Conference on Taiwan-Japan relations attended by President Tsai remembers late Japanese PM

2022-07-31

"Out with the old, in with the new" was the theme of a forum on Taiwan- Japan relations organized by the Lee Teng-hui Foundation on Sunday. Attendees included President Tsai Ing-wen, Japan’s de facto ambassador Izumi Hiroyasu, and Ambassador-at-Large Lin Chia-lung, who is also the DPP’s mayoral candidate for New Taipei. The late Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo would have given a speech at the event, if it weren’t for his recent assassination that shocked the world. Participants at the conference stood in a moment of silence to remember the slain Japanese leader.

The Lee Teng-hui Foundation and Taiwan Thinktank on Sunday held a conference on Taiwan-Japan relations. Originally, late Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo was invited to give a speech. With his recent assassination, attendees instead observed a moment of silence to mourn his untimely death.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
President Lee left us two years ago. He had devoted his life to democratizing Taiwan and promoting a political transformation in Taiwan. The profound impact he made has resulted in important resources shared by the people of Taiwan. For the future development of Taiwan-Japan relations, I have three wishes: strengthening substantive economic and trade exchanges; continuing to unite in common efforts to strengthen civil society and in the area of cultural exchanges; and adopting a more normalized approach to regional security cooperation.

Former President Lee Teng-hui and former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo had devoted their lives to deepening Taiwan-Japan relations. President Tsai, Ambassador-at-Large Lin Chia-lung and Annie Lee, head of the Lee Teng-hui foundation and the late president’s daughter all gave addresses.

Annie Lee
Chair person, Lee Teng-hui Foundation
The severing of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Japan in 1972 is an irreversible historical fact, but exchanges between the two nations are getting closer and closer. Thanks to our special historical origins and the efforts of everyone, the two nations’ relationship did not end because of this, and instead continued to warm. Behind these continuously warming ties between Taiwan and Japan, former president Lee played a very very very crucial role, both when he served in public office and when he went back to being a private citizen.

Lin Chia-lung
DPP New Taipei Mayoral Candidate
At present, New Taipei City has not formed sister-city-level ties with any Japanese city. Given the close relationship between Taiwan and Japan, this is really incredible.

While expressing his hopes for Taiwan-Japan ties, Lin also took a pot shot at his rival, the current mayor of New Taipei City Hou Yu-ih, accusing him of having done absolutely nothing in the area of city exchanges. Lin even went as far as to say that Hou had never promised to finish his term as mayor. Lin claimed this was a habit of KMT politicians.

Lin Chia-lung
DPP New Taipei Mayoral Candidate
Whether he intends to run for New Taipei City mayor now or for president in the future, he should really be frank and say so publically. The KMT has several politicians like this. In 2016, KMT Chairman Eric Chu took leave in his capacity as New Taipei mayor to run for president; Mr Han Kuo-yu took leave after he was elected Kaohsiung mayor to run for president. Perhaps some people are questioning this and asking if this is a KMT habit.

Lin once again urged Hou to make his intentions clear and not be a poor role model.

蔡總統出席台日關係論壇全場為安倍默哀

2022-07-31

李登輝基金會以"脫古改新"為題，舉辦台日關係學術論壇，包括總統蔡英文、日台交流協會代表泉裕泰、無任所大使林佳龍與基金會董事長李安妮都出席參與，原本論壇邀請日本前首相安倍晉三發表演說，但他日前不幸過世，活動開始前全場起立，為安倍晉三默哀悼念。

李登輝基金會與台灣智庫，舉辦以台日關係為主題的學術論壇，原本邀請前首相安倍晉三演講，但他日前不幸遇刺過世，因此會議開始前先默哀悼念。

[[總統蔡英文]]
“李前總統在兩年前離開了我們，但是他畢生致力於台灣的民主化，推動台灣的政治轉型，所帶來的深刻的影響，依然是所有台灣人民共享的重要的資產，對於台日關係未來發展，我有三個期許強化實質的經貿交流合作，繼續加深公民社會，以及交流文化領域的協力，用更常態化的方式進行區域安全保障方面的合作”

