Taiwan
For English translation please have a look below.
Taiwan… ma pro nas zajimave pozadi a je to pro nas cestovatelsky nadplan. Puvodne jsme tam vubec nemeli cestovat. Kdyz jsme si planovali letenku jeste doma (v dubnu 2007), tak jsme o zastavce na Taiwanu vubec neuvazovali. Vedeli jsme, ze poletime pres Bangkok (Thajsko) a Taipei (hlavni mesto Taiwanu) do Aucklandu a zastavku jsme si udelali jen v Bangkoku a to jak na ceste na Zeland, tak i na ceste z nej. O Taiwanu jsme toho moc nevedeli, neslyseli a neprisel nam nijak zajimavy.
Kdyz jsme byli na Zelandu na jiznim ostrove v mestecku Franz Josef sli jsme na koncert lehce extravagatniho kytaristy z USA, ktery se jmenoval nebo asi spis oznacoval Panda. Na tomto koncerte jsme potkali a seznamili se s velice sympatickou cestovatelkou z Italie, Caterinou. Povidali jsme si o nas a nasem cestovani a ona nam zminovala, ze studovala cinstinu a prestehovala se na Taiwan do Taipei, kde pracuje pro jednu italskou firmu. Vymenili jsme si kontakty a Cate nas pozvala k ni na navstevu do Taipei. My jsme ji rikali, ze tam sice poletime, ale nase zastavka v Taipeii bude trvat jen nekolik hodin na letisti. Cate jen zminila, ze pokud by se cokoli zmenilo, rada nas v Taipeii uvidi.
Uplynulo par mesicu, o cestovani na Taiwanu jsme neuvazovali, ale v Aucklandu jsme krome Veroniky a Radka poznali dalsi velice mily a zajimavy par z Cech (Brnaky) Kubu a Marusku a s nimi v byte bydlela i Tonia, ktera pochazi z Taiwanu a stejne jako nasi cesti kamaradi v Aucklandu pracuje. Kuba s Maruskou nam povidali o Taiwanu, pak i Tonia, a v nas to zacalo trosku hlodat.
Pred cestou na Fiji jsme si v Aucklandske knihovne pujcili pruvodce na Taiwan a ja jsem se do nej na Fiji zacetl a nasel jsem tam spoustu zajimavych veci, diky kterym jsme si rekli, ze to na Taiwan zkusime.
Sami jsme toho o Taiwanu moc nevedeli, snad jen to ze se jedna o ostrov (velikosti asi jako nase republika), ktery lezi na vychode od Ciny, jizne od Japonska a severne od Filipin. Vedeli jsme, ze Taiwan je technicky hodne vyvinuta zeme a diky memu velkemu zajmu o caj i to, ze z Taiwanu pochazi nejlepsi a nejkvalitnejsi polozeleny caj, ktery se oznacuje Oolong.
Z pruvodce jsem zjistil, ze Taiwan je relativne mlady ostrov a stale aktivni, co se tyce zemetreseni, a vyskytuje se tu velke mnozstvi horkych, termalnich pramenu. To my mame radi :-). Dalsi vec, ktera nas upoutala byly vysoke, ke 4 000m se splhajici hory, cajove plantaze a hlavne vynikajici caj.
Rekli jsme si tedy, ze zkusime zmenit letenku. To se ukazalo jako orisek a do posledni chvile naseho odletu jsme nevedeli, jak dlouho se na Taiwanu ohrejeme. Napsali jsme Denisce, ktera je pro nas poklad a bleskove nam vyridila jakekoli zmeny letenky. A ze jich uz bylo pozehnane… :-). Denisa nam rekla, ze ona sama letenku zmenit nemuze a musime to udelat sami, osobne na pobocce EVA Air v Aucklandu.
Z Fiji jsme prilteli v utery vecer a hned ve stredu vyrazili na Eva Air. Tam nam rekli, ze zmenu musi konzultovat s kancelari v Praze a ta ji taky musi odsouhlasit. Prisli jsme druhy den, ve ctvrtek, a informace se lisily. Prazska pobocka rikala, ze zmena nas bude stat jen 13NZD (180 Kc), jen letistni poplatek, ale hlavni kancelar ve Vidni zminovala, ze bychom meli platit prevystaveni letenky 150 NZD (2000 Kc), coz uz bylo dost penez…
Byl ctvrtek a druhy den v patek ve 2 hodiny odpoledne jsme meli letet. Nicmene pani nam rekla: ‘prijdte zitra rano, zjistim, jaky poplatek byste meli platit’. Rano jsme sbaleni a plni ocekavani prisli na EVA Air a chteli vedet, jestli se tedy na Taiwanu zdrzime dyl nebo ne. Nastesti, diky Denisce, jsme platili jen 26NZD za nas oba, protoze Prazska pobocka uz ji tuto informaci dala, jinak bychom spravne meli platit prevystaveni letenky. Deni, jeste jednou mnohokrat diky!!! 🙂
Cate nam odepsala, ze je moc rada, ze se na Taiwanu zastavime a ze Taiwan je dobra zkusenost, pokud clovek nema cas navstivit Cinu a chce poznat jeji kulturu.
