Takayama

I did not update my blog since a while...

Mid of September, Queen D and me went to Japan. More precisely to Takayama city, located about 2 hours from Nagoya by JR train, where we stayed 4 days.

I was concerned about possible communication problems but finally we could exchange some English words (enough to use transportation) and beside, Queen D could help with the writings because a lot of signs or restaurants' menus used Chinese.

After 40 minutes train from the International Central Airport (Nagoya), we arrived in Nagoya city where we bought the JR ticket (fast train) to go to Takayama. It took about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Train was very comfortable and price reasonable (less than 6,000 yens per person).

Very soon, we were in the country side, surrounded by mountains, forests and streams. Just one word: Beautiful!

Takayama has been dubbed "Little Kyoto". Old parts of the town have been preserved. Set amidst the Northern Japan Alps (the "roof of Japan"), Takayama is surrounded by spectacular scenery and quite famous spas.

We booked a kind of "business hotel". Simple but comfortable and of course (we are in Japan) very clean. Service: nothing to say. Good.

First day, we rent bicycles to visit Hida-no-sato (a folk village located about 2 kilometers from the downtown. It is a model recreating the historical look of the area.

I took a lot of pictures but some were lost, I do not know what happened with the camera. Anyway, here are some.

The next 3 pictures are from there. Have a look on the one about the roof and notice how thick is the roof (to protect the house from the snow).

Then we visited the town (everything is within walking distance), starting with Furui-Machi-nami (old private houses):

This part of the town is really amazing.

We visited then the Takayama Jinya (the historical government house) built in the end of the seventeenth century. Of course a lot has already disappeared but at least the first floor is still there. Here is the main entrance:

 The two wooden boxes at the entrance are for plastic bags to put in our shoes. Tatamis are everywhere.

Here is the kitchen used at that time:

We can see gardens from almost all the doors or windows:

Below, is a stone basin called Tearai-ishi, used for washing hands:

Each place, room, has his official purpose: receiving special guests, court, living... Here are some views:

Following day, we visited the morning markets (Asa-ichi). They are not big, but we can get beautiful and tasty fruits, vegetable, miso...:

Another view quite close from the markets:

It is really a beautiful and quiet place. No noise even from the cars!

For sure we will go back there and enjoy some hiking in the near forest.

Cannot wait :-)

Today's joke

...Not about a squirrel but a dog...

This guy sees a sign in front of a house "Talking Dog for Sale."

He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the back yard. The guy goes into the back yard and sees a mutt sitting there.

"You talk?" he asks. "Yep," the mutt replies. "So, what's your story?"

The mutt looks up and says, "Well, I discovered this gift pretty young and I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA about my gift, and in no time they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, cause no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies eight years running. "The jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger and I wanted to settle down.

So I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security work, mostly wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings there and was awarded a batch of medals. Had a wife, a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired."

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog. The owner says "Ten dollars."

The guy says he'll buy him, but asks the owner, "This dog is amazing. Why on earth are you selling him for $10?"

The owner replies, "He's such a liar."

English Teaching: New Regulations?

I do not teach language but many bloggers (English Teachers) in Taiwan share their experience and/or thoughts. A good blog on education especially in Taiwan is the one edited by Scott Sommers.

But even though it is not my field, I still could have some opinions.

On September 7th, I saw on Taiwan news that the MOE wants: "... students to tell eight jokes in English before they can graduate..."

More precisely: "... Regarding English, the ministry suggested that each student must be able to sing at least eight English songs and tell eight jokes as part of the graduation exam. Those who fail cannot graduate... "

I do not know what the professionals will say, but for me, it is not "8 jokes", it is a "full joke".

Technorati Tags: Taiwan, Education, English

Chinese Unsafe Products

This is from the Washington Post (September 4th).

Some extract:

After hearing about dangerous Chinese products elsewhere, Indonesia this summer began testing popular Chinese-made items on
its own store shelves. What it found has added to the list of horrors:
mercury-laced makeup that turns skin black, dried fruit spiked with
industrial chemicals, carcinogenic children's candy.

