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Taiwan.com.au Portal NewsletterVolume 1 (2002), Number 1 (July-September)
[Issue in Australia] [Issue in Taiwan] [Book Review] [About Taiwan.com.au Portal]
Issue in Australia This year is the International Year of Ecotourism. In Victoria, the state government has launched several major projects to promote nature-oriented tourism, in order to provide local and international tourists with more chances of getting closer to Mother Nature. For example, two state-level government organizations, Tourism Victoria and Parks Victoria, are working together to commission a series of high-quality photography projects. Images of tourist activities in Victoria's important natural attractions are captured, so that they are available for use in the government's current and future promotion of nature-based tourism in the state. Meanwhile, the state government and representatives of the tourism industry are meeting to discuss the future of Victoria's six alpine resorts - Mt Buller, Falls Creek, Mt Hotham, Mt Baw Baw, Lake Mountain and Mt Stirling. The major goal of these meetings is to produce valid strategies with which the alpine resorts can confront the challenges facing them over the next 20 years. How to improve year-round visitation rates so that the resorts can survive even without snow-admiring tourists is a major focus. Three other famed tourist attractions in Victoria are on the state government's agenda. The first is Phillip Island, where the parade of little fairy penguins at dusk is an important event. In the words of Premier Steve Bracks: "Research has shown that penguins are of enormous appeal in Japan, our fourth largest international market, where potential visitors are looking for nature and ecotourism experiences." So far in this year, Melbourne's Little Penguin Campaign has generated more than A$44 million worth of publicity in Japanese newspapers, magazines and on television, and has attracted approximately 10,000 passenger bookings. The Great Southern Touring Route is another one of Victoria's most rapidly growing tourist attractions. The route covers a wide area, from the Great Ocean Road to the Goldfields, including major scenic sites and towns such as Geelong, the Shipwreck Coast, Ballarat, the Grampians and of course the City of Melbourne. The state government is boosting funding to the development of this route in order to attract more local and international visitors who are interested in self-drive experiences. Finally, Tourism Victoria is hosting a tour of the Macedon Ranges and Spa Country. Representatives from the Australian Society of Travel Writers are invited to experience the natural beauty of the region, and to capture it in their writings. Managers and staff members of local scenic spots such as the wineries and hotels at Mount Macedon, the gardens at Alton, and the spa retreats, galleries, flower and fruit farms and art studios in the region are all working together to contribute their best to this tour. [back to top]
The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the three most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese people. (The other two are the Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival.) Many people, Chinese and non-Chinese, are familiar with the traditional activities held during the Dragon Boat Festival - eating zhongzi (sticky rice dumplings steamed in bamboo-leaf wrapping), reminiscing the famous patriotic poet Qu Yuan (who drowned himself in a river in ancient times after his advice was refused by the king), and, of course, racing the dragon boats. This year, one of the most competitive dragon boat races in Taiwan took place in June in Lukang, Changhua county, on the west coast and near the center of the island. Literally meaning "deer harbor", Lukang is a famous old town in Taiwan. Its glorious history can be dated back to the 17th century, when early Mainland Chinese migrants first arrived at Taiwan. Lukang's many old streets and buildings reflect traditional Chinese culture's simplicity and tranquility. Among the town's famous historic sites are the Lungshan Temple (which has been called "a palace of Taiwan arts" and "Taiwan's Forbidden City") and the Tienhou Temple (where Matsu, Goddess of the Sea, is worshipped.) Even the many kinds of snacks widely circulated in Lukang are traditional-styled - "cow's tongue" fried breads with honey-flavored fillings, golden fried oyster omelets, and juicy meat balls. But it is Lukang's traditional folk arts that bring most fame to the old town. One of the most celebrated and widely produced handicrafts is the "sail cart". Legends have it that talented craft makers in the past built boats on wheels so that they could bring their brides home. The wheeled boats were meant to symbolize that the two were "always in the same boat", and were an auspicious sign of prospering on both land and sea. A trip to Lukang's famous Museum of Folk Artifacts shows local and overseas visitors many more