Taiwanderland, Day 3: U.S. Business Day, Futuristic School in the Sky, & 25 Years of Hawaii-Taiwan Friendship

Thursday, October 4

U.S. Business Day!  Eight American States have special relationships with Taiwan.  This sub-national diplomacy is a way for American States to knit themselves closer to Taiwan business, without driving the ire of China at a National level.  Wyoming just joined the club (no taxes, natural resources, opportunistic outlook), but Hawaii was still the first to do this back in 1993.

On this morning, our delegation proceeded to a soaring high-rise, where hundreds of officials had gathered to present and connect.  A number of manufacturing and tech firms were represented (e.g. Black and Decker); our Hawaii education delegation was there to offer support to our business colleagues.  Our job, essentially, was and is to sell Hawaii as a destination for trade, exchanges, tourism, and education.  We were primarily courteous spectators here as we clapped for the high-ranking suited officials promoting Hawaii and America in Taiwan

Back on the bus, we proceeded to Nanshan High School, possibly the richest and most famous private high school in Taiwan.  This 75 year old school near the river was awe-inspiring.  Over 4,000 students, multiple city blocks, an art museum, high-rise classrooms eight stories tall, an outdoor amphitheater dug into the central quad, a gym in the sky, and a gleaming glass and style science building occupying the top four floors of a high rise.  How could I sell Maui Prep to a school this rich, historical, and impressive?  Not only this, families were paying less than U.S. $5,000 per year for all of these things.  I was dumbfounded.

Yet the faculty, board members, and leadership were nothing but kind, and this school seems more ripe for exchange and partnership than any other I visited.

The school leaders took us for lunch in a modest alley at a place called Feng’s Restaurant, a Shanghainese place that looks unassuming but is one of the best in the city.  The Chinese Feast began, as course after course hit our lazy Susan, and we could only indulge.  Traveling in China as a distinguished guest includes a lot of eating and feasting, as Chinese hospitality is built around an abundance of food. There was and is always too much on the table, and everyone eats past the point of satiety. This we did!

We said goodbye to our generous hosts, and returned to our hotel to recover.  I hid out in Starbucks to catch up on some work and writing.  At 4 PM all the Hawaii schools hosted a student fair and trade show, where we all interacted with parents, agents, school leaders, and prospective students.  I delivered my 60 second commercial to the audience mostly in Mandarin.  They were very gracious, as the Taiwanese always are at any attempt to speak Mandarin.  Speaking Chinese is a blast, however difficult.

The student fair rolled into the most elegant reception of our trip, a celebration honoring the 25th anniversary of Hawaii-Taiwan relations.  All the people we had met on the trip were there, some 200 people in all, as well as some 25 Main Course dishes, a hula troupe, and a small army of indigenous dancers.  

We all circled the room and engaged with our new Taiwanese friends, and I sat with the contingent from Nanshan High School. After many speeches and warm words, the Amis dancers, all of whom were teenagers or early twenties, took over the stage for an hour in their bright, feathered customers. They whooped and yelped and laughed and sang, and by the end of the night, they had everyone in the room holding hands and dancing together.  It was a really special evening for Hawaii-Taiwan friendship.  My belly and heart full, I walked home in the warm darkness.