Takze hura na Taiwan! 🙂
Z pruvodce jsem se docetl pohnutou a velice zajimavou historii tohoto oficialne neuznaleho statu. Skoro kazdy znas uz asi slysel jmeno Chiang Kai Shek nebo Kuomintag, ja taky, ale nedokazal jsem si to dat do souvislosti. Zminim se tedy par slovy o historii.
Taiwan se dlouhou dobu vyvijel svym vlastnim zpusobem a byl na velice vzdalenem okraji zajmu blizke Ciny. V te dobe na Taiwanu zilo puvodni aboriginske obyvatelstvo a par vystehovalcu z Ciny.
Taiwan objevili v 17.stoleti az Holandsti moreplavci a obchodnici, kteri si Taiwan vybrali za svoje utociste a zakladnu pro obchodovani s Cinou a Japonskem. To se za chvili prestalo Cine libit a Holandany z Taiwanu po nekolika desitkach let pusobeni vypudilo, ale dal se Taiwanu nikterak nevenovala.
Ba naopak Taiwan zacal byt velice zajimavy pro Japonsko. To obsadilo a vladlo na Taiwanu od 19. stoleti az do konce 2. svetove valky, kdy Japonsko jako porazena zeme muselo Taiwan odevzdat zpatky Cine. Japonsko vladlo velice pevnou a tvrdou rukou, ale na druhou stranu Taiwan mu dodnes vdeci za svuj pokrok a na Asii vysoky zivotni styl. Japonci na Taiwanu budovali ve mestech infrastrukturu, ve vysokych horach prokopali dulezite cesty a spojnice mezi vychodnim a zapadnim pobrezim, staveli zeleznici a dalsi.
Ve 40. a 50. letech minuleho stoleti byla politicka situace v Cine hodne nervozni. Zacaly mezi sebou bojovat dve velke politicke strany. A to Chiang Kai Shkova strana Kuomintag a komunisticka strana Mao Ce Tunga. Vyvrcholilo to utekem Chiang Kai Shka, jeho strany a privrzencu na Taiwan, kde zalozili Cinskou republiku (ROC, Republic of China). Cina se vyvijela zpusobem, ktery uz dobre zname i od nas. Komunismus kvetl, lide meli praci, darilo se jim lip a lip, jen dalsi statisice, miliony lidi utikali prevazne z jihovychodnich provincie Ciny na Taiwan (ROC).
Taiwan byl oficialne, a stale jeste je, soucasti velke Ciny, ktera ho dodnes povazuje za svou zboureneckou provincii, ale vyvijel se samostatne a nezavisle na Cine. Clovek by si myslel, ze Chaing Kai Shek a Kuomintag nastoli na Taiwanu demokraticky rezim, ale bohuzel tomu tak nebylo. Chiang Kai Shek byl hlavnim predstavitelem statu a vladu vzal pevne do svych rukou. Pronasledoval, veznil, mucil a systematicky vrazdil svoji opozici. Dodnes jedna z narodnich tragedii se stala pri demonstraci v sedesatych letech, kdy Chiang Kai Shek nechal strilet do Taiwancu demonstrujicich proti jeho rezimu. Zemrely tisice lidi a do historie se tato udalost zapsala jako 28. unor.
Chiang Kai Shkova vlada teroru pokracovala az do osmdesatych let, do jeho smrti, kdy na jeho misto nastoupil jeho syn. Ten uz nebyl tak razny jako jeho otec a lide postupne mohli opet vyjadrovat svuj nazor a demonstrovat. Na zacatku devadesatych let dokonce vznikla opozicni strana k vladnoucimu Kuomintagu. Od devadesatych let se tedy Taiwan zacal vyvijet demokraticky a v soucasnosti je Taiwan stabilni a na Asii velice vyvinutou ekonomikou.
Jen status Taiwanu je stale zvlastni. Po druhe svetove valce byl Taiwan (ROC, Republic of China, Cinska republika) clenem OSN, Organizace spojenych narodu, ale clenstvi Taiwanu bylo odepreno a krome nekolika statu, ktere uznavaji Taiwan jako samostatny stat (hlavne USA, ktere v dobe studene valky vyuzivalo Taiwan jako propagandistickou zakladnu v boji proti Cine a Taiwan podporovalo vyrazne vojensky) je Taiwan povazovan za soucast Ciny.
