Under the sign of the snake

At the end of February 2023, I will fly from Bangkok to Taipei for a week. For a stay of up to three months, Germans do not need a visa for Taiwan. A German passport and a return or onward flight ticket are sufficient.

It is only about 180 km from Taiwan to the Chinese mainland. The 509 m high Taipei 101 tower in the capital Taipei is shaped like a bamboo cane and is known as a landmark far beyond the country's borders. Almost 24 million people live in the whole of Taiwan.

Everything is remarkably well organized. Entry is smooth, but it is not a country like any other. People here have to live with the ever-present threat of China, which is always present everywhere. A military confrontation with the overpowering neighbor would be a catastrophe for the people here, the country, the region and the rest of the world. Not even for the Chinese. China repeatedly sends fighter jets to intimidate Taiwan. Under pressure from China, only 11 states maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

The city's landmark: Taipei 101.

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is located 30 km west of Taipei. "Welcome to Taiwan!" the taxi driver surprises me in good English. That's it. I've heard that very few people in Taiwan speak English.

The official language here is (Mandarin) Chinese. The journey into the city takes me along the highway, elevated roads, past wooded hills that probably hide a few secrets. It takes me straight to the Caesar Metro Taipei hotel in the Wanhua District. The Longshan Temple and the Huashi night market are within walking distance. The Chinese characters in the city reinforce my feeling of being in the middle of a strange urban jungle. The city is overflowing, like a large hidden object picture in which small children are supposed to discover and name buildings, objects and people. It is just about a pleasant 20 degrees, but significantly cooler at night.

Contrary to my usual habits, I avoid street food. My stomach is giving me problems, so I avoid any culinary experiments.

Under the sign of the snake

I stroll to the nearby night market on Huaxi Street, also known as Snake Alley, in the Wanhua district, very close to the Bangka Lungshan Temple. This market opens at 4 p.m. and closes at midnight. The area was known for its porn shops and the oldest business in the world, with the associated crime. The city government banned prostitution, and the area has been safer since then. Today you will find mostly restaurants, Chinese medicine shops, spa shops, souvenir shops, juice bars and ice cream parlors.

Hard to miss: the Schlangengasse.

The market is completely covered, making it an option even in bad weather. There are still a few vendors here who sell snake liquor and other reptile drinks, preferably from poisonous snakes that are preserved in the bottles. The vendor promises that the poison is neutralized by the alcohol.

At least that's how I translate his rudimentary English into German. It reminds me of the children's game Chinese whispers, where the original text whispered into the neighbor's ear produces a completely different text at the end of the round. To be on the safe side, I'll forego a sample.

There is also another variant: the secretion of the snake - snake blood, bile - is mixed into rice wine. The smells bother me.

In China, the snake represents intelligence and wisdom. Positive qualities are attributed to the snake. However, this does not prevent it from ending its life trapped in a bottle.

When I receive invitations like this, I apologize because I am a vegetarian.

Of course, the liquor is said to have far-reaching healing properties, including against erectile dysfunction. Here, too, belief moves mountains. The import of this speciality is prohibited in Germany because the cobras and yellow-black kraits used are subject to species protection law.

I walk further and see a line in the window of a Chinese restaurant. Now I don't know if it's a publicity stunt, a lustful promise of what's on the menu, or maybe both: the line is waiting its turn.

228 Peace Memorial Park

I walk from my hotel to the 228 Peace Memorial Park, 2.6 km away. The weather is fairly stable, no rain in sight. There are various memorials within the park.

228 Memorial Monument

The 228 Memorial Monument commemorates the massacre of February 28, 1947. After Japan handed over the island of Taiwan to China in 1945, an uprising against the Chinese general Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang government (KMT) broke out in 1947, in which - the figures vary - there were between 10 and 30 thousand victims. If I interpret 228 correctly, the number refers to February, the 28th day: 228. The Taiwanese population rebelled against corruption and arbitrariness.

Peace Bell

The Taiwanese struggle every day for their independence from the Chinese, who in turn want to bring Taiwan back into the Reich. This idea brings back memories of Hitler's Germany; Hitler did the same thing to Austria. We know the outcome.

A war over Taiwan would cost both sides a lot of lives. And the people of Taiwan are paying close attention to Hong Kong. What is happening there, how mainland China treats its population, all of this does not make Chinese policy any more credible in their eyes. China has missed a historic opportunity with its iron fist policy.

On the other hand, one has to ask how other major powers would react to the secession of a particular region.

It is hard to imagine that the USA, for example, would grant Texas or Hawaii independence so easily.

In this sense, the freedom of the Taiwanese people is fragile. We can only hope that China and Taiwan will find a peaceful solution with the help of the snake, which stands for wisdom. Anything else would be global suicide. According to the Chinese zodiac, the year of the snake is again in 2025. May it give the (old) men brains and wisdom.