A British Consul's Report: Formosa 1895, Respect the Queue

This report came out of Tainan instead of Tamsui from the British Consul, R.W. Hurst, late 1895. Hurst is commenting on the state of Taiwan eight months after China ceded Taiwan to Japan. He calls the ceding an invasion. Taiwan’s junior high school social study textbooks label the ceding of Taiwan by China to Japan in the same terms but, for a reason likely related to indoctrination, do not label the arrival of Chiang Kai-shek and his forces after WWII an invasion. Why the British Consul located to Tainan before 1895 has not been told to me. My guess is Britain cleared out of Tamsui when the French and Chinese became hostile there in the 1880s. Taiwan’s junior high school social study textbooks stress aboriginal groups favored Chinese settlers over other invaders, Japan here and the Dutch East India Company (labeled as Holland in those social study textbooks) before, but the Consul does not share the opinion (see his opening comment) and neither do I. Hurst later writes, “The inhabitants of Formosa, a specially timorous race, have under these circumstances have been slow gaining confidence….” Hurst seems antsy too. The first pages of the report on Taiwan follow:

H.M. Consulate, Tainan, 31 December, 1895

Separate Sir,

I have the honour to forward an Intelligence Report for Tainan for the Quarter ended this day. I have the to be, Sir, your obedient Servant, R.W. Hurst, Consul

Sir E.M. Safow, KCMG, Her Majesty’s Minister, Tokio

Enclosed in Consul Hursts’, Tainan, Sep of 31, Our 1895

Tainan Intelligence Report for the Quarter ended 31 December 1895

Political

The subjugation of the country by the Japanese except as regards the aborigines who are said to be favourably affected towards them may now be regarded as complete.

For the first 2 or 3 weeks after the occupation a veritable reign of terror prevailed among the panic stricken Chinese. In Tainanfu for many days all the shops closed their doors and it would have appeared like a city of the dead, were it not for the conquering army of Japanese, which was much in evidence parading the principal thorough-fares and occupying many houses which the timorous owners in their panic had deserted. Owing to the truculence of the coolies, the camp followers of the invading army, . . .

[MY NOTE: Taiwan was ceded to Japan by China in April of 1895. The Japanese were not invading.]

. . . a congress of the worst class in Japan, which frequently behaved with much brutality towards them, a large number of Chinese abandoned their dwellings, and fled into the interior, whilst others, including a large proportion of the well-to-do classes have sought a refuge on the mainland of China from the unpalatable rule of the alien.

[MY NOTE: These that fled later came to be known as Half-Mountain People. Many returned to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek in the 1940s, their fortunes reversed. They were broke. There is talk of their involvement in the drafting of kill sheets used for the 2-28 massacre of Taiwan’s ruling class.]

The dwellings of all unless they were able to produce title deeds were at the mercy of the conquerers, and much misery must have resulted from destitution and exposure. The inhabitants of  Formosa, a specially timorous race, have under these circumstances been slow in gaining confidence, which can hardly be considered fully restored.

Soldiers with fixed bayonets are still posted at Tainanfu.

[MY NOTE: I cannot read the next word. The cursive is pretty, but it looks like “coho.”]

. . . [The soldiers with bayonets] pounce down upon any unfortunate Chinese who may pass with his queue coiled round his head, a procedure resented as wanting in proper respect.

Hurst’s Consular Report continues for a few more pages. 

I Want to Practice English

初訪，再也不會去！問老闆「你會講中文嗎？」然後老闆就開始發飆了！什麼東西啊？有事嗎？這是禁語嗎？我英文不好只會講中文先跟你確認一下是有冒犯到你？還是全世界都要知道你會講中文？自以為是什麼東西啊？老外很屌？

講完態度再來講環境，一進門油煙味重到爆炸，衛生也不ok環境也不怎麼舒適整體也很髒亂。

酒很多種類？不好意思我本身就喝精釀的我還真不知道你有什麼稀奇的東西，一櫃大識貨，不知道在跩什麼？我去過的酒吧餐酒館至少五百家，這家我直接給最後一名！沒有亮點又臭又囂張！

更新，目前最後一名被碳烤鐵人搶走

店家的回應還真是高姿態喔zzz

This review left for my restaurant is bullshit and libel, and racist crap. I do not normally respond to reviews, but I did for a change. I wrote: "This is racially motivated hate speech." I tagged the review above as offensive. Google actually removed it. I want to hold on to it for reasons of my own.

