Searching for Joy in Japan - 日本が❤き Japan 2016 3/4

A lot of people ask me why I love Japan so much and why I keep going back? A lot of people around me like to travel to hot beachy places and I can only assume it's because we (Canada) lack those traits here. For the budget traveler or folks who want an exotic experience, South East Asia is most affordable and probably the best bang for your buck. For some, it's the rich history and culture of Europe that stimulate their minds and connect with their hearts. And for the bucket-list-ers, well, they'll have to go all over the world to get their Instagram worthy shots.

Meiji Jingu - Yoyogi Park - Harajuku

I admit, Japan is not the cheapest place to travel. It's not known for it's over the ocean bungalows, or lost civilizations, and sometimes the mind numbing amount of people you have to shuffle through the subway station with can indeed be super overwhelming.

So why then?

Japan Brings Me Back

I like Japan for both practical and abstract reasons. First of all, I grew up with Japanese anime, variety shows, and dramas. My childhood was filled with all types of Japanese references, culture, food, humor, and romance that I get from watching tv and reading comic books. Even though there were a lot of Taiwanese shows or dramas from Hong Kong too, I think I naturally gravitated towards Japanese shows because I could relate to them more. As I grew older, Japan got on my bucket list, and it wasn't even the touristy Japan that I wanted to see and experience (like the temples in Kyoto...etc.), but the "daily life", in a way, portrayed in the shows I watched.

Breakfast from Tsukiji Market

I wanted to feel the summer heat as described in Shaman King, and ride the Yamanote line like I read in Slam Dunk (yes they're all old comics, stop trying to deduce my age). I was extremely interested in the culture that fostered the characters I loved and the people who created these amazingly addictive stories.

So when I get on a train in Tokyo and hear the station manager's broadcast, I am brought back to the many movies and drama I've watched. When I smell the yakitori grilling on the street and hear the sounds of festivals coming from the temples, I feel as if I'm one of the characters from my favorite stories. Everything seems so familiar even though I've never seen them before, and everything feels like home even though I've never been there.

Tokyo Tower

I Love Rules & Structure

One of my favorite Youtuber describes Japan's rules as "less flexible", and in my experience, that's definitely the case. It doesn't matter if it's an actual law or just a sign put up by a vendor, people in Japan tend to follow it. Another video I've watched before surveyed some random Japanese people on the streets of Shibuya about what they disliked about foreigners and many of them mentioned the fact that foreigners often don't follow rules or bend them to suit their own needs. It got me thinking, that perhaps they're not so much "forced" to follow rules but actually values them.

Hamarikyu Gardens, Tokyo

A really great thing that comes from this is that Japan has an extremely low crime rate. 5-6 year old kids often commute by themselves and I've seen crates of eggs left in front of an unopened restaurant in the morning before it opened. I've heard that people leave their bikes unlocked and almost always, when you lose something, it will be taken to the lost and found. This is quite different from many countries where pickpockets are more prevalent, and this gives me a sense of relief that makes the trip go a lot easier, especially when you don't know anybody or speak the language.

I believe this rule following behaviour also led to the culture of being more explicit. For instance, there is usually a predetermined price, various deals/discounts, and their parameters / requirements listed on web sites or brochures already. No bargaining is ever needed, from groceries to souvenirs, there's no need to worry about being ripped off or needing to deal with hidden fees.  All you have to do is be willing to do the research and pick the variation that suits you best.

Zojoji, near Tokyo Tower

Japan also loves their processes and procedures. To ensure that everyone is treated fairly, everyone needs to go through the same process. This is seen across most things you do each day, from the method of ordering a bowl of ramen to instructions on how to operate the toilet, there is no shortage of instructions and manuals that teaches people how to correctly follow rules.


I Feel Independent

When I went to Bali I relied mainly on taxis and drivers. The traffic was quite hectic, and I was never sure if the price quoted to me was the right one. In North America, I usually resort to car rentals for convenience sake, or public transportation if I'm trying to save money. However, public transportation does not always get you where you want to go and often requires a lengthy amount of time transferring .

