I apologize but the bitterness continues. I still can't help but be frustrated by the poor and dismissive treatment of those immigrant workers in Taiwan who just wanted to celebrate their religious holiday. Hearing the government's comment of how they took up space and it inconvenienced people, is ludicrous. This is because Taiwan is full of traditional Taiwanese celebrations which severely inconvenience the rest of the population.
I already talked about the burning of paper money on the streets and the horrible smoke and smells it creates. There are also many events which block the streets and create tremendous noise. Every time a temple has a holiday (and there are temples on every block in taipei) they have a large parade through the city. Wearing costumes, banging drums, setting of firecrackers. Not only is the noise deafening but it pretty much stops all traffic for hours.
For funerals whole sections of a street are blocked off, allowing no cars to get through. A huge tent is set up and tables and chairs are set up on the street to have a large banquet. With the set up and clean up, the street can be blocked for days. During many holidays loud firecrackers and fireworks are set off all day long. In one area I lived in, they hold a yearly mardi gras type of celebration with the big attraction being people who fight with real swords and cut each other up. I once came very close to being stabbed.
All of these things are a gigantic inconvenience and disruption to thousands of people's lives on a daily basis. As loud and troublesome as they are, I actually love that Taiwan is a place that allows people to hold these religious and traditional events, not caring about how it affects other. Coming from a country where everything has to be sanitized and certified and fit into a certain area at a certain time, it's great to see the freedom given here.
Granted that freedom is only if you are Taiwanese. Somehow a country whose whole existence depends on political and economic support from other countries, treats people from other countries as second class citizens. Not unlike they were treated for centuries in their own country by a variety of rulers.
Ok, in an effort to not be completely vile, the picture above is of a car prepared for a wedding. For a culture with such long traditions, weddings are one area where surprisingly there really isn't any tradition. Or rather the tradition isn't very extravagant, so over the years people pick and choose which aspects of western weddings they want to employ in their own wedding. Usually the actual wedding is just a tiny event with the couple and their parents. The reception is on another day at some large restaurant. The guests are treated to a meal but they must come with an envelope of money to give to the couple. As for what happens in the party, it can be different for each one, pictures, speeches, even games, up to the couple. The one main thread seems to be that the bride will leave every 30 minutes or so to change into a different outfit. So really weddings seem to just be a chance for the bride to play dress up.
In the picture is a car set up for a wedding caravan. They will pick up the family and take them to the reception. Not a huge disruption to traffic, but enough to be a convenient photo for today's rant.