前總統李登輝與前首相安倍晉三，生前致力深化台日關係，包括總統蔡英文、無任所大使林佳龍、李登輝基金會董事長李安妮，都親自出席。

[[李登輝基金會董事長李安妮]]
“1972年的(台日)斷交，是無可逆轉的歷史事實，但兩國的往來卻越來越密切，特殊的歷史以及眾人的努力之下，兩國的關係不僅沒有因此終止，反而持續加溫，台灣與日本兩國關係持續升溫的背後，李前總統扮演著非常非常非常關鍵的角色，無論是在公職任內還是回歸民間(都是)”

[[新北市長參選人(民) 林佳龍]]
“目前新北市並沒有與任何日本城市建立市級的姐妹市關係，對照緊密的台日關係，這真的是不可思議的一件事情”

對台日關係期許的同時，林佳龍也把砲口對準現任新北市長侯友宜，直指他在城市交流這塊絲毫沒有用心，更質疑他至今不承諾會"做好做滿"，諷刺這難道是國民黨的習慣。

[[新北市長參選人(民) 林佳龍]]
“到底他現在是要競選新北市長，還是未來的下一任總統，確實應該對社會來坦承的說明，國民黨幾位政治人物，朱立倫主席他2016年以新北市長身分請假去參選總統，韓國瑜先生他選上了高雄市長又請假去參選總統，或者有人在質疑說，這是不是國民黨的習慣”

喊話再喊話，林佳龍要侯友宜說清楚講明白，別當最壞示範。

Taiwan’s last few gamadians and the people who run them

You might have seen them before. Gamadiams are a Hoklo term for traditional Taiwanese corner stores. Gamadiams were once ubiquitous across the country, but they’ve now largely been replaced by convenience stores and supermarkets. Today, we take a trip down memory lane and visit a few of Taiwan’s last surviving gamadiams. Some are decades-old shops still run by their original owners. Others are managed by enterprising young people, who have found fresh ways to keep the tradition alive. Here’s this week’s Sunday special report.

Miaoli’s Shitan Township has only 4,132 people, making it the least populated of the county’s 18 administrative districts.

Lee Shu-min
Shitan Township office
We have about 1,100 residents aged 66 to 79, and about 1,000 residents over 80. So these days in Shitan, when you’re outside walking around, all the people you see will be older people.

What’s unique about Shitan is not just the large number of older adults, but also the large number of traditional grocers – known in Hoklo as gamadiam . In a short span of just 400 meters along the township’s old street, one can find two such traditional grocers. This location is the older of the two. Built in the Japanese colonial days, It has been operating for nearly 70 years now.

The shop is run by 67-year-old Su Ching-chang and his 95-year-old mother.

Su Ching-chang
Independent grocer
I took over running the shop in 1980. This building was originally our house. You could say the business here is pretty good. When people come back to town, they gather here to buy things.

In an age when there were no convenience stores, gamadiams were where everyone in town gathered to shop. More importantly, they were where town folk gathered to connect with each other.

Lee Shu-min
Shitan Township office
Around the sides of the township’s grocery stores, wherever space allows it, we put out chairs for people to rest. The people who live around here have an emotional connection to these stores.

During the Japanese colonial era, there were as many as 50 such grocery stores in Shitan Township. Later, the exodus of people from the town, combined with the arrival of chain stores, convinced most independent grocers there to close up shop. Today only 12 gamadiams remain in Shitan.

Su Ching-chang
Independent grocer
It’s never occurred to me to close up shop, because I’ve got my mother at home here. Mainly I’m here to take care of her, as well as to keep the shop running.

Although business isn’t as good as it used to be, Su still makes a sufficient living. For his community, gamadiams hold a special meaning.

