Entertainment pioneer still gives Taiwan reason to smile

Taipei Times: When and where did you open Taipei's first pub?

Michael Cottingham: In fact, there were a couple of other Western restaurants opened shortly before us in Taipei, notably the Zum Fass and the Wooden Nickel, but I think we can justifiably claim to have opened the first real pub in Taiwan. It was called The Ploughman Pub, and was located in Shuang Cheng Street. I had arrived in Taiwan in 1976, having been sent here from the UK to work on the railway electrification project, which was one of Taiwan's 10 Major Infrastructure Projects organized by Premier Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國). After finishing my contract, my ex-wife and I, with some local Chinese partners, decided to set up an English-style pub with the intention of catering to the fairly large expatriate population. We had been in Taiwan for three years, and had found that there was nowhere to go for socializing, except each other's houses. Even the American Club at that time was much smaller, in a different location, and restricted to one family per company. Well, we opened up in October 1978, and the pub was a hit from day one. We had traditional English pub food, draught beer, darts, dominoes etc., but we had much more than that. Our regular patrons were part of the attraction, enthusiastically joining in every activity we could think of, from football teams to pantomimes, Halloween parties to Egg-and-Spoon racing on Pancake Day. It was great fun.

TT: What was it like in those days dealing with the government, the authorities and the gangsters?

Cottingham: The government didn't know what a pub was, so in those days we had a restaurant license. That was fine, but it certainly raised some eyebrows when the various authorities saw what foreigners did in restaurants. However, foreigners were held in certain respect at that time, so, even though Taiwan was under martial law, we were allowed a great deal of liberty. But it was a little strange to have to get the script of our pantomime 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves' passed by the Garrison Command.

We never had much problem with gangsters, contrary to what you might think. They would occasionally come in the pub, but after being bought a beer by one of the regular customers, or challenged to a game of darts, they would realize that the usual awe in which they were held by the local population was not going to work here. They would then either decide that all foreigners are crazy, and disappear, never to be seen again, or realize that they quite liked the atmosphere, and that they would be treated just like anyone else so long as they reciprocated. It was not an atmosphere where you could act like a "big-shot," but a few became regular customers. In fact, we had just about the most diverse set of customers you could imagine. It was not uncommon to see ambassadors and students, old and young, Chinese and Western, rich and poor all getting along famously.

TT: With respect to your comment "foreigners were held in certain respect at that time." What major changes have you seen in your 26 years here in terms of the attitude towards and treatment of foreign business people here?

Cottingham: Don't get me wrong, I think that foreigners still enjoy a privileged position in Taiwan, especially on a personal level, although perhaps foreign companies don't receive quite the same privileges. But back in those days, 26 years ago, Taiwan was a pretty lawless place, and foreigners were more of the pioneer type, so it was quite normal to see the rules stretched a bit. The attitude was that all foreigners were Americans, and America was the main ally against the communists. So the tolerance for some sometimes rather extreme behavior was quite high. But Taiwan was still under martial law, so any discussion of politics was completely out of the question. Nothing critical in any way, shape or form would be tolerated, from anyone -- local or foreign.