English Help in Taiwan

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愛寫英文 Blog

Challenging English

 
Taiwan is an interesting place to live. That's the understatement of the ... blog, so far.

One of the more curious aspects of living here is the poor English ability of the locals - I'm not talking about academics, people working at schools, business people etc. Unlike Thailand, Bali and - of course - Singapore and Hong Kong, the average "man on the street" here is usually incapable and certainly unwilling to try and speak English. This is strange in a country that appears to worship the US and seems to want to mimic it in every conceivable way. We have HBO and Cinemax, Miller Draft and Marlboro Lights. And while Fords, Chryslers and Buicks roam the roads, F16s patrol the skies. It's a sort of strange paradox - a nation desperate to emulate another and yet, almost spitefully, unwilling to try and speak like him.

Look, don't get me wrong. If Taiwanese people choose this way, that's okay. It's certainly forced me to speak Mandarin in taxis and 7 Elevens, in supermarkets and pubs. And once in a post office, where I forgot the word for aeroplane, and tried to send my sister's stuff to South Africa by tomato.

So, in this environment, one is constantly confronted by amusing spelling errors and confusing mispronunciations: Rappers become rapers, walkers are wankers, beaches are bitches and amazingly, cement can sound like semen.   

These mistakes cause amusement and sometimes a little embarrassment. Over at You Don't Say, however,  John McIntyre has the following comments on a typo that cost $18 000.

Penguin Group Australia is pulping 7,000 copies of The Pasta Bible cookbook because the recipe for tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto called for sprinkling the dish with “salt and freshly ground black people.”

How people came to be substituted for pepper was not announced. It is not at all uncommon for the wrong synapse to fire in a writer’s brain, particularly when concentration is momentarily relaxed, substituting the wrong word for the correct word. Some errors are the result of a category called a cupertino, in which the electronic spell-check function does not recognize a typed word and substitutes the one most nearly resembling it in its dictionary file.

Then, of course, comes the embarrassment of the proofreader, who let this mistake slip through his or her hands. Once again, if attention flags even momentarily, the brain is given to pass quickly over words it recognizes. The wrong word correctly spelled is one of the great hazards that editors and proofreaders encounter.

You may snicker, but you too could have committed this error, or overlooked it. So could I. So could anyone.

 I'm not bothering to check for typos today...

Back ...

 
Well I didn't go anywhere. But for some reason work overwhelmed my life there for a bit. But back on track - work to live ... not the other way round. Following on from my F 35 post a while ago this caught my eye in the Taipei Times:

Wednesday, Apr 14, 2010 A US$2.5 billion contract to sell 30 AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters to the Taiwanese Army, sent to US Congress in October 2008 for approval, is on schedule, Defense News reported on Monday.

Since the notification, and especially in the wake of the announcement of a US$6.4 billion US arms sale to Taiwan earlier this year, there had been speculation that Beijing would pressure Boeing Co, the manufacturer of the AH-64, into canceling the deal.

Boeing, a subsidiary of McDonnell Douglas, was among the US firms singled out by Beijing as facing potential retaliatory sanctions for participating in the deal. It also sold Taiwan US$37 million in Harpoon training missiles.A letter of offer and acceptance was signed last year between Taipei and Washington and a joint US government-­Boeing team is expected to visit Taipei in the middle of next month to finalize the deal, the magazine reported, citing sources in the Taiwanese and US defense industries.

Okay, I'm not going to go into China vs Taiwan and who can force whom to buy (or not to buy) what ... but why is this happening. That's an awful amount of money for 30 helicopters. And don't we need more? Like say 300? Or a 1000?

When my brother-in-law trained at artillery school in Taiwan, he was very excited about shooting the M2 (50cal). Much to his disappointment, live fire turned out to be pointing the weapon at the target, pulling the trigger and hearing a taped recording of the gun firing. Literally, "rat-a-tat-tat". These guys aren't training for war anymore. So why purchase weapons that are not going to be used? And the argument that these weapons maintain a balance of power across the strait holds no water. This is a huge amount of money that can be used to build schools in the mountains and probably save the National Health System.

This all brings back fond memories of firing off countless rounds of various calibers during infantry training. There were so many live fire exercises that the instructors did not want to haul back leftover ammunition. And we literally lined up after fire-and-movement and fired off the remaining 5.56., 7.62, AP 65 rifle grenades, 60 mm mortars etc. Ah...those were the days...

Okay ... I've had a look at the Apache. And it's beautiful. We have to get some.
 

