Sunday, November 30, 2008

Les Miserables

2008/07/03

從劍橋回來的晚上, 我們安排的行程是前往皇后戲院看歌劇悲慘世界(Les Miserables)。


檢視較大的地圖





由於是第一次聽歌劇, 因此買的是最便宜的票, 坐在最後一排。心想, 如果覺得好聽, 以後有機會再買前面一點的票, 漸入佳境的感覺總是比較能接受。

Do You Hear the People Sing? [Lyrics]


這齣歌劇真的很好看, 音樂更是好聽, 散場後, 大廳擠滿了買紀念品的民眾, 我也買了有許多彩色劇照的節目表, 還有十週年紀念音樂會 DVD 和原版音樂 CD, 讓我們待在倫敦的最後一個夜晚感到非常地滿足。

YouTube 有許多關於 Les Miserables 的十週年紀念音樂會的影片, 可以讓沒有看過這齣偉大歌劇的人先睹為快。底下這段則是Do You Hear The People Sing? 的片段。


 
Back to UK & Ireland Trip
 

Punting in Cambridge

2008/07/03

在前往英國之前, 蕭桂芳教授就告訴大家, 來到劍橋一定要去撐篙(punting), 感受一下大文豪徐志摩筆下的人間四月天, 因此買完午餐, 我們就一路來到康河(River Cam)與 Garret Hostel Lane 的交會處。


檢視較大的地圖


Punts, Cambridge, London, UK

排成一列的平底船(punts)。



由於 Jill 容易暈船, 因此一行人, 除了我們兩個人之外, 剛好可以坐一艘平底船(punt)。


Punting in Cambridge, London, UK

出發時, 是由 黃世育教授 撐篙提供前進的動力, 王任讚教授控制方向。


Punting in Cambridge, London, UK

回來時, 已經改成由王任讚教授撐篙提供前進的動力, 黃世育教授控制方向。


Punting in Cambridge, London, UK

有許多劍橋大學的學生在這邊打工, 幫觀光客撐篙, 看他們撐篙非常輕鬆。



準備靠岸了。


Punting MVP - Prof. Ran-Zan Wang, Cambridge, London, UK

今天 Punting 的 MVP 是 王任讚 教授, 沒有他, 恐怕無法及時將船在約定的時間內撐回來。

Back to UK & Ireland Trip

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Book: 芬蘭教育 世界第一的秘密



這本書是天下雜誌將原本發表於雜誌的文章整理成冊的, 雖然經過精心篩選與編排, 但是, 讀起來總會有些散散的感覺, 讀者必須再經過細細地思量, 才會覺得有所收穫! 不過, 從另外一個角度來看, 也正是原來就是雜誌上的文章, 因此, 讀起來輕輕鬆鬆, 我把他歸屬於『輕閱讀』一類。

本書第三部的主題才是關於芬蘭的教育, 不過就如同世界各國一般, 芬蘭目前的教育制度的發展, 與其歷史背景與地理及氣候因素是息息相關的, 因此天下雜誌很用心地在前兩部花了一些篇幅介紹這些因素。因此, 我覺得任何一個國家想要全盤照抄芬蘭的教育制度, 恐怕也是行不通, 也不是那麼容易的。

或許, 從芬蘭教育的發展史去理解整個前因後果, 再回過頭來找出自己國家的教育制度的問題所在, 並理出我們自己要的是什麼, 或許才有辦法找到台灣教育的出口吧!
 

