each country has its own definition of rarity when

it comes to illnesses. Taiwan has set out a clear definition
in the Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Act: a disease that
2000
has a prevalence below one in 10,000 people, is genetic in

origin, or has high difficulty of diagnosis and treatment.

Families help each other

Rare diseases is a broad term that covers nearly
7000 different conditions. In Taiwan, the Ministry of

Health and Welfare has thus far recognized 215 illnesses
in this category under the RDODA, including some
you may have heard of, such as motor neuron disease,

215 osteogenesis imperfecta, mucopolysaccharidoses, spino

cerebellar atrophy, and thalassemia major. Some of these

diseases have patients numbering in the hundreds or

even over 1000 worldwide, while others number only a

handful of cases even on a global level.
There are about 6000 people in Taiwan who suffer
from rare diseases. There is no way to know ahead of
time the causes of these diseases, and there is little un
derstanding among the general public of their treatment.
Tseng Min-chieh and Serena C. Wu, the two people
who founded the Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders
1999 (TFRD) in 1999, met each other because both have family

members with a rare disease. The two often had to take
Because of you, love is not rare. The Taiwan Foundation for
Rare Disorders, founded in 1999, has garnered international their children in for treatment, and encountered all kinds
attention for its work on behalf of people living with rare diseases.
Seated at front in the photo is TFRD co-founder Tseng Min-chieh. of difficulties, so they began to help each other out.

23
20

1999
10











2000 3
5

5 Rare diseases are difficult to diagnose. The TFRD promotes
screening for newborns, hoping that early discovery will lead to
early treatment.

24 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


In those days neither the legal nor the healthcare
system was properly prepared for dealing with rare
diseases. The general public understood little about the
issues that affected families face, and patients and their
caregivers had to travel widely home and abroad seek
ing treatment, so it was only natural for them to turn to
one another for support.
Tseng and Wu founded the TFRD based on their own
personal experiences and after seeing the helplessness
of the families of patients with rare diseases. We cant
look after our children all their lives, but a system can,
says Wu.
The RDODA, passed in 2000 at the instigation of
the TFRD, made Taiwan only the fifth country in the
world to have such legislation. This not only made the
treatment of rare diseases more systematic, it also made
Taiwan a focus of international attention on this subject.
The maturation of a system for rare diseases
Newly founded non-governmental organizations of
ten have a long learning curve. In its first five years, the
TFRD laid the groundwork for the future by organizing
a number of international conferences. They invited in
ternational rare disease experts to Taiwan to help fill in
some of the gaps in local knowledge about things like
treatment, care, prevention, and postnatal screening.
Taiwan has over the years gone from basic learning
to having a mature system. Over the past decade the
Every child is a treasure,
and every parents wish is
that their child can grow
up healthy and free from
worry.
TFRD has helped create a national structure for dealing
with rare disorders and a systematic approach to their
treatment and the care of patients. The structure includes
the passage of the RDODA, bringing rare diseases
within the scope of social welfare protections, winning
the creation of a special fund for relevant medications,
inclusion of these disorders on the National Health In
surance list of major illnesses, and the broadening and
deepening of care and services for patients.
Because of the rarity of these disorders, and the fact
they are often difficult to diagnose, the TFRD and Na
tional Taiwan University Hospital have established a
database on rare hereditary diseases. So far the database
has gathered together detailed information on 200 con
ditions, and the data is open and accessible to anyone
who can read Chinese.
On average, it takes more than three years for suf
ferers from rare diseases to be correctly diagnosed, and
there are often misdiagnoses along the way. To help out
with this problem, the TFRD assists patients to go over
seas for genetic testing.
Unlike commonly seen diseases, rare illnesses cant
just be cured with some routine treatment. Usually, when
hospitalized, these patients get very intensive care, while
the rest of the time they are usually cared for by family
members. Therefore the TFRD not only is concerned with
the patient (who is of course the core concern), but also
25

95%
10

19992009



2004Damayanti

5

Five-year-old Haohao has a rare disease that makes excessive

protein intake dangerous. His parents carefully watch his diet to
make sure he grows up healthy. 2014

2015


20163
Rare Diseases Act

2000
NORD2006
EURORDIS


201611
NGO Committee for
Rare Diseases

26 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


Kong, the Hong Kong Alliance for Rare Diseases, an
Art can have a psychologically therapeutic effect. The TFRD
sponsors drawing classes to enrich the lives of participants.
(courtesy of TFRD)
with support for the family. They offer a variety of inno
vative courses and activities which are unique to Taiwan,
earning considerable attention from interested observers.
The TFRD focuses on giving breathing room to pa
tients and families for the 95% of rare diseases for which
there is no pro-active treatment. This is the aspect of
TFRD activities that has drawn the most praise and
attention.
Family members are the main source of support for patients. The
TFRDs cooking classes provide parents with a way to blow off
steam and exchange ideas. (courtesy of TFRD)
A model for other countries
Compared to other countries, Taiwan was ahead of
the curve when it comes to treatment for rare diseases.
Thanks in large part to the TFRD, between 1999 and
2009 Taiwan built a very comprehensive environment
for the treatment of rare diseases. Whether in terms of
legislation, social welfare, how rare disorders are de
fined, or experience with clinical treatment, Taiwan has
become a model for nearby governments such as Hong
Kong and Indonesia.
In 2004, Dr. Damayanti Rusli Sjarif of Indonesia came
to Taiwan to learn about the progress being made in
developing the system for dealing with rare conditions.
After returning home she sought out medical resources
for rare diseases and launched an advocacy organiza
tion, using Taiwans definition of rare disorders and rel
evant systems for reference. Through ten years of effort
she finally got the government and the medical commu
nity to sit up and take notice.
In Vietnam, it was only in 2014 that provisions related
to medications for rare conditions were incorporated
into legislation governing pharmaceuticals. This was
the first time that people with rare diseases and the is
sues of concern to them began to get attention. In Hong
NGO similar to the TFRD, was founded only in 2015. Its
main goals have been establishing a formal definition of
rare diseases, setting up a database, and founding a rare
diseases center. The Philippines passed its Rare Diseases
Act in March of 2016.
In recent years, Southeast-Asian countries have de
voted increasing attention to rare disorders. The export
of the Taiwan experience has helped interest groups in
Southeast Asia avoid having to re-invent the wheel.
Building up real capabilities
There are no borders to medicine, and when advanced
diagnostic and therapeutic tools are developed, people af
fected by rare diseases anywhere in the world can benefit.
The TFRD has joined the US National Organization
27


2030

keynote speech

2010 2018








l

Architect Kris Yao
has designed a
welfare home
for the TFRD
that will provide
an imaginative
and relaxing
accessible
environment.
(courtesy of
TFRD)

28 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


The TFRD has been able to make a global impression
Smiling children head outdoors, accompanied by parents and
volunteers. (courtesy of TFRD)
for Rare Diseases as an organizational member, and
since 2016 is also partnered with EURORDIS, the Euro
pean advocacy group for people living with rare disor
ders. These are platforms for sharing data and informa
tion about diagnosis and treatment.
There has long been an information gap interna
tionally. But help is on the way. As a result of an initiative
by EURORDIS, in November 2016 the United Nations
established the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases (CRD).
Taiwans experience had previously garnered so
much international attention that the CRD, on its own
initiative, invited the TFRD to be present at the formal
founding of the committee, and the TFRD was even
asked to address the group, and to share the stage with
representatives from the US and EU.
The TFRD planned to deliver an address on the theme
What Can Taiwan Contribute to the UN Sustainable
Development Goals 2030: An NGO Model for Rare Dis
eases. It also aimed to make concrete recommendations.
It was quite a challenge to try to sum up the experi
ence of 20 years in a ten-min
ute speech. Sadly, however,
the speech was cancelled due
to political obstacles. But the
TFRD, which is devoted to
serving the ill, remains un
daunted and has not given
up its work. Tseng Min-chieh
believes that there will never
fail to be an international au
dience for practical services
for patients. The TFRD has
gone from learning from oth
ers experiences to creating
an innovative service model
unique to Taiwan. Like a
shining pearl, the TFRD now
has the rest of the world fol
lowing Taiwan.
A welfare home sparks international discussion
and speak on behalf of patients with rare disorders as a
result of the accumulation of real capabilities. At the be
ginning of their second decade, they began to think about
how to provide a more comprehensive range of services.
Inspired by its experience of organizing travel for
people with rare conditions, the TFRD has decided to
construct a comprehensive welfare home. The design
has been done by the famous architect Kris Yao. The fa
cility will not be some cold and sterile building, but an
imaginatively configured, fully accessible environment.
When patients and their families come here, everywhere
they turn there will be things that will immediately put
them at ease, and within this space they can freely run
and laugh. This innovative service model is the first of
its kind anywhere in the world, and is a new topic for
international exchange.
Because of you, love is not rare. Though the num
ber of actual sufferers of rare disorders is, by definition,
small, they cannot be ignored by public health author
ities around the world. The TFRD has long been a win
dow to the world for Taiwan, while never forgetting its
mission of caring for and advocating on behalf of pa
tients with rare diseases at home. l
(Lung Pei-ning/photos by Lin Min-hsuan/
tr. by Phil Newell)
29
COVER STORY

g0v

Pioneers of Open Government:
g0vs Civic Hackers

30 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 g0v
2012 F ounded in 2012 in the spirit of freedom
and transparency of information, the on-
line group g0v (pronounced gov zero) aims to

harness the strength of the masses to bring about

g0v
social change.
Civic technology is on the rise around the world,
and Taiwans civic hackers have been working hard to
situate Taiwan at the forefront of this new trend. So far,
they have been succeeding, using their numbers and their
apps to turn Taiwan into one of the top three societies for

civic technology in the world.

2010 Civic technology has figured in several recent civic

2014 events. The Arab Spring of 2010, an Internet-enabled
civic awakening, is a case in point. And Taiwans mem-

ories of its 2014 Sunflower Student Movement are still

g0v
fresh. g0v played a key role in the latter movement,

distributing news and information about what was hap-

pening in a timely, transparent and open fashion.
g0v
A concern with public affairs
g0v Kao Chia-liang looks every inch a coder: he has long,
clkao naturally curly hair and a laid-back attitude. But hes
Open Source also deeply committed to civic engagement, and is one

of the founders of g0v, which uses technology to pro-

mote that very thing.

Fascinated by computers and programming since his

childhood, he wrote code even when confined to his bed

20121040 by illness. Programs create new technology, change peo-
ples lives, and can even change the world, he enthuses.
Kao didnt become interested in civic issues until
much later. In fact, it wasnt until he saw a 40-second
advertisement in support of the governments Economic
Power-up Plan in October 2012 that he began question-

ing how government operates.