Momentalne Taiwan svou identitu stale hleda. Komunisticky Kuomintag uvazuje (a pravdepodobne i jedna) o pripojeni Taiwanu opet k Cine a opozicni strana z jihu Taiwanu bojuje za jeho nezavislost a odtrzeni od Ciny. Ptali jsme se mladych Taiwancu a ti povazuji Taiwan za nezavisly stat, ale uvidime v pristich letech, jak se bude vyvijet politicka situace. U nas vladni a politicka elita rozdelila Ceskoslovensko bez toho, aniz by se zeptali jejich obyvatel, co si o tom mysli…
K nasemu prekvapeni komunisticka propagana Kuomintagu pokracuje stale. Meli jsme to stesti a moznost mluvit s nekolika mladymi Taiwanci a ptali jsme se jich, co si mysli o Chiang Kai Shkovi a jeho vlade. Odpoved byla opravdu zajimava. Povazuji ho za velikou osobnost Taiwanu a vynikajiciho cloveka. Kdyz jsem oponoval a zminil jeho perzekuce a zabijeni, Taiwanci zminili, ze to neni pravda, to se to proste nestalo. Tak to nebylo. Obdobi po 2. svetove valce az po dnesek neni na Taiwanu dobre zmapovana, o krvavych udalostech se nemluvi, ve skolach nevyucuje a lide dostavaji jen pozitivni, propagandistickou a svetlou stranku jejich historie. Jen par Taiwancu se silnou vazbou na zahranici, se zajmem o historii nebo mozna samych postizenych rezimem zna pravou tvar Chiang Kai Shkova rezimu.
Doufam, ze Taiwanu se podari vybojovat svou nezavislost na mezinarodni urovni, dal se bude vyvijet demokraticky a nezavisle na Cine a jeho obyvatele dostanou spravne informace o jejich nedavne historii.
To jsem se to rozepsal. Snad to bylo i pro vas zajimave. 🙂
Pripravujeme uz dalsi a obrazove clanky o Taiwanu. Jen chvili strpeni :-).
Well, Taiwan is definitely more than we originaly planed. We knew we have change plane in Taipei but we had no idea what is interesting in Taiwan and if we could travel here.
As we have been to Franz Josef we went for a concert of an american guitaris called Panda. At the concert we met a very nice italian girl living and working in Taipei in Taiwan. We have enjoyed talking to each other, we have exchanged our contacts and Cate was mentioning that we shall come by and stop in Taipei if we want. We said that was not our plan and we have no stop over in Taipei.
At the end of our travelling in New Zealand we met also one Taiwanies girl living in Auckland with our friends Maruska and Kuba. Then we have started to think to stop in Taiwan for a little bit longer. As we have been to Fiji we have sent an email to Denisa, our friend and amazing travell agent in Prague and asked her for arranging the stop over in Taipei for us. After some investingation we were advised to go to the branch office in Auckland in person. We had just 2 days more in Auckland before we were supposed to leave for Taipei.
We have asked for the change and as we came the other day, we were told, they had received different information from Prague (as the change should have cost 26 NZD) and from Vienna (cost were 300 NZD). Because of the time difference in Auckland and Vienna we were supposed to come next day, which was the day of our departure…
Well we came on Friday morning and got the news the change costs only 26 NZD due to this information was presented already to the travel agent in Prague! 🙂 We got new tickets and went back to the appartment of Veronika and Radek and sent an email to Cate: We are coming!!!
We noticed we are ment to see Taiwan. Before we publish some other arcticles about Taiwan I would like to share with you some of the Taiwanies history which is quite moving and very interesting.
Taiwan was an island which was out of interest of close China and Japan. Taiwan developed slowly with its aboriginal population. From time to time in Taiwan landed some emigrants from China.
In 17. century Dutch sailors and merchandisers explored Taiwan and found this a great place for a base for trade with China and Japan. They built a base in Tainan. China did not like it and they pushed the Dutch out of Taiwan but still did not take any more interest in Taiwan.
Later in 19. century Taiwan was occupied by Japanies. They did not like Taiwan only as a strategic place for their expansion trough out Asia but also as a good place for relaxing in hot springs. Japanies started to buil roads, houses, infrastructure and even today Taiwan is very greatful and well developed because of these Japanies activities and investments.
After the 2. World war Japan as defeted country had to hand over Taiwan to China which struggled internely in fights between Mao Ce Tung’s comunistic party and Kuomintag led by Chiang Kai Shek who was in the end forced to leave China and flee to Taiwan.
Chiang Kai Shek was not unfortunately democratic leader and he took very firmly the steering wheel into his hands. Opositon was followed, persecuted and executed in most cases. Famous and bloody event known as 28/2 happened as Chinag Kai Shek let his forces to shoot into demonstrants against his regime. Taiwan was not doing well under his reign. He died in eighties and his son replaced him as the country leader. Fortunately his son was not so strict and cruel as his father. A new political party was established and people could start to express their opinions.
Taiwan or still Republic of China is considered as part of big China and not even United Nations recognised Taiwan as a sovereign country. Just a few states have done it. Especialy US supported Taiwan and used his strategic location for propaganda and intrigues against China.
Today propaganda still works even inside of Taiwan. Youg Taiwanies pople are not aware of Chiang Kai Shek’s terror and praise him as the greatest personality and leader in his history. They learn about him at school differently…
It will be interesting to observe, where and how will Taiwan develop further. It is a hi-tech country but Kuomintag is orientating the country to China and there are some negotiations about joining Taiwan back and fully to China again. I hope this will not happen and Taiwan will succeed in recognising its sovereignity not only in UN but also in China. Good luck :-).
We will prepare also some articles with photos about Taiwan. Just give us some time and be patient :-).

