Thanks for E. Hamann and K. Weiners's editing.
I have done my best to find the most proper English translation of the Taiwanese god dancing in the picture above. You may call him the "Neon God or the Third Prince. You can also call him Saitaize In this article, I will call him "(Taiwanese) sometimes" instead, which is similar to the pronunciation of Saitaize. This name is also used by the man in this picture who clad in the costume of the God.
This person is called Ed Wu. According to his blog (which is in Chinese only for the time being), the reason why he would love to launch this initiative is because of Taiwan's invisibility as well as the flag-stripped incidents seen in many international occasions. This came from his own personal experience when he was in Singapore 2008. In 2011, he set up his first journey with Sometimes, one of the elements representing Taiwanese culture. The film Where the hell is that Taiwan guy documented this spectacular trip. What he has done touched Taiwanese emotionally and made them want to help him in different ways to accomplish his ultimate goal: traveling to 100 countries, making footage in different places that will be compiled as a stunning documentary in the hope of bringing Taiwan to the front stage of the world.
This summer London held the Olympic Games. Millions of tourists came to the city. London was the spotlight of the world, and thus the perfect stage for Taiwanese. It was not surprising that Ed decided to go , called for help from students and compatriots, and make the film there. It was such a big chance of making Taiwan highly visible, of making more people know we Taiwanese are the citizens of the world as well.
Ed's activity in London was on the 29th of July. Originally I had planned to go to Brussels on the 26th and therefore would not be able to attend the activity. However, there was an incident that happened some days before that event. The flag hanging in Piccadilly Circus was removed under the pressure from "someone," and we all knew who it was. This ending was not unexpected. However, I felt so insulted and angry as long as I saw the empty place where our flag should have occupied. Under this condition, I decided to stay longer so I could make contributions to the event on 29th.
On that day, the number of present Taiwanese was beyond what Ed had expected. After the film was finished, we went from Regent's Park to Piccadilly Circus to continue on the Taiwanese pride. At the place where our real flag was stripped off and replaced by a ridiculous compromise called "Chinese Taipei Olympic Flag", we shared the merriness and pride in being Taiwanese with people from all over the world. The National Flag Anthem also resonated among every Taiwanese present there. At that moment, I believe that one sort of unspoken feeling could be felt with every participant, with joy, sorrow, many different emotions deluging deep inside.
It might be very difficult for most people who didn't grow up in Taiwan to understand how complicated and difficult the situation has been. It's also very hard for many of them to imagine the fear of losing one's home country, being annexed by the would-be super power which doesn't know how to respect different perspectives and voices yet. Owing to international reality based on military power and commercial profits, many countries don't recognize Taiwan, ROC, as a normal country. This is one of the reasons why Taiwan as a de facto country has been invisible in the world.
With Taiwan's increasing dependence on China's market, Beijing has begun to wield its leverage on many facets as well. Subsequently, what we could see was that some of the most successful tycoons, who have been in pursuit of the lion's share of the Chinese market politically and commercially, had come to the forefront and delivered the statements before the presidential election was held early this year, hoping to influence the final result.
I believe those powerful persons did have influence on some voters. However, no matter how much he or she bought the words, the reality was that more and more Taiwanese would rather consider the issues relevant to their and their families' financial situation. Some are fighting for the survival threatened by the crisis while some are pursuing the stable lives referring to the so called "reality". Work takes over their lives as well as the room for different possibilities. In addition, mass media without quality and battles between political parties that always establish nothing both make society more chaotic and pathetic. Social and international consciousness don't exist at all. Neither change nor ideal has niche in Taiwanese society.
What Ed has been doing shows that we Taiwanese have to think beyond conventional values and do something different, stepping forward and out of our comfort zone if we really want to change the status quo that chokes us. His case also reflects that there are indeed many citizens doing something with tons of endeavor for the island and their people, in different ways, in every sense. Furthermore, Ed serves as a muse for the people who want to do something and as the warmest inspiration for the folks who, for the time being, are not able to afford any single tiny revolution in daily life.