He then decided to analyze the governments bud-
get. He came across a British Internet group that had
developed an application to track where tax dollars

g0v were going, and referenced that projects source code

Kao Chia-liang had been active in the open source movement for to create his own central government budget project.
years when a government ad got him interested in public affairs
and prompted him to found g0v (pronounced gov zero). That, in turn, sparked the formation of g0v.

31
 3,059101
121,181
iPhone5
g0v

g0v
2012g0v

g0vg o v
g0v gov
g0v

g0v
g0v

The Join website, an open government portal, encourages the
public to participate in government by offering planning and
policy-making ideas.





g0v

g0v20122014
g0v

g0v
2014

g0v


g0v

g0v
g0v used the Internet to provide timely information from the
scene of the Sunflower Student Movement.

32 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


2016 g0v.news
Minister without portfolio Audrey Tang
attended the 2016 Open Government
Partnership (OGP) summit in Paris.
(courtesy of g0v.news)
Starting from zero
His central government budget website attracted
a great deal of interest when it launched. In contrast to
the governments official budget, which consists of hun-
dreds of pages of impenetrable text, g0vs central gov-
ernment budget encourages understanding through the
use of visual design and relatable equivalencies.
For example, Taiwan spends NT$305.9 billion on
defense, which g0v points out is an amount equal to 10.1
billion cups of boba tea, a 396,000-square-meter palace,
or 11.81 million iPhone 5s.
While working on the project, Kao also realized that
the governments policy-making efforts had little con-
nection to public opinion. He cofounded g0v in 2012 to
promote a rethinking of the governments role from a
metaphoric zero.
People often confuse g0v with gov, the English abbre-
viation for government that it resembles. Many also
wonder, Is g0v a political party? Is it anti-government?
Neither government, nor political party, nor yet polit-
ical opposition, g0v is instead a community that stresses
openness and the equality of everyones views, one pos-
sessed of values drawn from the open, independent and
sharing spirit of the online world.
g0v participants like to say: Dont ask why no one is
doing a particular thing. First, admit that you yourself are
no one. Actively become no one, and other no ones to take part and have an impact, even if that participa-
will join with you to do that thing.
Civic hackers
g0v earned a name for itself during the Sunflower Stu-
dent Movement, when some members of the group went
to the scene of the protests to provide timely reports on
what was happening, while others built a platform that
aggregated protest-related information. In the process, g0v
itself became transparent, releasing on social media the
source code for all of the processes it had developed. Par-
ticipants in Hong Kongs 2014 Umbrella Movement went
on to use g0vs source code in their own web platform.
The shared goal of every civic hacker is a transparent
government. Such hackers gather at regular times to
address what they see as problem areas, and then work
on related projects in marathon sessions. Once these hack-
athons hash out a prototype, still more people pitch in.
Kao believes that even pretty good policies have flaws,
and g0vs projects are devoted to finding solutions to
such flaws. He notes that, on average, Taiwan experiences
a major social issue every two months, and argues that
these need to be discussed. Fortunately, we no longer
have to passively wait for the traditional media to air
our views. Instead, new technologies are providing new
opportunities for civic engagement and dialogue, which
are, in turn, spurring the government to revise its policies.
g0v projects focus on and actively pursue solutions
to public issues, and have a very high success rate. For
example, within 24 hours of g0vs launch of a project to
track political contributions, civic hackers had digitized
more than 30,000 files. Kao remains positive even when
projects fail. There are barriers to entry to participation
in the political process, but our group enables everyone
tion is superficial.
g0v has adopted the helpful and open attitude of the
Internets open source community, and strongly empha-
sizes doing something. The number of its members
and results of its projects have made Taiwans civic
hacker community one of the top three in the world
33

g0v

24

Hackathon
g0v


g0v4

Citizen Participation in Open Government

In the past, there was little connection between government policy-
making and public opinion. Now, the government is seeking to increase
j o i n public participation in public affairs and achieve open government from
the bottom up. Using the governments new Join website, the public
can propose ideas. If enough people sign on to a given idea, it becomes
a full-fledged case that will be discussed by the relevant departments
Participation Officer , participation officer (PO) and staff, the proposer, some of the cosigners,
P O and stakeholders. The Executive Yuans digital tsar will submit the
results of these discussions to the premier, who will then decide upon the
governments course of action.

1. Proposals made

3. Monthly coordination meetings

Join PO3
Ideas submitted via Join. All POs together discuss proposals and select cases to
guide through three weekly meetings.

5. Consensus

2. Cosigners acquired 4. Weekly meetings

PO
Discussion results

5,000 are submitted to the
Attended by PO(s) of relevant department(s), premier, who determines
5,000 cosigners make a case active.
staff of relevant department(s), proposer, government action.
some cosigners, stakeholders.

34 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

and drawn international attention to this new
aspect of the Taiwan experience.
Civic technology promotes participation
Kao and others from Taiwan last year
attended a summit in France of the Open Gov-
ernment Partnership, a multilateral initiative
that promotes open government. Kao shared
some of g0vs accomplishments as part of a
roundtable there. One of these was that the
Taipei City Government adopted g0vs source
code as a basis for its own participatory bud-
get, a project that encourages citizens to par-
ticipate in budget planning via a web portal,
just three years after g0vs launch of its central g0v
http://budget.g0v.tw/
government budget project. g0v created visualizations to help the public understand the central
Seeing this as a very positive development, governments budget. (screenshot from budget.g0v.tw)
Kao has shared internationally the role of the
civic-tech community in Taiwans model for
interacting and cooperating with the government. He
has also explained the follow-on applications that have
grown out of that cooperation. He says that they have
built their success on the foundation of mutual trust
they have established between the government and the
citizenry, and that their achievements offer practical
examples of the usefulness of civic technology.
The vTaiwan digital platform offers another example
of the citizenry and government borrowing from one
another. Originally created by g0v as a means to encour-
age civic participation in public policy by gathering a
variety of opinions and forging a consensus, it was later
adopted by the government as a portal through which
citizens can offer feedback that the government then
takes into consideration when making policy.
The government is making use of more than just g0v
projects. Its also made g0v member Audrey Tang the
Executive Yuans digital tsar. Tang has brought her g0v
membership and experience with her into government,
where she is pushing the twin goals of digitalization and
open government.
Tangs new model includes an open-government con-
tact person called a participation officer (PO). Every
department of the Executive Yuan is to have a PO, who
will hold public discussions on a regular basis on current
issues, including proposals such as allowing the forma-
tion of civil service unions, banning the sale of sharks
fins, ending after-school study halls, and crash-testing
domestically produced vehicles. POs will invite NGOs
and industry representatives to participate in the discus-
sions, and make the entire process open and transparent.
The front wall of Tangs Executive Yuan office is cov-
ered with sticky notes that make a colorful contrast to
the otherwise serious work atmosphere in the building.
Once we are inside, she pulls out a tablet computer and
shows us an open government project called the sprouts
dictionary.
Originally a g0v project, the sprouts dictionary is
an online multilingual dictionary, the entries of which
were sourced from the Ministry of Educations online
Mandarin, Southern Min, and Hakka dictionaries. Inter-
nationally praised since its launch, the sprouts dictio-
nary has already become a valuable tool for foreign
students learning traditional Chinese characters.
Even better, the dictionary is still growing and
spawning additional projects. For example, a French
student familiar with open source resources but still
learning Chinese has added English, German, and
French content to the dictionary. Meanwhile, the UKs
Oxford University has used the dictionarys source code
to create databases for other languages, including Zulu.
The sprouts dictionary project has attracted the
attention of linguists and educators around the world.
By making the source code available to others, the proj-
ect has extended its reach to other tongues, aiding in
efforts to preserve and learn endangered languages.
35
 g0v

The rise of g0v has encouraged more active civic participation in
government, making government information more transparent
and deepening democracy in Taiwan. In the photo, participants
enthusiastically debate policy during a hackathon.
OGP

g0v P O
3 PO







g0v
vTaiwanvTaiwan
g0v
iOS
g0vg0v Android

g0v

36 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 Information security and human rights
iTaigi.tw g0v has been starting up projects on its own initia-
tive since its founding in 2012. Its model relies on other

people joining in and helping as they see fit, working to

improve the functionality and ease-of-use of the tools

g0v has created. The ongoing use of these projects and

the other applications they have spawned have kept
Taiwans open-source community active on the interna-
tional scene.
g0v also holds a biennial summit that attracts nearly
1,000 participants. These include members of the open-

g0v2012 source and civic-tech communities of more than ten

nations, who come to share their experience and the

results of their projects.

At the end of 2016, g0v established the g0v.news por-

tal to report in depth on conferences abroad, the results
21g0v of projects, and Taiwans participation in both. The
Summit platform provides a framework for international ties by
offering these reports in both Chinese and English for
readers in Taiwan and abroad.
The current state of development in civic tech is
TICTeC9
largely the result of the communitys commitment to

freedom, which is exemplified by its response to Asias

2016g0v.news
ongoing human rights violations and the related lack
of information security that is exposing human rights
workers to danger. The community realized that people
in Europe and the United States were unfamiliar with the
human rights situation in Asia, and too far away to pro-

vide timely assistance when human rights were violated.

Kaos team therefore began working on an infor-

mation security for human rights project, one which is

drawing on Taiwans free and open environment and its

information security professionals. The team hopes to
cultivate information security awareness among human
rights workers, while also working to establish an infor-
mation hub on human rights in Asia.
Taiwans open source community has become world
renowned for the scope of its activities. Originally a

social movement, it has evolved into a civic movement

that has made it easier than ever for citizens in our dig-

ital age to participate in public policy debates. With the
rise of g0v, civic hackers are actively participating in a
grassroots effort to make information transparent, bring-
g0v ing the goal of truly open government a step closer. l
(Lung Pei-ning and Liu Yingfeng/
l photos by Chuang Kung-ju/tr. by Scott Williams)

37


399 288

41


42 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08



43


Ruth Mack BrunswickDr.

H elene D eut sc h

44 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08



320 256

45


260 212

H o r a c e

Mann

46 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08



47


L ooking down from the sky on the coastline of Chiayi Countys Dongshi Township, one sees
a multitude of oyster cages floating on the water, part of the oyster farms that are a common
sight on Taiwans west coast. At low tide, oyster farmers set out on their flat-bottomed boats,
weaving between the oyster cages to collect string after string of big, juicy oysters. After that,
ladies congregate in courtyards of traditional sanheyuan, chatting as they deftly cut open the
oyster shells, the womens hands worn and scarred from years of work.