The writer starts his ramble by suggesting I asked him about his English ability -- if he could speak English. That is a lie. I never do that. In fact, I often tell Taiwanese people who insist on speaking English to me that I am French or something else, just to get out of answering the usual stuff or for efficiency. Then my interlocutor claims I shouted at him. Again, a lie. I was joking loudly with my friends at the end of the counter, on the other side of him. I spoke to him, and his group, once. I had one verbal engagement with them all night. He said he wanted to practice English with me. I said to him: "I already speak English fluently, so I do not need the practice. My wife Shufang and her friend Sally, she's sitting next to you, love to speak English." He rounds out his review by asking: "Are all honkies (foreigners) such dicks / assholes?"

I was busy cooking because that is what I do when customers come into my place. I cook. These four men sat down across from me and started to yammer: "Look. It's a foreigner. Hey boss! We want to practice English. Do you like stinky tofu? Etc." Why not rock out the practicing with the Taiwanese people in my place? Lots of Taiwanese people enjoy practicing English. A native speaker has no need to practice English. Or, if you really want to learn English, just sign up for a class in a school or take one online. Hire a private teacher. Travel. Get someone with qualifications, not a cook in a hole in the wall, to help.

These four men were after me from the get go. I was busy. It was Friday night. Why did they write that review (above)? I was not anything to them. I had never even met them. Would they conduct themselves like this at any other restaurant in the neighborhood? Would they harrass the owner of the chicken fry shop down the way to practice a school subject with them? There is a place a few doors down from The Hammer, a restaurant that makes traditional Taiwanese soup. It is sour, with sticky meat balls that are savory. The soup tastes great, especially with vinegar. Why not bug the owners of that place instead of me? Go perch up inside their restaurant and have a go at the boss. I have a feeling they would not harrass one other boss around here in this way.

I Opted for AZ Astra Zeneca

As an outsider biding his time in Taiwan, I am concerned about a pandemic spread out of China a year and a half ago and repercussions, the sloppy and hypocritical behavior of the government here, a virus that seems like it was designed in a lab, and so on. The first six days of the initial lockdown here in Taiwan, in mid May, 2021, the police visited my restaurant five days in a row. Government officials took an interest in my place -- they dropped by on the fourth day of that first lockdown, Tuesday, May 18. Officials did not pester the businesses around us. Not once. Both 7/11 and Family Mart were open and full of customers. We were the emptiest joint on the block; we were the only ones catching it from the cops. Since The Hammer has been open, almost nine years ago, we have been visited by the police four hundred times. No other establishment on our block has been visited, to my knowledge, three times. I talked to my wife. We know additional harassment is headed our way. We will deal as usual, because what else can we do?

*****

I Opted for AZ

Shufang declared: "I have owned a business in Taiwan for close to a decade. This virus has yet to infect me, but it has crushed my business."

I signed up for the Astra Zeneca vaccine three weeks ago. I got my first jab on Wednesday. Shufang is next Wednesday. I got my jab because I was open to Astra Zeneca. Some of my friends signed up for Moderna. They regret their decision now. Taiwan lacks Moderna shots. I was lucky to get AZ. 

Thus, I went to Cardinal Tien Hospital in Yonghe last Wednesday to get my COVID-19 shot. The man working the door told me to head to the second floor. I found chaos up there on the second floor. A line spread down the corridor and spiraled down the stairs, into the road. There was no concept of social distancing. I asked the nurse for help. I went from nurse to nurse. None of them had any time. They said "hold on." I could see how much stress they were under. I finally figured out this was the Moderna station, not mine.

There is a convention hall (or maybe a church) outside the Cardinal Tien Hospital, to the back. They are practicing social distancing inside. I spent five minutes filling out the application, 1.5 meters from my fellow applicant. I got my jab a few minutes later. No jab recipient is allowed to leave for fifteen minutes. There is a feeling of peace and dreams in that room of socially-distanced people sitting on those carefully placed chairs. For those seeking Moderna, no chair seems to await. You get what you sign up for. We leaned back to stare at the ceiling in that tomb, contemplating "what God wrought when He made the world so sad."

