Regional Disaster Relief Centre Opened in Taipei

ecember saw a significant additional contribution to international disaster relief with the opening of the Pacific Center for Disaster Reduction in Taipei. Although located in Taiwan’s capital city and receiving technical assistance from the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL), the center was established by the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU) and will be run jointly by its 28 member countries.

Launched to coincide with the first anniversary of the 2004 South Asian tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people and left millions of lives in ruins, the centre is the DPU’s commitment to ensuring the best response possible to any similar disaster in the future, and to consolidating and coordinating efforts for promoting sustainable development in the Pacific Rim region.

Addressing an audience of high-ranking officials, politicians and overseas ambassadors and representatives, including those from Guatemala, Japan, Indonesia, Panama, Paraguay, the Philippines, and from the Solomon Islands assembled at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, the DPU’s director-general Annette Lu, who is also the vice president of Taiwan, expressed her sympathy for all those still suffering the after effects of the 2004 tsunami.

“We must face the fact that human beings have entered into an era of catastrophes.” Lu said. “Our environmentally-unfriendly activities, such as the abuse of fossil fuels, deforestation, and damage caused to ecological systems, have caused problems we have no choice but to deal with.”

NARL director Lee Lou-chuan said that because of its vulnerability to natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, and flooding, Taiwan has developed good warning systems and robust disaster relief networks. This makes it well positioned to contribute to the centre’s first task of facilitating technology transfers between DPU members so as to reduce the potential for disasters and increase sustainable development.

Lee said that according to a United Nations’ report, only 11 percent of victims of natural disasters live in poor countries but they account for 53 percent of fatalities. This, he suggested, means that death tolls from natural disasters can be significantly reduced by focusing attention on poor countries.

Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian said that the centre’s launch represented a first concrete achievement for the DPU following its official establishment in August 2005 after several years of preparation. He praised the union’s efficiency in bringing the centre to fruition in such a short period of time.

Its establishment embodies the DPU’s core values of democracy, peace, and prosperity. The DPU believes that realization of these values requires the active cooperation of all Pacific Rim nations, which currently represent about 40 percent of the earth’s population and whose economies account for more than one half of global markets. *************************************

Taiwan’s Freedom Reaffirmed by US Advocacy Group

reedom House, the partly government-funded American advocacy group, awarded Taiwan top ranking for both political rights and civil liberties. In the same report, China was gauged as not having improved on its previous designation of “not free” despite the huge strides it has made in terms of economic performance.

Every December since 1978, Freedom House has released its influential Freedom in the World report, which grades countries between one (the top score) and seven (the worst) in terms of both political rights and civil liberties.

Scoring one in both categories, Taiwan was one of 89 countries designated “free” out of the total of 192 countries surveyed. Another 58 countries were judged to be “partially free,” with another 45 being condemned as “not free.” China, the world’s most populous nation, still languishes in this last bracket.

As Taiwan’s Government Information Office Minister Pasuya Wen-chih Yao observed, with Freedom House once again affirming Taiwan as a highly-developed democratic country, “The glory belongs to all Taiwanese people.” Nevertheless, he added that it is also a recognition of the government’s efforts to protect and promote human rights and to advance democracy.

Without going into details, Freedom House reported that, over the last twelve months, Taiwan has actually made progress in the areas of rights and liberties. It said that it would release another index in the coming spring with details of more specific categories such as “the process of elections,” “political diversity,” “freedom of religion,” “freedom of establishing companies,” and “justice.” *****************************************

Taiwan to Help Rebuild Aceh University

The December 2004 tusnami left so many devastated lives and reconstruction problems in its aftermath that even knowing where to begin can sometimes be a daunting task.

One year on, Taiwan’s government, private organizations, and individuals continue to donate money and relief goods and send medical personnel to help with rehabilitation programmes.

