20 RMB and charity?

Was walking back to the hotel after a nice dinner when a family of 3 walked past me and then spoke from behind me. The man asked if I could spare some money to buy some food for the child. There was a very young child in the woman's arms, and my heart immediately went soft. "Okay", and I went ahead to the convenience store nearby.

Of course there was some thought in my head that these people might not be genuinely in need, but what is a little money for food gonna hurt? Instead of following me into the convenience store, the man was shy and asked me to just get anything. I insisted, so that he could choose the food for the child. It was nice that he wasn't expecting much, and kept apologizing. Even when I wanted to get some food for him and his wife (I had assumed their relationship as a family unit), he kept saying that it would be enough to just have food for the kid.

Anyhow, I went ahead and got them a little food and drink, without thinking very much. After thanking me, and before I left, the lady went on to ask if it was possible for me to get them a cheapest room, so that they can stay for the night to wait for their family to turn up tomorrow. The man said not to bother me anymore, and it was good enough that they had food. I did not think it was appropriate for me to do anything more, and who knows if the "charity" would escalate. But as I left them to eat, my heart did go out for the kid...

To take the nice and heart-warming moment away, closer to the hotel, a lady and her kid approached me too, asking for money to buy food for the child. Deja vu? I was not too keen to bother this time round, especially when the kid was doing a fake whining cry. But after they bothered me for some distance, I decided to just give them 5 RMB. Small amount, but anything to get them off my back.

On reaching the hotel, I went to talk to a few hotel staff at the concierge. There were two ladies there, and when I asked if it was normal for people to be asking for aids on the streets, they told me that these people were most likely just cheats. And the kids may not even be their own (gasp!). Another female staff joined in, and we started chatting, and one of them elaborated on the locations where this sort of situation was even more prevalent. Oh well... as long as the little child gets to have some food, it really doesn't matter if the "parents" cheated or not...

Back in Changzhou ... last leg of this almost-3 week trip

Came back to Changzhou after the presidential election in Taiwan, and now to get continue with the never-ending work. Of course this is to be expected, but a real break would be nice.

Another nice song from Ken Hirai...

Taiwan Elections - Short of the finalization

The gap is pulling further, and it is firm that the blue camp won. Mr Ma had won the elections with KMT, to lead Taiwan for the next 4 years.

fireworks celebration in Kaohsiung - (a DPP-stronghold) ...

On the TV, the DPP supporters are very upset, but at the moment, the fervent supporters are still gathered waiting for the counting to be completed, even though the results are already clear by now. Wonder if I will see anything when I venture out for dinner in a couple of minutes...

Taiwan Elections - Counting of Votes

Wow... there is live screening of vote counting, with the numbers jumping in the main screen of channel TTV. They were also focusing on this particular location where the vote numbers had been known to coincidentally match the overall results in the previous election. A few more hours before the results are finalized.

Taiwan Elections

Today is the day!!!

People started voting at 8am, and the news channels have been covering all the various aspects of it. There had been footage of the previous president and wife's voting, footage of the wife of one of the most influential business person in Taiwan, shots of the presidential hopefuls doing their various things.

The opinion poll results are currently showing that the Blue Camp (KMT) is in the lead in most localities, but things may change towards the end of the day...

election fever in Taiwan; KMRT; Ken Hirai

for someone who has lived in a politically sanitized country all his life, the vibrance of the political scene in Taiwan was refreshing. Don't be mistaken, cos I am not unhappy about the peace in Singapore, but it sure gave me some interest in looking at the activities that are taking place around where I am right now. Voting will take place on Saturday, and I guess I will be glued to the TV to catch the latest updates.


KMRT
The mass rapid transit is finally up and running, and they had "free travel" for one month, up till 6 April. When I was here more than a year ago, the cab drivers were saying that this would be an expensive toy, to be used by only visitors, students and the elderly. The rationale was that the locals were all very used to going around in their cars and scooters, and were unlikely gonna be interested in limiting their mobility with the trains. Well, during this free travel period, lots of locals and foreigners alike were taking this mode of transport. They despatched lots of urshers to maintain order at the stations, and hopefully people will be used to allowing passengers to alight before boarding the trains, etc. We shall see, especially on how the situation will be when they start to charge for the rides...

A local had told me that this free travel period coincided with the election period for a very specific result. After he said that, it became very clear that they were not only trying to get people interested to give the KMRT a go...


Ken Hirai 　堅。平井

a great time in Shanghai

Decided to pop by and stay in Shanghai for a night, in between the China and Taiwan legs of this current work trip. I always have problems switching from work mode to fun-travel mode. So why did I decide to go to this exciting city instead of staying back in Changzhou where I could get more work done?

it was only the chance of meeting up with a friend whom I made last August (see previous entry) -Tianxiang-ge ( :P sounds intimate, right?) that had me decided on going to Shanghai the saturday that just past, instead of staying in Changzhou where I could be getting more work done.

Eating along the river, strolling at the river for the afternoon view and later the night one, joining the crowds in the subway, prowling the streets of xintiandi, sipping coffee/tea lazily in the afternoon, walking in the cool air of the night along Nanjing Street... the company made the day most memorable.

Thanks John. Hope to see you in Singapore some time.

RyanDan

chose to fly economy, to have a reasonable departure and arrival time, so that work can progress properly tomorrow...

anyhow, there was really insufficient spacing between the economy seats for comfortable sitting, and I do wonder about flying economy for longer trips, like the personal one in the middle of the year. perhaps I am just too pampered by "business class" ...

As usual, I would browse the Music Video section of the entertainment system, and listen/watch whatever SQ had to offer. Had been pleasantly surprised many times. I was concentrating on something else when another song began, and I had thought that the lady singer's voice was very unique. On looking at the screen ... it was a guy. Oops... and then some seconds later, were there two guys, or just some camera trick? Two guys in different clothings... were they the same person? Perhaps just brothers? ... Nope.. identical twins.

Found the sound and song very much to my liking, so decided to share it here.