Tensions across the Strait

 
This is the latest from the Taipei Times:

US military chief confirms build-up

 Admiral Robert Willard also said Taiwan would need to improve its fighter jet capabilities to counter military imbalances with China.The top commander of US military forces in the Pacific on Thursday confirmed reports that the Chinese army has been upgrading and deploying larger numbers of missiles across the Taiwan Strait. “The PLA has focused considerable effort on building up its integrated air defense capabilities and has deployed an increasing number of upgraded Russian SA-20 PMU 2 along the Taiwan Strait,” Admiral Robert Willard said, ­confirming ­earlier reports by a Canadian defense magazine that said China has deployed eight battalions of advanced missile systems in Fujian Province.

Willard also said that Taiwan must someday improve upon its existing fighter jets to keep pace with China’s increasing air power. Some of China’s other military modernization programs highlighted by Willard’s testimony to the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee include the development of sophisticated shipboard air defense systems as well as supersonic ­anti-ship cruise missiles.

Yesterday, media reports in Washington said that some US officials are insisting that China’s buildup of both conventional and nuclear forces is aimed solely at possible conflict with Taiwan.

I have yet to speak to a local resident here that believes Taiwan and the PRC will go to war. Everybody here always says the two countries share far too many common factors - not least that they are joined economically at the hip ( and probably a few other places). In addition, nobody here is that deranged to believe that any armed conflict would go the way of Taiwan. A middle-ranking officer in the Taiwan armed forces told me (not that confidentially) that a war with China would be unlikely to last more than two days.

That's a weekend we're talking about here.

So, much of the weapon talk is posturing and political noise-making. There is also a story (that was told to me by another member of the military) that the close ties in culture, and often family, between Taiwan and the PRC make Taiwan a security risk. By that I mean that the US may be reluctant at times to make cutting edge military technology available to Taiwan for fear that it may end up in China. This could explain why Taiwan is using 2nd generation (or perhaps 3rd) Patriot missile defense systems - when probably the Saudis and certainly the Israeli's have the latest of everything - with all the bells and whistles.

So there is little chance of the following happening right now. From the Taipei Times again:

Meanwhile, [DPP legislator] Tsai said that Willard’s testimony should give the government ample reasons to pursue an aggressive weapons modernization campaign, adding that the MND should explore different ways of acquiring the new F-16s and even F-35s, the US’ newest combat fighter jet.

Taiwan Birth Rate and the NHI

 
And so we're in the news again. Apparently the Taiwanese aren't producing enough children. This could be quite problematic in the future. The Taiwan NHI (National Health Insurance) relies on contributions from working people to fund the medical care of the elderly and seriously ill who are not able to. In the future there will most likely be a steadily growing number of retirees taking NHI benefits with a steadily decreasing number of younger people putting money into the fund. As it is, the NHI is already in massive debt and negotiations on adjusting the contribution criteria are currently taking place in the Legislative Assembly.

On a personal note, the NHI is fantastic. Both my sons were born here and the medical expenses were... zero. On both occasions my wife was in a single room with en-suite bathroom, TV etc. In addition my second boy spent a week in hospital after his birth and again it cost me nothing. My monthly contribution amounts to R900 for the four of us together. A visit to the doctor costs 100NT (or about R25). The doctor's examination and most prescribed medication is completely covered by the NHI. Same for the dentist. Last year I was in a motorcycle accident. I was walking wounded and taken to a nearby medical centre. A shoulder and knee were x-rayed and examined. I was bandaged up, given an injection, met with a doctor and was issued with pain medication. I flashed my NHI card, paid R25 and walked staggered out.

Here's the news article from the BBC:

Taiwan seeks baby-boosting slogan

The Taiwanese authorities are offering a cash prize for a new slogan to boost the island's falling birth rate.

The interior ministry said that it wanted a creative slogan that would make people want to have babies.It said the best submission would receive a prize of one million Taiwanese dollars ($31,250, £20,763).Taiwan has already tried a number of measures to increase its birth rate, which is at a record low and still falling.Last year, Taiwan's birth-rate stood at 1.0 births per woman, well below the replacement rate of 2.1.

In 2009, the number of births fell by 3.7% from the previous year to 191,310.
"We are seeking a creative slogan that would appeal to the public and make everybody want to have children," an interior ministry statement said.Last month, the authorities announced plans to help finance fertility treatment for young couples struggling to get pregnant, in another effort to arrest the decline in births.