Moreover, having identified education as playing a key role in recovery and social development, Taiwan’s representative office in Jakarta last month announced that Taiwan is to help rebuild a university in Indonesia's Aceh Province, the area most severely devastated by the tsunami. This, it is hoped, will help survivors receive quality education and improve the future prospects of the whole province.

During a visit to the provincial capital of Banda Aceh to attend an anniversary memorial service organised by Taiwan's largest charity, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, and presided over by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Taiwan's representative to Indonesia Lin Yung-lo and other colleagues had a good opportunity to undertake a field study and conduct negotiations with local officials, thus setting in progress Taiwan’s contribution to the university rebuilding effort. ****************************************

The European Union welcomes the resumption of direct cross-straits flights over the Chinese New Year EN In the Declaration of 5495/06 (Presse 16), on 20 January 2006, the Presidency on behalf of the European Union welcomes the resumption of direct cross-straits flights over the Chinese New Year and regards this as encouraging steps that contribute to the promotion of dialogue and mutual understanding between the parties. The EU sincerely hopes that ways will be found to build upon this.

The European Union attaches great importance to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait which are important for the region and beyond. Reiterating its One-China policy the European Union appeals once again to both sides to refrain from statements and unilateral actions which could increase tension and encourages them to find ways to engage in a meaningful and inclusive dialogue that would involve all parties concerned.

The EU supports and welcomes all efforts by the parties to seek a mutually acceptable basis for discussions and is of the firm conviction that the Taiwan question should be solved peacefully through cross-straits negotiations.

The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), pursuing 4 principles namely ‘’sovereignty’’, ‘’democracy’’, ‘’peace’’, and ‘’equality’’ in dealing the cross-strait relations, welcomes today’s EU-Declaration on cross-straits relations and wishes that the EU will contribute more actively to further promote the peace and stability in the Region. ********************************************

Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement Heralds Improvement in Ties

Sometimes progress in bilateral relations is evidenced by high-profile visits by presidents and diplomats; on other occasions it is embodied in the black and white script of a piece of legislation or formal agreement.

The entering into force on December 14, 2005 of the official-sounding Agreement between the Belgian Office, Taipei and the Taipei Representative Office in Belgium for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income is one example of the latter. By alleviating taxes imposed in one territory on the income of residents of the other territory, and applicable to individuals, companies, or other bodies of persons residing in either Taiwan or Belgium, it is expected to have a positive influence on promoting trade and investment links between the two countries.

Although originally signed on October 13, 2004, its coming into force in 2005 means its provisions will apply to taxes due or withheld at source on income credited or payable on or after 1 January 2006 or in respect of other taxes charged on income of taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2006 (for full details see http://fiscus.fgov.be/interfafznl/international/Taïwan/Bel_Taïw.htm).

At present, Belgium has 18 investment projects in Taiwan and Taiwanese companies have invested more than 25 million Euros in Belgium.

In future, a Belgian company setting up a permanent branch, office, factory or workshop in Taiwan, which would previously have paid 33.99 percent corporate income tax in Belgium on its profits in Taiwan will, under the new rules, have no corporate income tax is levied in Belgium on these profits. In addition, Belgian or Taiwanese companies to which dividends, interest, and royalties are paid in the other country will only be taxed at a maximum rate of 10 percent in that other country. Previously, normal tax rates under Taiwanese law for dividends, interest, and royalties were 25 percent (companies) or 30 percent (individuals); 20 percent; and 20 percent respectively.

In other words, this agreement brings about considerable tax reductions for both Belgian and Taiwanese companies. Although this may not have the fanfare of a state visit between the two nations, it represents a small but significant step forward to improving bilateral ties between Taiwan and Belgium. ****************************************

SEMINARS Business Opportunities for Europeans

A trade mission led by Dr. Ma Ying-jeou, the Mayor of Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan will be visiting Belgium 16-17 Feb 2006. During his stay, a seminar on Taiwan’s business and market opportunities, will be hosted by Dr. Ma in the morning of Friday 17th Feb.

