Even though Shufang is suffering morning sickness, the waitress at Grandma Nittis insisted she order something. I decided on the Denver Omelet and coffee and Shufang stuck to water. (The waitress dropped her demands after I growled at her.) Later Rainbow, the owner, said breakfast was on the house. This used to be a pretty mellow restaurant. Now every time I'm in there, the servers are kicking my ass.
Today is Double Ten Day in Taiwan, which strikes some of us as strange as the fall of the Ching Dynasty had no bearing on Taiwan whatsover. In 1911, Taiwan was a colony of Japan, and would remain so for another 35 years when Japan surrendered unconditionally to the US (August 14th, 1945). I have talked to Taiwanese people about this fact, and many have admitted that it never occured to them. They know that Puyi 溥儀 was the last emperor of China, all about his background and especially his grandmother. They are oblivious to what was going on in Taiwan, their own country, at this time.
The leader of Taiwan when the Ching fell was actually Governor-General Sakuma. Sakuma (a cuss of a man who murdered thousands of Taiwanese) remained the leader of Taiwan until May 1, 1915 when Tokyo (not Beijing) relieved him of his position, sending another Japanese military commander to fill the position. I remember talking to a local about this topic. He told me that when he was in school ten years ago, his teacher explained to him that some Taiwanese people organized in Taiwan in 1911 and went over to China to fight. This is horseshit.
All this aside, I am happy to have a holiday. Maybe someday when historical accuracy and objectivity are concepts people can grasp, we can change Double Ten Day to July 14th Day, to commemorate the lifting of martial law.
2 comments:
I think this period was worse than the Ching, and much worse than Japan. At least some emperors listened to the people. Chiang Jieshi fulfilled his own ambitions and was blind to those around him, the useful information being given to him, etc. His retreat from the UN showed he put his own pride first first. Most important to me, he turned his police on the Taiwanese.
July 14th Day will clash with Bastille Day.
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