Taiwan is not the only country in the region trying to tackle this issue, amid fears that falling birth rates will cause social and economic problems. On Wednesday, the Japanese lower house passed legislation increasing the amount of child benefit to be paid to families in an effort to make child-rearing more affordable. And in January, South Korea's health ministry began turning out the lights early one day per month to persuade civil servants to go home and "get dedicated to childbirth and upbringing".

South Korea's plan to turn out the lights early to boost procreation had me thinking. Does Eskom management have some sinister long term strategy that has hitherto gone undetected? Or are they angling for appointments to executive positions in the Asian power grids?

 From Madam and Eve

Sandstorms...

 
I went for a run this evening. It's always dark when I get back so I'm running mostly in something that I think my father refers to as the "gloaming". Tonight, however, there was a decided fuzziness in the air and now I see why. From the China Post:

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday warned the public of a wave of sandstorms arriving today, which will affect air quality across the country, local media reported yesterday. Since last weekend, dust storms have been looming over some of China's provinces and they are moving towards Taiwan, according to the EPC's statement.
The sandstorms are to blanket the whole island today, together with a cold air mass and a cold front, the EPC added.

Wow! This is happening more and more often. I guess those guys across on the mainland aren't watering the plants.

On the plus side all this extra ground will negate the affect of the rising water from the melting ice caps.

Okay, it's not this bad....yet.

Keeping our Borders Secure

 
This is from the Taipei Times today:

Tough smoking laws keeping Japanese away

The Tourism Bureau said yesterday it would coordinate the establishment of smoking rooms at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after a Japanese tourism association complained that the nation’s strict airport smoking ban had kept Japanese tourists away.

During the third Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum in Nantou, the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) said that an amendment to the Tobacco Hazard Prevention and Control Act (菸害防治法) passed in January last year that limits smoking to certain areas at airports was “threatening” Japanese tourism.

Liu Hsi-lin (劉喜臨), chief secretary of the bureau, said Japanese tourists frequently complained that there were no smoking facilities at the airport, which prompted the airport to create two outdoor smoking terraces in January.

In addition to the smoking terraces, the airport is mulling whether to set up indoor smoking rooms with air-filtering equipment. Liu, however, said that this could not be accomplished until the legal issues were resolved.

The airport had previously unveiled a plan to set up nine indoor smoking rooms, but it was aborted after anti-smoking groups said it violated the act.

Given the high number of smokers in Japan, many have decided not to visit because of the strict anti-smoking laws, Liu said, citing the report by JATA, a national organization of travel agents and related industries.

Liu said that as Japan is one of the main sources of visitors, the bureau as a government agency in charge of local tourism promotion had a responsibility to coordinate and help resolve the problem.

One can't help wondering how much s%*t this country could have avoided if these anti-smoking laws were in effect in the late 1890's ...

 

The Heat is On

 
I knew this would happen! Suddenly the humidity has rocketed up, it's hot and sticky and generally unpleasant. I went for a run and now I can't stop sweating.

I am typing from the children's room - the only one with air conditioning.

What's really amazing is that my wife took a coat with her when she left just now. And last night she slept under a thick blanket.While I moaned and complained and crawled around looking for a breeze under the window.

This is from the Gatorade Sport Science Institute:

Most cases of exertional heat illness occur in the summer months (Kark et al., 1996), but the incidence rates are greatest when the weather is hottest, summer or not (Sparling, 1997). Risk for exertional heat illness in military training increases progressively as wet-bulb-globe temperatures (WBGT) rise above 65°F (18.3°C); cases occur primarily with strenuous exercise (e.g., running) and after several consecutive days of hot weather (Kark et al., 1996). A lack of heat acclimation is an important factor for heat intolerance (extreme sensitivity to the heat or discomfort in the heat) and heat illness (Armstrong et al., 1990a). Likewise, US Army recruits from northern states are more susceptible to heat illness than are recruits from southern states (Carter et al., 2005). This latter observation suggests that persistent heat exposure early in life might provide protective benefit later.

So basically my wife just doesn't feel the heat... 

Shanhua Beer Brewery

 
I have long been a staunch supporter of the TTL (Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation) and for good reason. Their alcohol - I'm mostly familiar with their beer - is cheap and decent. In fact, their Gold Medal beer has won a few international awards - thus the name.

The TTL has breweries around the island. I think that there are four or five. But one, the Shanhua Brewery, is less than five minutes drive. There is cheap, acceptable food and the beer is 50NT (R12) per 500ml draft. In addition, there are tables outside and a pond with ducks and fish to amuse the kids.

