The United States has the strangest of relations with Taiwan in my personal opinion. The U.S. does not "recognize" Taiwan, which is why I had to go to a "cultural office" to obtain a visa. This is odd because the U.S. does billions of dollars worth of business with this tiny island. If you look on the worldwide web you will discover some fascinating facts about Taiwan and its history, especially its relationship with China. For years I never fully understood the concept of Taiwan "belonging" to mainland China and this strange policy of recognition the U.S. and the United Nations have toward Taiwan. If you want some interesting political reading, check out some Taiwanese web sites on the history of Taiwan.
My visit was sponsored by the Taiwan Forest Research Institute. They were outstanding to work with the whole time. I arrived in Taipei in the early evening of the 'next' day - you go over the international date line in the middle of the pacific. My wonderful host was Dr. Ching-Te Chien, Director of the Hengchun Tropical Botanical Garden on the southern tip of Taiwan. He made sure I had plenty to do. It was a fantastic five weeks.
On the next page, you will find some of the many photographs of my stay. I took some nine boxes of photographs of trees, seed, landscapes, people, and more. The one photograph that escaped me was that of the Formosan Macaque monkey. Monkeys are not known for making themselves convenient targets for cameras, even though I got to hear and see them up close. The 'jungle' was always too dark or...as you might guess, I did not have my camera at that time!
I went to Taiwan for the purpose of learning more about their forests, forestry research, and propagation of ethnobotanical plants. Unlike my visits in other countries I got to stay for five weeks, which gave me more than enough time to see and learn a great deal. The trip began several weeks before my July 1, 1998 departure date. When going to Taiwan for longer than two weeks you DO need a visa. In my case the visa was free and was remarkably easy to obtain from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle.
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photographs | facts | ethnobotany | taiwan forestry research institute | global extension forestry