A Tour of Taiwan: The Gateway to Southeast Asia...and also that other country

Cloudy in Taipei: Perhaps more than just a weather phenomenon...

Taiwan is weird. Many will consider it a part of East Asia; it certainly is in terms of per-capita income. Yet its culture's lack of public-facing cleanliness feels very Southeast Asian, if not just American. And the weather is certainly more in line with those to its West than either Japan or Korea. This was my first locale in the continent where the sun boiled, to the point where I almost fainted in Kaohsiung (but let's blame that on my refusal to buy cheap water more than anything else). Needless to say, a sun umbrella became my dear friend.

The tiny island of 20ish million is pretty well-connected, barring certain Eastern Mountainous enclaves. The population is also fairly homogeneous, barring a large (and varying) indigenous population again in that same sparse East, and generational differentiation of Han Chinese. It is that latter designation which perhaps explains most cultural divides. The Han who arrived with the anti-communist KMT, approximately 1-2 million on top of the otherwise 6.5 in the 40's, are still seen as much newer and less local. Those who emigrated during the Qing Dynasty, on the other hand, make up the cultural and historical backbone of much of developed, modern Taiwan and its Western facing city-scapes that hold the bulk of population. In this respect, then, it offers further cultural nuance than Japan and possibly even Korea, but its small size and affiliation with mainland China make those differences appear microscopic at most.

A Shrine to Chiang Kai-shek: The KMT Leader and his son are a reluctant remnant of history in the nation's development, even as party cadre immortalize them in Founding Father-esque esteem

Increasingly, its relationship with China is the pivotal, if implicit, question. There is much pride in the civic and economic development of Taiwan, yet significant chunks has been in tandem with China (just look at the bodies and money that migrate in both directions). Yet the threat of economic, political, and cultural usurpation lurks behind the horizon, like an ever-present shadow. The Taiwanese believe in themselves but it is hard to see how a island of 20 million can best one of over 1.4 billion in any respect. The necessity for Taiwanese Chips and its unique off-island geography present its greatest military and economic advantages, but Trump's Trade Wars could weaken much of the latter. Many pro-democracy protesters and sympathizers who emigrated from Hong Kong to Taiwan when the one country-two systems model essentially folded . I can't help but wonder if they may have been better to uproot themselves a bit farther from Chinese aspirations.

It is this tense question that prompted my intimately long time in Formosa. Although its population was just half of Tokyo's Metro, I made a point of spending time in its four key cities, all located in the West: The Commercial, Political, and Economic Capital of Taipei, the adjacent and newer Taichung, the historical capital and more traditional Tainan, and the port superpower at its southern tip, Kaohsiung.

check out that great magic marker guide

Again, after surprising reprieves of nighttime cool in Korea and Japan, Taiwan gave me my first taste of never-ending heat. It is no surprise then that thee night markets are so popular here - who could bear that during the day?

Price-wise, Taiwan felt mildly pricier than its northeast neighbors, and despite a famed cheapness for its currency relative to America's. That comparison probably gets its oomph from statistics that place the average income of the Taiwanese significantly higher than both Korea and Japan. You wouldn't know it from the ground! Again, Taiwanese cities are dirty, with certain neighborhoods feeling downright blighted. Taipei's central underground mall lay largely dormant to foot traffic in comparison to bigger malls next door, and my walk through a 'Jade Market' in Taichung quickly revealed itself to be nothing more than a haven for prostitution.

Urban Taiwan: Endearingly Messy

But I find this less an indictment of Global Development statistics (there are already plenty of those) rather than an indication of suburban development. While Central Taipei seemed worn down and its tourist parts carrying a seediness nostalgia on par with Times Square, the business center surrounding Taipei 101 was sleek and clean, exuding modern business culture and clientele. Malls were designed to be internal spaces themselves, with little design emphasizing view nor city structures. And New Taipei City and outer rings look more organized and developed. Sure enough, statistics ranked the wealthiest cities as those just outside of its largest urban spaces- adjacent, but not internal. Of course, an Asian suburb is significantly denser than an American one, but the wealth remains...

Perhaps Taiwan's most European feature, living residences are small but highly kept internally, while external facades whither due to strict zoning laws and bureaucratic redevelopment regulations that demand high expenses for minimal change in overall livability. Car-wise, ownership seems flat but vehicles on the road are premiere, boasting a quality of options va Chinese, Korean, and even Japanese brands. Note also a strikingly high scooter/motorbike rate, used less out of financial necessity and more out of practicality in cities notorious for tight spaces and expensive parking. In short, the Taiwanese are not poor but they are cheap, an indicator of wealth as old as time and one that aligns it culturally with its frenemy to the North.

Taichung's River Walk: One of few maintained external amenities

 I was able to scrape much of this cultural and development narrative at the Taiwan National Museum outside of Tainan. It is orderly and in-depth, and pays respect to indigenous heritage, mainlander identification, and occupation considerations. Like Korea, Taiwan benefited from Japanese structural development in the pre-war era before facing immense oppression during WW2 and held in equally repugnant taste. Yet the state also acknowledged its own role in repression well through the 90's, as the ironically undemocratic KMT looked to shape the state in its image. At the 228 Memorial Museum, the country recognizes its ( failed) liberation moment, at the hands of the KMT apparatus both mainland and then locally. Of course, the country has now achieved democratic considerations ranking it amongst the most open in the world, particularly for queer rights in Asia. Yet in reading this history from their perspective, I could not help but notice a lingering and unquenchable anger/angst, perhaps reflecting a national trauma but moreso an ever-present cognizance that all of this ambitious nation's progress could be undone by the lurking threat to the North that will forever claim it.

While in Taipei, I had the chance to connect with a reputable local - her family is relatively known in the Old Market Quarter and well histori-ed in the region. Having, like many OG Han, migrated during the Qing Era, they lost several family members during the 228 crackdown and remain fiercely proud of the nation's freedom. It was through her motorbike journeys across the city I experienced local food, attractions, and perspective. I found her easy to talk to, with a candidate perspective familiar for the region. Like many young and old in the country, she expressed a caution optimism for the current - and most openly nationalist (though he has moderated) - President in the country's history, Lai Ching-te. But she too worried for the nation's future, yet with more of an uncertainty rather than fear. After all, of her two brothers, one has pursued the financially lucrative path that many other Taiwanese have in Shanghai and elsewhere urban China. In Taiwan, ethnic ties are both a blessing and a curse...

Taiwan Old and New: Lots of promise...lots of peril