In Japan, especially in the cities, there are trains / buses that run frequently and gets you from any point A to any point B without too much hassle. I feel completely independent and comfortable that I am able to get anywhere I want without needing to rely on other people or use expensive alternatives. Of course if you travel a far distance, the prices starts getting exhausting, and if you are in the country-side, the buses might not be as straight forward. But for me, a regular tourist that frequent major cities and major sights, getting around is always a breeze.

Il Bar @ Bvlgari, Ginza, Tokyo

In the end, I keep returning to Japan because it's a place where I feel relaxed and at ease. I feel safe no matter where I go, and I can trust the rules and processes to ensure I'm treated fairly. Sure, Japan's got issues of their own, but I love the food, the culture, and I can get around freely. For someone on vacation who just wants a place filled with cool things to explore, it sounds like the perfect place for me.

Love.

｡◕‿◕｡ Kawaii (cute) HARAJUKU ｡◕‿◕｡ Japan 2016 2/4

Harajuku's the first Japanese neighborhood I've ever heard of. I owned a shopping guide book when I was in junior high (the kind of information that's printed on paper) written by 2 celebrity sisters with hand drawn maps of their favorite Tokyo shopping districts, and although they talked about many different areas around Tokyo, Harajuku made a big impression for me.





Kawaii Monster Cafe



As someone who's always been a kid at heart, the vibrant colours and extensive accessorizing styles (Decora) really speaks to me. Harajuku feels like a place where people are free to be whoever they want to be, somewhere people are free to express their individualism without fear of judgment, and a place where I can finally feel at ease.

Of course, the novelty doesn't have as much of an effect on me now compared to when I was young, but I still really appreciate the Harajuku atmosphere and hoped to relive my youth.


Takeshita-Dori - Sunday Afternoon

Just a word of warning, if you don't like crowds, don't go to Harajuku on the weekend. It's already quite crowded during the week, but on the weekends, it reaches a whole other level. There must have been thousands (if not more) of people getting off the train the same time we did. I quickly retreated to my happy place and took a few deep breaths while everyone quietly shuffled their way out of the station.

Takeshita-dori

The reason we chose to brave the crowds on a Sunday afternoon was because we wanted to go people watching by Harajuku Bridge, but we didn't actually see anyone there, only folks hoping to learn English by trying to give foreigners tours of the Meiji Shrine. It wasn't until we walked down to Meiji-dori (by Laforet) before we saw a Decora group walk by. And yes, they looked super cute!

Shops along Takeshita-dori

Takeshita-dori is adjacent to the street right in front of Harajuku station, across from Yoyogi Park (Meiji Shrine). It is not the only place to shop in Harajuku, but there is a high concentration of stores jam packed in a 400 meter long pedestrian lane and thus a high concentration of students/tourists as well. In addition to cute clothing and accessory stores, Takeshita-dori is also famous for it's crepe stands and a huge Daiso. Of course, there are also lots of other dessert shops, shoe stores, restaurants, and cafes. I was surprised to see lots of ice cream/bubble tea stores as well, which I never noticed last time I was here (10 years ago). Glad to see that the Taiwanese favorite is making its mark in Japan.


Omotesando - Oriental Bazaar & Kiddy Land

Another street right in front of the Harajuku Bridge is Omotesando. Being an actual street with cars and side walks, it's much bigger and hence a lot less crowded than Takeshita-dori. Oriental Bazaar is a popular souvenir store with 3 floors of souvenirs of 3 different price ranges. The ground floor consist of cups, plates, hair accessories and other gifts around the ¥1,000~2,000 price range, the basement consists of smaller and cheaper gifts that starts at around ¥300, and the second floor is a show room for actual antiques, that cost up to millions of yen.

Unfortunately, we didn't find any souvenirs/gift that we liked, instead, I had better luck finding treats and gifts for my friends/family at the Tokyo Tower gift shops and the airport.

Kiddy Land

Kiddy Land is a 5 floor explosion of toy goodness for adults and kids alike. If you're a huge Sanrio or collector's toy fan it's a must go as you'll find almost anything you can think of there. Our favorite was the Hello Kitty, Pudding Dog, Rilakkuma, Gudetama and Ghibli sections.