Passing through Fangyuan in Changhua County, one can see old farmers still using ox carts
to tend their oyster beds in the traditional way. Under the golden twilight of dusk, the oxen pulling
their carts and drivers make their lonely way through the vast intertidal zone as they head home
in a scene that is destined to become history in just a few years. l

(photos and text by Jimmy Lin/tr. by Geof Aberhart)

52 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

These local women are all old hands at shucking oysters.
(Wanggong, Changhua County)

Just as grain farmers must check their fields,

so too do oyster farmers need to patrol their oyster beds.
(Fangyuan, Changhua County)

53

The shucked oysters are put in brine to preserve their flavor.
(Dongshi, Chiayi County)

54 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

55



Their days work done,
oxen and drivers head home
as the sun sets behind them.
(Fangyuan, Changhua
County)
OLD RESIDENCES

The Plum Garden:
Retreat of Calligrapher Yu You-ren

A s we exit the Xinbeitou MRT station, the Beitou Hot

Spring Museum can be seen at a short distance on the
right. The smell of sulfur wafts faintly on the wind, and
trees provide dappled shade. Small groups of two or three
strollers, young and old alike, bask in the pleasant atmo-
sphere, chatting as they head uphill. After ten minutes or
so, they arrive at a low-walled residential compound nes-
tled behind the museum. This is the Plum Garden, the late-
in-life retreat of politician and calligrapher Yu You-ren.

58 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


The Plum Garden was Yu You-rens summer retreat. The inscription
Plum Garden beside its front gate is in his own calligraphy.

59
 1930
300

2012

A municipal historic site located in the Beitou District of Taipei,

the Plum Garden attracts an endless stream of tourists.

Yu You-ren (left) and his right-hand man Liu Yantao
both sported luxuriant beards. (courtesy of Liu Binbin)

1879


34


1964
86
1949




12

60 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 Built in the late 1930s, the Plum Garden is one of Bei
tous fanciest residential compounds dating from the
Japanese era. It occupies nearly 1000 square meters, and
its two-story architecture blends Japanese and Western
forms. The upper level is in the Japanese style with black
roof tiles and a stone base, whereas the lower level,
constructed out of reinforced concrete, is Western in
style and once served as an air-raid shelter. Ownership
changed several times over the decades, before the house
became structurally unsound and stood abandoned for
several years. After renovations and reconstruction, it
was designated a Taipei City historic site and opened to
the public. Yu You-rens in-town residence on Qingtian
Street was torn down long ago, so the Plum Garden is
one of the few buildings left to provide a glimpse of how
Yu lived in his later years.
The greatest of his generation
Born in 1879 in Sanyuan County of Shaanxi Province,
mainland China, Yu came of age during the late Qing Dy
enjoyed the views of verdant hillsides and Beitou Creek
Yu You-ren became famous for his grass-script calligraphy,
characterized by its natural and flowing brushstrokes.
nasty and was a founding member of the KMT. One of his
most striking physical features was his beautiful chest-
length beard. Early on he put out a newspaper in Shang
hai that served as a mouthpiece for revolution. He then
attained high positions within the government, serving
as president of the Control Yuan for 34 years, the longest
tenure in the institutions history. Apart from his work in
government and politics, he also earned renown as a cal
ligrapher, specializing in grass (or cursive) script. His
collection of calligraphies by various mastersStandard
Grass Scriptearned him kudos as the greatest grass-
script maven of his generation. In 1964 Yu passed away in
Taipeis Veterans General Hospital at the age of 85.
In 1949 Yu decamped to Taiwan with the KMT gov
ernment. He was an old man, already in his 70s, and the
Plum Garden would serve as his retreat from the world
in his last years. The gardens director Xiao Weiren and
tour guide He Senyuan say that Yu came to the Plum
Garden to retreat from three things: the summer heat,
celebrations of his birthdays, and lobbyists. Back then
the Plum Garden was truly removed from the hustle and
bustle of the city. Without any surrounding high rises, he
and he took dips in nearby hot springs. For the last 12
61

60




10

A statue of Yu is on display in his study. The sagelike
figure seems about to come to life.

1950

34
1998

The Plum Garden has lush green surroundings
and historical architecture.

62 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

years of his life, the Plum Garden was Yus home away
from his home on Qingtian Street. It was a S hangri-
La for him in old age. The characters Plum Garden
carved beside its front gate are in his own calligraphy.
All the while he held true to his life mission of pro
moting the art of calligraphy. When fans came to ask
him to brush something, he almost never refused. Its
said that some 10,000 of his calligraphies ended up in
private hands. The Plum Garden also exhibits many of
his calligraphic engravings. His calligraphy Din Tai
Fung, Purveyor of Oils is still in the possession of the
renowned restaurant chain. Another one of his famous
works hangs in a corner of the Plum Garden residence:
Bring conscience to Heaven and Earth, secure the peo
ples livelihood, carry the torch for the ancient sages,
establish peace for future generations.
Now in her sixties, Liu Binbin is one of the few living
people who knew Yu firsthand. Her father Liu Yantao, a
63


Establish Peace for Future Generations, Yus most famous
calligraphy, is symbolic of his life and generosity of spirit.

34








20

64 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

member of the Control Yuan himself, was a painter and More than just a calligrapher, Yu was also an educator.
calligrapher who served as Yus right-hand man. Liu He found great joy in serving as a mentor to younger
was a key figure in helping Yu with the Standard Grass generations. Yu took Liu Binbins father Liu Yantao un
Script project. The two were very friendly, and Liu once der his wing when Liu was still a student at Peking Uni
lived for a period at Yus official residence in Nanjing. versity. Yu was involved in the founding of many educa
In 1950, Yu decamped with the Nationalist government tional institutions in the early 20th century, including Fu
to Taiwan, and Liu and his wife Chen Shixiang lived in dan Public School (now Fudan University), China Public
Yus house on Qingtian Street for a year. Yu was also High School, National Northwest Senior College of Ag
many times the guest of the Liu family in Zhonghe. The riculture and Forestry (now Northwest A&F University),
two households were extremely close. and Shanghai University. All are highly esteemed today.
For the 34 years after Yu passed away, up until he By gaining knowledge about what kind of person Yu
himself died in 1998, Liu Yantao regarded promoting was, I have come to a better understanding of why my
Standard Grass Script as his solemn duty. At that point, father spent a life by his side, says Liu Binbin earnestly.
Liu Binbin picked up the torch and founded the Liu Yan He was so warm and selfless toward others. He devoted
tao Foundation. Among the succession of photographs his life to his country. He was a great Chinese and de
and calligraphies that have been exhibited at the Plum serves to be honored by later generations.
Garden, many have come from Liu family collections.
Benefit for all the world
Standard Grass Script was one of Yus great achieve
ments. Liu Binb in explains that in past eras calligra
phers couldnt even read each others grass script. The
Yu You-ren was a calligrapher of the early Republican era. The
Plum Garden exhibits many prints of his calligraphies.
publishing of Yus book served as a means to unify a
fractured nation. She vividly recalls her father Liu Yan
tao describing how the book was created: Back then
they didnt have photocopiers or the Internet. There was
a team of eight or nine people that collectively searched
for the grass-script calligraphy of great masters, bring
ing together some 60,000 characters of calligraphic text.
They organized and analyzed the works, discussing
which types they wanted to include. Sometimes they
stayed up into the wee hours, and sometimes the argu
ments got heated. Laughing, she continues: My father
was spending more time back then with Master Yu than
with my mother and me.
Liu Binbin shares another, less-well-known anecdote:
One year, a young man from southern or central Taiwan
scored high enough on the joint entrance exam to enroll
in a university back when it wasnt easy to get into col
lege. But the students family was poor and couldnt af
ford to pay the tuition. His father heard that Yu You-ren
loathed seeing talent go to waste, so he went to the Con
trol Yuan and asked to see its president in the hope of
borrowing money to pay the university. After Yu learned
of the situation, he ordered his deputy to arrange with
the accounting office for an advance against Yus own
salary, which was given to the students father.

65
66 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08
 Apart from Establish Peace for Future Generations, the

In early summer, the Plum Garden invites musicians to perform

for the enjoyment of the visiting public. (courtesy of Taipei City
Department of Information and Tourism)
all the world.
most famous calligraphy of Yus before he died was one
he gave to President Chiang Ching-kuo: In calculating
benefit, calculate it for all the world. In seeking fame,
seek renown that lasts 10,000 years. In Liu Binb ins
eyes, Yu was indeed himself able to render benefit for

Plum blossoms, beautiful and aloof

In fact, the Plum Garden was not so named because

it contained plum trees. According to Yu Zhongling,

Yu You-rens third son, it was given that name simply

because his father appreciated plum blossoms. The
two plum trees now in the garden were in fact planted
much later, by former ROC president Lee Teng-hui

and Taip ei City mayor Hao Lung-pin. The aloofness
of the plum blossom signifies high integrity: Without
suffering the biting cold, one cannot enjoy the plum
blossoms sweet scent. Yus personal history echoed

the ups and downs of the nation. He kept his faith in

troubled times and remained uncorrupted, and he left

behind only calligraphies, the cloth shoes his wife Gao
Zhonglin made for him, and IOUs. It may well be that
no image is more suited to his life than the austerely
beautiful plum blossom.
As spring gives way to summer, the Plum Garden
extends its arms to embrace visitors, who mill about its

leafy back garden and gain an understanding of the life

and work of the compounds former inhabitant, the cal

l

ligraphic master Yu You-ren.

(Jojo Hsu/photos by Lin Min-hsuan/

l tr. by Jonathan Barnard)

67
ARTISTS AND ARTISANS

At War with Tradition

Liu Kuo-sung, the Father of
Modern Ink Painting

Liu Kuo-sung, the father of modern Chinese ink
painting, seems as young as ever, and is still
creating new work at a frenetic pace.
(photo by Chuang Kung-ju)

68 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

69

2008

2013

2014 2000
2016
American Academy of Arts and
S c i e n c e s
85
2017
101

1950

The formation of the Fifth Moon Group by Liu Kuo-sung (front

row, left) and a few other artists in the 1950s was indicative
of the waxing of Taiwans modern arts movement.

T he evidence of painter Liu Kuo-sungs inter-

national fame is indisputable. Major museums
all over the world, including the British Museum,
Sciences elected him a foreign honorary member,
making him the first person from Taiwan to earn this
honor in the category of Humanities and Arts.
hold his work in their collections. In 2008, Taiwans Lius honors and awards have risen, one atop the
National Culture and Arts Foundation honored him next, to Taipei-101-like heights, and recently culmi-
with a National Award for Arts. In 2013, mainland nated in a 2017 National Cultural Award.
Chinas Shandong Museum raised the curtain on its
Gallery of Modern Chinese Paintings by Liu Kuo-
sung. In 2014, Christies in Hong Kong auctioned
his painting Scenery of Hong Kong for some NT$67
million. In 2016, the American Academy of Arts and 1963
Rising Toward Mysterious Whiteness, 1963.

70 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

72 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08
C
Photos of the Moon inspired Lius Which Is Earth? C.

