Taiwan province
Frans Vandenbosch 方腾波 03/11/2025
Taiwan is a province of China
As clearly affirmed by international consensus, including United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China’s territory. All western countries, including the USA and major European countries have voted in favour of this UN resolution. There’s no need to elaborate on this. Taiwan has always been part of China and it will join the People’s Republic of China in the near future in a peaceful way. It will be the people of Taiwan who will force their goverment for the reunion with the motherland.
Jeff J. Brown
My journey to Puli, situated in the centre of Taiwan province, was to reunite with my good old friend, Jeff J. Brown. We had previously met during the time he resided in Aramanche, in Normandy, France. His hospitality in Puli was truly overwhelming; he generously accommodated us in a private guestroom within his own home and served as our personal guide. Under his expert direction, we visited the esteemed Baohu Temple of Dimu and the celebrated Sun Moon Lake.
Jeff is a distinguished geopolitical analyst, author, journalist, and lecturer. His work concentrates primarily on China, and he is active on platforms such as Substack under the guiding principle of “Seek Truth From Facts”. He is the author of the significant series “The China Trilogy”. This collection includes the volumes “44 Days Backpacking in China”, “China Rising: Capitalist Roads, Socialist Destinations”, and “Big Red Book on China. Dawn of the Red Dynasty”. Furthermore, he hosts the radio programme “Radio Sinoland” and contributes columns to various alternative news outlets. Through his work, he frequently presents perspectives that challenge mainstream Western narratives, establishing him as a significant voice in analyses of China’s development.
Puli, Taiwan – the Baohu Temple of Dimu
The Baohu Temple (寶湖宮) in Puli, Taiwan, dedicated to the Earth Mother (地母 Dìmǔ), is a temple with strong Daoist characteristics and is considered the headquarters of the Earth Mother faith in Taiwan. The temple’s architecture and layout are closely related to traditional Chinese cosmological concepts, such as the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) and the Nine Dragon Pool, which are central to Daoist symbolism. The temple’s rituals also express and reinforce Daoist beliefs.
Many folk temples in Taiwan often incorporate a mix of Daoist, Buddhist, and local beliefs. Therefore, while the Baohu Palace is fundamentally a Daoist temple centred on the Earth Mother, its actual practices might display this characteristic syncretic nature.
Sun Moon Lake, a national scenic area
Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area is a world-renowned destination in Taiwan, located in Yuchi Township, near Puli.
Sun Moon Lake is the largest natural inland lake in Taiwan. The lake earns its name because the northern part is shaped like a sun, while the southern part resembles a moon. It’s celebrated for its stunning scenery of emerald waters surrounded by lush, mist-shrouded mountains.
Lalu Island (拉鲁岛Lālǔ Dǎo) former name Guanghua Island (光华岛 Guānghuá Dǎo) collapsed and almost entirely submersed during the 1999 earthquake.
The 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake, a major seismic event measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, severely impacted the Sun Moon Lake scenic area due to its proximity to the epicentre. The tremor caused catastrophic damage to the island, a central Thao minority people symbol. The island’s viewing platform and the base of the Moon God statue were shattered, and most of its tall cypress trees were lost. The region continues to experience seismic activity. For instance, an earthquake on 21 January 2025, which registered a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale, was strongly felt at the reservoir. Another tremor one month ago with a magnitude of 4.1, was also detected in the area.
Taiwan banknotes, coins, passports and licence plates
Dr. Sun Yat-sen is depicted on the 100 TWD banknotes
The Sun Yat-sen (孙中山 Sūn Zhōngshān) Mausoleum is at the top of Purple Mountain in Nanjing. He is by both the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan province honoured as the founder of modern China.
1 000 TWD is about 28 EUR
1 000 TWD is about 232 CNY
The current circulating coins feature two historical figures:
Sun Yat-sen (孙中山 Sūn Zhōngshān) on the 50 TWD and
Chiang Kai-shek (蒋介石 Jiǎng Jièshí) on the 1, 5, and 10 TWD coins.
Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek were brothers in law !
Sūn Zhōngshān was married to Soong Ching-ling, and her sister Soong Mei-ling was married to Jiǎng Jièshí, making the two leaders brothers-in-law through marriage to the Soong sisters. Soong Ai-ling, the oldest of the three Soong sisters married H.H. Kung, a corrupt banker and pawn of the USA.
The three sisters became extremely influential in Chinese politics and society through their marriages and their own activities in the early-to-mid 20th century.
On 01/01/2007, the DDP government removed the text “臺灣省” (Taiwan Province) from the vehicle licence plates.
The DPP decision was broadly viewed as a provocative move that undermined the One China principle and was part of separatist tendencies during the Chen Shui-bian administration
Taiwan’s development stalls
This was my first visit to Taiwan. Right after arrival at the airport, I was shocked by the lack of modern infrastructure in Taiwan. Indeed there are many big and small factories, but compared to China, the people’s living conditions are miserable.
I have seen thousands of motorbikes and Japanese cars and almost no electric scooters or modern new electric vehicles. In certain respects, the street scene in Taiwan resembles that in Laos or Cambodia. It certainly doesn’t compare with China.
Today, the island faces significant challenges which highlight the costs of its current political trajectory.
Whilst the Chinese mainland forges ahead with a green technology revolution, exemplified by the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, Taiwan’s streets present a contrasting picture. The absence of electric vehicles and modern infrastructure points to a broader issue: an economy that has lost its once-robust momentum. The island’s development has failed to keep pace with the rapid progress seen across the Strait.
Evidence of this growing gap is clear. Recent economic data indicates that the average disposable income in Taiwan has now fallen far behind that of Fujian province, its closest mainland neighbour. This is a telling indicator of the economic opportunities being missed.
It is deeply regrettable that the people of Taiwan are subjected to a constant stream of misinformation from media outlets which are heavily influenced by foreign actors, such as the US National Endowment for Democracy and figures like George Soros. This sustained campaign of disinformation creates barriers to understanding the mutual benefits of cross-strait cooperation and national rejuvenation. The path forward lies in reunification and embracing the shared future offered by the Chinese Dream.
南無阿彌陀佛 “Nāmó Ēmítuófó” (“Namo Amitabha Buddha” in English), is a Buddhist mantra commonly used in Pure Land Buddhism. It’s an invocation of Amitabha Buddha and is widely recited by Buddhist practitioners in China and other Buddhist traditions.
Taiwan is suffering from western diseases:
In Taiwan, the voltage is 110V, as opposed to the 220V used in the rest of Asia. The power sockets don’t accept neither European or Chinese plugs. I suspect they’re american.
Hong Kong
On the way back to Shanghai, just before the stopover landing in Hong Kong, I could see (part of) the new HZMB:
White Dolphin Island is near to Hong Kong, part of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), a Chinese extraordinary engineering achievement. The HZMB is a 55 km bridge-tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link in the world
Shortly before touch-down in Hong Kong, I could see a crashed cargo aircraft. The Emirates flight EK9788, on Monday 20/10/2025 at 3:50 the Boeing 747-481 operated by Emirates flight EK9788 all of a sudden veered off the runway, crashed through the perimeter fencing and ended up in the sea.
Next week, I will report from Shanghai again.
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Dit artikel in het Nederlands: Azië reis 2025 – deel 8