surprises. Here, you can find all kinds of traditional handicrafts - lanterns, red-wood furniture, religious statuary, and special sedan chairs for hoisting deities and carrying them on their rounds. A lot of these handicrafts have long become a part of the town's everyday life - exquisitely carved platforms, decorative ceramic window frames and vases inlayed into walls can be seen all over Lukang, both within and outside of the museum. In today's Taiwan, the preservation of traditional Chinese culture is no longer limited to celebrations of festivals and ancient events. In towns like Lukang, tradition is an important part of modern life. It is through everyday living that traditional spirits and lifestyles are best experienced and cherished. [back to top]
"Cultural Curiosity: Thirteen stories about the search for Chinese roots", edited by Hong Kong University's Josephine M.T. Khu, is a collection of stories written by ethnic Chinese who have encountered China for virtually the first time. The thirteen accounts included in this book explain why these individuals have made such a trip, their experiences in China, what kind of positive or negative impacts these experiences have had in their lives, and whether these experiences have led them to assess or re-assess their ethnic identity. The backgrounds of these thirteen individuals vary greatly, and their stories reflect a wide range of experiences in migration. Their families have settled in New Zealand, Denmark, Sri Lanka, England, Indonesia and the United States, just to name a few, for a long or short period of time. Some of them grew up being told that they are Chinese, but many others have lived their lives exactly like those non-Chinese in the West. Nonetheless, an interesting observation can be made on these individual accounts. No matter how "Chinese" or "non-Chinese" these individuals have perceived themselves, those they meet in China often expect them to be familiar with the Chinese language and culture. This is an expectation often un-fulfilled, particularly in the case of those who are of mixed ethnicity. We then want to ask the following questions: What are the fundamental elements of "Chineseness", if there is indeed such a thing? What kind of criteria can we safely use as we attempt to judge one person as "Chinese" or "non-Chinese"? Can we say someone is Chinese just because he or she speaks Chinese, eats Chinese food and celebrates Chinese festivals? Or can we consider one as Chinese simply because he or she has Chinese blood? These are some of the questions asked again and again in "Cultural Curiosity: Thirteen stories about the search for Chinese roots". In our increasingly globalized world today, political and cultural boundaries are becoming more ambiguous as we travel and communicate across great geographical distances. Will ethnic boundaries one day become completely irreverent in our attempts to understand each other? Or will we continue to construct all kinds of cultural categories in order to define "them" from "us"? Readers are welcome to find out their own answers in this book. "Cultural Curiosity: Thirteen stories about the search for Chinese roots" is published by the University of California Press in 2001. [back to top]
This is the first issue of the Taiwan.com.au Portal Newsletter. A big Congratulations to ourselves! We have been planning the launch of this newsletter since the beginning of this year. However, due to the heavy workload of our editorial and managing staff, we were not able to launch the newsletter successfully until now. Our goal is to publish this newsletter four times a year - every January, April, July and September. We aim to attract readers both in Australia and in Taiwan, and hopefully those in other countries too in the near future. In each issue, we attempt to provide coverage on an important political, economic, social or cultural issue both in Australia and in Taiwan. Furthermore, in each issue, we try to review a book - literary, journalistic and/or academic - about Asia, the Chinese-speaking world (i.e. Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong), and/or the Chinese overseas. This book does not have to be recently published. Neither does it have to be Australia-based. Finally, in each issue we will provide some details about the latest development in Taiwan.com.au Portal. We welcome any kind of feedback from our readers. If you have any comments, suggestions or criticism, please feel free to email us at: or write to us at: P.O. Box 218, Belgrave, Victoria 3160, Australia. We particularly encourage readers to subscribe to our newsletters. Currently the annual subscription fee is AUD$40 (or USD$30, or TWD$950, based on exchange rate May 2005). However, members of Taiwan.com.au Portal may receive our newsletters free of charge. For information about Taiwan.com.au Portal's membership, please check out our web site: http://www.taiwan.com.au/Services/member.html Enjoy reading! Sincerely, Staff, Taiwan.com.au Portal. [back to top] |