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Song of Taiwan 台灣之歌



戀戀北迴線

曲詞:黃麒嘉 1958年生

火車載阮要來去,台灣的後花園,
世間尚水的所在,攏置彼一屏。

瑞芳金瓜石,溫柔可愛的基隆河,
濛瀧三貂嶺,青青雙溪水,
悠悠擱綿綿,親像一首詩,
行到福隆看到著海邊。

轔轔嚨嚨,搖過基隆河,
唭唭喀喀,攀過三貂嶺。

船隻漂來又漂過,海風帶鹹味,
海面金金地閃熾,日頭浮上天。

北關的海湧,歸工歡喜地唱歌,
熱情龜山島,陪咱鬥陣行。

礁溪洗溫泉,宜蘭買膽肝,
來到蘇澳,海產尚好呷。

悉悉沙沙,海湧地唱歌,
嚕嚕啦啦,礁溪洗溫泉。

大山大海大港灣,花蓮到台東,
大橋大溪大塴崆,塴崆黑籠籠,

遊賞太魯閣,散步迷人的鯉魚潭,
坐船秀姑巒,台東摘金針。

世外的桃源,美麗的台灣,
自由自在,幸福台灣人。

卿卿硿硿,火車鑽塴崆,
吧哪吧吧,火車地相閃。
 
上揚唱片對事件始末之聲明

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Book: 上哈佛真正學到的事

上哈佛真正學到的事的圖像

『其實作者在哈佛學到的事, 並不是一定要到哈佛才學得到!』。這是我讀完這本書, 從心底浮現的想法。

這星期二(2008/11/11)一進桃園銘傳的辦公室, 就看到桌上擺著這本書, 原來是前一天, 資訊學院 賈院長 推薦給大家看的書。因此, 我當下就到 金石堂網路書局 訂購這本書, 並利用下午監考的片段時間, 看完第一章。作者描述她從事記者工作十年後, 又回到學校, 而且是全世界最頂尖學府的哈佛, 作者把他在哈佛的所見所聞描述下來, 此時, 我的感覺是除了知道一些我們所不知道的名校見聞之外, 閱讀此書的收穫實在不大。

由於這是一本從學生的角度來看頂尖學府的運作, 因此閱讀起來, 並沒有誘發我太多的思考, 讀起來很輕鬆, 所以當我在星期三晚上從全家便利商店拿到書的時候, 已經閱讀完整本書的四分之三。這種輕鬆閱讀的感覺, 其實也很舒服, 我開始對這本書有不一樣的看法, 加上作者在描述自己從小學習英語的方式, 與在美國使用英語所遭遇到的挫折, 那種感受是我可以深深體會, 並且有所共鳴的。從這個角度來看, 這本書還是值得堆薦給學生閱讀的。

星期四早上沒課, 我帶著咖啡, 將辦公室的 Pello 椅子搬到外頭, 一邊享受冬天的陽光, 一邊閱讀這本書的最後幾篇文章。或許是太舒服了, 心情好, 因此覺得最後這幾篇文章, 寫得還真是不錯, 個人覺得是本書最精華的部分。

作者在哈佛學到的『幸福秘訣』, 其實也沒甚麼特別, 但幸福確實就是那麼一回事! 作者描述哈佛圖書館的軼聞, 讓人覺得一間像樣的大學, 確實需要有間讓人填滿許多故事的圖書館, 才會令人懷念。

值得一提的是書中也描述到發生在 2001 年春天的哈佛學生抗議事件。哈佛學生在每天為了功課忙得焦頭爛額的情況下, 依然會抽出時間來關懷社會議題, 為了逼迫學校做出合乎社會正義的決定, 學生堅持並持續包圍校長室, 直到校方有正面的回應。這讓我想到目前在台灣的自由廣場, 同樣聚集了一批學生, 向擁有權力的執政當局提出合乎社會正義的要求。

認清自己, 思考自己想過什麼樣的生活? 該如何努力? 如何找出適合自己的方法? 這些問題, 作者自己藉由在哈佛一年的日子有所體認了, 也提供給我們參考, 然而, 並不是一定也要去哈佛才能體認這些問題, 應該是隨時隨地都可以吧。
 


聚焦政治責任 交大、清大教授的共同聲明

陳雲林來台的幾日,政府的「維安規格」大大震撼了台灣社會,一時之間視聽範圍內議論紛紛,情緒緊繃。這時候一群台北的教授和學生們到了行政院前面抗議「國家機器的暴力」,而做出三點訴求。緊接著被驅離、再聚在自由廣場。這幾天執政黨從行政部門到國會議員都有類似的評論基調:學生們很單純,擔心他們被利用。在此我們想要聲明幾點:

一、政府那幾天的濫權違法,所驚嚇、羞辱的不只是學生,而是全民。由於這群學生、老師的勇氣所激起的學潮,起了示範作用,讓被驚嚇在心的民眾、其他地區的學校師生,有了表達的管道和形式。但是這不表示「這只是一場學運」,有些媒體配合執政黨故意將此訴求限縮在學運,又進而推理「學生很單純,容易被利用」,以此來轉移焦點,意圖使大眾忘記那不堪追究的「置入性暴政」,以撇清政治責任,實是極為不道德的操作。