ICT is the backbone of Taiwan and Asia Pacific’s economy. In 2003, the Region exports some US$613 billion ICT goods and is responsible for 54% of global ICT export, and Taiwanese companies, along with its Chinese, Japanese and Korean counterparts play a major role. Of the top 100 Chinese firms, over half are foreign invested, and of these, 21 operate with Taiwanese capital. China’s top 3 exporting firms are all Taiwan-invested.

As Taiwan’s traditional industries are rapidly moving to China, the island needs to continuously upgrade its industrial structure, and in the meantime, to improve environmental protection and enhance its own infrastructure. In the process, there are ample opportunities for Belgian and European businesses.

Taiwan is a major investor in both China (over US$100 billion) and SE Asia (over US$35 billion) and through these investments forms networks of business and supply chains, Taiwan is now a gateway for European companies into Asia Pacific Region and Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan wish to be the centre of the Region. The seminar will focus on how to team up with Taiwan to explore the business potentials in the Region. Participation to the seminar is free and should anyone is interested in attending the seminar, please contact Ms Sara Van Hoeymissen by e-mail at: sara.vanhoeymissen@scarlet.be or tel: (02) 289 6668 ****************************************

Taiwan Tops Asia in German iF Product Design Awards Taipei, Dec. 27 (CNA) Taiwan manufacturers won 63 iF Product Design Awards in Germany, surpassing Japan and South Korea to become Asia's big winner, according to the Industrial Development Bureau Tuesday. The two Asian neighbors won 45 and 43 awards, respectively. Only host Germany won more awards than Taiwan in the design world's Oscar, which drew the participation of 1,952 products from 37 countries. Taiwan's BenQ Corporation snatched 13 awards, placing third after Samsung of South Korea and Philips of the Netherlands in company rankings. Another shining Taiwan company was DUCKIMAGE, a design company that won 10 awards in the Hannover, Germany, international forum. Altogether, 688 products were given the coveted iF seal of design excellence. Of which, 50 gold award or "design Oscar" winners will be announced at CeBIT in March, 2006. Since 2004, the bureau has been assisting Taiwan manufacturers to participate in product design competitions abroad. In 2005, 105 Taiwan products won key awards at five major international competitions, including the Reddot Award in Germany, the IDEA Award in the U.S. and the G-Mark in Japan. (By S.C. Chang)

********************************* People in Taiwan Retiring Younger People in Taiwan are retiring younger, according to information released on December 26 by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics (DGBAS). The DGBAS report shows that employees in the industrial and service sectors in Taiwan who applied to retire in 2004 were 54.9 years old on average. Some 32 percent of the retirees were over 60, down from the 74.12 percent in 1991, while 51.73 percent of those who retired in 2004 were between 50 and 59, posing a significant rise in comparison with the level of 21.77 percent in 1991. The 50 to 59 age group made up the bulk of retirees in the industrial and service sectors. The report attributed the trend to an increase of corporate mergers in recent years. Many of these companies offer preferential deals to encourage workers to retire. (By Elizabeth Hsu) Jobless Rate Hit 5-year Low of 3.94% in November *************************************************

Taiwan's jobless rate stood at 3.94 percent in November, the lowest since April of 2001, according to the statistics released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics (DGBAS).

DGBAS attributed the jobless rate fall to a shrinkage in the number of first-time job seekers failing to find jobs and the number of those becoming jobless because of plant or company closures.

Despite better climate in the job market, the average real regular monthly pay for employees in the local industrial and service sectors in November posted an annual fall of 1.28 percent and the dollar figure for the first 10 months of the year stood at NT$34,443 (US$1,013), down by 1.23 percent from the corresponding figure of last year. DGBAS indicated that the introduction of alien labor has caused structural changes in the domestic job market, and led to shrinking salaries.