Kawaii Monster Café

Kawaii Monster Café opened in August of 2015. It is located on the 4th floor of the YM Square building in Harajuku and very easy to find. There's a ¥500 per person entry fee and some times a 90 minute restriction during peak times (this used to be on their web site but I don't see it anymore). When you enter, you see the giant "Sweets Go Round" cake in the middle surrounded by florescent bunnies and trippy mirrors. The "Monster Girls" are hostesses that greets you and takes you to your table, most of them are fluent in English and will spend some time chatting you up and help you take pictures. The entire time we were there, there were electronic dance music playing. Though pleasant, as I love that type of music, I felt like I was in a psychedelic baby's dance club while high on LSD the entire time. It was rad. Hash tag: this is how I party.

Kawaii Monster Cafe's Sweets Go Round



Walking by the entrance, you will see a field of bright coloured 6 feet tall mushrooms as well as these pink pacifier sucking unicorns. To the right, you can see the dark blue bar area that's enclosed with what I can only describe as shining jelly fish tentacles. I felt like Alice in Wonderland and have been transported to what Mad Hatter's mind must look like, and I love it!

The restaurant consists of 4 major areas: the Mushroom Disco, Milk Stand, Bar Experiment, and the Mel-Tea Room, which you choose the one you'd like to sit in prior to entering. We chose the Milk Stand, an area plastered with mirrors from wall to ceiling and baby bottles that light up hanging down from the ceiling.

  

Kawaii Monster Cafe's Non Druggy Cocktail

We ordered some food and drinks, including the Non Druggy Cocktail shown above and the Colorful Rainbow Pasta below. They were both really delicious, and was super fun to eat. The Non Druggy Cocktail was a peachy flavoured fuzzy non-alcoholic drink that they bring to you with 2 beakers that you pour in. The Colorful Rainbow Pasta was a bacon carbonara pasta with each of the colours on the pallet as a sauce. The blue butter cream and the basil pesto were my favorite, and honestly, it was one of the better pastas I've ever had.

Kawaii Monster Cafe's Colorful Rainbow Pasta

My photo really does not do the pasta justice so I cropped a screen shot from the Kawaii Monster Cafe's web site to show you what it actually looked like. Yes really, it was THAT colorful, and each of the colored strands was cooked to perfection!


Colorful Rainbow Paste from http://kawaiimonster.jp/pc/en/menu/food/

I had a really great time in Harajuku. It's a young and vibrant part of Tokyo that I will always think fondly of. Although as I get older, the stores there might not be as applicable as before, I'll always stop by when I have cravings for a crepe or when I feel too lonely in a big city. To me, Harajuku is quite representative of the Tokyo metropolis, so even if it's not quite your type of scene, it's still definitely worth visiting at least once in your life.

Click here to see our Japan & Taiwan travel video!

To be continued...

Clarity

I thought I knew what I wanted in life when I was young. It was quite clear to me: success, in particular, monetary success or popularity among others were all I wanted. I simply can't comprehend what else there is in life. But when I was young, I didn't know how to become successful, wealthy, or important. So I did what I knew at the time, and studied my ass off. I knew that studying wasn't the only thing that I needed to do to get there, but I didn't know what else I needed, so I just focused on that. As time went by, I became better and better at studying, and I started losing touch with everything else. Before I knew it, I had forgotten how to be happy, how to have relationships with other people, and I wasn't in touch with my body, feelings, or soul at all.

Borobudur, Indonesia

This might sound vague but let me describe how it was like living without knowing your purpose. I would wake up each day, knowing exactly what needed to be done as I had set out a rigorous schedule and a long list of tasks for myself to finish, and I would get on doing them. But as soon as I had one spare moment, when my mind quiets down, I feel completely lost, like a zombie. Without the list of things, I would not know if I was even supposed to sit or stand, eat or sleep, and I definitely had no idea where I wanted to go or how my future would look like. During moments when the agonizing fact that I was completely lost hit me, I feel this overwhelming loneliness, and it was difficult to want to stay alive.

I kept moving forward with my tasks and schedules as planned, unless I come up to a major cross road, then I'd cry and panic until I found something I felt compelled to do. As I got older, and felt less like I "have to" do anything, I started wondering where all this was headed towards. And eventually, the questions popped into my head: why do I want success anyway? And, what is success to me?