The Chinese government called up in August saying it had a possible
solution. Husniah Rubiana Thamrin Akib, head of Indonesia's top food and drug safety agency, was pleased and welcomed her counterparts to her office.

But according to Husniah, the Chinese suggested Indonesia lower its safety standards. Husniah said she was "very upset and very surprised." "I said to them, 'I respect your standards for your country. I hope you respect ours," Husniah said.

In dealing with product safety complaints from the United States, China has sought to convince a concerned American public that it has reformed and is doing all it can to ensure the safety of its products. But its dealings with other, less-developed countries or those in vulnerable political positions are a different story, according to Husniah and officials in the Philippines and Malaysia.

...

The Chinese respond that their products have been the victim of unfair trade actions.

In the Philippines in July, a state-owned Chinese company threatened to sue for defamation after the Philippine government released a public warning saying a popular brand of candy was contaminated with formaldehyde. In Hong Kong, China pushed the territory to reconsider its recall of toothpaste contaminated with a chemical that other countries said might be poisonous but that China argued was present at levels safe for human consumption. It then ordered Hong Kong to submit a report on how and why it called back the toothpaste.

In Malaysia, a ban on fungus-infested nuts and dried fruit with a
carcinogenic sweetener from China was met with a Chinese alert on
litchi-flavored yogurt from Malaysia that it said didn't meet labeling
requirements. Malaysia has long had a history of food safety issues with Chinese products. With each alert from Malaysia, the Chinese Embassy requests an explanation. "When they call us, we have to accept they are coming to us," said Abdul Rahim Mohamad, director of food safety and quality at Malaysia's Health Ministry.

Chinese food-safety officials argue that the recalls and bans by other
countries amount to technical trade barriers that attempt to legitimize what would otherwise be unfair trade practices.

...

Tensions flared during the Aug. 7 discussions in Jakarta between Husniah and Li Haiqing, a deputy director at China's Administration of Quality Supervision and Inspection

...

When Husniah, a physician who is head of the National Agency of Drug and Food Control, asked for a list of products that China had recalled domestically, surmising that many of those products had likely made it illegally to Indonesia, the Chinese declined. Husniah said she was told:
"Don't worry. We don't permit substandard or hazardous products to be exported."

Shortly before the meeting, China had announced a ban on Indonesian seafood.
...

Husniah refused the Chinese officials' request to recommend new standards in accordance with Chinese law ...

I think it is clear enough...

Technorati Tags: China, Dangerous Products, Unsafe, International Trade

About Hunting...

I was invited several times for hunting in Europe. Frankly speaking, I never liked it and that could explain that usually I did not participate.

I like the after-hunting party, the friendly gathering etc... But not the hunting as we use to see in our days.

It is not because I am against hunting. Hunting to get something to eat, hunting by using tools which let a chance to the target could be roughly OK. But even though, since a long time I did not do it.

Why?

Firstly because my religious. But of course if I had to hunt to survive, I will...

Secondly, I noticed in Europe (at least where I was invited), there were no glory to kill an animal: almost no more wild ones in the bush. They come from special farms and then released... So in that case, it is the same feeling than shooting on a carton target. Beside, beeing quite good with a gun, I do not see any glory and/or pleasure by killing animals by this way.

Thirdly, I saw so many stupid people just killing everything they could, even it is not eatable or worst: protected...

And finally, during the hunting season, you can see how many people were shot by accident because believe it or not, some (or many?) go for hunting even after the gathering (which include of course beer, wine... - I saw it) or just because people thought "it" was an animal...

In Taiwan hunting is normally forbidden as in most situations, to own a gun.

So I was quite surprised by a news few days ago in Taipei Times: "A Kaohsiung man who went hunting on Monday night turned himself in after allegedly killing two men in the woods he had mistaken for wild animals"..... "He thought it was the reflection of an animal's eyes and started shooting"..."It turned out the light was a fire started"

I am speechless...