Market observers indicated that growing part-time or temporary jobs available to job seekers seemed to lower the jobless rate as well. Nevertheless, Taiwan's broad unemployment rate, including the hidden jobless, still posted at a high of 5.85 percent in November. The hidden jobless usually mean those who do not move to find jobs although they hope to get jobs. **************************************

Specialists Make Progress in Reviving Taiwan Salmon Species

Specialists dedicated to reviving the Oncorhynchus masou formosanus, otherwise known as the Taiwan salmon, from rapidly declining numbers have good findings to report. In the middle of October, females of the species were artificially inseminated and over the past two weeks, over 1,000 tadpoles have emerged from the fertilized eggs. The management office of the Shei Pa National Park have invited Japanese experts to help Taiwan by providing instruction on how to best revive the population of the fish, which is a landlocked salmon. Plans are to further increase the number of breeder fish and to expand the areas where the fish are released in the wild in order to prevent the genetic pool for the salmon from narrowing over time.

Earlier this year, the national park's management office caught five pairs of the Taiwan salmon and used artificial insemination methods to fertilizer over 1,300 eggs. Up through the end of Thursday, 80 percent of the eggs have hatched, and tadpoles have formed. The management office sent researcher Liao Lin-yen to Japan earlier this year to learn about reproduction techniques for the fish. The national park has also invited a Japanese fish reproduction specialist to Taiwan to provide assistance in the process of trying to repopulate the species of the fish.

Liao said that in past years, the fertilized eggs were directly put in an enclosed area where they would hatch and grow. However, based on Japanese salmon reproduction technology as reference, the fish eggs here this year will first be placed in a stream for an hour after they have been fertilized before they are then moved to an enclosed area. The fertilized eggs ingest water and begin to expand. The composition of the eggs is similar to that of gelatin. Enabling the eggs to ingest the stream water not only makes the eggs better for research, but also increases the chance that they will hatch. In addition, the bait that the fry are being fed has been adjusted to contain a higher level of protein, which will enable the fry to have stronger bodies.

In terms of releasing the fish into the wild, Liao said that in the past, it was common practice to catch the salmon in the wild and then artificially fertilize the eggs of the female fish. This year, however, the national park's management office intends to nurture breeder fish. He added that the Japanese expert has suggested that the fish fry be released into streams and rivers other than just the Chichiawan Stream. The aim of this is to re-introduce the fish to streams where there used to be significant populations of the salmon but where they are rarely seen today, such as the Nanhu Stream and the Hohuan Stream.

Liao stressed that the number of Oncorhynchus masou formosanus is quite small and the fish of this species that are left on Taiwan can only be found in the Chichiawan Stream and a handful of other streams. Given the increasingly narrow gene pool of the fish, what will result over time is that the ability of the fish to adapt will decrease and the function of some of its organs may decline. The Japanese expert suggested that if the fish fry are able to grow and reproduce in other streams, it would expand the gene bank for the fish. While it could take hundreds or even thousands of years to make the gene pool for the fish more active, at least it is a good first step. ***********************************************

OISTAT to Relocate Headquarters to Taiwan

The Organisation Internationale des Scenographes, Techniciens et Architectes de Theatre (OISTAT) will move its headquarters to Taiwan during the next decade.

In December 2005, Taiwan theatre artists joined OISTAT members from 13 countries in attending the ceremony at the National Theater in Taipei at which the organisation’s president Michael Ramsaur and Taiwan Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA) chairperson Chen Chi-nan signed an agreement for relocation of the OISTAT Secretariat from Amsterdam to Taiwan. Although the precise location is still being discussed, practical considerations such as accessibility and the availability of performance and arts space mean it will most likely be in the capital, Taipei.

As part of the deal, the CCA has committed itself to providing OISTAT with a ten-year subsidy. Chen announced that OISTAT will be the first such international organisation to have its headquarters in Taiwan.