Lee Shu-min
Shitan Township office
In cities, you have convenient public transportation, so if you need to go to the supermarket or the hypermarket, it’s quite easy to get there. But in a place like Shitan, public transportation is not quite as convenient. Therefore, the small grocery shops still have their place.

Traditional independent grocery stores can still thrive in small towns, perhaps due to the lack of supermarkets and hypermarkets. But what about gamadiams found in cities?

Hidden away in Taoyuan’s Liuhe Commercial District in this small, unassuming shop, the fragrance of coffee fills the air.

The owner of this shop is 45-year-old Tseng Han-yi. She has help from her long-time shop assistant and grandmother, 88-year-old Chiu Huei-mei.

This shop is a hybrid of sorts – one side of it is kept in the style of a gamadiam.

Tseng Han-yi
Shop owner
This area over here is our cafe, and on this side is my grandmother’s gamadiam. Due to space restrictions, in the gamadiam, we just put out some of the more commonly sold items. Some things we keep in the back – like these things here. Actually, our customers come back here themselves to get stuff.

Customers are free to walk into the back room, as if it were their own home – and they make small talk with Tseng’s grandmother. For some 10 years now, the shop’s only customers have been the owner’s elderly neighbors.

Tseng Han-yi
Shop owner
Within just 300 meters of us here, there are a dozen or so convenience stores. Within 500 meters, there are two supermarkets. So basically, we lost all of our customers to those stores.

Business at the store has waned over the years, and Tseng’s grandmother no longer has the energy she once did. In 2017, Tseng decided to close up her own coffeeshop. She transplanted her business to her grandmother’s store so that she could help out.

Tseng Han-yi
Shop owner
I thought, whether I take over the gamadiam or merge it with my coffee shop, I want to make some changes to improve business.

Changes and transformations are all in the hope of drawing in customers. Tseng, an animal lover who has a pet hedgehog, turned the cafe-gamadiam hybrid into a pet-friendly establishment.

Wen-chih
Customer
I went online and searched for meetups of hedgehog pet owners, and that’s how I found this cafe. I followed the map here, and when I arrived I discovered the owner has a hedgehog of her own. She’s also really friendly toward pets.

Hsin-chen
Customer
Only after I stepped inside did I realize there was a gamadiam here. Later I brought my kids here. They loved it, because they’d never seen these things before.

Tseng successfully cracked the pet-owners’ market, and increased revenue at the gamadiam by nearly 20%. Taking her grandmother’s sleep schedule into account, Tseng opens the shop at 9:00 a.m. She doesn’t make meals – only coffee – but on whim, she decided to team up with a breakfast shop.

Chang Chieh-chieh
Breakfast shop owner
The shop owners around here are all really friendly. We share resources – it’s about the common good, about coexisting. So, even if it’s just for a club sandwich, I’ll go there, I’ll deliver it to them– I’m really willing to do that.

Tseng Han-yi
Shop owner
I told them, “I’ll order breakfast from you, but since the meat marinade that you use contains rice wine, you can buy that wine from us– because my grandmother sells that stuff.”

Through cooperation and reciprocity, traditional shops in the neighborhood help keep each other alive. Over in Taoyuan’s Xinwu District, this family is also keeping traditional alive.

The Chung family has lived in this townhouse for three generations. They opened a grocery store on the first floor in 1956. In 1986, second-generation owner Chung Hsing-ming took over. With the advent of convenience stores and supermarket, business got harder and harder. Roughly 10 years ago, Chung Hsing-ming’s daughter began helping out, by bringing fresh ideas to the traditional operation.

Chung Pei-ju
Independent grocer
I work at the airport, where I encounter lots of new ideas from other countries. My company tends to engage in group-buying, and sometimes I’d buy something delicious through the group and then want to go buy more, but would have to wait a long time for the chance. Xinwu is really small, and most of the young people here are in junior high or senior high school. So, I decided to start a collective-buying group, to get those young people to come buy stuff at our shop.