Actually, it rained a lot in the beginning of the film making. I recalled that there was someone screaming out: "Taiwanese Sometimes! Please show us your divine manifestation!" This praying-for-sunshine line might to some extent show how urgent and difficult Taiwan's situation is; the 23 million citizens of the island may have to pray for a miracle. But before the miracle falls upon us, we have to do something first. Ed's initiative in London embodies that Taiwanese people can be unified and do something big together, with the pride of being one part of the land.
The sun showed up after a while actually. I hope it will be what we Taiwanese are going to see and enjoy in the recent future to come.
This summer London held the Olympic Games. Millions of tourists came to the city. London was the spotlight of the world, and thus the perfect stage for Taiwanese. It was not surprising that Ed decided to go , called for help from students and compatriots, and make the film there. It was such a big chance of making Taiwan highly visible, of making more people know we Taiwanese are the citizens of the world as well.
Ed's activity in London was on the 29th of July. Originally I had planned to go to Brussels on the 26th and therefore would not be able to attend the activity. However, there was an incident that happened some days before that event. The flag hanging in Piccadilly Circus was removed under the pressure from "someone," and we all knew who it was. This ending was not unexpected. However, I felt so insulted and angry as long as I saw the empty place where our flag should have occupied. Under this condition, I decided to stay longer so I could make contributions to the event on 29th.
On that day, the number of present Taiwanese was beyond what Ed had expected. After the film was finished, we went from Regent's Park to Piccadilly Circus to continue on the Taiwanese pride. At the place where our real flag was stripped off and replaced by a ridiculous compromise called "Chinese Taipei Olympic Flag", we shared the merriness and pride in being Taiwanese with people from all over the world. The National Flag Anthem also resonated among every Taiwanese present there. At that moment, I believe that one sort of unspoken feeling could be felt with every participant, with joy, sorrow, many different emotions deluging deep inside.
It might be very difficult for most people who didn't grow up in Taiwan to understand how complicated and difficult the situation has been. It's also very hard for many of them to imagine the fear of losing one's home country, being annexed by the would-be super power which doesn't know how to respect different perspectives and voices yet. Owing to international reality based on military power and commercial profits, many countries don't recognize Taiwan, ROC, as a normal country. This is one of the reasons why Taiwan as a de facto country has been invisible in the world.
With Taiwan's increasing dependence on China's market, Beijing has begun to wield its leverage on many facets as well. Subsequently, what we could see was that some of the most successful tycoons, who have been in pursuit of the lion's share of the Chinese market politically and commercially, had come to the forefront and delivered the statements before the presidential election was held early this year, hoping to influence the final result.
I believe those powerful persons did have influence on some voters. However, no matter how much he or she bought the words, the reality was that more and more Taiwanese would rather consider the issues relevant to their and their families' financial situation. Some are fighting for the survival threatened by the crisis while some are pursuing the stable lives referring to the so called "reality". Work takes over their lives as well as the room for different possibilities. In addition, mass media without quality and battles between political parties that always establish nothing both make society more chaotic and pathetic. Social and international consciousness don't exist at all. Neither change nor ideal has niche in Taiwanese society.
What Ed has been doing shows that we Taiwanese have to think beyond conventional values and do something different, stepping forward and out of our comfort zone if we really want to change the status quo that chokes us. His case also reflects that there are indeed many citizens doing something with tons of endeavor for the island and their people, in different ways, in every sense. Furthermore, Ed serves as a muse for the people who want to do something and as the warmest inspiration for the folks who, for the time being, are not able to afford any single tiny revolution in daily life.
Actually, it rained a lot in the beginning of the film making. I recalled that there was someone screaming out: "Taiwanese Sometimes! Please show us your divine manifestation!" This praying-for-sunshine line might to some extent show how urgent and difficult Taiwan's situation is; the 23 million citizens of the island may have to pray for a miracle. But before the miracle falls upon us, we have to do something first. Ed's initiative in London embodies that Taiwanese people can be unified and do something big together, with the pride of being one part of the land.
The sun showed up after a while actually. I hope it will be what we Taiwanese are going to see and enjoy in the recent future to come.
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