The kind of international-scale projects that will be administered by headquarters include the unique Scenofest in Prague Quadrennial, the OISTAT Architecture Competition, the quadrennial World Stage Design, publication of the New Theater Words dictionary of stage terms, publication of the OISTAT Newsletter and OISTAT Website, and holding of the OISTAT World Congress, as well as of the annual meetings of the governing board, executive committee, and commission.

OISTAT, which operates under the auspices of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), was founded in Prague, Czech Republic, in 1968. With its primary aim of fostering cooperation between theatre organizations around the world, OISTAT has more than 20,000 members in 48 countries, and maintains centres in 32 countries. Taiwan has both been a member and had a centre since joining in 1997, since which date the Taiwan centre has been very appreciative of the support given to it by the current headquarters.

By focusing activities in six fields (scenography, education, theatre architecture, technology, publication and communication, and theatre history and theory), the organisation acts as a pathway to theatre arts worldwide.

As OISTAT president Michael Ramsaur explained, “As we approach our work, a breadth of cultural experiences and international trends influence our designs and concepts. Our thinking and design work transcend the national and address the international.”

Chen confirmed that the new agreement will ensure that yet more theatre people and organisations will be able to benefit from OISTAT’s assets and international collaborations. ****************************************************

Musicians Offer Master Classes and Advice on Organising Competitions

Musical competitions, like music in general, can have profound effects on people’s lives. They may even launch the careers of young musicians. In Belgium, for example, TV audiences tune in avidly each year in May to enjoy that country’s major melodic feast, the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition.

Council for Cultural Affairs Chairman Chen Chi-nan admits that Taiwan still has much to learn in this area. Although we do organize an international music competition, so far it has garnered little success, he admits.

It is against this background that the council invited Michel-Etienne Van Neste and professor Mikhail Kopelman, secretary-general and prominent jury member respectively of the Queen Elisabeth competition to visit Taiwan and share their experiences of running a successful music competition and cultivating talented musicians.

Van Neste held two seminars on these subjects in December, while Kopelman, who was first violin at the Borodin String Quartet for two decades and now teaches violin at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, gave a series of violin master classes. Both hoped to impart their passion for music to local audiences.

“This competition was a turning point in my life,” acknowledges Taiwan’s Hu Nai-yuan, violin winner at the 1985 Queen Elisabeth competition. As an impoverished college graduate, Hu flew economy class to the competition in Belgium; on the way back to Taiwan as winner “the flight attendant asked me if I wanted to switch to first class as a VIP.”

The best way to inspire talented musicians is by giving them a stage to compete on that they might learn from each other, said Susan Shu-cheng Lin, director of the Graduate Institute of Performing Arts at National Taiwan Normal University, which hosted one of the seminars.

Further evidence of women’s predominance in Taiwan’s musical arts was supplied by the Tainan Women’s College of Arts & Technology, which hosted the other of Van Neste’s seminars. Kopelman’s six violin master classes were held at Taiwan’s National Theatre Concert Hall. All were eagerly attended. *************************************************

TIBE Exhibits Ancient Books from Leuven University

The 14th Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) will focus on the Culture Pavilion of Four Countries from Europe held from February 7 to 12, 2006 at the Taipei World Trade Center.

On an initiative of Ambassador C.J. Chen of Taipei Representative Office in Belgium, the TIBE has invited Central Library of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) to participate in this event. KUL agreed with pleasure to lend the TIBE six pieces of collection associated with classical Buddhist texts, Mongol prayer book, Decree of Emperor Yong-Zheng, Johan Nieuhof’s report “the Embassy of the Dutch East-Indian Company to the great Tartar Cham”, Athanasius Kircher’s “China monumentis” and Joan Blaeu’s New Atlas of China, published in between 1302 and 1726.

These books, scroll and atlas will be exhibited under the Theme Pavilion and provide Taiwanese friends a taste of diverse reading from Belgium. For further information on the TIBE, please visit their website at www.tibe.org.tw/2006/. ***************************************************

“Crazy Grass” – Cloud Gate’s Third Exploration of Calligraphy through Dance

By Mark Caltonhill

With hindsight, it might seem obvious to use the fluid movements of dancers across a stage to express the graceful twists and turns of a pen or brush across the page. The Chinese language even has just such an idiom to describe the vigorous flourishes of elegant calligraphy: long fei feng wu (“[like] dragons flying and phoenixes dancing”).