Chinese pork industry hit by strange disease

About today AFP Beijing: "...More than 257,000 pigs had been infected with the epidemic, known as blue-eared pig disease, by late last month, with 68,000 of them dying, Xinhua news agency said late on Saturday..." But do not worry, "everything is under control!"

Does this story remind you something? I think yes...

Chinese officials said that more than 100 million pigs had been immunized...

But westerners specialists have some problems to believe both official figures: the number of infected pigs and the number of immunized.

I remember 1 or 2 weeks ago I saw on the news that the price of pork was as a rocket in China. Who could believe that only few hundred thousand are able to modify the price in a country as China?

Let's not mention about the immunization...

Any risk for people?

Who knows?

Does Taiwan import pork from China? If yes, maybe I should modify my diet.

Technorati Tags: China, Infection, Pig, Desease

Business in China

In one of my recent posts, I mentioned about the almost 1,200 Taiwanese businessmen who have been locked behind bars in China.

Time to time, we can read in the newspapers some stories about problems encountered by Taiwanese businessmen (or others) in China.

Of course in some cases, the behavior of these people could be questioned but people knowing a little bit about "rules in China" cannot believe that all cases are only based on illegal behavior.

According the today Taipei Times (page 1), there are more than 10,000 commercial disputes involving Taiwanese in China. Do not think it only concerns small or medium size companies. Same source relayed some news on air since 2 or 3 days about : "...Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store general manager, Steven Wu (吳昕達) who leads a group of Taiwanese staff operating the Shin Kong Place in Beijing, was reportedly forbidden by Beijing authorities from leaving China just before he was scheduled to return to Taiwan for a conference..."

There are of course many official and unofficial reports about the reasons. The one which is certainly very close to the situation concerns the different Mitsukoshi Group in Taiwan has with his partner in China. It seems that the latter "thought the Taiwanese will only be an investor and let the Chinese counterpart does the rest".

Because the dispute, of course in China it is because the foreigner did something illegal... Are you surprised?

Chinese authorities did not block Steven Wu to pass immigration or to go to the airport. According Channel News Asia, "... Steven Wu, general manager of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi's Beijing New Life Square, was escorted by Chinese police out off an airplane..."

...As a convicted criminal. And (magic?) he could later go to Taiwan...

Maybe the story was too hot? Or maybe the bail of 2 million yuan (US$266,000) could explain something?

The rules of the game as I wrote in my previous post are different in China. And obviously, it is not the law which govern the dispute there.

And do not believe it only concerns Taiwanese. Other nationalities get the same problems or difficulties.

Taiwanese still believe it is the best place to invest. one could understand that, especially because it is very close and the language in many area is the same.

I should write something about it in the future, but look at the Japanese: since few years, there is a clear trend: they are looking somewhere else.

China is not the only one to be charged. Have a look in some countries in Africa, Russia...

But still, no one stands up to...

Technorati Tags: Taiwan, China, Business, Law, Dispute

Chinese Products Recalled, more stories...

"China has found microscopic worms in wooden packaging from the United States and uncovered substandard U.S. vitamin pills and fish oil for children, Chinese media said on Friday, in the latest volley of cross border accusations. China has highlighted several quality concerns with U.S. products in apparent response to complaints in Washington about the safety of Chinese exports ranging from toys to toothpaste. The pine wood worms, or nematodes, were found in 13 sets of packaging in the manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, the China Daily said."

Sure, few items compared with millions units recalled...

Two Taiwanese reportedly strip-searched in France

Here is paper from today Taiwan News :

"Commenting on a newspaper report that two Taiwanese had been stripped, searched and detained at a French airport on grounds that they held different versions of Taiwan passports, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that there had been no precedent of similar cases and urged the public to contact the ministry whenever they need help in a foreign country.

The Apple Daily yesterday reported that it had received a letter from Lai Kuang-pin and Peng Chien-hua, relating their experience of being stripped, searched and detained at a French airport.