二、我們不認為這只是「拿捏不當」的執法過當,如果政府可以因為來訪客人的不同背景,而隨意調整其憲法保障的人權標準,我們認為執政者帶給人民的不僅是驚嚇、羞辱,而是對這個執政者的信心的瓦解,這不是一個捍衛民主、人權、法治的政府,而是任意換裝的魔術師,隨時可以拿下假面對你猙獰微笑的恫嚇者。應該保護人民的政府,恰恰變成我們恐懼的來源。

三、政府的濫權失控尺度,早已逾越集會遊行法所給予的權限(雖然它終究是惡法),所以故意聚焦在集會遊行法的修法,亦是意圖規避該負的政治責任。如果不談政治責任,集會遊行法修了之後,仍然可以繼續震撼式的「維持治安」。我們認為政府不能規避該負的政治責任,必須道歉、追究此次國家暴力的來源,並修法,以重拾人民對政府的信心。

共同連署人(按姓氏筆畫,後續連署請進「新竹學生反集會遊行法行動網站」):

古明君(清華大學社會學研究所助理教授)
江永進(清華大學數學系副教授)
李丁讚(清華大學社會學研究所教授)
李弘祺(交通大學講座教授兼人文與社會學院院長、通識教育委員會主任委員)
呂忠津(清華大學電機系教授)
林明璋(中央研究院院士、交通大學應用化學系榮譽講座教授)
林健正(交通大學材料工程與科學學系教授)
林秀幸(交通大學人文社會學系助理教授)
林盈達(交通大學資訊工程學系教授)
洪慧念(交通大學統計學研究所教授)
吳宗信(交通大學機械學系教授)
吳卓諭(交通大學電信工程學系助理教授)
柯朝欽(交通大學人文社會學系助理教授)
徐斯儉(中央研究院政治學研究所籌備處助研究員、清華大學社會學研究所合聘助理教授)
高文芳(交通大學物理研究所教授)
陳榮傑(交通大學資訊工程學系教授)
陳建忠(清華大學台灣文學研究所副教授)
陳鄰安(交通大學統計學研究所教授)
許維德(交通大學人文社會學系助理教授)
許瀞文(清華大學人類學研究所助理教授)
葉弘德(交通大學環境工程研究所教授)
黃倩玉(清華大學人類學研究所副教授)
黃紹恆(交通大學人文社會學系教授)
張維安(清華大學社會學研究所教授兼人文社會學院院長)
張文鍾(交通大學電信工程學系教授)
游志雲(清華大學工業工程學系副教授)
劉俊秀(交通大學土木工程學系教授)
蔡仁松(清華大學資訊工程系特聘講座教授)
褚德三(交通大學電子物理系退休教授、前理學院院長)
潘美玲(交通大學人文社會學系助理教授)
賴雯淑(交通大學應用藝術研究所助理教授)
賴漢卿(清華大學數學系榮譽講座教授)
蘇育德(交通大學電信工程學系教授)
 

Friday, November 07, 2008

Do You Hear The People Sing?



Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?

Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
 

News: Taiwan's Ma meets China envoy as thousands protest



A Democratic Progressive Party supporter shouts during a protest against Chen Yunlin, Chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), and Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou near the Presidential Office in Taipei November 6, 2008.
REUTERS/Nicky Loh


Original News Link

By Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's president met briefly on Thursday with a Chinese official in one of the highest-level contacts between the two sides since the Chinese civil war, while thousands of protesters clashed with riot police outside.

President Ma Ying-jeou shook hands and exchanged gifts with China's top Taiwan affairs negotiator, Chen Yunlin, who has already signed agreements opening up trade and transport between the two sides that in past years have edged to the brink of war.

Outside the presidential office, at least 10,000 protesters wearing "Taiwan is my country" ribbons shouted abuse, telling Chen to leave and Ma to step down.

Some pushed down barricades and jousted with lines of police armed with riot gear, while others hurled eggs and bottles.

Shortly before midnight local time, columns of riot police began moving about 100 horn-blowing protesters away from the heavily guarded hotel where Chen stayed. Some threw objects at the police and lit firebombs, local TV reported.

"What cannot be denied is that between the two sides some differences and challenges still exist, especially on the issues of Taiwan's security and international space," Ma said at the five-minute meeting with the Chinese leader.

