Blogs

Our delegation’s first two days in Taiwan have been very fast-paced, exciting and informative. We’ve met with representatives from the KMT headquarters, DPP headquarters, western and Taiwanese academics, and students who have provided many colorful comments and interesting insights about the dynamics of democratic deepening, identity issues, and cross-strait relations.

As a University of Toronto student, trying to cover the January 2012 election in Taiwan, I can't help but be frustrated by the lack of coverage in Canadian media, as well as News outlets like the Guardian who have little to no coverage of the events of the 2012 election.

For months I’ve been studying the idea of a “global Taiwan” and early this morning I arrived in Taipei to cover its upcoming presidential election. Despite my preparations, I was still surprised by what I arrived to. It took me one hour and fifteen minutes to get from my immaculate, on time EVA flight to our downtown hostel. Even in the dark of morning (5:30 am) I saw election signs throughout my ride into the city, which was without complication despite my total lack of language skills. Just hours later, I arrived at KMT campaign headquarters (the incumbent party), where volunteers prepared election mementos and supporters came to pick up a T-shirt, poster, mug, scarf, or magnet of President Ma.

This year celebrates the 21st anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law - a mini-constitution that would govern Hong Kong for 50 years until 2047, through the application of the principle of "One Country, Two Systems". The Basic Law provides for the continued operation of the common law and capitalist economy within Hong Kong.

Dear readers,

I did promise that I'll be posting here again whenever I am back in Asia. After five wonderful years in Canada, I find myself in Singapore, the country of my birth. So much has changed and I am currently exploring this tiny island which is going through an amazing economic boom during a time of austerity measures in most other parts of the world.

*This is the final installment of "A Week in Hainan". I managed to recover most of the photos from my old laptop and present to you the last of this photo blog. Nonetheless this will not be the last you, dear APR readers, will hear from me because this will not be the last trip I make to the Asia-Pacific region. Till the next time!*

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After touring Sanya, I took a cab back to Haikou where I was due to board the plane back to Singapore. I had been in Haikou before in 2008 but was preoccupied with visiting my relatives who lived in the provincial capital. I had wanted to visit the Old Quarter but there was just too little time. Hence, I was determined to check out the old colonial quarter this time around.

Dear APR readers,

I apologize for not updating for a long time and for not completing the final part of "A Week in Hainan". My laptop crashed and then I was busy finishing up my thesis and thus did not have the time to recover all my data.

Sometime this fall, I shall extract the data out of my laptop and complete the last part of this photo blog. Keep reading the APR and for those starting a new semester, enjoy the year ahead!

Best
Faith

After a night in the village, I made my way to Sanya (三亚) where my cousin lives and works. When I was in Hainan in 2008, I was only able to meet him for a dinner and during this trip, I was eager to spend more time with him.

My cousin is a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official. Passionate about the island on which he grew up, he was happy to bring me around Sanya.

Sanya is a beautiful coastal city; its tropical climate and 23km long beach draws millions of tourists to its shores annually.

During the 4 days spent in Sanya, my cousin drove me around the city and took me to Wuzhizhou Island (蜈支洲岛). Being a great seafood lover, most of our time was spent at various seafood restaurants.