The newspaper cited the letter as saying that as the men were waiting for a British Airways flight to the United Kingdom at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport on August 18, Taiwan time, when they were told by clerks at the airlines counter that they were not allowed to board the plane because of passport problems. The two were later searched in separate rooms and told to strip before being taken to a detention room, where they spent two days before they were deported to Taiwan, the newspaper reported.

During the time they were being held, the two called their company in Taiwan for help, and the company then called the MOFA on August 20, hours before Lai and Peng arrived in Taiwan on the same day, the newspaper reported.

According to the report, after the two men informed their Taipei County office of the issue, company authorities called the MOFA for assistance, only to be asked by MOFA officials why the two men didn't file for help online in "real time."

Taiwan's representative to France Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said he checked with British Airways after receiving the call and the airlines told him that their clerks at the counter had faxed copies of the two passports to the airlines' headquarters in London for further identification. The clerks finally got a reply indicating the two were "suspicious." The airline thus refused to board the two men and instead sent them to the French aviation police station at the airport, Lu said.

The UK has tightened its anti-terrorism measures, and British Airways has been blackmailed by terrorists, Lu noted.

MOFA spokesman David Wang (王建業) said Taiwan's representative to France received the call from Lai and Peng's company two days after the incident and proceeded to check with British Airways and the French aviation police right away.

Wang stressed that both British Airways and the French aviation police had not specified the reasons for their treatment of the two Taiwanese travelers but said they had followed the regulations and standard procedures in carrying out their duties. Wang said the two travelers could make a complaint to both British Airways and the French aviation police if they were not satisfied with the way the matter was handled.

Since the launch of an initiative in September 2003 to add the word "Taiwan" to the national passport, MOFA has notified all the countries of the world of the change, and to date had not received any reports of similar incidents, Wang said.

He urged the public to immediately seek help from consular missions abroad or from the MOFA if they encounter passport or identification problems, in order to resolve the issues right away.

Meanwhile, Kuo Su-chun (郭素春), a whip of the opposition Kuomintang legislative caucus, said the MOFA should lodge a protest and demand an open apology from France over what he called the humiliating treatment endured by the two men."

More details are provided by this paper related to my previous post.

About British Airways, the Taiwanese passports had different cover page but at least, what about the visa? Why not checking the visa too?

And now, about the fact that the company which hired these two men only contacted the MOFA on August 20th (two days after the events), I checked the calendar: August 18th and 19th are week end days. So obviously, there are no one who could answer a phone call from private parties during the week end?

It is not an excuse, but it could explain why French authorities kept them during two days: no one to turn to.

Funny (pathetic?)

Technorati Tags: Taiwan, Passport, France, British Airways, Airport, Travel

Taiwanese Passports: Trouble in France

Queen D mentioned to me yesterday about the two Taiwanese case detained in France during two days because each one owns a passport with a different cover: one mentions "Taiwan" and the other one, no.

Firstly, it was British Airways employees who handed over the two people under the accusations "they could be terrorists". Really, the brain washing from USA works very well, even with French authorities. It became a pain in the ass now if we want to travel...

Secondly, how come it needed two days for the French authorities to realize their mistakes? Incredible!!! What did the MOFA? What did the "Bureau de Representation de Taipei a Paris" (de facto embassy)in Paris?

Thirdly it is not forbidden for a country, to redesign its passport. One could understand the reason to put "Taiwan" on it. But see what could happen when two real passports with different designs are shown... What a mess...

Could be worst: imagine a Taiwan passport holder who has to keep two passports: old version (including a Visa for a given area) and the new version (because the other one is full...)

What to say?

Technorati Tags: Taiwanese, Passport, Travel, Airport, Taiwan

Labor Day

According the calendar, Monday will be the Labor Day in USA.

It seems that Taipei Times has chosen an earlier day given the fact that at 14:15 it is still not online.

Unless as German computers, its servers were infected by hackers?

Just kidding.

Technorati Tags: Newspaper, Taipei Times, Labor Day