I know it's a waste of time to comment on Rush Limbaugh's reasoning capacity, but there's something here that's quite telling, and I think it's something a lot of Americans don't consider in these sorts of discussions. While the discussion here talks mostly of oil prices and government actions to counteract them, what struck me first about Rush's comment was the phase: "a four-lane road with so much smog he basically can't see the car in front of him."

I seriously doubt ole' Rush has ever lived abroad, and whatever traveling he's done, I've no reason to think he's been to any developing countries over extended periods.

Living in Taiwan, though, the substandard air quality -- the thin veil of smog that drapes itself across the mountains that surround Taipei and coats the walls of my lungs -- is a scourge. No car can protect you from that. No amount of wealth will stop the particulate from lodging in your alveoli.

Here's the thing, Taiwan's pretty good compared to a lot of places in the neighborhood. Green consciousness and government policy is taking hold here, but it takes time for things to get better (I've been assured by friends who were here ten/twenty years ago that the smog I'm complaining about is nothing compared to the fog that used to envelope the island).

No one who's dealt with it on a daily basis can take it lightly. Sure, we go about our lives, but I doubt anyone whose experienced it could relish the thought of driving a hummer through it as Rush does.

We talk so much about the poor air quality in our big cities that we fail to see the gravity of just how bad the air quality is elsewhere.

Robert

The Only Redhead in Taiwan

Something that kind of gets lost in all of this is the stigma it can give to the real couples. My Taiwanese girlfriend and I will be getting married in the coming year after four years together, and the idea that I will have to prove that we've been together for that long is somewhat humiliating.

Don't get me wrong. I understand why it has to be done, but that doesn't change the feelings associated: someone you don't know scrutinizing the woman you love so as to make sure that she won't be a derelict and a leech on the US gov't. Yet, the fact that she's already been warned for no reason that she "can't just be easily let into the US because she might simply want to meet an American and get married" by someone at the US consulate in Paris is unsettling.

The funny thing is, the only reason I was able to live in France (where we met) for as long as I did with her was because she, for the most part, supported me financially, and while I easily got a visa to stay in France, every minutia of her background was probed and examined until she was reluctantly allowed to stay.

(Part of this might simply be France's relations with Taiwan, which is considerably different than Taiwan's relationship with the US. While the US doesn't support Taiwanese independence, it more or less treats Taiwan like an independent country. The French government seems to be totally oblivious to the nuances of the China-Taiwan relationship and Taiwan's "undetermined" status. Mr. Leonard, you might have more input on that than I do.)

C'est la vie, I suppose.

I don't mean to give the impression that this has caused us great heartache or what have you. A great number of US officials have been nothing but kind to her and I. It's frustrating, though, at times.

Andrew, I'm sure you know this is a problem in Taiwan too. My girlfriend and I carry metal chopsticks around with us everywhere we go, and a lot of friends do to.

There are two things you might find interesting. One, is that the chopsticks you get in restaurants are sometimes RECYCLED:

http://tinyurl.com/2ut5up

Also, a lot of these chopsticks contain very harmful chemicals:

http://tinyurl.com/2tcv2d

There are so many reasons to get your own pair of chopsticks when you're in Asia. Not only is there no reason to cut down all of those trees, but you don't know where those things you're sticking in your mouth came from.

One interesting thing I noticed when I spent a week in South Korea: I don't think I ever once used a pair of disposable, wooden chopsticks. Nearly every restaurant we went to had a little wooden box of metal utensils on every table.

WeiKuBoy, I just wanted to note that those brawls you mentioned are usually pre-meditated media spectacles to gain attention for certain bill's or projects.

See here:

http://onlyredheadintaiwan.blogspot.com/2007/05/would-gentlemen-from-tainan-please-stop.html

It's got to be one of the strangest political media stunts I've ever heard of.

But, I'm young. I'm sure there are worse. Hell, for Taiwan's sake, I hope there's worse.

I was less than surprised when I clicked on the comments to see that Michael had already chimed in. I'm a neophyte, compared to the two of you (been in TW for about seven months, studying Chinese for about half of that),which is why I greatly appreciate both of you for your perspective on Taiwan.

Andrew, I know your focus goes beyond Taiwan and China, but when you do write about the little island where some of us are trying to blend in (and understand what people are saying), it's refreshing to see how Taiwan relates to the rest of the world, rather than what the weather's like in that netherworld that is Taiwanese/Chinese/American relations.

I'm going to check this out and form my own opinions on it.

Again, thanks to both of you.

Robert

onlyredheadintaiwan.blogspot.com/