Birds and politics in Taiwan

We read a lot of random articles and stories in my reading class. Most of the readings come from old IELTS and TOEFL exams. One we read last week was about bird watching in Taiwan, which doesn’t seem very interesting. I don’t know much about Taiwan, although I have been reading more about it because of some recent developments. They elected a new president, Ma Ying-jeou, last month, and he is a leader who is more open diplomacy and closer relations with China. Two weeks ago, Ma’s vice-president, Vincent Siew, met with the Chinese President Hu Jintao, which was the first meeting between leaders of the two governments since 1949.

I think it is a promising development, because the poor political relationship between the two sides is absurd in several ways. They are culturally and economically very close, but direct travel between Mainland China and Taiwan is prohibited. Taiwanese investment in the Mainland is restricted in many ways, despite the fact that a large number of Taiwanese work in China, which goes back to when they had the language and business skills and the capital to build factories when China opened up in the 1980s. Yet people still have to travel through Hong Kong or South Korea to go back and forth.

It’s a situation similar to the United States and Cuba. Millions of Cuban-Americans, many of whom live only 100 miles away from Cuba in southern Florida, cannot travel directly there to visit family just because the governments don’t like each other. Taiwan fears that China will try to reclaim and reintegrate Taiwan (and by force if necessary) or that closer ties will damage the independence and freedom enjoyed by citizens of one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. But I think that China will trend more towards Taiwan’s model, rather than the other way around. So if the new government in Taiwan can work with Beijing and end some of those restrictions, I think it would be for the better.

Anyways, the article my students and I read described the different ecospheres in Taiwan. Since it is a large island with a warm and wet climate, it is an oasis of biodiversity, and obviously a great spot for outdoor activities like hiking, rock climbing, and bird watching. There are 440 species of birds, while the United States, which is more than 250 larger in area, has only 800 bird species. Only Madagascar has more bird species per square kilometer. And 20% of the birds in Taiwan at any time are classified as “vagrants” because they are not native birds, but rather got lost while migrating and ended up there. The birds obviously don't heed the political ban on travel across the strait. It sounds like a cool place, and if it were easier to travel there from China, I’d be interested in making a visit.

One other note: a UW-Madison student who started studying Chinese when his family adopted two children from China, has been working as a translator for Yi Jianlian of the Milwaukee Bucks. There was a good story about him on the UW website.

I remember Yao had a translator in his first year or two in the NBA who was also a young American guy. It sounds like a sweet job to travel with a professional sports team and spend much of the time talking to the media.