I hate the phrase "Chung Cheng", because it's another name of Chiang Kai-shek. I didn't want to visit the place bearing his name, but the tour guide advised us to take a look at Keelung port from the Park even though it was raining. As she said, we were able to see the panoramic view of Keelung. I wished it had not rained. Our tour guide seemed to have moved to Taiwan from the continent after the Great East Asian War, or his/her descendant. I'm going to write about this issue in the next entry. By the way, her Japanese skills were excellent and we got lots of knowledge about Keelung and Taiwan.
I think a word of caution is in order here. Taiwan used to be under Japanese reign for about 50 years since 1895 in the wake of the conclusion of the diplomatic pact with the Qing Dynasty. That is to say, it was a simply legal act. On the other hand, the reign by Chiang Kai-shek had no legal basis. Consequently, Taiwan is not acknowledged as an independent nation yet.
Leaving the park, our tour guide wanted to walk around the city center, but the weather was terrible, so we headed to Taipei to taste Taiwan's tapioca drink, which is getting popular also in Japan. We'd like to try genuine ones.
(Vocabulary)
zhōngzhèng gōngyuán, Chung Cheng Park 中正公園
中正という名前は嫌いである。なぜかというと、蒋介石の本名だから。こんな名前を冠した土地には近寄りたくもないが、一応観光地で景色が良いというので行って見た。ガイドさんはどうやら外省人のようである。日本語が実に堪能で、前回の台湾旅行で案内してくれたガイドとは雲泥の差。何でも尋ねられる。 ここで一言注意をしておく必要があると思う。かつて台湾は日本の統治下にあったが、それは１８９５年に清国と結ばれた国際条約によるもので合法的な行為であった。しかし、蒋介石が台湾に住み着いたことについてはなんら法的根拠はない。 さて、ガイドは街歩きの後、夜市を案内したかったようだが、天気が悪く４時までには船に戻らねばならなかったので、台北へタピオカドリンクを飲みに行くことにした。やはり本場で試してみないといけないということで。
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