Liu injured his left ear while drunk on the beautiful views
from the Mt. Everest base camp. Fortunately, his creative
aspirations remain fully intact

17

When the world-renowned painter Liu Kuo-sung

sits down for our interview, he immediately asks that
I move to his right side so he can better hear me. Our

subsequent conversation begins with the subject of the

deafness in his left ear.

An ear for the arts
Liu explains that he climbed to the Mt. Everest base
8 camp, more than 5,000 meters above sea level, while
lecturing in Tibet in 2000.
I did as I was told that day, and sat down to enjoy
the view. It was incredibly beautiful. Once the clouds

blew off, the mountains were revealed. Wow! The sun

shone down on the ridge, creating a swath of brilliant

white. The scene went through countless permutations
in mere moments. Recalling the view 17 years later,
he is transported, and says it was the first time in his
life he attained a state of true selflessness. More than
two hours had passed before he descended again.
Unfortunately, he was deaf in his left ear by the
time his flight back from Lhasa landed in Chengdu. He

sought treatment on the ear after returning to Taiwan,

ceasing work for six months to do so before one day

realizing: God has been good to me. Hes left me one
working ear. From that moment forward, he quit fret-
ting about his ear and went back to painting by begin-
ning work on his Tibet series.

73
 36




By the Yuan Dynasty (12711368),
traditional Chinese painting
possessed 36 methods for
texturing. There had been no
new ones for centuries when Liu
invented his pulling out tendons,
stripping off skin technique.
(photo by Chuang Kung-ju)

Salon de Mai

Lius pulling out tendons, stripping off skin technique involves

applying black ink to a coarse paper with a fibrous surface.
Removing the fibers creates white lines, making patterns and
textures that are difficult to achieve with a brush.
(photo by Chuang Kung-ju)

1960
1956 13

74 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 Liu has stored away landscapes from all over the
world in his memories, and has gone on to internalize
these scenes from Mt. Jade, Mt. Everest, Jiuz haig ou,
Mont Blanc, and still other locations visited during eight
years as a refugee in the Second SinoJapanese War, in-
corporating them into his own being and then transform-
ing them into abstract landscapes in his signature style.
Declaring war on tradition
Liu likes to provoke. It wasnt long after he gained
admission to the fine arts department at National Taiwan
Normal University (then known as the Taiwan Provincial
College of Education) that he began butting heads with
the departments hidebound and authoritarian system.
He soon came to prefer playing basketball to attending
what were to him stale and uninteresting lessons.
Recalling his time in the arts department, Liu says, I
was wild and contrary by nature. At one point, I signed
up for a calligraphy class, but then dropped it when I
heard a Chinese painting teacher say that you had to
learn calligraphy before studying Chinese painting.
Lius Rain and Mountains Outside the Windows gives viewers a sense of
the new vistas his ink techniques opened up.
His abandonment of the study of calligraphy was a slap
in the face to the idea that painting and calligraphy shared
the same roots, and a declaration of war on tradition.
In 1956, he and classmates Kuo Tong-jong, Kuo Yu-lun,
and Li Fang-chih formed a painting society they called the
Fifth Moon Group. Named after Pariss famed Salon de
Mai, the groups establishment was indicative of the wax-
ing of Taiwans modern art movement. But Liu himself
was also influenced by Zao Wou-kis Eastern abstraction-
ism, which led him away from an entirely Western style
and toward one that harmoniously blended Chinese and
Western elements. Giving up oils for Eastern paper and
ink, he began to explore the abstract and innovate in ink.
He never looked back.
Paintings used to be descriptive, but I felt we should
leave that sort of thing to literature, says Liu, explain-
ing his artistic philosophy. Painting is by its nature an
abstraction from the visual. It is only in abstraction that
painting is true to its intrinsic self, that it is pure painting.
Modern painting is abstract. Abstraction has become
75

1971

7 1981






1982318

76 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

the only game in town. Its not hard to imagine Liu of-
fending many realistic painters over the years with his
ideas.
Lius wife, Li Mo-hua, describes him as wild and
daring. A graduate of the plant pathology program at
National Taiwan University, Li was working for the Taiwan
Forestry Research Institute when they met at a bus stop. Liu
was instantly smitten, but Li had numerous suitors. What
made her pick an artist with no family in Taiwan who spent
what little money he had on books? He was brave and
filled with energy, never tentative, unafraid of pressure,
and unconcerned with whether he offended people.
In other words, he had a rogues charm.
Destroying tradition
Liu took a job as a lecturer in the architecture depart-
ment of Chung Yuan Christian University in 1960, and
married Li in the following year. Having a family of his
own helped ease the pain he felt from the loss of his fa-
ther in the Second SinoJapanese War and his later sepa-
ration from his mother.
197113
Lius 1971 painting Eclipse, from his Space series of works, was inspired by Apollo 13s perilous lunar flyby.
New understandings and new innovations are often
sparked by the collision between unlike things. While
at C hung Yuan, Liu happened to attend a forum on
modern architecture at which he heard a participant say:
Using one material to emulate the look of another is a
kind of sham, a kind of trick.
The idea hit Liu like a punch in the gut.
In those days, he was using oil paints and plaster to
create a traditional Chinese landscape aesthetic, and his
career appeared ready to take flight. He had fully devel-
oped the technique, represented Taiwan at the Paris Youth
Biennale, and even been called a genius by Le Figaro.
But the discussion of counterfeiting left him feeling
wounded. When he returned home that night, he dug out
brushes, ink, and drawing paper that he hadnt touched
since his college graduation. Looking back to Chinese
tradition and using it as a touchstone, he began blazing
a new trail. After numerous experiments and much tor-
turous effort, he produced his first batch of modern ink
paintings a year later.
77


1989




85







9


l

78 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


Lius wife, Li Mo-hua, has been
an able assistant on his long
journey into modern Chinese
painting. (photo by Chuang
Kung-ju)
2016
(left) Land of Frozen Peaks, 2016.
Liu was hired to teach in the arts department of
the Chinese University of Hong Kong. While there, he
reconnected with the mother from whom he had been
sundered for more than 20 years.
Painting a new tradition
Changes were afoot within the mainland Chinese
painting community at around the same time. The
mainland established the National Academy of Chinese
Painting in 1981. The academys head, master landscape
painter Li Keran, invited Liu to attend its opening gala.
Liu also exhibited two paintings there, which were sur-
prisingly well received.
The experience instigated what would become a tour
of the whole of the mainland three years later, one on
which Liu visited some 18 cities. His friends in Taiwan
thought that he was taking too great a political risk in
making the trip, but Liu disagreed. He explains, I was
seeking to build a new 20th-century tradition in Chinese
painting, and mainland China is the wellspring of Chi-
nese painting. How could I turn down the opportunity to
proselytize modern ink painting there?
But the trip resulted in him being blacklisted in Taiwan
until 1989, when he was invited back for a solo exhibition.
Pulling out tendons, stripping off skin
The 85-year-old Liu says that he still works every day
from the middle of the night to dawn. His doctor has
urged him to give up his nighttime schedule, but he says,
I live on American time.
He is currently working on a piece he calls Five Suns
using the pulling out tendons, stripping off skin
technique he invented in his youth. Once it is complete,
he plans to exhibit it at Septembers BRICS Summit in
Xiamen.
For paintings in this style, Liu uses Liu Kuo-sung
paper, a coarse-textured cotton paper with fibers glued
to the surface by an extra layer of pulp applied over the
top. Liu colors the paper with black ink, following the
shape created by the fibers. At the end of the process, he
pulls fibers off to create white lines that dont exist in tra-
ditional ink painting. It is these white lines cleaving the
black ink on the page that give the technique its name.
To Liu, the white lines represent an inversion of the
black lines of traditional brush and ink painting, and
serve as an inspiration to the revolutionary fringe of the
movement to reinvent Chinese painting.
But tearing the fibers from the paper is a lot of work,
and Liu often asks Li Mo-hua, his number-one assis-
tant, to help out. She usually does so after Liu has gone
to sleep, squatting on the floor, using her fingernails
to feel for raised spots on the paper, and then slowly
pulling off the fibers. Ive pulled off so many that my
knuckles have become deformed, she says, showing
Liu the twisted fingers of her right hand.
Liu doesnt respond. Instead, he exits his studio, and
then clasps Lis hand as he waits for the elevator. The
two then stand, hand in hand, waiting for it to arrive. l
(Su Hui-chao/photos courtesy of
the Liu Kuo-Sung Archives at the
Li Ching Cultural and Educational Foundation/
tr. by Scott Williams)
79
CULTURAL RENEWAL

New Roles for Ancient Characters

A sun rising from the long horizonthis is the

scene depicted by the oldest known Chinese
character, (dan), meaning dawn or day. This

character, invented more than 5,000 years ago, has

an intuitive, sensory quality, and from their earliest

incarnation Chinese characters have been part of a

unique tradition in which calligraphy and painting
spring from the same roots.
Fast forward to the present, and we find Chinese
characters being employed in all sorts of ways in the
world of design. The secret to their ability to offer
an endless stream of creative inspiration is that they
are, in essence, both words and pictures.


What others see as a word, a calligrapher or designer

might see as a picture. Because of the unique structure
of Chinese characters, the character as a visual element
often opens up greater possibilities of expression for
calligraphers and designers.
Im not saying that I dont like the fundamental
principles of calligraphy, but Im much more interested
in the composition of the word as a picture, says Ho

Ching C
hwang, a calligrapher.

My conception of the written word is a pictographic
meditation, says Kao I-min, founder of TaiwanLIKE.
All words to me are visual elements.
I see words as pictures, and pictures as words,
says Kokia Lin, CEO of I-Am Brand Design.
So, how will Chinese characters be playfully

80 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

81

Creating calligraphic postcards
one brushstroke at a time.