The first group purchase that Chung Pei-ju introduced was chocolate from Japan.

Chung Pei-ju
Independent grocer
At that time it was impossible to buy Black Thunder chocolate bars from Japan. You couldn’t find them anywhere in Taiwan. But at the airport where I was working, I could get them. So I started buying them in bulk, to resell. Then everyone started lining up at our shop to get them.

Chung Hsing-ming
Independent grocer
How did we suddenly get so many young people coming to our shop? We didn’t recognize any of them. Some even came from other parts of the country – there were lots of them! It was quite strange. That really piqued our interest.

The Chung family’s gamadiam suddenly became famous. Chung Pei-ju set up a Facebook fan page for the shop, and began looking for the next sales opportunity. But the older people in her family didn’t understand the idea of group-buying. The high price of the items she wanted to buy made them doubt her idea’s earning potential.

Chung Pei-ju
Independent grocer
My father was opposed to my way of doing things, but I had confidence in myself. I thought those imported snacks were really delicious, and I was sure young people would feel the same. So I did it my way and showed my dad that even if I bought that many cakes, I could sell them all. He was really surprised.

In the end, Chung Pei-ju’s older family members saw the success of her methods and came onboard. They learned how to use social media platforms and how to set up collective-buying groups. Over time the number of customers grew, and store revenue grew by nearly 60%.

Gamadiam are a key part of Taiwan’s traditional culture. For the older generations that opened them, they provided good livelihoods. As youth bring fresh ideas into these bastions of tradition, the spirit of the past continues to live on in the present.

2022-07-31

Private Lan Yang Institute of Technology fails to attract enough students and will close Monday

2022-07-31

Low pressure system to arrive Monday, drenching parts of Southern Taiwan till Wednesday

It was still sunny and hot on Sunday with the mercury reaching 38 degrees in Taitung County. But things will change tomorrow when a low pressure system arrives, raising the chances of rain throughout the island. Central and southern regions, as well as southeastern regions will likely see heavy rain in the next three days. The Central Weather Bureau says the precipitation will continue until Thursday.

It was a scorcher of a day in Taipei on Sunday, with parasols dotting the streets. Temperatures throughout the island were high, with Taitung reaching 38 degrees. However the Central Weather Bureau says the weather will be drastically different on Monday.

Chang Cheng-chuan
Forecaster, Central Weather Bureau
From this evening to the early morning tomorrow, a low pressure system will be approaching. The wind will be still coming in from a southwesterly direction in the early morning tomorrow. From the early hours of the morning to late in the morning, there’s a good chance for localized heavy showers to occur in the central and southern regions, especially in the coastal areas.

This weather radar shows a high pressure system over the Pacific that is stretching westward. Meanwhile a low pressure system is moving near Taiwan and bringing in moisture. From Monday to Wednesday, the chances of rain will be high with the possibility of brief showers or thundershowers throughout the island. Central and southern regions, southeastern regions, as well as mountainous regions should watch out for brief torrential rain, lasting until Thursday.

Chang Cheng-chuan
Forecaster, Central Weather Bureau
From Monday to Wednesday, the rainfall will be most pronounced, and there will be brief and heavy rainfall in various places, especially in the central and southern regions and the southeastern regions, and other mountainous areas. From Monday to Wednesday, there will be a higher chance of localized heavy rain.

The low pressure system on Friday will leave Taiwan, dispersing moisture in the air. However, the public is still advised to watch out for afternoon thundershowers in mountainous regions.

2022-07-31

Doctors urge vigilance as local COVID case numbers hover at around 20,000

2022-07-31

Analysts: Nancy Pelosi likely to visit despite Taiwan not in official itinerary

2022-07-31

Conference on Taiwan-Japan relations attended by President Tsai remembers late Japanese PM