In the 30 or so minutes that I was in the midst of the teeming crowd in Wuri Railway Station in Taichung, Taiwan last Saturday, I gained insights about the Taiwanese and in way, in their relations with mainland China, more than what I have learned in my readings in the past.
Thousands and thousands of people of all ages – babies, children, elderly, even the handicapped, filled every inch of the train station. Organizers said there were 1.5 million visitors that night, a record attendance.
As I flowed with the crowd, I thought of the stampede in Shanghai last New year’s eve where 36 people died and for some fleeting moments, it was scary.
But the amazing thing was,the crowd was moving orderly. There was no pushing or elbowing out each other. It was discipline at its most awesome.
The crowd was predominantly Chinese. Although the biggest number of tourists in Taiwan come from mainland China, the visitors of the Lantern Festival were mostly Taiwanese, said Vanessa Y.P. Shih, vice minister of Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Last Saturday’s Wuri Railway Station scene, made me understand the reason behind the policy of Taiwan limiting the daily number of visitors from mainland China to 5,000 groups and 4,000 individuals.
“We don’t have capacity to welcome everybody all at the same time, “Shih said.
Indeed, unregulated, the People’s Republic of China which has one billion population can easily overwhelm the 23 million people Taiwanese (Republic of China) in their 36,193 square- kilometer island.
Peaceful co-existence between mainland China and Taiwan is being maintained by cross straits agreements between the Beijing and Taipei governments.
It’s unique situation. Both governments agree that there should only be One China. The Beijing government considers Taiwan a renegade province but respects the latter’s “no unification, no independence, and no use of force” policy.
The Lantern Festival visit was part of the program arranged by the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a group of women journalists from different parts of the world that coincided with International Women’s month.
Taichung City is 168 kilometers from the capital Taipei and 58 minutes by high speed train. (Riding Taiwan’s high speed train, I couldn’t help but think of our MRT and I felt like crying.)
Held on first full-moon night of the lunar year, the 2015 Taiwan Lantern Festival opened last March 3 and will last up to March 15. Every year, a different city of Taiwan hosts the event.
This year’s Lantern festival in Taichung covers 20 hectares. It’s a sprawling visual delight but the main feature is the 23.4 meter high goat-shaped lantern.
An online search on the origin of the Chinese Lantern festival yielded several versions.
One version was about the Jade Emperor whose favorite crane flew down to Earth and was subsequently hunted and killed. Furious, the Jade Emperor wanted to punish people of the village with firestorm.
The Emperor’s daughter, however, took pity on the villagers and warned them of her father’s plan.
The villagers thought of ways to protect themselves from the firestorm.
A wise man suggested that they hang red lanterns outside their homes, make bonfires, and light firecrackers for three days. The plan worked because on Revenge day, the Jade Emperor came to burn the village, he saw from afar that it was ablaze and he thought his men had done his order to burn it.
The lantern trick worked and the village was saved. And peace prevailed.
Filipino admirable discipline
That day will come Ellen
It will come
I do not know when
But it will come
jbl, agree. but only when the likes of the sitting president, his circle of friends, the greedy politicians, the paranoid CHR people, the separatist rebels and the leftist groups were ALL GONE!
ordinary filipinos of today’s generation are acting the way they are being victims of exploitation by the ruling class especially by political leaders whose personal agenda are sitting atop their mandate with only promises of the impossible they can offer to the masses.
Taiwanese kasi sila, hindi Intsik kaya may disiplina. 🙂
Kung nasa ibang bansa, may disiplina ang mga pinoys. Sa sariling bansa, nawawala. Ibig sabihin ay may pag-asa na madisiplina kung gusto. Kelangan sabay ang disiplina sa itaas at sa ibaba, o maunang magpakita ng disiplina ang mga nasa kaharian.
A very puzzling question……. Bakit ang pinoy if nasa ibang country…. Ang gagaling at mahusay kausap in every aspect…. But the character change the very moment they arrive at the airport…..must be the weather!?!?!? Anyway…. If there is still a chance for pagbabago..sana makita ko in my lifetime…always wanted to cry every time I take the mrt compare to other country like taiwan hongkong japan
I will admit that sometimes I ask my self ano kaya ang buhay ko at ano ang katayuan ko kung hindi ako pinoy. as of now iisa lang ang masabi ko na ako ay OK pag dating sa chicks. kaya ang isa diyan sa Canada ay laging sour grape kapag nababangit Ko na ang pinuno ng BANSA aY JOKLA.
@5 someday when you come for the second time try be somewhere else .. And you will find out. For me I prefer to be an Itish man and get drunk most or all the time. And live in that.beautiful Irish aisle… But other sexual orientation is none of nobiody’s business… See even our Current Premier is a Lesbian married to her same Sex and she won the last election with a very convincing Majority from an inherited Minority government. Perhaps whAt the Phl needs is open gay leader brave enough to tell the public So What?
At #4
Ganda sa kanila noh? Ibig sabihin lang noon ang mga tao doon ay may paki-alam sa kapwa niya.
Dito sa atin, di mo malaman kung anong nangyari. Dahil kaya sa “Freedom” an minsang matigas na pinaglaban noong 1986 EDSA revolution? O talagang ganun ang mga Pilipino?
Araw-araw din akong sumasakay ng tren (along Aurora Blvd.)
Kung wala siguro akong pasensya araw-araw akong tutubusin ng asawa ko sa presinto dahil sa paghataw sa mga ulo ng mga walang paki-alam.
Napansin ko rin na, ang napakarami sa atin ngayon, gumagamit lang ng utak kung may perang tatanggapin.
Sa tren pa lang ang pinagtutungkulan ko.
Minsan sumakay ako walang aircon. Ang init sa loob pero sa labas presko. Binuksan ko ang maliit na bintana kasi libre ang hangin at walang magbabawal sa iyo na huminga. Sana pala sinabi ko sa mga nakasakay na nagtitiis ng mahabang minute na “ang hangin sa labas ay libre. kung ayaw nyo ng hangin huwag kayong huminga para mabawasan naman yung mga taong walang paki-alam at walang sentido komon.
@ 5 during rush hour our subway and buses are also packed like sardines that the authority hired Part time Students to keep order at the Busy Junctions and hired extra Special Constable to patrol the Transit.. Now with new trains with Open Gangway and scheduled everybody 90 seconds and buses @ 2 minutes or less the problem was alleviated and with the additional lines coming in Five years it will no longer be an issue ..
I think if the Services is very Bad you can expect bad “people “
Dito sa atin maririnig mo pa ang kantang “walang sino man ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang”.
Lintik, paglabas mo ng simbahan mga walang paki-alam.
Gaguhan ulit to the max. And take note, kung saan saan iyang gaguhan na iyan. Simulan mo na sa mga pulpolitiko sa may mga pinag-aralan kuno.
#. nyehehehehehhhhh.
idagdag pa natin.
ang huling mga salita sa Panatang Makabayan: :”…… sa isip, sa salita at sa gawa.” – na nang mangakatapos ng pag-aaral, nag-ambisyon at nahalal na mga lingkod bayan na ang naging panuntunan ay – sa sipsip, sa salapi at sa ngawa!