10170

82 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

transformed into a new visual landscape in the hands of
these artists and designers?
The new face of contemporary calligraphy
When people first see Ho Ching Chwangs calligra-
phy, they typically come away with a profound impres-
sion of her innovative style, marked by slender, gan-
gling strokes. Many people know her work through her
calligraphic postcards decorated with playful variations
on Chinese sayings, such as mao fei jia runmay your
cat be fat and your home be rich; you tusi you caito
have toast is to be rich instead of you tu si you caito
have land is to be rich; or fu bi Aiqin Hai, shou bi Shaon
Fengmay your happiness be as boundless as the Ae-
gean Sea, may you be as long-lived as the Jungfrau in-
Ho Ching Chwangs
bookstore exhibition
Love Poem River.
(courtesy of Ho Ching
Chwang)
stead of the traditional birthday greeting fu bi Dong Hai,
shou bi Nan Shanmay your happiness be as bound-
less as the Eastern Sea, may you be as long-lived as the
Southern Mountains. These childlike verses rarely fail
to delight. Combining her keen observation of lifes tex-
tures with her original calligraphic style and her sense
of humor, Ho has created the highly distinctive Ho
Ching Chwang script.
Inspired by a work of Taiwanese calligrapher Grace
Tong, Ho took up the brush herself, but she did not take
the conventional route toward the study of calligraphy.
She abandoned standardized calligraphic styles, such as
the seal script (zhuanshu), clerical script (lishu), standard
script (kaishu), and semi-cursive script (xingshu). Instead
she took an unconventional path focusing
on the composition of the characters. But
just how did she establish her personal
style? I just created my own content,
she says.
About ten years ago when Ho was
living in London, the exchange rate was
approaching NT$70 to the pound sterling,
resulting in exorbitant prices and making
her treasure each experience in her daily
life. It was at this time that she began
to integrate calligraphy into her own
artistic works. Rather than copying out
traditional works for practice, Ho copied
contemporary poetry, essays, and even
newspaper articles in order to make her
work more relevant to contemporary life.
Traditional calligraphy emphasizes se-
clusion and meditation, but Ho preferred
to pack up a calligraphy setpaper, ink,
brush, and ink stoneand practice in
noisy coffee shops as the mood struck
her. And unlike most artists who prefer
to exhibit in museums and galleries, Ho
generally shows her work in restaurants,
hotels, college campuses, and other pub-
lic settings. Hos calligraphy exemplifies
the possibilities and charm of a new style
of calligraphy.
It is difficult to assess Hos calligraphy
from a conventional aesthetic viewpoint,
yet her work has stimulated interest in
83


At every Chinese New Year, Kao I-min visits coffee
shops and writes couplets for patrons.

3030





icon
logo




LOVEO




T

84 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


The character for dream, created using
punctuation marks, reflects Kao I-mins
commentary on contemporary calligraphy.
TaiwanLIKE created a line of accessories that
allows people to take Taiwan along on their travels.
calligraphy from a wider audience. Today she contin-
ues to cultivate the spirit of inspirational poetry and
impromptu exhibiting that she developed while she
was in England, and devotes herself to savoring lifes
little moments and capturing them through calligraphy,
creating diverse magical scenes using 30 x 30 centimeter
sheets of rice paper.
Pictures in words, words in pictures
Turning Chinese characters into images and motifs is
a common technique for contemporary designers. In fact
the practice has a long history. Characters were used as
inscriptions and in slightly altered forms inscribed on
utensils and various architectural structures by tradi-
tional craftsmen.
Western design also uses words and letters as design
elements, but many Chinese characters are pictographs,
and so when used as an image their meaning is more
profound and more easily conveyed. They therefore have
an even greater expressive power when used as elements
for visual communication, says Hugh Hu, general man-
ager of NDD Design and former curator of the Delight of
Chinese Characters Festival held in Kaohsiung.
When a friend of Kao I-mins was traveling abroad
and wanted an easily recognizable symbol of Taiwan,
Kao combined the two characters in the word Taiwan
with the shape of the island. This became the starting
point for his brand TaiwanLIKE.
What TaiwanLIKE sells are products with cultural
significance. The question for us is how we can help peo-
ple to better understand this place called Taiwan, says
Kao. He believes that on this ethnically diverse island,
living beings must overcome division and present the
outside world with a unified image. He therefore uses
the TaiwanLIKE logo and transforms it into images of a
crow butterfly, a black-faced spoonbill, local banana va-
rieties, the lotus, and other typically Taiwanese animals
and plants, and then develops them into products such as
luggage stickers, postcards, accessories, and t-shirts. This
allows customers to take a bit of Taiwan on their travels
and spark the curiosity of other people who can then be-
come better acquainted with Taiwan.
Kao makes use of his design techniques both to extract
images from text and to distill meaning from narration in
order to create products and product names. For example,
85




The
Whiskyfind
90


H i
logo TaiwanTaiwan Image
Lucky
MoneyHappy

Kokia Lin describes himself as an omnivorous reader.
That learning has been internalized and has become a
source of creative inspiration.

86 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


A new series of stored-value cards issued by iPass uses rotated writing
techniques. (courtesy of I-Am Brand Design)
he transformed the shapes of milkfish bones into a line of
silver accessories, which he calls The Moment. The lines
Chinese name, jieguyan, is an idiomatic phrase meaning
a crucial moment, with a literal meaning that refers to
bones. Kao used the three characters of the name to create
a composite logo in which two of the characters are fused
together by sharing a common element. The strokes of the
characters also mimic the shapes of fish bones.
By using the imaginative potential of images and
a solid foundation in Chinese culture, Kao has turned
wordplay into a high art.
Turning words on their heads
Designer Kokia Lin is another outstanding example.
The rotated writing system he developed has precedent in
ancient culture. Su Huis Star Gauge is a poem comprising
a grid of shorter poems that was written in the 4th century
in the northern Chinese kingdom of the Former Qin. The
poems can be read from top to bottom, from bottom to
top, from right to left, from left to right, and even diago-
nally. Lin makes use of optical illusions that allow words
to be read in different directions while using two or more
scripts, with meanings that connect in astounding ways.
This July iPASS, a stored-value transit card issuer, is re-
leasing a series designed by Lin. His characters for the city
name Tainan also read prefectural capital when turned
90 degrees. The characters for Kaohsiung when turned
sideways read dazzling, which reflects the geography
and pace of life of the city. These word puzzles appeal
to Taiwanese people and visitors from East Asia whose
87

Before inventing his rotated calligraphy more than a decade
ago, Kokia Lin had already built a reputation in design circles.

logo

88 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

languages also use Chinese characters. In other examples,
the characters for Taiwan read sideways read Hi Tai- precious aspect of Taiwans cultural heritage.
wan! in English, and baodao (treasure island, a phrase
often used to refer to Taiwan) can be read sideways as Tai-
wan Image. The characters fu (good fortune), lu (rank)
and shou (longevity), meanwhile, can be read as lucky,
money, and happy, in a combined ChineseEnglish ters of his own name, which he combined into a single
script somewhat reminiscent of the New English Callig-
raphy created by artist Xu Bing, which features English
letters written in a Chinese format. Hugh Hu says that Lin
has managed to combine words familiar to Westerners
with Chinese fonts, facilitating understanding between the
two and creating a bridge between the two languages.
Artistic fonts are the product of the rise of printing,
but the origin remains calligraphy. Although Lin is not a
professional calligrapher, he has accumulated years of ex-
perience in commercial design creating typographic fonts,
preserving the traditions of classical handwritten calligra-
phy and designing always by hand. As a result he has de-
veloped a high degree of sensitivity to Chinese characters
and the Latin alphabet, which he can experiment with at
will. While his rotated scripts appear at first glance to be
solely the product of flashes of inspiration, they actually
rely on solid design techniques accumulated over decades.
Hugh Hu considers traditional Chinese characters to be a
Lin designed a personal logo from the three charac-
character resembling the Chinese word for magic,
mo. He holds words in his hands like a magician,
and he is redefining the concept of writing, akin to a
modern-day Cang Jie, the legendary creator of Chi-
nese characters.
A precious cultural asset
In todays world, in which our clothing, diet, and
transportation have all been thoroughly Westernized,
the special characteristic of Chinese writing is that it
acts as a rare symbol of Chinese culture.
The use of traditional characters alone allows
Taiwan to be a formidable cultural storehouse, says
Hugh Hu. Within the free flow of writing lies the es-
sence of culture and a keen awareness of and respect
for the written word. l
(Lynn Su/photos by Lin Min-hsuan/
tr. by Robert Green)
89
CULTURAL RENEWAL

90 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 Our Theatre:
Roots in Chiayi, Eyes on the World

I have a dream to soar the skies like a bird

To fly and fly until I go wild
To fly halfway to heaven
Free and unrestrained
To fly through the sky like a dream

To a world far, far away

To soar through the skies like a birdI dream

I Have a Dream

I t is the final scene of Macbeth: Paint It, Black!

the Shakespearean classic as reimagined by local
Chiayi theater company Our Theatre. The cast mem-

bers gaze into the distance, singing forth a message

of peace and hope in the Taiwanese language. The
performers faces are alight with joy, and their voices
pierce straight to the heart. The hope resounding in
their voices is not just acting: it is the realization of
6 their dream for international recognitionthe hard-
earned fruit of many years of toil.

The new production of Macbeth has earned the com-

pany an invitation to Romanias Sib iu International

Theatre Festivalone of the largest theater festivals in

Europewhere the play made its international debut
in June. The play, written entirely in Taiwanese, is an
international collaboration between Our Theatre and
Japanese theater director Show Ryuzanji.
A Taiwanese interpretation of Macbeth

The Chiayi-based company, which excels in its the-

A
atrical portrayals of everyday life, has produced nu-

merous adaptations of Western classics in Taiwanese.

2015 For instance, Juh-Thinn Hm-Bn (Dog Days and Day-
dreams), an adaptation of Shakespeares A Midsummer
Nights Dream, imbues the original work with aspects of

91
 18

At 18, Wang Jhao-cian returned to his
hometown of Chiayi to found Our Theatre. The
company, which incorporates aspects of local
culture into its performances, has become a hub
of artistic activity for the Chiayi area.

1988


2016
2016400
6

18

2003

92 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

Chiayis local culture to create an experimental work that
offers a distinctively southern-Taiwanese perspective.
Rich in experimental flavor and brimming with local
color, the work drew the attention of Japanese theater
director Show Ryuzanji, who has been dubbed the king
of Japanese fringe theater. Ryuzanjis own production
of Macbeth, which premiered in 1988, used the Vietnam
War as a backdrop to highlight the meaninglessness of
power struggles between men. Now over 20 years old,
Ryuzanjis Macbeth has had four critically acclaimed in-
ternational performances.
In 2016coincidentally 400 years after Shakespeares
deathRyuzanji came to Taiwan in search of a theater
company. After being introduced by the playwright Yen
Hung-ya, Ryuzanji and Our Theatre decided to collab-
orate on a feminist retelling of Macbeth that would be
uniquely Chiayi.
The companys members form the core of the cast,
along with actors handpicked from across Taiwan. The
young cast comprises nearly 30 actors in their twenties
and thirties, who spent a month and a half rehearsing
and Kaohsiung in order to see theater as a high-school
Performed entirely in Taiwanese, Our Theatres Macbeth: Paint
It, Black! integrates music, dance, and acrobatics. With surtitles
in both English and Romanian, the play astounded audiences at
the Sibiu International Theatre Festival.
for the performance. The play, written entirely in Tai-
wanese, weaves dance and martial arts into the perfor-
mance and translates Shakespeares literary classic into
a more colloquial vernacular. It tells a tale of human
desire and tenacity, and yearning for an end to wars.
For Ryuz anji, theater as an art form should touch
peoples lives and fill the stage to bursting with vital
energy. Macbeths tragic ending is no longer a surprise to
anyone, but Ryuzanji nonetheless instructs the perform-
ers to breathe new life into the last scene. He interprets
the scene afresh, invoking the feeling of facing a new
future. After Macbeths demise in the plays final bloody
battle, the whole cast sings I Have a Dream amidst the
tragedy, their voices shining like a ray of hope through
the darkness.
The international premiere of Our Theatres Macbeth
in June marked the first time that a Taiwanese work has
been featured on the stages of the Sibiu International
Theatre Festival, thrusting the company into the interna-
tional spotlight.
Returning to roots: A theater of homecoming
Born and raised in Chiayi, artistic director Wang Jhao-
cian recalls having to travel to the larger cities of Taichung
student. These excursions planted the idea in his mind to
create a local theater company based in C
hiayi. At the age
of only 18, the soon-to-be college student formed a group
93



