Although it is still un-certain when direct flights between the PRC and ROC will begin, several airlines from Taiwan-including Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT), EVA, and China Airlines-hoping to get the jump on the competition, have all set up offices in Beijing and sent high-level managers to oversee work there.
These managers have the elevated title of "chief representative." To keep down expenses, however, the offices mostly have a staff, besides the chief representative, of zero. The office also serves as the residence of the chief representative, and his job description, as FAT chief rep Kuan Szu-ping says, only half in jest, is "eat, drink, and be merry" combined with "meet people coming in to town and send them off when they leave."
Kuan was transferred to Beijing a year ago. He was formerly the manager of FAT operations in Palau, where he worked for three years. Looking back over his first year in Beijing, he originally thought it would be easy to just party and socialize, but it has in fact been exhausting and stressful. One is always afraid of the other guy getting a leg up, and you can wreck your health by imbibing until you drop. When you ask him, "Why don't you just ask to be transferred back?," he responds: "You must be kidding! It's been so hard just setting down roots here, now you suggest picking up and leaving just when I've made a little headway!"
Most of the chief representatives in Beijing, like Kuan, work alone. Though their jobs may differ, because they are all from Taiwan they often get together after work. The members of their little group come from different worlds-arts, culture, the airline industry, construction, securities-but they are as close-knit as any family, and when one of them brings along a friend everyone makes it a point to see that the newcomer is made welcome.
Taiwan brides
In Taiwan you often hear of Indonesian brides, mainland brides, and Vietnamese brides, but in Beijing there is a group of "Taiwan brides"!
Liu Feng-chu, a Taiwan native, met her mainland Chinese husband when the two were studying in Canada. Her husband is the PRC correspondent for Agence France Presse, and was assigned to Beijing a year ago. A lively person by nature, she has organized a reading group for all the Taiwanese wives of officials in various diplomatic posts in Beijing.
Liu explains: "All of them had a lot of experiences when they first got to Beijing and we can swap experiences. For example, there are always problems with educating the children or taking care of domestic matters." Of course, the group members also read a lot of good books. In this reading circle, all the members are women from Taiwan, but their husbands come from countries all over the world, including the US, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Mauritius, Japan, and Brazil. It's like a little United Nations!
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