Have I Got a Deal For You

Taiwan has been fairly locked down for around a month now. We can still go out, but the schools are online now and most offices are doing the same. On Monday, we were informed we could only go to market or a supermarket every second day. It depends on one's ID, you see? If the last digit of one's ID is odd, one can visit Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Even numbers get the other days. By law, people in Taiwan are not required to produce ID when asked. Most people I have talked are unaware of this law. While North America is opening up, we are going in the opposite direction. I think part of the problem is complacency; for example, people in America were getting the jab and we in Taiwan were busy patting ourselves on the back for managing to sidestep, relatively speaking that is, for more than a year. We complained and complained we did not get respect or congratulations on virus control. Now there is no herd immunity. Less than five percent of the population has been vaccinated.

The Hammer https://www.facebook.com/thehammertw, our restaurant, is still open. We can only do take out order. We have had to get more creative. We are offering new dishes and additional specials on drinks. My wife took this pic of one of the beers we are offering. The view is off our bedroom's balcony. The washed backdrop is the street that leads down to the Xindian River in Yonghe. 

Lalu Island

I noticed from a higher place that Lalu Island, in Sun Moon Lake, is actually moated. In Chinese, Lalu (拉魯) means "marinated," but it seems more likely the word comes out of the Thao Aboriginal (邵族) language and is along the lines of "do not forget this spirit-fested place." Most of the Thao homes and temples in the area collapsed on September 21, 1999, as a result of a 7.3 scale earthquake. Whatever structure(s) existed on Lalu Island then does not now. The Thao have also closed the island to visitors.

This Is Not Going to Fix Your Bike

This woman stood outside my restaurant for 20 minutes, revving the engine on her old scooter. Then she turned it off and walked off, our alley filled with exhaust. Shopkeepers were forced to close their doors and windows. Her behavior proved her oblivious to the well-being and concerns of those living in her midst. This is not the first time I have witnessed this tactic; elder people routinely do this kind of bike maintenance down by the Hsin Tien River in the River Park. The idea is akin to clearing the throat. I am curious about the tags though. The scooter looks like a 50 cc, which was phased out. The tags are greeen, but the stickers indicate insurance has been paid for the year.

Yang Chung-chou's Bridge

  

I often cross Zhongzheng Bridge on foot late at night, on my way home to Taipei after I shut down my restaurant, which is located in New Taipei City (Greater Taipei). The view down the Xindian River is nice and there aren't many cars, making for a peaceful crossing. I mentioned my habit to a friend, who remarked: "One of these days, that bridge is going to fall into the river." From a distance, it does seem to be riding a bit low. I'm not able to make out the sag people say is there; I'm no bridge engineer. Constant earthquakes and flooding have been working on the bridge's stability.  Now the Public Works Department is weighing in. They want to tear down the bridge before it collapses. The Department of Cultural Affairs stands in the way though. Zhongzheng Bridge is also the oldest out there on the Xindian.

 

According to the historical marker at the bridge's head, Zhongzheng Bridge'll be 80 next year, making it a relic of the Japanese era. Why it is named after Chiang Kai-shek, the dictator whose army invaded Taiwan a decade after construction, isn't a big mystery. The bridge used to have a Japanese name. That was lost in the sinification of Taiwan that occurred later on, when Chinese rulers were attempting to rewrite the country's history so that their Taiwanese subjects would look upon themselves as Chinese too. The historical marker also indicates that Yang Chung-chou, father of the famous painter Yang San-lang, was behind an effort to get the bridge built. As an important land owner and one of the mayors of Yonghe during the Japanese colonial era (1895 to 1945), Yang Chung-chuo stressed it would help commerce a lot once in place. I've been told by his great-grandson that, after years of wrangling, Yang donated the land at the bridge's head to jumpstart the project.  

 

I took this phone shot from the bridge, looking east. I don't think it's too hard to get a feeling for how much the bridge has sunk. Half a dozen suicides take place from her rails yearly. I brought this up with a beat cop, saying: "I would probably just swim away if I fell off."

 

"No you wouldn't," was the replay. "People don't die from hitting the water. They drown after getting stuck in the mud at the bottom of river."