So I did what the man asked me to. I refreshed my knowledge of contemporary Taiwan.
Sitting out here on the second floor of my countryside home - or first floor as the locals call it - I have a view of the tops of the trees and a piece of blue sky. The only way I get to hear about Taiwan these days, is over the Internet. The local newspapers never mention the place. There was an exception about a week ago, when they said Taiwan was going to attend some world health conference in Switzerland. Of course, the report was written by some obviously biased correspondent, so she had to whine and moan about how it meant the government was selling out Taiwan to the Chinese etcetera. I know the people who write this.
So anyway, there was Taiwan back in the news again. While I'm listening to the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire, I surf the Internet for news about Taiwan. The view not from the international media, but from the ground so to speak. The expats. I'm one of those myself, even though I never thought of myself as one. The word 'expat' to me reeks of swimming pools, maids, chauffeurs, and a house in the hills I don't have to pay anything for. A life of privilege, and I have never lived a life like this myself.
The work I do is well paid, but I don't live in villas with swimming pools unless it's part of the game. Sometimes you just have to if you want to fit in. I attended one of those world health conferences myself once, but that was just to get closer to one of the delegates my employers thought the world would be healthier without.
But back to Taiwan. Economy going down, just like the rest of the world. Scared of swine flu, just like the rest of the world. Corruption and complaints and clashes, just like the rest of the world. But when my employers call me, I know something is different.
I knew what it was about Taiwan when I reached the fifth forum thread about the island's politics. It's always that, isn't it. If it wasn't for politicians, there wouldn't be trouble. If it wasn't for politicians, there would be no need for people like me to intervene. Ringa Ringa, goes the music.
