Fili’s world

Here’s the first attempt at a small project I’ve been curious about trying out for quite some time. I talk to Taiwanese folks about the many things that I encounter around Taipei, but have always wondered what it would be like for some one else to read a Taiwanese view next to a foreign one without any prior interaction on the subject. Will we mention the same things? will we differ in the way we approach the subject?

So, I’ve asked Taiwanese Jessie that we pick out a very simple subject and then both try and write a few paragraphs about it that would indicate somesort of a view or an opinion. We haven’t discussed anything other than the subject, nothing what so ever.

Here goes, first subject - Taipei 101 Building :

Jessie’s piece on the 101 (Taiwanese)

Tallest, magnificent, shaped like a sword: these are the general comments about Taipei 101. Printed on the postcards, T-shirts, calendars, or any other forms of souvenirs, its image has become the new landmark of Taipei city, a new tourist scenic spot.

But for me, it appears more like an intrusion on the skyline of Taipei, rather than a familiar landmark of a hometown. In a local sarcastic magazine, it has been elected as one of the “Top Ten ugliest buildings in Taiwan”. Taipei 101 is actually weird in my eye. Short Asian people want something biggest and stoutest in the world. Is there anything else than inferiority and phallicism behind it?

I can still remember how the media had criticized about the idea of building a skyscraper on such a frequent-quaked tiny island. There are, in fact, five workers died in the “311 earthquake” during the establishing of 101. Now Taipei 101 functions as the commercial and industrial center of the busiest area in Taipei. It shines with the capitalist neon light every night; below it there lies the blood of the working class.

Nowadays most Taipei citizens have got used to the existence of 101. We also tend to show foreigners around it and point out “Look, the tallest building in the world”. Maybe it’s just like the Eiffel Tower situation: the French used to hate it in the beginning but now they embrace it as their most beautiful pride. Maybe I’ll start to miss it one day when I am away from my land.

fiLi’s piece on the 101 (Foreigner)

“Does anybody have a dream for me today?”. Here we go again. I watch in fascination as all the eager-to-please Psychology students raise their hands high up in the air, begging for the Prof.’s attention. “Basic Theories on Personality” was just another cliche of my university’s Psychology classes - everybody’s racing competitively toward the Masters and if it means making up strange dreams to please the professor, then so be it. But, there was always a small club of a few members who were excluded from this peculiar behavior. The club has embraced the participation of either people who are Anti, such as my self - fi Anti Li, people who are extremely shy, and sometimes people that are both. Oddly, there was a breach in our fellowship, as a small shy female member of our club was raising her arm with hesitation. The professor was sharp enough to notice that, and after hearing from her that this dream really bothers her he asks her to go ahead with the dream.

“We’re in a middle of a desert, a complete wasteland with nothing but empty sands raising over the occasional hill. There are a few people there, but we are all a bit uncertain of what we are doing there. We hold hands to form a circle and start circling around an unknown spot. We’re also singing something, raising our volume slowly as we circle. Suddenly, as we’re performing this strange ritual, the earth starts to shake, and we become very frightened, almost panicking. We know that something horrible is about to happen, but we have no way of stopping it. A gigantic explosion from within our circle blows us back to fall flat on our backs, and a huge missile, the biggest to ever exist, shoots up from the middle up towards the high skies. When the missile hits the clouds it blows up to small pieces with humongous fireworks, of which small children dive down with parachutes. After that, everything becomes quiet again, and we all feel relieved that the worst is behind us. What do you think that means?”

Now, imagine a New Years eve. A million Taiwanese gather next to Taipei City Hall for the final countdown of the New Year. 10, 9… 3, 2, 1… and then, in this crucial moment, the mightiest fireworks imaginable come flashing out endlessly from Taipei 101, tallest building in the world, Taipei’s symbol. All the girls scream “Ahhh” with excitement, boys point their hands out saying “did you see how big that was? did you see that one?”.

What does it mean for a country to endorse a huge phallic symbol as its national symbol? Taipei doesn’t have the landscape of an ordinary western city. It still lacks, thanks heaven above, a big downtown area with skyscrapers and the business glass towers. So, this 101 building, which should already be quite impressive just by the “world’s largest” title, stands out even more. Taiwanese folks know that the title will not be theirs for much longer, as the next tallest building is already in construction, but it doesn’t seem to spoil their enjoyment - sometimes to reach worship. The Americans have the French statue-of-liberty, the French have the ugly Eiffel tower, and Taiwanese have their 101. Whether you like it or not, looking at it, you know it means something, and the only thing that’s left to discover is what. A symbol of independence? success? power? ability? who knows. “Sometimes a cigar is only a cigar”, but I have a strong feeling that Freud would agree that this case calls for one of those special explanations. I find it ironic, that the Taiwanese people - some of the nicest, humblest and purest that I’ve met - chose this dream, of all dreams, to share with the rest of the world.

Categories :

• b-taiwan
• b-exproject
• b-opinion