We are VERY regular patrons.

My wife first read about this place in the paper and brought me here. Talk about the way to a man's heart...

She took this picture:

Some more information from FYI South Magazine:

There are two kinds of beer on tap: standard Taiwan Beer, and an unusual Mango Beer, which is enjoyably fruity without being overwhelmingly sweet. Both are NT$50 for 500cc. If you're driving, try one of the many coffees (NT$32 to NT$80), teas or other soft drinks. The choice of food runs from spaghetti to soups to rice. Set meals are NT$100 to NT$140. Shanhua Brewery is owned by Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor (TTL), The brewery is about two kilometers east of Shanhua Train Station, and about two kilometers west of the Shanhua Freeway Interchange, on the corner of Road 178 and Provincial Highway 1.

(06) 583-8511
2, ChengGong Rd., Shanhua Township, Tainan County
Hours: 10 am-10 pm
www.ttl.com.tw

Work

Sorry for the lack of posts for a while. But it's been back at work.

Setting up schedules. Setting up schedules for meetings. Setting up meetings to set schedules for meetings. It goes on... Still it's good to be doing something constructive, I suppose.

I also ran one 5K, two 8K's and two 12K's this week. Helped not a little by the cold weather that suddenly descended from the north. Crisp, dry air - that's the way it's supposed to be. So, better enjoy it and use it while it's here.

The "I Jong Dui" - Taiwan Aboriginal Soldiers

 
The Taiwan I Jong Dui ( 台灣高砂義勇隊  ) were a group of Aboriginal Taiwanese soldiers who fought in WWII alongside Japanese forces in the South Pacific. There are conflicting opinions on how willing these young men were to leave Taiwan and go and support their colonial masters.

Approximately 8000 men served in these units. At first they performed maintenance and support roles but as the war intensified in the South Pacific the Takasago Giyutai, as they were known to the Japanese, began fighting in the frontlines. Aboriginal soldiers fought and died in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands,  the Phillippines and other parts of the Pacific theater.

However, for three reasons little is known about this group of extraordinary warriors. First, as it became clear the war was ending the Japanese army began destroying a great deal of its military records for fear of prosecution during possible war trials. Second, the Aboriginal soldiers fought under Japanese names and it is very hard for historians to distinguish them from Japanese soldiers in documentation. And third, upon their return, many Aboriginal soldiers were persecuted by the KMT government that had taken control of Taiwan after WWII. Thus they chose to reveal little or no information about their actions in the war.

One thing is clear based on reports from their Japanese officers. These men were gifted warriors. They had superb hearing, moved silently through the jungle and were capable of amazing feats of physical endurance. More here.

Today this remains a highly contentious issue for many Aboriginal Taiwanese.

 


















An amazing ending to the war of one of these men can be found in this article from Time magazine (1975) Japan - The Last Last Soldier. Here is a short excerpt:

Private Teruo Nakamura was motivated to hold out both by fear of capture and fidelity to orders. After a final banzai charge against invading U.S. troops failed in January 1945, radio contact between Tokyo and Morotai was lost. Nakamura, who was separated from other members of his commando unit, managed to avoid capture and built a grass hut deep in the jungle. He survived by raising potatoes and picking bananas off the trees. "My commanding officer told me to fight it out," he explained. Last month he was spotted by a Morotai native, who alerted Indonesian authorities. Four airmen lured the naked Nakamura out of hiding by singing the Japanese national anthem and waving the risingsun flag. Then they pounced on him.

Primitive living seemed to agree with Nakamura, 55, as much as it did with the other two holdouts; doctors in Jakarta pronounced him "exceedingly fit," even though at week's end he was suffering from a mild case of malaria. A member of the Ami tribe from Taiwan—long reputed for their bravery, stamina and ability to absorb hardship—Nakamura would like to return home and join his wife. She has long since remarried, but says that she will still be happy to see him.

He was "captured" in December 1974...