Right around the time I was about to graduate from my business degree was the darkest times of my life. My lifetime of school was going to be over and that was all I knew. I would have no idea where to go or what to do next. I felt so lost I didn't even know when to eat or sleep anymore. Why did it matter anyway? It's not like I have class in the morning or a paper due. Out of the millions of jobs out there, I had no clue what I would like or what I should be doing. Because during the years I've been mastering how to be good at doing things, I've never once cultivated my awareness of what I loved.

So I lived like that for a few years, not knowing if I was doing the right things and not knowing why I was alive. I took the first job I got and bought the first condo that seemed like a good deal. I dated the first guy that stuck around and did whatever was due next. It was mind numbing, and every day I could sense that my soul desperately wanted to leave my body. I was in tears half the time until I replaced my tears with alcohol. And I didn't know why, I just knew that I didn't like life, and I wanted everything to stop so I can stop feeling miserable.




Kootenai National Forest, Montana

But one day, as I was drowning in my own sorrow, a friend came by to see me. Instead of sitting with me and talking things through like usual, she invited me to go to a yoga class with her. At the moment, it didn't make sense to me at all. I needed comfort, a warm and cozy place to place my weary head upon, but she wanted me to pick myself up and work even harder. I went, not knowing if I would be able to bring myself to do anything, and class started and ended as usual. The truth is, nothing miraculous happened. I didn't feel overwhelming joy or happiness, but my pain seem to have subsided a little. There were a little more space in my head, and I was simply able to finish my day without crying myself to sleep.

Then, over the next 8 years, I kept going to yoga. I've never became good enough for a head stand nor could I touch my heels on the ground when I do a downward dog. But every time I go, I get a moment of peace; and every time I come home afterwards, I gain a little more clarity. So I kept going, especially on days I feel that pain again, I kept going.

Now when I think about what I want in life, honestly it is only incrementally clearer than when I was a kid, but life has completely opened up for me. Success is nice, but I am now aware of all the things that are more important to me than that. Health, peace, relationships... heck, even having a good night sleep or taking my time eating a meal is more important than success now. And regarding being someone important, I've decided to start by becoming someone who's important to me.

Over time, I have actually become someone who's probably not as smart and not as determined. I've noticed way more instances where I've forgotten something that would've taken me no effort to recall when I was a kid. But as I try to remember what it is I had forgotten, I catch myself smiling, because first of all, I'm sure that thing I've forgotten will find its way back to me again in it's own time, and secondly, I've now just gain a little more space in my head for something else. It almost feels like I've gained more elasticity in my head, and I'm now more tolerant to an imperfect mind.



Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

I still get depressed sometimes, and I'm not sure I am clear on exactly what I want in the future either. But perhaps there's always been more than one thing in line for me anyway. Success, wealth, and influence are always going to be welcomed, but now they have to be in my life according to my terms, as I will not be driven by them anymore. Someone recently told me that things have fallen in to place like they always will. The truth is I'm not sure if they have. All I know is, I've now gotten a little better at struggling a little less. Through tiny breathable pores in the fabric of my mind, I'm finally getting moments of relief, knowing I'm exactly where I need to be.

The Heart of Tokyo - Our Airbnb & Lifestyle Japan 2016 1/4

Many people ask where we usually stay we when travel abroad, and for the most part, our answer is Airbnb. Depending on the country and area you visit, your Airbnb selection can range from the spare bedroom of a strangers' house, to a professionally managed property; it can be a good opportunity to mingle with the locals, or a completely self-serve process. We prefer the latter.


Zojoji & Tokyo Tower

We've stayed in about 10 different Airbnb places now and have always had mildly pleasant to extremely amazing experiences. The key is to do your homework before hand, read through the house rules, amenities, do your research on the location, and most important of all, the reviews. Granted people will most likely describe their experiences to the best of their ability, often it is what's said in between the lines that's really insightful. In the end, you just have to know what you want, take a chance, and trust your gut instincts. The adventure is part of the journey after all!


