I interviewed a Chinese tourist visiting the National Palace Musuem today. Here's how it went.
Me (MJ): what brings you to Taiwan?
Chinese tourist (CT): the family was coming, so I decided to come too. We have family in Taiwan.
MJ: I see. When did you arrive?
CT: just today.
MJ: what's your impression so far?
CT: 馬馬虎虎 so so. Not as grand as I had expected.
I think a lot of Chinese tourists come to Taiwan expecting to see an island more modernized than Shanghai and more historic than Beijing, and obviously they go home disappointed. I think what's different and valuable is what they don't see - freedom and democracy. During our discussion on the way back to the TV station, 恐龍 (dinosaur) my cameraman today said, "至少我們可以罵總統. At least we get to publicly criticize our president." Hee hee hee hee hee.
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When I worked in the US Congress we frequently got invited to Taiwan by the Foreign Ministry. They would always drive us around to meet with important officials. I always told my friends at MOFA that the most important thing for Americans to see is not high officials, but the freedom the Taiwanese enjoy under very adverse circumstances.
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