Progress in social, economic and political arenas has been well documented. On todays program, we are delighted to have mr. Klaus bardenhagen, a freelance foreign journalist stationed in taiwan, reporting on the events in taiwan. Thank you for being our special guest. Thank you. Tell us a little bit about yourself, klaus. Im a freelance journalist, and in germany i have been working as a tv reporter for a few years. One day i had the opportunity to come to taiwan. I am freelancing and taiwan in taiwan, which means im looking for interesting subjects that i can offer to german organizations and report on. If possible, it can also mean im doing tv reports i am doing tv reports. You have been here for four and a half years. I came here in 2008, just in time for the president ial election. One year later, i decided i really wanted to move here. One day in my tv station in hamburg, i saw this note on the blackboard which was a fax sent by the taipei Hamburg Office which said, we are looking for foreign journalists to come to taiwan for three months on a scholarship. You can learn chinese and get to know taiwan. We basically pay the plane ticket for you. When i saw that, i was thinking, i have never been to asia before. My knowledge about taiwan was limited. I never had played with the idea of starting to learn chinese. I thought, that is perfect. I can take three months off and come here. That is how it all started. How did you find the environment different from germany . In terms of doing stories, reporting, is it easy to find topics in taiwan, or is it easier back home . What are some of the topics you have been reporting from taiwan . The range of topics im covering is quite wide. I cant afford to be a specialist yet. I have to be a generalist. A lot of times, it is connected to politics and elections. Then it can also be about culture. It is so unique and interesting that it will interest german audiences. It can also be about, what are germans doing in taiwan . That is interesting for german audiences, seeing what some of us are doing here. At the beginning, it was easy for me to find topics because i stepped off the plane and i was in the middle of the president ial election campaign. In 2008, because the beijing olympics were coming up, and in china you had some trouble. The german media were interested in this. I could do a few reports from the ground describing the very passionate atmosphere in the election campaign. It was pretty different from germany. You dont have elections all the time in taiwan. Im always Walking Around, try to keep my eyes and ears open and find out what is happening that i myself have to find interesting first. If i think it is interesting, i try to make it attractive to the editors and media people in germany too and convince them that they should let me do this story. Since arriving here five years ago, what were some of the changes that you have seen in taiwan . What are some of the things that stay the same . One important change in the political arena is that my feeling was that a lot of the focus of political activity and what people are willing to hit the street for has shifted a bit further Political Parties from the Political Parties towards the ngos and the civil sector. I can already say that the Environmental Movement and the social Rights Movement has really become stronger. Just look at the Student Movement against the media monopoly. Those are all developments that were not like this in 2008 when i came here. At that time, it was about blue and green and the Political Parties. People have realized that that is not everything. If they want to stand up for what they think is important and make taiwan a better place, there are other areas as well that they should Pay Attention to. Yes. Is that also the situation in germany . Are people more concerned about quality of life issues . In germany, the situation political wise is already more stable . Yes. When it leads to elections, people are not too worried about who is going to win because they say, based on our experiences, no matter who is in the government, in the end the politics will be pretty much the same. It is a disillusionment. In taiwan, the elections are more hotly contested. Those who do hit the streets, they are more emotionally involved. In general, i think it is something you see in a lot of countries. Not only developed countries like germany and taiwan. You also see it in china. People are starting to protest because of Environmental Issues. They feel like, my own life, my familys situation and quality of life is threatened. Thats why i want to say i dont like this. Its not always about big politics. Speaking of politics, you must have noticed that since the change in 2008, there is somewhat of an easing of the tensions between the different caps camps regarding the relations with china. There seems to be a moderation towards the center. Of course you have the feeling that there are not as many open tangents as there used to be. I only experienced the situation starting in march 2008. In may 2008, it was inaugurated. I cant really compare the situation before. I just know what the media reports at that time were, and try to make sense of that. It feels better to live in a place when there is not some kind of open threat. It feels better when i tell my family back home how i am doing, and maybe theyre not so worried. Its important to remind people when im reporting about the situation that the threat is not gone. What is happening on the other side, those missiles are still there. The government in beijing did not really move an inch from their core position. They still have the same position as before, but they are saying everything in a much nicer and more diplomatic way. Given the fact that you have noticed that the Civic Society in taiwan is becoming more energized, what are some of the issues you have been picking up is becoming more important for the people of taiwan . The ecology and environment issue. Taiwan had this very impressive economic success story. The quality of life around us came because people and investors and companies worked hard for it. On this way, Environmental Issues were somehow not so important. People focused on making money and economic growth, and they succeeded. Now they are