It took the imagination of writer-turned-choreographer Lin Hwai-min and the creativity of Taiwan’s best-known theatre group, the Cloud Gate Dance Troupe, to bring about such a meeting of art forms, however. The troupe’s Cursive trilogy represents its five-year exploration of the traditional art of calligraphy through the medium of modern dance.

Parts I and II of the trilogy have already been received with wide acclaim both in Taiwan and around the world; this year Cloud Gate will perform the international premier of the third and final piece. In Chinese this is called Kuang Cao, which literally means “crazy grass” and is used to describe a particularly free form of calligraphy. In English it is entitled simply Cursive III.

Although at first sight calligraphy might seem to have only superficial similarities with modern dance, in fact many parallels can be found. For example, the written script (usually a poem or other short text) of a piece of calligraphy has intrinsic meaning of its own, as do the individual movements performed by dancers. Nevertheless, in calligraphic art, it is the artistic expression of the calligrapher him or herself that developed over centuries to become even more important than the underlying text, and which reached its zenith in the cao (grass) scripts and in kuang cao in particular. Dancers, similarly, add layers of expression to their movements.

The subject matter is particularly suited to Lin and his troupe (whose name is taken from a legendary ritual dance in Neolithic China), which established its reputation over the last three decades with interpretations of Chinese classical literature and theatre. These have included Tale of the White Serpent, an updated version of a classic Chinese opera; Dream of the Red Chamber inspired by Cao Xueqin’s famous 18th century novel of aristocratic Chinese life; Nine Songs based on the 2,300-year-old poems of statesmen Qu Yuan (whose suicide drowning is commemorated each year at the Dragon Boat Festival); and Legacy, Cloud Gate’s signature work, which depicts the perseverance of the earliest Han immigrants to Taiwan.

Accolades for Lin Hwai-min and Cloud Gate have ranged from Distinguished Citizen and National Arts awards, to honorary degrees and even a Taipei street named after the troupe. Most recently at the end of last year, in selecting Lin as one of its Asia Heroes in 2005, Time Asia described him simply as “Asia's synthesizing dance genius.”

Lin says that the controlled movement needed to dance Kwang Cao was a special challenge. There are so many fast, violent movements, he explained, that are then “closed” by a very slow movement. A dancer needs to be very strong to change quickly from very fast to very slow.

In a departure from the images of calligraphic masterpieces projected onto the performance backdrops of Cursive and Cursive II, a particularly innovate feature of Cursive III is the “dancing” of ink down ten-metre-long strips of paper hung at the back of the stage creating original calligraphic-like works. Both the high-tech paper and inks had to be formulated from scratch in Taiwan to achieve the effect Lin desired.

He should be more than happy with the result: even the impromptu works from the final rehearsals sold for more than 2,000 Euros at Internet auction, while the four produced at each performance thereafter will be sold backstage to interested sponsors, probably for yet greater sums.

Promotional materials for Cursive refer to the trilogy as “a long journey into the ancient practice of movement and spirituality”. Like Wong Chee-mon, the music director of Taiwan’s U Theatre (see Taiwan Newsletter December 2005), Lin Hwai-min has “encouraged” his performers to spend years practicing martial arts, tai-chi, meditation and, since 2000, calligraphy. His goal is a union of spirit, breath and movement, and, hopefully, of the dissimilar-yet-similar art forms of dance and calligraphy.

Starting on February 15th at the Hong Kong Arts Festival and later in May and June during the company’s European tour, international audiences will have a chance to see if he has achieved this. (For full schedule see http://www.cloudgate.org.tw/ eng/ english/touring.htm)