According to security-conscious Taipei, China has more than 1,000 missiles aimed at the island just across the Taiwan Strait, one the world's most dangerous flashpoints.

Beijing, with about 170 diplomatic allies compared with Taiwan's 23, also bars the island from international organizations such as the United Nations, which requires statehood as a precondition for membership.

Communist China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949 and has vowed to bring the island of 23 million people under its rule, by force if necessary.

Ma's predecessor advocated formal independence from China, outraging Beijing and freezing high-level contacts.

WARMING TREND

Ma told Chen he wanted to see more high-level exchanges and said the two sides should not "mutually deny" each other's existence. Chen's reply to Ma was inaudible to the audience.

"The meeting is highly symbolic, mainly to show a parity between the two sides," said Chao Chien-min, a political science professor at National Cheng Chi University in Taipei.

Ma is under pressure at home to be politically tough on China while improving the island's sagging economy by getting a piece of the other side's booming markets.

Negotiators from Taiwan and China signed a series of deals on Tuesday expanding daily direct flights and agreeing on new air routes, direct cargo shipments and direct postal services.

But protesters have been camping out in the streets since Chen arrived on Monday, accusing Ma of selling out.

"I'm here to resist China," said Lin Ting-fung, a 52-year-old demonstrator from Chungli city, just south of the capital. "I don't know how to express myself clearly, but I just don't feel comfortable when Chen Yunlin is here."

Late on Wednesday, protesters mobbed a Taipei hotel where Chen had attended a banquet. Ma brought forward the time of his meeting with Chen on Thursday to avoid further trouble.

He defended the deals with China and condemned the overnight protests, which blocked Chen's exit from the hotel.

"You can't say that love for Taiwan will become the selling out of Taiwan," he said.

Chen also attended a ceremony on Thursday to mark an upcoming exchange of two giant pandas, a gift symbolic of China, for an indigenous goat and deer duo from Taiwan.

Chen returns to China on Friday.
 

Thursday, November 06, 2008

News: Taiwan's Leader Meets Chinese Envoy

Original News Link

By EDWARD WONG
Published: November 6, 2008

BEIJING — President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan met with a senior Chinese envoy in Taipei on Thursday in a bid to improve diplomatic ties between the two governments after the envoy signed transportation and trade agreements with Taiwanese negotiators.

The meeting was one of the highest-level exchanges between officials from mainland China and Taiwan since 1949, when the Kuomintang, the party led by Chiang Kai-shek, lost the Chinese civil war to the Communists and retreated to Taiwan. Mr. Ma is a member of the Kuomintang.

The Beijing government considers Taiwan a rebel province and has promised to draw it back into Communist rule, by force it necessary. Many Taiwanese prefer to maintain the status quo of de facto independence, and some advocate formal independence. The policies of the opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party lean toward outright independence.

The meeting between Mr. Ma and the Chinese envoy, Chen Yunlin, began at 11 a.m. and lasted only five minutes, according to Xinhua, the mainland’s official state news agency. The two officials exchanged gifts: Mr. Chen presented Mr. Ma with a painting of a horse (Mr. Ma’s surname means horse), and Mr. Ma gave Mr. Chen a piece of fine porcelain.

Despite the warming of relations, Mr. Ma told reporters on Thursday that “we can’t deny that there still exist differences and challenges, especially regarding Taiwan’s security and international status.”

Mr. Chen did not address Mr. Ma as zongtong — president. Doing so would have implied that the mainland recognizes Taiwan’s de facto independent status. The question of how Mr. Chen would address Mr. Ma was much discussed by political analysts in the mainland and Taiwan before Mr. Chen arrived in Taipei on Monday for the start of his five-day visit, and pro-nationalist Taiwanese were irate on Thursday after learning that Mr. Chen avoided using Mr. Ma’s formal title.

The meeting came as hundreds of protesters opposed to close ties with the mainland gathered around the meeting site, a government guest house, to denounce the two officials, according to news agencies. Riot police barricaded streets and stood in long lines with shields and batons. The previous night, Mr. Chen had been trapped by protesters in a hotel, the Grand Formosa Regent Taipei, while attending a banquet there.

Hundreds of protesters surrounded the hotel, chanting, throwing eggs and burning Chinese flags, according to news agencies. Riot police intervened and dozens of people were injured.

The chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, said this week that Mr. Ma has failed to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty and is conceding too much too quickly to the Beijing government.

Monday, November 03, 2008

News: Top Chinese Negotiator Arrives in Taiwan




 Origial News Link

By EDWARD WONG
Published: November 3, 2008

BEIJING -- Mainland China’s top negotiator on Taiwan matters arrived in Taipei on Monday to begin five days of talks aimed at reaching agreements on transportation and economic deals.

The negotiator, Chen Yunlin, is the highest ranking mainland Chinese official to visit Taiwan since the end of the civil war in 1949 and his arrival signals a further warming of relations between the two governments.

Mr. Chen, the head of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, landed at the Taipei airport and went to the historic Grand Hotel, where he made a few remarks to a crowd of reporters. Talks are expected to begin on Tuesday, when Mr. Chen meets with Chiang Pin-kung, the chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, the main negotiating body for Taiwan.

“The step is not easy and is a crystallization of the joint efforts of many compatriots across the strait,” Mr. Chen said, according to Xinhua, mainland China’s state-run news agency.

The negotiating bodies for the two governments met in June in Beijing after a long hiatus and signed a deal to start regular weekend charter flights between mainland and Taiwanese cities. The meeting took place shortly after the inauguration of President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan, who was elected last March after promising to improve both the economy and relations with the mainland.

But Mr. Ma’s popularity has sagged in recent months — Taiwan’s economic performance has been lackluster, and many Taiwanese citizens say Mr. Ma and his party, the Kuomintang, or KMT, are moving Taiwan into mainland China’s orbit too quickly.

Protests against Mr. Ma’s China policies by the Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, the main opposition party, have been fierce. On Oct. 21, protests took place when Zhang Mingqing, the vice chairman of the mainland’s negotiating body, toured Taiwan. Mr. Zhang was shoved to the ground by a local politician while visiting the Confucius Temple in the southern city of Tainan, a bastion of the DPP.

During Mr. Chen’s visit, the National Policy Agency is deploying 10,000 security officers, according to the news service of the KMT. Traffic controls have been put in place to guard Mr. Chen’s motorcade, and 800 policemen have been posted to the Grand Hotel, the news service reported.

The Chinese Communist Party sees Taiwan as a rebel province that split from China in 1949, when the KMT sought refuge on the island after losing the Chinese civil war, and must be brought back into the fold. Many Taiwanese prefer to maintain the current status quo of de facto independence, and some, especially members of the DPP, advocate formal independence. The former president, Chen Shui-bian, the first DPP member to hold that office, tried moving the island closer to independence.

Mr. Chen, the mainland negotiator, and Mr. Chiang are expected to sign agreements that increase the charter flight schedule to every other day and open maritime shipping lanes. They are also expected to discuss economic cooperation as a way to fight the global financial crisis.

“It is imperative that the two sides join to help each other to cope,” Mr. Chen said on Monday, according to Xinhua.

Mr. Chen has also said the mainland is again offering to give two pandas to Taiwan, a move that the Beijing government first made in 2005 but that was rejected by the former Taiwanese president. Mr. Ma has indicated he would accept the pandas.

There is rampant speculation in both China and Taiwan over whether Mr. Chen and Mr. Ma will meet. If so, the big question is: Will Mr. Chen address Mr. Ma as zongtong, or president, thus acknowledging that Mr. Ma holds a title that in international affairs is usually accorded only to the head of a sovereign nation?
 

Sunday, November 02, 2008

自由



我當時的想法跟現在的想法都沒有變,
我覺得台灣在整個國際情勢跟歷史包袱裡面,
一直被打壓的原因就是因為沒有一段驕傲的歷史,
不是沒有,
是沒有人拍出一段屬於台灣這個地方驕傲的歷史,
但是我希望能夠傳達的是一個更大的主題是
化解仇恨,

霧社事件給我一個最大的震撼是
他不是為了抗日而反抗,
不是這麼單純而已,
他還有更大一個民族的一個使命,
為了信仰而戰,
信仰的是死後彩虹盡頭那個天空,
死後的天空
他們是信仰彩虹的族群,
全世界的英雄都在爭取他們身體的自由,
全世界的反抗都在爭取他們的自由,
以及他們孩子的自由
我們有這麼一個歷史的, 漂亮的東西,
為什麼不讓全世界知道?

~ 海角七號導演 魏德聖 ~