realizing we have a great polity of life in taiwan, comparable to europe. They started maybe 10, 15 years ago to look out the window. The equality was not so good. The traffic situation was horrible. The rivers were dirty. They started doing something. That started more than 10 years ago. People told me about what life in taipei was like, it sounds like it is from another planet. Telling about how dirty the air was, and all of that. The riverside was like a big waste dump. People started to change. They started to change in the immediate surroundings, and now it is about looking at the whole country and saying, where do we have those patches of land that we still think are worth keeping like they are, preserving . About two years ago, there was a huge story, the plans to build a chemical factory. All those plans were ready. Basically just waiting for the governments approval. So many people started to say no and make their voices heard that they actually changed something. The plans were abandoned. That did not happen before so often. That was an important development. Landmark event, yes. We need to take the first break on the program. When we come back, we will continue our conversation with mr. Klaus bardenhagen, freelance journalist from germany. See you in a few minutes. Will come back to the second segment of the Database Program welcome back to the second segment of todays program. We will continue our conversation with mr. Klaus bardenhagen, freelance journalist from germany covering events in taiwan. In addition to your daytime job, you have written a number of books about taiwan, one of which is called taiwan snapshots of democracy. This was a project that developed that when i realized in my time in taiwan, i had met a lot of people and took many photos and told a lot of stories. I thought, it will be a shame if i dont put these things to more use. I discovered the way of publishing books on the print on demand basis, which means i dont have to print thousands of those. The first one i wrote was in german, which was about the everyday life in taiwan from a german point of view. It was supposed to make people understand what life here feels like. After that i thought, lets try to do something in english and chinese. Maybe i can reach some other people, people i dont reach through my german media. I did this immediately after the 2012 president ial election because i thought from 2008 until 2012, it was exactly the time between the two elections i witnessed. I tried to tell about some of the important developments that i have witnessed here, and with the aim of may be reaching people who are not living in taiwan, and telling americans or canadians who are still interested in what is going on in their home country. Maybe they want to show it to their children or just look at the pictures. Maybe they have not followed everything. That was the aim of the snapshot. What about the third one . It is also in german. This is taiwan. This is also for a german audience, explaining why taiwan matters. Why should i care about taiwan, explaining to them the political and historical background and talking about the german policy towards taiwan, which is so very much framed by the one china policy. For example, the leading politicians are not allowed to enter the european union, not even on a tourist visa. There are some all editions in politicians in germany who are trying to change this. I interviewed them. That is something im not really proud of when i think of my own government. Lets go back to that book on the snapshots of democracy in action. This is covering the two president ial elections from 2008 until 2012. You were just arriving in taiwan when the 2008 election happened. You were here for the most part of the 2012 election. What was some of the differences, klaus, that you discovered between the two elections . The 2008 election, back then most people were already pretty sure about how it would turn out. It was not really that much of a close race people race. People were saying there would be a lastminute swing. The media is always looking for an angle to make a story like this. It was not really that contested. No one was really surprised. Four years later, the situation was different because according to the surveys and polls, it would just be a closer race. You had a different kind of candidate on the other side, not like one of the elderly man from the old establishment. At that time, it felt to me and the other foreign journalists it felt like it is more open this time. That also influences the stories you tell about the elections. Given the fact that you covered both president ial elections, do you think the issues that are considered important have changed from 2008 until 2012 . Are people concerned about the relations with china,economy . In 2008, politics was the center, apart from the corruption. Four yeares l years later, the government had the chance to implement its china policy. At the same time, todays and eight 2008 until 2009, there was the global crisis. In the years after that, people started to worry about their personal financial situation. How secure are their jobs, are their children going to find jobs . How about the wages, are they ever going to go up . Can we afford the way of life that we got used to, and how are we going to position our country for this changing world . Those subjects laid a bigger role in the 2012 elections. Klaus, what were the kinds of reactions you have been receiving from people . Whether it is on the economy, the lifestyle in taiwan, what were some of the questions or feedback or comments you have been getting . People say, it is really nice to have this information all in one place. There is not a lot of knowledge about taiwan in germany. You have travel guidebooks. You can buy some academic books on taiwans history. Theyre apparently not so many other books that try to condense it in a readable and understandable and maybe a little under entertaining way. The feedback from germans who live in taiwan or used to live in taiwan, they say, this makes a great present. People always ask me about taiwan and i dont know how to answer them. I can give them this book, and maybe they will understand it better. You have been there for five years now. We see how society