A Japanese man who came to Taiwan several years ago to learn Mandarin and happened to glimpse the outlying Penghu island group has become a longstay visitor there after succumbing to its natural beauty.
Osamu Negishi, who served as a Christian missionary before coming to Taiwan in June 2001, has been living in Penghu for four years, dividing his time between teaching Japanese at a cram school he established in Penghu's capital Makung (馬公) and lying back on the white sand beaches, feasting his eyes on the emerald sea and beautiful coastline scenery.
Negishi, 58, from Japan's central prefecture of Gunma, said he spent his first two-and-a-half years in Taichung, where he enjoyed the temperate climate.
PHOTO COUTESY OF THE PENGHU NATIONAL SCENIC AREA ADMINISTRATION
He recalled that one day he was flying as a backpacker from Taichung to Kinmen when he looked down and spotted an archipelago of islets that captivated his imagination.
Attracted by this "unknown" islet chain, Negishi inquired about it and found out its name.
Without wasting another day, Negishi headed for Penghu as soon as he returned from Kinmen. Upon setting foot on Penghu in late 2003, he decided to stay for a year. Four years on, he has no plans to leave.
A born traveler, Negishi has since scouted every islet of the Penghu group and has left almost no stone unturned.
"Now I know the smallest islets, some of which even the locals have never visited," Negishi said.
Thanks to the convenience of the Internet, Negishi introduces people to the beauty of Penghu online and so far more than 20 Japanese students have been attracted to travel from Japan to study Mandarin at his cram school, called "Forrest Gump," where he employs several Penghu residents as teachers.
Negishi said economic reasons were the least of his considerations when he opened his school, adding that the rent he collects from leasing his house in Japan is enough to pay for his island living.
Asked what keeps him in Penghu, Negishi said the beautiful sea is the biggest attraction, followed by the safe environment, an easy-going lifestyle and the kindness shown to him by the local residents -- not necessarily in that order.
Consisting of 64 islets, the Penghu Islands are situated roughly midway between China and Taiwan. They form a natural demarcation between the East China Sea and the South China Sea. In the past, they were a key stop for ships sailing across the Pacific.
Penghu is the only county that is an archipelago. Only 20 of the islands are inhabited. Two of the three main islands, Yuwong (漁翁) and Baisha (白沙), are connected by two causeways, the Cross-Sea Bridge, which is the longest inter-island bridge in Southeast Asia.
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry