Taiwan Diary: Racism and Privilege and Scooters

I have a little e-bike that looks like a scooter. I didn't want to get a regular scooter because a) I was a little afraid of driving one tbh, b) they are expensive, and c) you have to take a driving test and get a local license to legally drive one, and I didn't want to go through all that. I was fortunate to get a secondhand e-bike from a friend. I just needed something to get me to work and get groceries (or go to the farther away Starbucks). Alas, the motor is having major problems, so now I have to figure out how to get it repaired. I asked around, and one of my coworkers gave me the address of a place in Hsinchu, which is the main city in the county and just over the river from where I live. My town doesn't have as many e-bike places as it's more affluent and people tend to drive regular scooters or nice/expensive cars (lots of Lexuses and Teslas on the road). Hsinchu is a larger city and has more immigrants, especially Filipino immigrants. And this is where the racism comes in!

I learned that Filipino migrants and immigrants can't get licenses for regular scooters! Pretty much any other immigrant/migrant can (such as yours truly), but not those from the Philippines. They can have e-bikes, so there are more shops over in Hsinchu, which sucks for me since I have to figure out how to get my bike over there. I can't push it 4-5 miles. My coworker has offered to help me tow it if it comes to that, and another coworker who has more local friends is looking for places here in Zhubei, but the whole thing just leaves me feeling icky. I know it's not my fault, but it reminds me of the enormous privilege I have as a white American, privilege there is reason I should have over other humans. We live in such a beautiful world, but we also live in a really stupid world.

Reading Diary: Sha Po Lang/Stars of Chaos Vol 1 by Priest

Here is a synopsis from the publisher's website:

The discovery of violet gold, a vital fuel for steam-powered machines, propelled the empire of Great Liang into an age of prosperity. But for Chang Geng, a young man raised on the impoverished northern border, the concerns of the empire are as distant as the stars above.


When raiders from the north attack Chang Geng’s small village, he discovers that the life he knows is a lie. His mother, his teacher, and even his godfather whom he trusted more than any other, Shen Shiliu, are not what they seem. As enemy nations close in, Chang Geng follows his godfather to the heart of the imperial capital, where a greater fate lies in store for him.

I finally finished this book, and I really enjoyed it! It took me three tries to get into it, and having finished it, I think it was due to low reading energy more than the book itself. I did have some trouble holding the characters in my head, but I went to the My Drama List page for the show (weirdly titled Winner is King in English) and made a chart with the actors' faces to use as a bookmark, which helped. (Side note: Will the drama ever be released from the claws of the censors? Who can say?) It also helps that the actors are quite handsome. 🤭

I think I expected the story to be more about the relationship between Chang Geng and Shen Shiliu, but it's really more about the machinations of factions within the empire, and once I got into that, I really started to enjoy the story. I'm sufficiently concerned for Chang Geng's safety to see the series through. And I want to see how the relationship turns out.

I seem to be reading a lot of books about people caught up within the machinations of empire lately -- He Who Drowned the World, The Water Outlaws, Chloe Gong's Secret Shanghai series -- I'm going to need some kind of palate cleanser next. I'm also trying to read all my physical books before I move in June, and I have more books about people caught up in empire! Thank goodness I have some ongoing fics to read and some slice-of-life manga as well.

At any rate, I quite enjoyed this book, and I bought book two, although as I said, I'm trying to finish my other books first, and I have volume 2 of Guardian to look forward to next month.