A Forest of Autocrats

Some weeks ago (yes, I know I've been slow in updating this blog), I drove out to Tzuhu in Taoyuan County, which is home to the mausoleum of Chiang Kai-shek, the former president (or dictator) of Taiwan. In recent years his stature as a national hero has diminished to near nothingness, but he is still revered by some loyalists. Love him or hate him, monuments dedicated to him make interesting curiosities to pay visits to, and his mausoleum and the accompanying park are no exception.

In fact, last December, outgoing president Chen Shui-bian ordered the mausoleum closed in a last-ditch F. U. to Chiang's legacy before his term ended. Since its re-opening by his KMT successor Ma Ying-jeou, this destination has been more popular than ever. I visited a couple years ago, and there were few people there; now the place is swamped with tourists.

The mausoleum itself is interesting, especially the Changing of the Guard, which I put up on YouTube.

But every bit as interesting is the eerie statue park, which is the final resting place of hundreds of CKS statues and busts that were dismantled around Taiwan since 2000. It's a great place to take photos, especially when there aren't many people around (rare these days). To take these photos, I had to do a lot of waiting, and in some shots I positioned myself so tourists were hidden behind the statues.

Typhoon

While the world's attention was focused on Hurricane Ike, we had out own hurricane here...well, it's a typhoon, but it's the same meteorological phenomenon.

Taipei was drenched with heavy rains for two and a half days straight, but the winds weren't so bad. The winds were worse in other parts of the island. So far the damage has yet to be assessed in total, but there were media reports of collapsed bridges, landslides, and so on. Damage to houses in cities is generally minimal because buildings, for the most part, are built of reinforced concrete, and as such they withstand the typhoons which batter Taiwan several times a year.

Yes, I know, I haven't posted much lately. Every time I think I finally have some free time, along comes another project for me to do. But that's good...it's my livelihood!