Our Accommodation Checklist

Everyone knows that real estate is scarce in Tokyo, and for double the price of what we paid in Osaka, I was still having a hard time finding anything that meets the sweet balance between location, size, look/feel, and price. There were some good options out further in burbs like Setagaya, (West) Shibuya, (West) Shinjuku, and Nakano, but during days we ventured out to Miyajima or Mount Fuji on our last trip, the experience of needing to transfer train after train after train before finally getting back home was too exhausting to relive, so we decided to pick somewhere central.

We also had a long list of requirements, including a fully functioning kitchen with a regular size fridge (as opposed to a mini fridge that a lot of places offer). It needed to come with cookware/dishes, stove (this place had 3 burners), at least a toaster oven, and a microwave. We needed this for Japan particularly, as we eat at home a lot more there (compared to Taiwan). In addition, we require a washer/dryer as we pack really light, and do laundry every couple of days.

Our Tokyo Airbnb - Kitchen

We found this apartment 10 minute walk from the Tokyo Tower (2 minute walk from the train) and it was gorgeous! Not only did it meet all of our requirements, it also had a huge bathroom, an automated bath, 4 large closets, and one of those fancy toilets. Our tradeoff was having only one queen bed (as opposed to the 2 we had in Osaka last time), which really isn't that big of a deal. At the end of the day, exhausted from all the walking and stair climbing, the apartment was still a real treat to come home to.

Our Tokyo Airbnb - Bed & Dining

Our First Night

We landed in Tokyo around 2 pm, being a direct flight from Calgary, we actually weren't too tired. We shopped around the airport mall a little, then headed over to the Keisei Skyliner counter. For those who don't know, Skyliner is the fastest way to get from the Narita Airport to Tokyo city (36 minutes). The one-way tickets are normally ¥2,470, but I had pre-purchased round trip tickets, and it saved us ¥1,280 total.

We got to Hamamatsucho around 4:30 pm, and the weather was perfect.

Clear skies, 20 degrees, mild breeze. It felt unbelievable, too perfect, almost. As we walked towards our apartment, people were starting to leave work and the streets were filling up. We saw a corner standing skewer store filled with office workers and lot's more waiting in line for a few bites before heading home. Speechless, as we walked, taking it all in.

We decided "when in Rome" was the way to go and headed out to an Izakaya (Masuya) for dinner ourselves after dropping our luggage off. In the blackened wooden Izakaya among all the "Irashaimase" greetings, the coal burned under the row of skewers we ordered. The tv was playing a sumo match, and about 6 more people sat at the bar with us talking and laughing. It was the perfect welcoming party for our first night in Tokyo, and our vacation has just begun. After dinner, we walked around and main street, grabbed a few things from Family Mart and 7-Eleven, and called it a night. This was going to be our neighborhood for the next 7 days.

Menu @ Masuya

Sashimi @ Masuya

10 Skewer Set @ Masuya

Cooking at Home VS Eating Out

When we travel, particularly in Japan, we try to cook at home as much as possible as it is quite difficult to get vegetables on the go. Although in recent years there has been more salad bars and juice stands, it is still way too easy to fill yourself up with only carbs, sugar, and deep fried meats. So, in the past few trips, we bought groceries and tried to eat at least breakfast and/or dinner at home.

Ito-Yokado

Our Groceries Haul

We went to Ito-Yokado in Kiba the very next morning and got ourselves a 20" suitcase worth of groceries. Our meals usually consists of rice or noodles, a vegetable soup, and either sashimi or BBQ wagyu as our main protein. These meals are not only quick and easy to make, they (sashimi & wagyu) are exactly what we came to Japan for. A tray of tuna or salmon costs around $7 CAD back home, but in Japan, they usually go for around ¥300~400.

Home Cooked Meal - Sashimi with Vegetable Soup

Home Cooked Meal - BBQ Beef Yakisoba

Click here to see our Japan & Taiwan travel video!

To be continued...

❤ From This Day Forward ❤

Many of you may already know, that Keith and I officially tied the knot on March 12, 2016. We have been living together since 2 years ago, and have been talking about spending the rest of our lives together since November of the same year.

 

We have the same cultural background yet extremely different upbringings, and we have the same values yet opposite personalities. As every relationship has it's ups and downs, we did too. We worked through them and will continue to work on them. We will continue to be us, each in our own unique way, but appreciate and support each other, with our eyes on the road, hands held tight. We will be each others' home, a safe place, but encourage each other to thrive, to soar, and be the best we can be. We will continue to make each other laugh, and be there for each other during tough times. Because everyday, we renew our decision to be each others' life partner, and because we love each other, despite our differences.