6

2009


5
2016 10

i Tsin Tshiah Tshiah (Money

Lovers Cha-Cha), Our Theatres
adaptation of Molires The Miser,
injects elements of Taiwanese-
style comedy into the plays plot.
(photo by Huang Jiong-che,
courtesy of Our Theatre)

94 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

with several friends from his high schools theater
clubLu Chih-chieh, Chen In-ta, and Yu Pen-chieh.
From 2003 to the present, Wang has led the company
through three artistic incarnations. The original group
members were all students, who spent their summer
and winter holidays in C
hiayi creating and rehearsing
collaborative performances mostly inspired by stories
from their own lives.
However, six years after the companys founding the
members began to feel that the life experiences of youth
were no longer sufficient to meet the needs of perfor-
mance, thus precipitating a shift to more classical theater.
Wang insists on performing in Taiwanese because he
feels that the language, once an everyday lingua franca,
is gradually vanishing from contemporary life.
Our Theatre has occasionally met challenges in re
interpreting classic works; for instance, plays depicting
alienation between city dwellers tend not to resonate
with the people of Chiayi. The company has carved out
a niche for itself through experimentation, using both
Eastern and Western classics as blueprints and incorpo-
rating the life experiences of everyday people in Taiwan.
For example, the companys adaptation of Molires The
Replete with documentary flavor, the experimental work
Ka Bng-Sing (Household Delusion) incorporates field
research, recorded projections, and theatrical performance.
(photo by Huang Jiong-che, courtesy of Our Theatre)
School for Wives mimicked the entertaining commercials
for unorthodox medicines heard on Taiwanese under-
ground radio, giving the workKim Su Tsh-Bo (Kim
Sui Raises a Wife)a popular, folksy flavor. In another
instance, the group turned the tale of the Spider Maid-
ens (a folk legend from Tainan) into a love story span-
ning three generationsSinn-Tsh Lun-Ko Tsn-Hng
Khiok (The March of City Romance)ushering in a
sophisticated new aesthetic.
Prior to its 2016 collaboration on Macbeth with Ryu
zanji, the companys repertoire consisted primarily of
comedies. Knowing that Chiayi lacked the flourishing
theatergoing culture of Taip ei, the company chose
light comedies that would move viewers hearts and
cultivate an audience for live theater. Thanks to these
efforts, the group now manages to sell at least 70% of
their seats at each performance.
95



15

Held each spring, Our Theatres Grasstraw Festival is a
major cultural event in Chiayi, drawing spectators from
2011 all over Taiwan. (courtesy of Our Theatre)

96 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 A fragrant blossom, born from mud
In Our Theatres Taiwanese name, Gun Kio' k-Thun,
gun means we, reflecting the interactive and col-
laborative nature of theater. From its inception, Our
Theatre has defined itself as a theater of homecoming,
serving as a creative hub for Chiayi County. The group
emphasizes responsibility to ones homeland, maintain-
ing that theater can act as a force for social change.
Since 2009, the company has held its Grasstraw Festi-
val annually, transforming Chiayi Countys performing
arts centers into engines of creativity and offering youth
a stage on which to perform. Each October, Our Theatre
organizes a half-year theatrical training course for those
interested in performing. The course culminates in a
collaborative theatrical work created by participants
and company members, with a public performance held
at the next Grasstraw Festival.
Theater can be a journey of self-discovery for many
adolescents, yielding new insights into their untapped
potential. A timid girl cast as a bulb of garlic can build
self-esteem when she discovers that garlic, while seem-
ingly mundane, actually plays a vital role in the flavor of
many dishes. When parents see how earnestly their chil-
dren express themselves on stage, they may realize that
adolescents arent simply rebellious and incommunica-
tive; they just require more patience and understanding.
Our Theaters Chiayi Countryside Project brings theater
to rural schools, planting the seeds of art far and wide. (left
photo courtesy of Our Theatre, right photo by Tsai Kun-long)
The Grassstraw Festival has gradually grown in
scale; it is now a major cultural event, featuring theater,
outdoor performances, fairs, cultural lectures, and all
manner of artistic activities. Each spring, dozens of
artistic groups converge on C hiayi for the two-week
performance festival, drawing a total audience of more
than 5000.
Unlike urban children, young students in rural ar-
eas often lack exposure to the arts; to remedy this, Our
Theatre has brought the arts directly to them. In 2011,
the group launched its Chiayi Countryside Project,
affording students at over 70 Chiayi-area schools with
under 100 pupils the opportunity to enjoy the arts.
Using its own funding, the company makes visits to
15 schools each year in hopes that students will get to
see at least one play before they graduate. In addition to
lighting up the childrens faces with interactive perfor-
mances, the company members also help students draw
maps of their communities. The maps encourage stu-
dents to reflect on the uniqueness of their lives and the
97
 places around them. Wang Jhao-cian sees these small

Entirely homegrown, Our Theater relies on tokens as gifts for the students, and a way to spread the
youthful creativity and passion for theater to win seeds of creativity.
the hearts of fans both young and old.
Ever experimental, Our Theatre also collaborates
with Taichungs Chio Tian Folk Drums and Arts Troupe.
Shuttling between Taichung and C
hiayi, the two groups
exchange experiences as drummers and actors; this year,
888 the members of Chio Tian will perform Restricted Area,
a play written by the actors of Our Theater, who also of-

fered theatrical advice for the production. With a formal

collaboration in the works for next year, the two groups

hope to explore the possibilities of live performance.
The success of Macbeth: Paint It, Black! has also
set the stage for a second collaboration between Our
Theatre and Ryuzanji, featuring an original script by
Our T heatre. With its roots in Chiayi, the company
draws inspiration from its homelandlike nutrients

from the earth. They have shared their theatrical ardor

and prowess with the world, showing just what Wang

describes: We stand on the earth, covered in mudwe
may not be pretty, but were real. l
(Chen Chun-fang/photos by Jimmy Lin/
l tr. by Aren Vastola)

98 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

99
URBAN SPACES

100 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 T he U-mkt market (also known as Xinfu Mar-
ket) occupies a building shaped like a horses
hoof, located about 100 meters southeast of Long
shan Temple in Taipei.
First constructed in 1935, U-mkt was once a bus-
tling traditional market, but it went decline when
more modern markets appeared, and was eventually
forgotten.
Reopened after three years of renovation work by

Taipeis U-Mkt: the JUT Foundation for Arts and Architecture, the
market has revived the areas long quiescent spirit
A Traditional Market Reborn and is introducing it to a new generation of visitors.

On a clear, bright morning in Taipei, a woman in her

sixties takes a breather on a stool outside the U-mkt
market after finishing up a task. Still wearing gloves

and rubber boots, shell soon deliver her last load of ice
to a nearby seafood vendor. An elderly woman carry-
193580 ing a shopping basket stops by to chat. An older man
across the way greets her, then borrows her hose. A few
young people getting ready to clock in to work wish her
3 a quick good morning. Known as Granny Aijiao, the
woman is an ice vendor and an iconic U-mkt figure.

Established by a Japanese man named Tokichi Toda,

Granny Aijiaos ice stall is the markets only holdover

from its earliest days. Granny Aijiaos father-in-law took
over the business after Japan surrendered control over
Taiwan. Granny herself has been running the business
for decades now, providing neighborhood and market
vendors with the ice they need to keep their food fresh.
At the markets peak more than 30 years ago, her ice
shop might do NT$3,000 in business per day. Her hands

were full just with deliveries to local elementary schools.

But when the market declined, the ice business declined

with it. Meanwhile, young people lost interest in taking
on such laborious work. Nowadays, I treat it like exer-
cise. I do it to stay in shape, not to make money. Granny
Aijiao makes, cuts and delivers ice daily, surrounded by
humming compressors and herself a beautiful part of the
markets scenery.

An old market repurposed

Opened in 1935 as the Shintomicho Food and Sundries

Market, the present-day U-mkt was originally a public

market built by Taipeis municipal government. When the
Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan at the end of
the Chinese Civil War, the military families that came with

101
 1935 1935

U-mkt (also known as Xinfu Market), which opened
in 1935, was built in a distinctive horse-hoof shape
unusual for a Taiwanese market.


35
1950
1970

1990




2006

2013
9

102 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

the government and army immediately increased the local
population and this encouraged merchants to settle nearby.
Residential buildings packed the area, causing the number
of stalls in the market to grow far beyond the 35 for which
it had been designed and to spill into the surrounding
streets. The bustling neighborhood was central to the lives
of Wanhua residents in the 1950s, but began to decline in
the 1970s following the opening of Huannan Market and
the legalization of the vendor stalls outside that market.
The waning of traditional markets in the 1990s only made
matters worse, with the hubbub on nearby Sanshui Street
highlighting X
infu Markets own lifelessness. Rather than a
market, it became a place for merchants to warehouse their
goods and park their motorcycles. And so it remained,
standing quietly through the passing years, until it was
named a municipal historic building in 2006.
The Taipei City Market Administration Office subse-
quently renovated it, before awarding the JUT Founda-
tion the rights to operate it for nine years. Shortly after
taking responsibility for running and revitalizing the old
market, the foundations team discovered that there was
very little information recorded about it. In an effort to
learn more, the team interviewed local residents and
merchants, and spoke to culture workers, gradually as-
sembling a picture of the market in its heyday.
Smart design
U-mkts avant-garde hoof shape is a rarity among
Taiwans public markets. Built primarily from reinforced
brickwork, its exterior walls have a pebbledash surface,
which gives it a clean, utilitarian look. The building has a
high ceiling and many horizontal pivot windows, and the
hoof shape allows shoppers to flow effortlessly through
the stalls, while its unique central light well provides
natural lighting and aids ventilation. Sharp-eyed shop-
pers approaching the markets north side from Shanshui
Michael Lin, the architect responsible for renovating
the market, used pine, transparent panels and glass
to lighten and open up the high-ceilinged space.
103







20173
U

Two of the old markets Japanese-era stalls
have been preserved, helping visitors picture the
butchers of yore hawking their products from within.

