Of course, there is in reality no ideal answer to the historical and analytical questions posed above. Certain facts apart, no one
definitively knows any historical answers. There are sure to be readers who will complain that this or that has been omitted, especially in the final volume dealing with the last 30 years.
Taiwanese society has become so diversified this could hardly not be the case. And there will be some, too, who will feel that emphases of even as balanced a narrative as this one are too favorable to this or that social group. Even so, this looks to me to be as good a shot at a moving target as could be hoped for - and far better than what even the most averagely optimistic observer might have expected.
The book existed in an earlier form back in 1999, in black-and-white and with no English renderings. Now it has appeared in all its bilingual, full-color glory, and with the changes and improvements that time has allowed.
A number of government agencies agreed in advance to buy
certain numbers of copies, but the book doesn't have the feel of a partisan interpretation, for the reasons given above. If there are any special sympathies expressed, they are probably for the aboriginal communities.
Winkler told me that his law firm is currently working on
indigenous land rights and other issues in "depth ecology," and the same company has already published Traditional Stories of Taiwan's Indigenous Peoples, similarly multi-volumed, brightly colored, bilingual and in cartoon format. For more information on both products go to
www.thirdnature.com.tw
This publication represents for me the spirit of Taiwan, and what makes it such a pleasurable place to live in. In fact, given the unavoidably political nature of the enterprise, and its innumerable potential pitfalls, it' s hard to imagine anything similar being published anywhere else in Asia.
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