 

Our rings, which we don't really wear. Engraved: Team JK

We had originally planned on getting married in our home on May 1st (the May 1st that hasn't happened yet) and live broadcast it so everyone can join in. But we had to move the date to March due to a family emergency (luckily things are much more stable now). I've always wanted my wedding to be unique and unconventional, and I definitely got my wish. We ended up getting married in the ICU, in the presence of Keith's family while skyping my parents in. We received lots of love from Keith's family and my coworkers, but I never knew that I would miss my family so much and wished they were there in person.

Love and wishes from family and friends

With every that went on, we weren't sure if we could still go on our annual adventure. Fortunately, things are stable and looking good so we will be traveling to Tokyo & Taiwan in 2 weeks! We will explore the different neighborhoods of Tokyo, head over to Taiwan for a professional wedding photo shoot, spend a few days with family, then head to Taipei and shove our faces in all the yummy goodness Taipei has to offer before coming back.

So stay tuned as I work to post new photos and updates about our trip!

xoxo

港式蘿蔔糕 Cantonese Style Radish Cake

It's been a long time since I've posted anything and I apologize for that, but life has been very busy, which I will try to write about maybe in my next post.

Today, however, I'd like to talk about one of my favorite dishes - the Cantonese Style Radish Cake. This "cake" is a compacted rice flour savory dish that I grew up eating for breakfast. However, you can eat it for whatever meal you like, because it is ultimately more of a snack dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 large Daikon radish
• 2-3 Chinese sausages (there are a few types of flavours, but feel free to use any of them)
• 8-10 Chinese or Shitake mushrooms (I like mushrooms a lot so I tend to put more than other people)
• 100-200 grams of ground pork
• 1 packet of rice flour (make sure it's not sticky rice flour but just regular rice flour)
• Ginger, about the size of your thumb
• 2-3 chopped garlic
• 2 green onions
• 1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• Salt, to taste
• 1-2 tbs of oil

The reason the ingredients seem to vary in quantity/weight is because it really depends on the individual how flavourful or plain they like their radish cake to be. The radish cake I grew up with in Taiwan tend to not have anything in them, whereas the Cantonese style radish cake has a lot of ingredients added. So, as long as you can get the final consistency sort of like mud (sorry I really can't think of anything else that accurately describes it), then it really doesn't matter what you put in it.

Directions:

1. Shred the daikon radish using a grater, set aside in bowl
2. Put a little oil in a wok or pan, heat it up first, throw in the garlic, ginger, and green onions, fry for about 1 minute
3. Put the ground pork, sausage, and mushroom in. Stir fry for 4-5 minutes, then add in Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, and salt and continue stirring for another 2 minutes.
4. Finally, add in the daikon radish and stir until fully cooked (about 10-15 minutes, the radish should appear almost transparent when fully cooked). The stir fry would be fairly watery, which is ok.
5. Let chill for half an hour, then mix in the rice flour. Make sure the final consistency is still fairly fluid but quite sticky. (Tip: if you like your radish cake soft and silky, make it more watery; if you like your radish cake to taste fairly carby, then make it thicker) Pour mix in container to steam wish and smooth the top (I usually use a metal dish).
6. Steam for 20-30 minutes, then let cool.

There are a few ways of eating the radish cake, you are welcome to eat it directly after it is cooked, or, we usually keep it in the fridge overnight to fully harden, slice it, then pan fry it and eat with Siracha sauce and cilantro. Enjoy!