104 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

Street will note the decorative swirls above the gable, as
well as Taipeis original city logo. Inside, concrete roof
beams radiating out from a central point and a wooden
sliding door scorched black by fire create an interesting
spatial dialogue with the bright, new dining area.
As what was then the first modern market to com-
ply with new hygiene policies, U-mkt had a specially
designed drainage system: the roof slopes towards the
central light well, directing rainfall into a U-shaped gut-
ter along the top edge of the well. From there, down-
spouts lead the water to a drainage system under the
floor. This system for routing the rainwater inward
happens to echo the Taiwanese view that gathering
water together generates wealth.
Were facing a big issue: our nostalgia is growing
continuously, but memories of the things we are nos-
talgic for are fading. Caught between nostalgia and
forgetting, how do we feasibly integrate this historical
space into the contemporary social environment?
So wonders Michael Lin, the architect responsible for
repurposing the markets interior. To minimize any
possibility of damage to the historic building, he used
only materials and techniques that could be reversed,
creating removable lightweight wooden structures and
keeping new flooring and room dividers separated from
the surfaces of the original floor and walls. While the
original structure has a hulking feel to it, Lins addition
of warm pine, translucent panels, and glass to the space
have given the building a visual elegance. He has also
created clear divisions between work, activity, dining,
and viewing spaces.
In the old days, the market had more butchers than
any other type of vendor. Because they needed to hang
meat, their stalls generally consisted of a wooden
structure atop a concrete base. Fortunately,
two of these Japanese-era stalls have been
preserved. Now decorated with creative
and cultural objects, the stalls help visitors
imagine the butchers of yore hawking their
products from within.
After youve completed your tour of
the building, remember to check out the
carefully preserved Japanese-style wooden
office and dormitory that still stand to the
northeast of the market. Built for the mar-
kets caretakers, they too offer a record of the
markets history.
Human relationships
This traditional market has become a
living museum. Once hidden amid a jumble
of old buildings, Shintom ic ho Market has
been reborn. By drawing on the knowledge
and goodwill of the surrounding neighbor-
hood, the market has incorporated elements
of food and beverage, urban, architectural
80
The renovation of the more than
80-year-old U-mkt has created a
multifaceted base for innovation.
105
25

Grannie Aijiao took over her grandmothers ice-making

business at the age of 25. Shes now been running the
business for decades, providing the ice that nearby
market vendors use to keep their food fresh.

106 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

and environmental education. Deconstructed and then
reconstructed, the space is now sectioned by function
and is gradually responding to the needs of the local
community.
We anticipate that she will become a new kind of
market, one containing all kinds of information ex-
changes and human relationships, says Aaron Lee,
CEO of the JUT Foundation. We hope that these kinds
of connections wont be bounded by the markets edges,
but will instead spread throughout Wanhua, connecting
the value created to the original markets character.
Just as yesterdays rich soil becomes tomorrows en-
ergy, the future U-mkt will be both a forum for studying
history and sampling life, and a venue for learning and
working together. Users and uses new and old will co-
exist in the public participation platform of the reborn
market, connecting them to still more possibilities. l
(Wu Ching-wen/photos by Jimmy Lin/
tr. by Scott Williams)
107
SOUTHEAST ASIAN FOCUS

Ted Tsai:
Two Decades
of Indonesian
Musicology

108 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 4

I n late April, Ted Tsung-te Tsai, a Taiwan-
ese music scholar, was bestowed the rank
of prince during a grand ceremony at the Su

rak arta Had in ingrat Palace in the central
Javanese city of Surakarta. The title was con-
ferred to honor Tsais notable contribution to
cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Indo-
nesia, specifically in the field of musicology.

Ted Tsai is considered the first Taiwanese

scholar to have researched Indonesian musical

culture, and his research interests encompass
2000
Islamic music and the artistic accomplishments
of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. He is also one of
the few Taiwanese researchers who have spent a
considerable amount of time in the countryside
of central and eastern Java conducting fieldwork
in cities such as Yogy ak arta, Sur ak arta, and
Semarang.

A royal destiny

Located in Central Java, the Yogyakarta Special

Region and Surakarta (also known as Solo) are
among the most important centers for the preser-
vation of traditional arts and culture. And it was
from Surakarta, the seat of the Javan imperial dy-
nasty, that cultural influences spread throughout
modern-day Indonesia and onward to countries
in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Brunei.
Tsais connection with the Surakarta Sunan

ate began with his assistant, Tejo Bagus Sunaryo,

Ted Tsai (right) has immersed himself in the religious music of Indonesia, who is himself a prince of Sur ak arta and the
and his enthusiasm has rubbed off on his students, including Huang Chuan
Lin (left) and Tsai Bing Chun (center). (photo by Chuang Kung-ju) director of the sunanates cultural department. It

109
 KRTKanjeng Raden Tumunggung
KanjengRaden
Tejo Bagus Sunaryo Tumunggung


KRT

K A
Kanjeng Aryo




Shadow plays, a traditional Chinese entertainment, are still seen
on the streets of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

110 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

was thanks to this fortuitous acquaintanceship that Tsai
gained access to the valuable collection of documents
at the Surakarta Hadiningrat Palace. His many years of
research into Indonesian music eventually led to him
being awarded the royal title of prince by the ruler of Su
rakarta, Susuhunan Pakubuwono XIII. studied everything from Central Asian music in Xin
Tsai explains that the sunanate annually selects foreign
nationals who have made contributions to Indonesian
culture and educational exchanges and bestows upon
them the title of prince. Most of those so honored, how-
ever, receive a princely titleKanjeng Aryodesig- else wants to do, he says.
nated for individuals who are not part of the royal family.
Tsai, however, received a title usually reserved for blood
relatives of the family: Kanjeng Raden Tumunggung. In a Chinese woodwind instrument not at all popular
Javanese, kanjeng means prince, raden indicates a blood re-
lation, and tumunggung is a term meaning to act as regent.
According to Tsais understanding, the honor was con-
ferred on him to show that he was akin to an adopted fa-
ther of Tejo Bagus Sunaryo. Although they had no actual
blood ties, their relationship surpassed that between the
royal family and most foreigners. Tsai was thus awarded
the princely status of a royal family member and be-
came the first Taiwanese person to be so honored.
A path of ones own
The breadth of Tsais research interests is quite un-
conventional in Taiwanese academic circles. He has
jiang, mainland China, and religious music in Indone-
sia, to artists in Indonesias ethnic-Chinese community.
Though Tsai speaks in a soft, gentle voice, he has a
rebellious personality. I want to do things that no one
While attending a vocational high school, Tsai joined
the traditional Chinese music club and played the suona,
with the students. He later attended the Chinese Cul-
ture University, where he studied Chinese music. After
graduation he traveled to the United States to pursue
a doctorate in ethnomusicology at the University of
Maryland. He originally wanted to write his dissertation
on the history of Central Asian and Chinese musical
exchanges, but was persuaded by his academic advisor
to abandon the idea since the topic would
require research into numerous ancient doc-
uments and require a facility with the Old
Persian, Uzbek, and Uighur languages. Tsai
therefore decided to focus on Central Asian
music from Xinjiang, and embarked on his
researches into Islamic music.
The study of folk music attaches impor-
tance to the role of music in culture, and to
study Islamic music one must first under-
stand the ideas and attitudes Muslims have
toward music, Tsai says. If we understand
Islamic history, its philosophical currents,
After finishing a days fieldwork, Ted
Tsai and his students discuss the
content of their interviews.
For ethnomusicologists, the Cap Go Meh
Festival, held in the city of Singkawang in the
Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, is a
celebration not to be missed.
111











Go Tik Swan

Didik Nini Thowok
Radyo
Harsono
Wacinwa

2000

The cultural influence of

the Surakarta Sunanate
has been far-reaching in
Southeast Asia. Members
of the Malaysian royal
family were invited to attend
the honors ceremony for
Ted Tsai (right).

112 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

and different schools of thought, we learn that some con-
servative scholars have considered music to be a worldly
temptation that leads Muslims away from Allah.
Tsai has studied, among other languages, Arabic,
French, Russian, Japanese and Uighur. He understands
the origins and doctrines of Islam better than many
imams.
Tsais study of Indonesian music began when Hsin-
huang Michael H siao and Tsai Yuanl in at Academia
Sinica invited him to Indonesia to conduct research.
Indonesian music is centered on traditional percussion
instruments, and this includes the most representative
of all Indonesian traditional music, gamelan.
Gamelan performances allow one to glimpse its un-
derlying philosophy. It cannot be played solo, and often
an entire village participates in performances. There is
no conductor, and the tempo and rhythm are determined
solely by the percussionists. Each instrument in the en-
semble fulfills its own role. Some provide the melody,
others provide the tempo. Others are tasked with adding
musical variations. If one drummer misses a few notes,
others step in to cover. The performance reflects the cul-
tural importance placed on the spirit of cooperation.
A breastpin completes Ted Tsais formal attire as a newly invested
prince of the Surakarta Sunanate.
In addition to the study of Indonesian music, Tsai has
in recent years been looking into the contributions of Chi-
nese Indonesians to culture and the arts, such as Indone-
sias famous batik tradition, which is being promoted by
Go Tik Swan, an Indonesian of Chinese heritage. There
is also Chinese Indonesian Didik Nini Thowok, a well-
known performer whose transgender dance is second
to none. Tsais interest in the cultural contributions of
Chinese Indonesian artists prompted him to record their
achievements and situation in the documentary Taxiang
Shi Guxiang (Home Is an Adopted Land).
Finding fun in fieldwork
Since conducting doctoral research in Xinjiang, Uz-
bekistan and Kazakhstan, and later in Indonesia, Tsai,
who is now in his fifties, has been enamored of the
charms of fieldwork. He is one of the few scholars who
takes students on overseas research trips. Among many
adventures, graduate student H
uang C
huan Lin and
113


Indonesians believe that gods inhabit gamelan instruments,

so they step carefully around them, but never over them.
(photo by Chuang Kung-ju)

