Koran dankon
The first Esperanto Festival celebrating Taiwan Literature was held from March 18 to March 21 in Tainan and Pingtung.
The primary goal of the festival was to showcase the rich literature of Taiwan. Taiwanese writers are seldom recognized at international literature and poetry gatherings, and outside of the country many remain relatively unknown.
A second goal was to enable people in Taiwan to experience Esperanto, a constructed international auxiliary language that is spoken worldwide.
We do not have adequate words to express our appreciation to the many people who participated in and assisted with the festival. To say that we were overwhelmed with emotion, appreciation and awe would be an understatement.
Among those we wish to especially thank are of course the co-organizers: the Sanmin Association of Local Development in Wanluan (萬巒鄉三民社區發展協會); the National Cultural Heritage Database Management System (文化部文化資產局); the department of Chinese language and literature at National Pingtung University (國立屏東大學中文系); lecturers Dr Yi-When Fu (傅怡禎), Dr Raung-fu Chung (鍾榮富), Dr Jerome Keating (祁夫潤) and Rev Dr Maurie Sween (蘇慕理); Dutch poet Anneke Buys; and all the interpreters.
We also wish to express our gratitude to the Yeh Shyr-Tau Museum (葉石濤文學紀念館), the National Museum of Taiwan Literature (國立台灣文學館), the Tainan Cultural Affairs Bureau (台南市政府文化局), the Tourism Bureau of Tainan City (台南市政府觀光旅遊局) and everyone else that helped to plan the event.
And of course to all of you who came, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
As language teachers in Pingtung for many years, we have made many friends. It was good to see so many of them at the ceremony.
We were especially touched by the effort made by Professor Wang Ju-Kwei (王九逵), who came from Taoyuan, despite his age making it difficult to travel, as well as the students of the English Club at Tatung Senior High School (大同高中英語研究社) in Pingtung, who participated in the Tainan event although it was quite far for them.
Finally, we are appreciative of the article by Taiwan Info, which helped to publicize the festival.
The Esperantists in Taiwan are extremely thankful for the efforts that were made to promote their beloved language.
As we say in Esperanto: “Koran Dankon!”
Cyril Vergnaud
Ping-Wen Tu,
Organizers
Energy conservation
Taiwanese clamor for more electricity, but do not make an effort to conserve energy. Taiwanese love their water, but do not bother to save a drop. Taiwanese think they are entitled to it and take it for granted. When these two resources fall below their expectations, they complain that the government is lacking initiatives.
Yet, the government’s conservation policy is also half-hearted and merely lip service.
Case in point. A Herculean effort to try to lower your household electricity usage will reduce your electricity bill by a mere NT$84 per billing cycle, no matter how many kilowatt-hours you saved. This is peanuts.
To add insult to injury, starting from January, each household has had to register with Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to enjoy this “benefit,” when it was a default in past years. So the message Taipower is sending to its customers is: “Do not bother to save. We will generate even more electricity for you.”
Prior to this, Taipower had a more attractive power savings rate, similar to our personal tax system: the more you save, the higher the rebate percentage. I guess Taipower realized that it lost too much money on that policy and abandoned it.
Saving electricity and water, two of our critical resources, should be a daily habit. Taiwanese are just too thick-skinned and never want to lose face.
In a condominium, it is not uncommon to see lights and air-conditioners being left on despite the residents having left the main lobby, meeting rooms, playrooms, gyms, common areas, etc. Other residents, when they see it, and worse, management company personnel, will not bother to turn them off.
Why? The residents do not want to be singled out as stingy, as that would make one loose face. As for the management company — why bother when it does not foot the bill?
Electricity not being adequate for the nation’s use is an endless cycle, simply because the government’s energy conservation policy is just lip service and Taiwanese have a lackadaisical attitude toward energy conservation.
Imagine what you could do with the savings if you made a small effort.
L.H. Chew
Taichung
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