Jeff Quinn's "Man On The Scene: Kaliu"--Insights into Taiwan and East Asia

 http://www.windana.org.au/downloads/Lesser%20known%20drugs%20fact%20sheet.pdf

"A Nutty Habit"... in the words of Jeff Quinn in "Kaliu"

             Here is  Jeff Quinn's spin on a nutty matter that colored his stay in Taiwan.

"Soon after arriving on the island, I began noticing a  substantial portion of the male race engaged in a habitual ritual...The indulgence of betel nut. The reddish orange teeth were a dead giveaway." Jeff asks, "So what exactly are these curious little nuts and why all the fascination with them? Well for starters, the nuts referred to as betel nuts aren't betel nuts at all. The nuts are actually harvested from tall, wispy areca palm trees native to the shores of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Areca nuts are slightly smaller than your average walnut and are extremely hard. Although some users opt to add candy or tobacco, there are basically three main components involved in the preparation of chewing grade betel. First, it is of course necessary to procure the aforementioned areca nuts. The nuts are then wrapped inside a freshly picked leaf from the betel tree (thus the name betel). Lastly, in order to generate the "kick' or desired effect, an alkaloid known as arecoline must be introduced. One of the most popular means of triggering this chemical process is through the use of lime powder derived from crushed oyster shells. One now has the requisite components of the three-part harmony."

             Moreover, "[s]o where do they chew the stuff? Before answering, I must inform you that betel nut chewing is really betel nut sucking. But as that sounds somewhat grotesque we'll refer to the practice here to fore as betel nut indulgence. That just sounds better doesn't it? Betel nut indulgence is found in nearly every nook and cranny throughout the continent of Asia. Strangely, the practice is virtually unknown throughout most of the western world. The reddish-orange stains gracing sidewalks and streets remind me of the Old West, to a time when chewing tobacco was at its height of popularity in the America. Just like back then, there are signs informing people that betel spitting is prohibited. In Papua New Guinea, for instance, "No Betel Nut Chewing" signs are posted right alongside "No Smoking' signs. Though I must admit I never came across any of these signs on Nangan, just a lot of juice."

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ON KALIU

Looking at the photo on the cover of Jeff Quinn's newest book, Kaliu, I am reminded that I, myself, went swimming from that same "semi-militarized" beach a year ago this spring, i.e. with Jeff and his wife looking on from the same shore. That particular shoreline can be seen from the school where Jeff used to teach and live on the island of Nangan (in the Matsu archipelago) in Taiwan.  The Matsu chain of islands are only a hop across a small straight from mainland China's province of Fujia (also called Fukian).

Like Jeff Quinn, I had lived in the Matsu Islands (but on Beigan Island) in 2010-2011.  Likewise, I  taught in the same local school districts as Jeff for the County of Lienchiang. I wrote about my time there extensively on the internet, e.g.

http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/baiming-festival-in-matsu-on-beigan-island-february-2011/

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Chinese-and-Taiwanese-cele-by-Kevin-Anthony-Stod-110215-650.html?show=votes

http://www.opednews.com/articles/OH-MY-GOD-the-USA-State-by-Kevin-Anthony-Stod-110612-41.html

In contrast, Jeff Quinn has taken to more clearly explain how "[w]hile technically Taiwanese soil, or rock, as the islands are composed mainly of granite, the Matsu Islands share close cultural ties with neighboring China."

"The Matsu Islands, commonly referred to as the "Pearls of Eastern Fujian' . . . are said to resemble a string of pearls lying off the mouth of the Min River Delta near Fuzhou. The Matsu chain consists of 19 islands and islets lending themselves to 22 villages and 137 neighborhoods; all of which are administered by Lienchiang County, Taiwan." [The county is divided into four townships: Nangan Township (which translated means Southern Fishing Pole), Biegan Township (Northern Fishing Pole), Juguang Township (Brilliance of the Ju Kingdom), and Dongyin Township (Welcoming the East)." ]

I concur with Jeff that "[f]or those who've spent time in Taiwan, the Matsu Islands will certainly exhibit a different vibe.  Matsu islanders tend to march to their own beat, having more in common with the Eastern Fujian or Eastern Min region of China in terms of tradition and culture, than that found across the straits in Taiwan proper, where most speak Hakka, a southern Fujian dialect. Although Mandarin Chinese is the official language, residents of Matsu speak a northern Fujianese dialect called Pinghua, which is wholly unintelligible to Mandarin speakers."

Jeff adds, "For many years the islands [of Marsu] were off-limits to those in mainland China. Conversely, mainland China was also off-limits to those in Matsu. A policy known as Three Small Links was instituted in 2001, allowing for limited trade and travel between Fujian ports and Matsu, as well as Kinmen. A ferry now runs several times a day between Fu'ao Harbor in Nangan and the port city of Mawei, southeast of Fuzhou."  For this reason, some students of ours had visited mainland China several times--implying that the border was fairly wide-open.

However, as Jeff and his wife came to discover, international relations and confusion about spheres of influence in the multipolar Chinas of 2012 continue to make it difficult for non-Chinese to travel between what is known as mainland China and what we currently call Taiwan.  This becomes very clear if a non-Chinese or non-Taiwanese would try to cross the small straight on a boat or ferry to the other shore.

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