wednesday politics

the politics of Taiwan are in a very interesting place this week. with two years left in his term, the president, along with several members of his family, is being accused with massive corruption charges. beginning last saturday, the opposition party has been hosting huge rallies in the street in front of the presidential palace. i went tonight with a few friends familiar with the cause, and stepping off the mrt train onto the platform, even before we ascended to the street, the number of red shirts walking around was visually overwhelming. in an interesting display of Taiwanese protocol, however, every person climbing the escalator stood calmly to the right, in single file, even if no hurrying passengers were present.

at street level, tens of thousands of demonstrators in red shirts, caps and bandannas peacefully crowded the streets and sidewalks. at the intersection, we approached an area cordoned off by armed policemen and seven foot tall mobile iron fencing, about a hundred meters in front of the palace. directly across from this sight, more red shirted demonstrators stood at police barricades, chanting for the president’s resignation. we pushed through the crowd, listening to the speakers on stage rally the crowd, followed by a trumpet player and soprano singer. in an act of penance for having voted for the president, one man has set up a little wooden shack under the scaffolding, with his 8 month old baby. under red awnings and trees tied with red strips of cloth, volunteers gave out free food to participants, and stickers emblazoned with the big thumbs down sign were handed to all passers by.  

the city’s largest hospital lay at the other end of the demonstration, and it required quiet all around from 10 pm on; i would have been interested to watch the festivities shut down exactly at 10, out of respect for the infirm.

we walked through downtown Taipei to wang’s beef noodle shop, a small nondescript restaurant with no menu and only one option: beef noodle soup. even without the beef, mine was exceptionally delicious. thick, chewy noodles in a spicy broth, every inhale left my in a coughing fit from the chilis. delicious, though, and a sight to behold the young man carrying four bowls of soup at a time, three in one hand and one in the other.

back to the hotel, another call home, as it’s now morning on the east coast, before i iron tomorrow’s clothes and fall out, with visions of true democracy in action dancing through my head.