by Dillan Jagannath:
Today was Day 6 of our trip and our last full day in Taipei. With a late start after a long night, we attended a lesson on the the cross-straight relationship between (mainland?) China and Taiwan. Here we explored the question: is Taiwan an independent country? The answer has several theories, leading us to look through the lenses of history, geopolitics, economy, and world politics.
After the lecture, we took a long bus ride to lunch at 也果蔬食. This restaurant only serves organic vegetables.
After a meal of soup or rice, we went to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Museum of Innovation. TSMC, based on a revolutionary business model, is the world’s first and best integrated circuit manufacturer. Used in devices from computers to VR systems to our phones, ICs are used in several modern technologies. They are the central force of innovation and TSMC is the leading producer of them.
The museum had a haptic VR area, where we experienced someone’s futuristic vacation, virtually flying in an air-taxi and eating dinner on a cruise ship.
From TSMC, we went to a temple in the City of God. In the temple was a statue of the Daoist god of the afterlife. In their religion, all of your actions are written down. When you die, the god judges if your actions were good enough to let you into heaven. People leave fresh food and candy for the god as offerings.
After the temple, we had a little time to buy food and walk around the city. Ms. Yu bought a very fashionable and cheap straw hat!
Then, we took the bus all the way back to Taipei to dinner at Cantonese Cuisine and Dim sum. Among other really good food, we had their specialty: roasted duck. This duck is so special, it requires a reservation two months in advance.
Finally, we returned to the hotel for our last night before leaving.
Today was another fascinating and educational day in Taiwan. In the words of TCSM’s founder, Dr. Morris Chang: “behind every challenge is a great future”!