My Home, My Soul, My Country

Taiwan has its presidential election today. The DPP party, who supports Taiwan's independence, headed by Taiwan's potential first female president, is in the lead. I'm sure this makes China feel somewhat unsettled, or perhaps, they are sitting back laughing at Taiwan's politics. As a Chinese person I knew once said, "Taiwan can play pretend all they want, Taiwan's politics is essentially child's play".
台灣今天舉行總統大選。被台灣首位女總統領導，支持台灣獨立的民進黨，處於領先地位。我想，這讓中國感到有些不安，或許，他們其實背後嘲笑台灣的政治。像我曾經認識的一位中國人有人說過，“台灣就繼續玩辦家家吧，台灣的政府根本就是兒戲”。

Headline news today is about a 16 year old Taiwanese singer, a member of a KPOP group, working in Korea, who was forced to issue an apology video today because she claimed to be Taiwanese instead of Chinese as well as held a Taiwanese flag during her performance. This girl's career was blooming, but since she claimed to be Taiwanese, her Chinese commercial or concert gigs got canceled, forcing her to publically apologize and side with the "unite Taiwan back with China" point of view. In addition, the CEO of JYP entertainment also stepped up to apologize.
今天的頭條新聞是關於一個在韓國工作16歲的台灣藝人，一個韓國團組的成員，被迫發布道歉視頻。因為她自稱是台灣人而不是中國人而且在表演時揮舞台灣的國旗。這個女孩的職業生涯正脫穎而出，但就是因為她自稱是台灣人，她的中國廣告和演唱會的演出全被取消了，迫使她公開道歉，並得站在“團結台灣中國”的立場上。此外，JYP娛樂公司的CEO也加緊了道歉。

Setting aside national pride, ego, or attachments, I suppose it doesn't matter all that much. But all that was left for me was a broken heart. As a Taiwanese citizen living abroad for 15+ years, I've been laughed at by Chinese people for not having a real country, being scolded for making Taiwan sound like a country, and also have had my Taiwanese passport thrown at my face when I visited China 9 years ago.
撇開民族自豪感，自我，或依附，這些或許真的並不重要。但是到頭來，我所剩的只是一個破碎的心。身為一個台灣公民在國外生活了15年以上的我，曾被中國人嘲笑沒有真正的國家，被中國人指責把台灣講得像一個國家，而且9年前我去中國時，我的台灣護照也曾被海關把往我臉上丟。

I felt really really really sad as these memories flowed back. It feels bad to never hear Taiwan regarded as a nation, yet I understand why that is. It also hurts to feel like my home country doesn't really exist, yet the UN and many other countries in the world made that very clear a long time ago already. It's a feeling of oppression, and my sadness comes from knowing, that reality might be just that. Knowing that ideologies don't always lead to a happy ending; knowing that perhaps our efforts fighting this issue is and has always been futile; knowing that my grandparents' fight will be lost, and we will still be looked at as second class citizens, somehow, seemingly less than others...
回憶湧出，讓我覺得真的真的真的很傷心。台灣不被視為一個國家的感覺真的很不好，但我也了解那是為什麼。我的家鄉不真正存在的感覺是非常傷感的，但聯合國和世界上其他許多國家早已非常明確的認同這一點。是一種被壓迫和不公正的感覺，而我的悲傷正來自於知道實際上或許就是這樣。了解有理想並不代表會有一個圓滿的結局; 知道，也許我們努力爭取的一直都是徒勞的; 知道我祖父母的意念永不會成真，而我們將仍然被視為二等公民，不知何故，總比別人低...

On an individual level, none of my Chinese friends have such extreme opinions. They are always very respectful and sensitive towards opinions like these and I love them for that. Most of them even forfeited their Chinese citizenship already and I do consciously shy away from this topic all together. But for the people of Taiwan, living in Taiwan, I can't help fearing that the inevitable will come, maybe even sooner than we think. Whether that is because of China's economic power or political force, my heart breaks at the possibility of the end of another era, my home that may no longer be there anymore, and an entire nation's dream, completely broken.
就個人而言，我的中國朋友沒有任何一個有這種極端的觀點。他們總非常尊重和對這樣的主題謹慎敏感，也是為什麼我喜愛他們的原因。他們大多數甚至已經放棄他們的中國籍，在一起時我也是有意識地迴避這個話題。但對住在台灣的台灣人來說，我不禁擔心不可避免的議題將會來臨，或許甚至比我們想像的還要早。不管是因為中國的經濟力量或政治力量的關係，我的心隱隱作痛另一個時代終究結束的可能性，我的家也可能不再存在了，而整個國家的夢想，也不可避免地破碎。

Want to know how this all started? Watch "Why Taiwan & China Hate Each Other" by TestTube News.