18












19651998





l

114 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

Tsai once encountered a volcanic eruption, and initially
the field team thought that the falling ash was snow.
They were nearly stranded in Java but caught a train that
night and were able to leave Yogyakarta after a journey
of more than ten hours.
And Tsai Bing Chun, formerly a professional photog-
rapher, traveled with Ted Tsai to the city of Singkawang
in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan on the
island of Borneo to experience the Cap Go Meh Festival,
a part of the Chinese Lunar New Year. According to local
custom, Aboriginal shamans, witchdoctors, and deities
from Chinese religious traditions all pay their respects at
the Bo Gong Temple, a center of local worship where Tudi
Gong, an earth god, is the main deity. Tsai Bing Chun de-
scribes how he witnessed firsthand the religious trances
of shamans and witchdoctors during the festival (similar
to Taiwans spirit mediums), even as he attempted to
create an objective anthropological record. He says it was
one of the most unforgettable experiences of his life.
Through the many student fieldtrips that Ted Tsai
has led, he has tried to allow students to experience the
deeper understanding of Southeast Asian neighbors with
power of local folk customs and understand the deep
connection between ethnomusicology and local culture.
A one-man cultural bridge
For many years, Tsai has used the summer and winter
academic vacations to conduct fieldwork. He says it has
been 18 years since he spent Chinese New Year in Taiwan.
Tsai describes himself as too fun-loving, attracted by
the possibility of experiencing all the wonderful sights
and sounds of the world. Although fieldwork is arduous,
he says, I consider research a way of having fun, and in
this way I can do it happily and sustain my interest.
The high honor of being awarded a princes title in-
dicates that Tsai has a position of some standing in the
Surakarta Sununate and will be able to participate in
cultural projects sponsored by the Hadiningrat Palace.
In 1965 Indonesia proclaimed a movement known as the
New Order, which included anti-Chinese laws that were
eventually repealed in 1998. Today Chinese culture is
flourishing all over Indonesia, and Taiwan and Indonesia
enjoy a host of opportunities for cultural and educational
cooperation. Tsai feels that it is an exceptionally good time
to deepen those connections. Im willing to act as a cul-
tural bridge between Taiwan and Indonesia, he says. He
further hopes that Taiwan can shed prejudices and gain a
l

Huang Chuan Lin, one of Ted Tsais graduate students, spent
a year as an exchange student in Indonesia studying gamelan
instruments, and was later able to introduce this aspect of
Indonesian culture in Taiwan. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)
an open mind and discover their unique brilliance.
(Cathy Teng/photos by Tsai Bing Chun,
courtesy of Ted Tsai/tr. by Robert Green)

115
SOUTHEAST ASIAN FOCUS

The New Arrivals:
Southeast Asian Immigrants
and Migrant Workers in Taiwan

courtesy of NMTH

I n order to break down stereotypes held by many in
Taiwan regarding immigrants, the National Mu-
seum of Taiwan History, the TransAsia Sisters Asso-

ciation, Taiwan, and Brilliant Time bookstore are cur-

rently holding an exhibit at the NMTH in Tainan, en-
titled The New Tai-ker: Southeast Asian Immigrants
and Migrant Workers in Taiwan. The exhibit tells
the life stories of immigrants and migrant workers

116 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 from Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the
50 Philippines, and elsewhere. By telling their stories,
the event draws out a longer timeline and projects an

image of migrant workers that differs from the im-

pressions that people have generally had of them.

50
Three themes constitute the focal points of The New
Tai-ker: Southeast Asian Immigrants and Migrant Workers
in Taiwan, an exhibit that lays out the stories of immi-
19601970 grants and migrant workers from Southeast Asia over the
past 50 years. Household items, photographs, videos, and

works of art enable visitors to take a different perspective

on the cultures and values of people of other ethnicities.

Linking up with Southeast Asia

One exhibit area, which focuses on the theme of Cold

War, Anti-Communism, and Anti-Chinese Sentiment:
1960 Southeast-Asian Immigrants of a Half-Century Ago,
looks at links between Taiwan and Southeast Asia dating
back to the 1960s and 70s.
The exhibit is being curated by Chou Yi-ying, a re-
search assistant in the NMTHs Exhibitions Division. She

says that prior to this exhibit the museum has previously

held other events to do with immigrants, but the principal

focus in most cases was on Southeast-Asian immigrants
and migrant workers who had come to Taiwan either as
brides or for employment. But the fact is that a wave of
ethnic Chinese also came to Taiwan from Southeast Asia
in the 1960s, spurred by such factors as anti-communism

and Cold-War conditions to take up residence or study

here. One of the ethnic Chinese whose stories are told in

this exhibit area is H

uang Yuntu, who moved to Taiwan

along with his father and older sister. The family settled
in Changzhi, a rural township in Pingtung County. They
would soon become part of a larger community of ethnic
Chinese immigrants from Indonesia who settled in the
Changzhi area.
Chou explains that in the more distant past many
people left the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong

Provinces in mainland China in search of a better life in

Indonesia, Vietnam, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Included among their number was the entrepreneurial
1975 Huang family. Eventually, however, H
uang Yuntus father
19781988 came to Taiwan as a tourist to scout out conditions here,
and happened by chance to spend time in Guilai, an area
2000 in Pingtung City. Noting that the land and climate there
were quite similar to that of Indonesia, he decided to move

117
 2003










17


14

An exhibit representing the many packages large and
small that migrant workers send back home to loved ones.

118 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

his family to Taiwan, where he would one day actually
have the honor of meeting President Chiang Kai-shek.
Faded black-and-white photos show, among other
things, the abacus that the H
uangs used for business, as
well as a cast-iron bedstead that they had shipped here
from Indonesia. In addition to H
uang Yuntus family,
this exhibit area also tells similar tales of ethnic Chinese
families who moved to Taiwan from Vietnam during
those years.
Away with stereotypes
Besides tracing the tale of immigrants farther back
in time and taking a magnifying glass to their lives, the
organizers of the New Tai-ker exhibit have also made
a conscious effort to do away with commonly accepted
stereotypes regarding immigrants and migrant workers.
By looking at the personal stories of immigrants and
migrant workers from different countries, we want to
discover their various cultures and histories. A second
exhibit area entitled Why They Come: His and Her Tai-
wan Stories sets out the stories of recent migrants from
14 different countries, including Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The people in
question include housewives, a radio host, a community
development activist, and a fisherman, each of whom
has his or her ideal image of what a family ought to be
like. One objective of the exhibit is to draw out that im-
age, past, present and future.
Yupayong Kongwattanasin, who hails from Thailand,
speaks fluent English and was a successful career woman
Sok Kollyan, who hails from Cambodia, married a
Taiwanese man and moved to Taiwan. Once here
she set about learning Chinese, and is now a voice
for the immigrant community.
with a university degree in economics before she met
and fell in love with her husband in Thailand. But then
her husbands employer transferred him back to Taiwan,
and thus she left her homeland to take her place in a tra-
ditional family in the Meinong District of Kaohsiung.
Because her husband is an only son, Yupayong had
to take up the household duties of the wife of an eldest
son even as she struggled to deal with the difficulties of
life in an unfamiliar land. The need to learn the ropes in
Taiwan made life much tougher for her. She didnt begin
to feel really comfortable until after her daughter started
school and she herself became a school volunteer.
The tiny kitchen in her home has been a place where
she can relieve her homesickness. In a video shown
at the exhibit, Yupayong talks at length about the tra-
ditional life she has led for 17 years in Meinong. In a
drawing that she made, she uses a few spare strokes to
hint at the sort of future she envisions for herself, with
a Taiwanese-style residence on the left and a Thai home
on the right. Her hope is that she can travel back and
forth freely between Taiwan and Thailand.
119


The New Tai-ker exhibition organizers invited
Yupayong Kongwattanasin (an ethnic Chinese from
Thailand) and others to make drawings about their
ideas regarding family.
(left photo courtesy of NMTH)

Linda

120 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08

 Another person featured in the exhibit is Sok K
ollyan,
a native of Cambodia who was the first chairperson of
the TransAsia Sisters Association, Taiwan (TASAT).
Growing up in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge
and longing to escape from the red terror, she met a
man who at the time was using a matchmaking agency
to look for a bride. The two met not via the agency,
but through a friend. At their first meeting, Sok really
impressed the man with her fluent English. This was
something he was hoping for in an ideal spouse, and so
he decided to marry her. But despite her professional
training as a nurse, Soks ability to care for children was
called into question. She realized she would have to
learn Chinese in order to stick up for herself, so she en-
rolled in the very first Chinese reading course ever held
in Meinong for foreign spouses, and became the first
chairperson of TASAT.
Nguyen Binh Tran, who is now studying for a masters
degree in sociology at National Sun Yat-sen University,
is another person who has had to show true grit to do
well in a foreign land. A university graduate in her native
Vietnam, when asked about her educational background
Nguyen has always been frustrated to have to respond:
Do you mean in Vietnam? Or in Taiwan? If Vietnam,
then Im a university graduate. In Taiwan, I only have an
elementary school education. A fiercely proud woman,
she has now become a radio host who also works part-
time as a social worker and is always helping others.
Interestingly, while people generally think of mi-
grant workers as always doing manual labor, the fact is
that many do translation and other white-collar jobs.
Chou explains that among the more than 600,000 im-
migrants and migrant workers currently in Taiwan, over
60,000 are in Taiwan to do white-collar work, but many
people dont know that. One of the people featured in
the exhibit, Duong Ngoc Oanh, translates and works
as a labor broker. As an ethnic Chinese person from
Vietnam, she originally came to Taiwan to study in the
Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Na-
tional Chi Nan University before taking up translation.
Then there is Linda, who works as a caregiver at
a medical facility and in her free time is a self-taught
photography buff. In addition to taking photos for other
Indonesians in Taiwan, she and some partners have set
up a photography studio that offers wedding photo ser-
vices for Indonesians who meet and marry in Taiwan.
And beyond that, she has also enrolled in an open uni-
versity set up by the Indonesian government in Taiwan.
She has never been one to pass up an opportunity to
pick up new skills.
A different future
The third exhibit area is designed as a mock-up of
Taipei Railway Station, where migrant workers and
immigrants congregate in large numbers. It introduces
the history of the Taiwan International Workers Associ-
ation and the Taiwan International Family Association,
The exhibition The New
Tai-ker: Southeast Asian
Immigrants and Migrant
Workers in Taiwan
uses household items,
photographs, videos, and
artworks to take a different
perspective on the cultures
and values of people of
different ethnicities.
121
 NGOs that have been working since the 1990s to fur-
ther the interests of migrant workers and immigrants,
as well as more recently established entities such as
TASAT, 4-Way Voice, and Brilliant Time Bookstore.
This exhibit area provides information on a commu-

nity service campaign launched by the teachers and stu-

dents of Nanguo Elementary School in Changhua City
to provide assistance to immigrants. In addition, this
area features a timeline that shows legislative, human
1990 rights, and social justice issues that came to the fore in
the 1990s when the number of immigrants and migrant
workers in Taiwan increased sharply. The timeline also
shows some of the key activities pursued by 4-Way
Voice, TASAT, and other such NGOs.

Says Chou Yi-ying: From a historical standpoint, I

personally hope to use the telling of peoples life sto-

1990 ries as a way to spur the general public to develop a
new understanding of these new arrivals in Taiwan,
and then to think upon related issues, and create a new
Taiwan. l
(Liu Yingfeng/photos by Lin Min-hsuan/
l tr. by David Mayer)

122 Taiwan Panorama 2017/08


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