Kavalan Whiskey

 
Having just returned form the East Coast I think this would be an appropriate time to mention this:

From the Taiwan News:

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) A Taiwan-distilled whisky has shocked connoiseurs by beating a trio of top Scottish blends in a blind taste test arranged by an English newspaper. According to a report in London-based The Times, Taiwan's Kavalan brand came out on top in a recent test against three Scottish and one English whisky in a historic hostelry in Leith, Scotland, north of Edinburgh.
The Times organized the test itself, in what it called a "piece of mischief-making" in hopes of catching the experts by surprise with Scotland's traditional "Sassenach" English rivals, but to the newspaper staff's surprise, it was the Taiwanese whisky that took the honors.
"It's tropical fruits. Tropical fruit jam, " said author and whisky connoisseur Charles MacLean, who headed the jury panel, after Kavalan, which is not marketed in Britain, came out on top with 27.5 points out of a possible 40.
Langs, a three-year-old Scottish premium blend, scored 22 points, and was followed by another Scottish blend King Robert with 20 and the English three-year-old malt with 15.5.
Quadruple-distilled Scottish blend Bruichladdich X4+3 came in last with only 4.5 points.
"Asians are not only some of the world's most sophisticated consumers of Scotch, but have begun distilling malts that compete with the best Scottish distilleries," The Times wrote.
The blind taste test was also organized to mark Scotland's annual Burns Night festivities, named after 18th century poet Robert "Rabbie" Burns. The festival competes with St. Andrew's Day as a focus for traditional whisky-fueled celebrations in Scotland and by Scots around the world.

Kavalan is distilled on the East Coast of Taiwan in Yilan County, which is really just tall mountains and clear, clean mountain streams. It is named for a group of Aboriginal Taiwanese who lived in the mountains years before. The obvious whiskey enthusiast at Whisky for Everyone has more to say about the whiskey.

The link to the Kavalan website is here.

And here is the advert.

Computers

 
Settling in at home. And, of course, everyone runs for a computer. I like to think that I have priority access to the internet but that is - apparently - not the case. Both sons all over the PC. Wife on the notebook.

I think I need an Ipod.

 

 

More on China ...

 
Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying the PRC is the perfect place. But anyone with any sense and any interest in the future has to keep their eye on China. Take a look at this...

"It was primarily a symbolic gesture. Way back in 1979, in the midst of an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House. They were used to heat water for some White House staffers.


“A generation from now,” said Mr. Carter, “this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people, harnessing the power of the sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil.”


Ronald Reagan had the panels taken down.


We missed the boat then, and lord knows we’re missing it now. Two weeks ago, as I was getting ready to take off for Palo Alto, Calif., to cover a conference on the importance of energy and infrastructure for the next American economy, The Times’s Keith Bradsher was writing from Tianjin, China, about how the Chinese were sprinting past everybody else in the world, including the United States, in the race to develop clean energy.


That we are allowing this to happen is beyond stupid. China is a poor country with nothing comparable to the tremendous research, industrial and economic resources that the U.S. has been blessed with. Yet they’re blowing us away — at least for the moment — in the race to the future."

More here from the NYTimes again.

A case in point. Shanghai - a bit north of here - and the place to be if you're in Asia. This from Flickr.

Shanghai is the largest city in China in terms of population and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level status.

Originally a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew to importance in the 19th century due to its favourable port location and as one of the cities opened to foreign trade by the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. The city flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became a multinational hub of finance and business by the 1930s. However, Shanghai's prosperity was interrupted after the 1949 Communist takeover and the subsequent cessation of foreign investment. Economic reforms in 1990 resulted in intense development and financing in Shanghai, and in 2005 Shanghai became the world's largest cargo port.

The city is an emerging tourist destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as the Bund and Xintiandi, its modern and ever-expanding Pudong skyline including the Oriental Pearl Tower, and its new reputation as a cosmopolitan center of culture and design. Today, Shanghai is the largest center of commerce and finance in mainland China, and has been described as the "showpiece" of the world's fastest-growing economy.

Will Americans learn to speak Chinese?

 
From the The New York Times.

Imagine that your monthly mortgage bill arrives, unremarkable except that it’s suddenly written in Mandarin. Then, your bank sends over a Chinese translator to explain that you are falling deeper into debt. Mind-boggling? Well, this is America’s contemporary predicament as the Chinese finance a growing share of [its] national debt. Beijing holds $1.8 trillion in U.S. bonds and other instruments of borrowing. [The US] is fused at the hip with the Chinese, economically speaking.

So, we better get to know them. They certainly want to know us, sending over hundreds of teachers to spark our children’s interest in Mandarin and East Asian ways. 

We are pathetically slow in realizing that East Asia will soon dominate the global economy. We believe, as did the last living Romans, that the American empire will reign forever.

 
Well, on that note - Happy Chinese New Year! May the Year of the Tiger be a wonderful one for you!