My Life as Adoga

On a recent Saturday field trip I joined friends in visiting an aboriginal village, inhabited mostly by Bunun tribal people in the Nantou area. A kindly elder couple joined us in the evening and shared a traditional song. Video of the song is at the bottom of this posting. With us as "special guest" and "host" for the weekend were, respectively, American author Linda Hogan and Taiwan Bunun writer Nequo. The Sunday morning view of the Yushan range was refreshing, to say the least. The day before it had snowed on Yushan's highest peak, but that was invisible to us as the mountain was shrouded in thick clouds. Yushan's highest peak, still in the embrace of some lingering clouds.

Source: Taipei Times

Every now and then I have an opportunity to straighten up the mess that is my desk. This "mess" consists of books and materials to be filed, notes to be acted on, and news clippings that were taken for this blog. What follows is an already out-of-date editorial, but it makes a few statements that are worth hearing and keeping filed away in the back of the mind for future retrieval. I've highlighted these important comments in red . EDITORIAL: Now We’re Really Being Watched Taipei Times , Saturday, Dec 06, 2008, Page 8 The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of today is not the same as the KMT of the 1950s and 1960s, even if some officials in its uppermost ranks clearly long for this to be so. This means that the party is limited to some extent in its ability to influence proceedings throughout systems of government and oversight mechanisms. Although checks and balances can be weakened to the detriment of higher democratic standards, the interests that would line up to oppo...

This article from the March 5, 2009 issue of the Taipei Times on the Saisiat tribe's struggle for autonomy. The article argues that autonomy is a route toward cultural and linguistic salvation, but it does explain ho w the two are linked. Nor does the article explain what autonomy means or how it will work, and it also glosses over what the Incompetent Horse meant in his campaign promise by a "trial basis" for autonomy. (The photo here was taken during my visit to the Saisiat tribe's central village outside of Miaoli a couple of years ago. Dare we let a sleeping dog lie?) The photo in the article comes from http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/9/3/5/n2450852.htm. Saisiat Tribe Issues Challenge on Autonomy By Loa Iok-sin Taipei Times , Thursday, Mar 05, 2009, Page 3 Worried that their tribe's culture and language may soon perish, Saisiat Aborigines yesterday demanded the government fulfill President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) campaign promise on Aborig...