is changing. Somewhat of a combined perspective between being a foreign journalist, and a resident of taiwan what do you think in that combined perspective . What are the likely, important issues as taiwan continues to develop clinically . Politically . Next year there are elections. A lot of people think that is a prelude or early test of what is going to happen in 2016. What is likely to be important in those elections . From a democracy point of view, it is important that taiwan is a young democracy. It also has an impressive level of maturity as well. The next step might be that people in taiwan learn to cooperate more with each other. If you want to have a normal, stable democracy, you will always have the situation of changes in government. Every party will have to accept the fact that from time to time, it is going to be in the opposition. What are you going to do then . Are you going to try to undermine everything that the government is doing at that time, or are you trying to play a constructive part . Youre also in some responsibility position to do something for the country, not just to stop things from happening. I know that the Political Parties in taiwan have a lot of problems with each other for historical reasons. The people, especially the younger people who are going to step up and take over, i really wish that they will find a way to cooperate more with each other and not acting against each other. Would you think that the relations with china will continue to be a dominant issue when we have islandwide elections . Im sure it will always be one of the central issues. Taiwan is always a central issue to china and the government in beijing. Whenever there is an election or change in government or policy here, beijing will always feel affected by this and they will react one way or the other. You cant ignore it. You have to anticipate that, and react to it. Taiwanese politics, without taking regard of the chinese factor [indiscernible] looking at what happened in germany, in the days when the country was split into east and west you are too young to remember that. [laughter] right before the german unification, there were similarities in germany at that time to compare to the situation in taiwan . Im not suggesting that taiwan will unify with china. The issue regarding the relations with the biggest neighbor you have, was that a dominant issue in germany at that time . I still remember in the beginning of 1989, there were protests in east germany. We actually do have relatives in east germany. I visited them with my mother at that time. My mothers family had fled east germany. She told those relatives, go on and stand up for what you think is right. If you go on like this, in 10 years, the wall might fall down. It did not even last 10 months, and it still happened. I think this just shows you that sometimes history is moving in giant leaps. You cannot predict this area this. The situation of divided germany when you look at the historical context, theres a lot of similarities to taiwan. But there are also a lot of differences. It is useful for taiwanese to look at the way this is handled, but not take it as a 100 blueprint from germany. We need to take another break. We will be right back. We will continue our conversation with klaus bardenhagen. What were some of the reasons for you to select the topics that were included in this book . This time i wanted to take more the subject of why taiwan matters, not so much the daily life and everyday experiences. For example, i started by writing a historical part about taiwan from the time when the aboriginals lived here and no one else. The dutch came, the spanish came, who threw them out and when china took over. Normally this is something everyone knows a little bit about, but if they really want to know what happened, they have to look at these big history read. They dont really like to read that they dont really like to read r. I talk about taiwan and its diplomatic allies. The republic of china and its allies. There are only 23 left. How did that come about . Republic of china used to be a permanent member of the un security council. What happened that were in this situation now . Which step led to which next step . I try to make the story understandable. The most important, pertinent information. I didnt want to run the danger of the book becoming too dry and too focused on politics and history. I was also thinking, what are some interesting subjects i could cover that also will help people to understand taiwan better. There was a very interesting story in germany. Over the last year, tt became a craze bubble tea became a craze in germany. They were combined with sushi and turkish fast food restaurants. Everyone was going crazy over bubble tea. But then it all went downhill. And what were the reasons for that . The market was oversaturated. It could not survive. But there was also a weird reaction in the german media. At first they were like, it is exciting. But then the media in the summer we dont have important stories, so they start making things up. All of a sudden they started to say, this bubble tea is not healthy. Little children can choke on the bubbles, and maybe they will die. Some doctor said that you have to be careful, and scientists say, we found something, some stuff in the bubble tea that was unhealthy or poisonous. In the end, it was not true. It was a very strange media Politics Campaign at that time. Every german and taiwan in taiwan immediately notices this chain selling china oil. It is a product made in germany. Some taiwanese businessmen had a great idea and are selling it here in taiwan. How can you sell china oil made in germany to taiwanese, for very high prices that is an interesting story. I met him, and he introduced me to his company. Every german Walking Around taipei will notice this, notice these shops and not really know what to make of them. Explain this to them, make them understand. Okay. Other than the controversy last year surrounding the bubble tea, if you look at the bilateral relations between germany and taiwan, a lot of things are happening. There is a lot of activities going on. We look at the number of mercedesbenz and bmws in taiwan. Theres a lot of Business Opportunity here. In your personal opinion, w