As the Chinese lunar year draws to a close, it seems that everyone is out doing their new year's shopping; searching for mushrooms, chestnuts, sharks' fin and the best wines in the steamy bustle of the market. Over at Keelung harbor the Marine Patrol Corps is madly busy too, getting ready for New Year in its own way. That is to say scouring the seas for smugglers of New Year merchandise.
The biting winter wind makes the waters to Taiwan's northeast especially treacherous. It is dizzying enough just to see the patrol vessels being tossed about at the quay side, let alone putting out to sea in a force 7 or 8 gale to intercept smugglers and illegal immigrants, and deal with uncooperative trawler crews.
The Corps make a final big sweep before New Year, and with things looking a lot quieter on New Year's Eve itself their boats return to dock. Fishermen in the mainland and in Taiwan all call a break for the festival, so the smuggling patrol crews can heave a sigh of relief and settle down to enjoy a peaceful New Year's Eve of their own.
Each member has his particular talent, suck as making firecrackers or writing New Year couplets. The office is festooned for good luck with Chinese characters reading "springtime," "blessed," and "propitious," while the door is framed in red paper with a couplet reading: "On the sea, the water dragon rides the wind and cleaves the waves; The navy, loyal and just, protects our maritime frontiers." New Year couplets are even pasted up over the doors of the various patrol boats. Out in the square two festival lions are rehearsing to a drumbeat in the drizzle for when the New Year really gets going later on.
The New Year's atmosphere gets gradually thicker as the afternoon darkens. At the docks, some are having a tug-of-war, some are playing ball games, and some brewing tea on board their boats, or playing bridge. Come 4.30pm three more vessels come back from patrol and things liven up a little more. But this is about as festive as it gets, for these navy men will be spending all night at the harbor in a state of preparedness, ready for orders at any time.
Night falls. In the kitchen, dishes of lobster and crab are made ready. With New Year music playing, everyone gathers together at the table around a bubbling hotpot. Tonight, they are the ones their families are thinking of most. Some of the families have even come along with the children to celebrate with the men in uniform, bringing a little tenderness into the rigid military routine.
Ten o'clock passes but still no call of "Lights Out!" This is the one night in the year when there is no curfew to observe, and the New Year can be seen in amid full illumination. Everyone sings karaoke together and shares in a lottery draw, and red envelopes containing money--gifts from senior officers--are given out. A little later it is time to wrap dumplings, of course not forgetting to hide a coin in one. The lucky person who gets it wins a special present, and the night gets livelier than ever.
On the hour of midnight everyone wishes each other a happy new year, while the Navy celebrates in its own special way. The ships all blare their horns at once, and along with the deafening racket of firecrackers, the old year is seen out and the new welcomed in.
Nevertheless, just two days into the year, "the holiday from criminal activity out on the sea is over, and it's business as usual," says Navy lieutenant-commander Kang Chinchin.
(Ventine Tsai/photos by Diago Chiu/ tr. by Christopher MacDonald)
As night comes on, despite the roar of firecrackers from homes all around, perfect silence reigns within an air force base in Hsinchu, where not a trace of the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year's Eve is to be felt.
"The complement on our base includes flight crew, maintenance mechanics and ground service units, plus attacked military units, making a total of several hundred officers and men." Director Liu of the Political Warfare Department, goes on to explain: "But even during Chinese New Year everyone must remain ready at his post, and no special activities are arranged."
The ROC Air Force is Taiwan's first line of defense. If enemy aircraft were to attack across the Taiwan Strait there would only be eight minutes warning, so a state of readiness must be maintained every second.
The 42nd unit on duty this evening are still in full battle dress, on round-the-clock call in the guardroom; their unit commander sits with them as they eat their New Year's Eve dinner in the shadow of their fighter planes. Even when beer is sent round to the troops it passes by their door, for not a drop of alcohol may pass a pilot's lips while on duty.
But as Chinese after all, some New Year atmosphere cannot help but ooze out from every corner.
As the biggest unit on the base, the maintenance division's Kancheng Club is already set out with tables laden with dates, melon seeds, sweets, drinks and mandarin oranges for good luck. The ground service unit has also decked out its underground mess for a New Year's Eve party and song contest.
"We're used to spending Chinese New Year in the forces, but since some of the younger new recruits may feel homesick over their first New Year away from home, all units do their best to hold a year's-end dinner or a get-together after dinner to sing some Karaoke and let them have a good time," says Col. Liu, who hasn't eaten a year's-end dinner at home in all the 18 years since graduating from the Chinese Air Force Academy and being posted to the Hsinchu base.
What's more, the air force is known for being the liveliest and most liberal branch of the services and always encourages officers and men to bring their loved ones along to take part in base activities. This year, Chinese New Year's Eve fell on February 14, St. Valentine's Day, so the presence of forces wives was more essential than ever.
With fewer men belonging to it, the pilots' mess, decked out with paired inscriptions welcoming in the Year of the Sheep, was just set out with one big round table seating 24 persons, where Commandant Chen and his wife hosted a year's-end dinner for off-duty flying crews and their wives. With a Madonna pop video in the background, everyone mixed easily in a warm family atmosphere. And this is how esprit de corps is built up, little by little, through training together, eating and sleeping together, and celebrating New Year's Eve together.
"Clashing gongs and cymbals rend the clouds, the green dragon lifts his head to look, the stone lion spreads his jaws in laughter. . . ." After dinner, with no rehearsal, the lively pilots join together in a joyful rendering of the song "Temple Festival." Amidst wishes for a happy and peaceful New Year holiday for those away from home, red packets are handed out, words of congratulation spoken, and many a wish for a successful Year of the Sheep exchanged.
At around 9 o'clock Colonel Liu takes out another hefty pile of red packets and begins his "year's-end tour"--going round with the commandant and his wife to visit every guardpost on the base and distribute red packets to the troops.
The sprawling base has many different units spread out over a wide area. By the time the whole circuit is completed it's after midnight and the Year of the Horse has given way to the Year of the Sheep.
(Hsieh Shu-fen/photos by Pu Hua-chih/ tr. by Andrew Morton)
On the evening of February 14, Kuantu on the estuary of the Tamsui River seems particularly forlorn in the fine drizzle of a chilly winter's day.
Inside divisional HQ at the ROC Army's Tigerwatch corps the atmosphere is a mixture of tension and excitement. "Most people are happy to be celebrating Chinese New Year," says corps director Liu, "but for the Kuantu camp, it's like facing a big test."
The test they'll be facing on Chinese New Year's Eve will be the arrival of Gen. Chen Sheng-ling, Chief of the General Staff, and the C-in-C Army Gen. Huang Hsing-chiang to have a year's-end dinner with the troops. Defense Minister Chen Li-an dropped by two days before, and a number of General Staff and Army GHQ top brass are scheduled to visit the Kuantu camp around Chinese New Year to cheer the troops and carry out an inspection at the same time.
Where exactly is the Kuantu camp, and why is it receiving such high-level attention?
Driving along Chung Yang North Road from Taipei to Kuantu, then driving uphill in the direction of the Christian College, there comes into view row upon row of brand new high-class apartments, garden villas and luxury high-rises. When house prices rocketed skyward two years ago, prices here followed suit, giving rise to a prosperous new residential area. Amid a welter of new buildings, the appearance of Kuantu camp headquarters comes as a surprise.
Looking out from camp HQ you get quite another view. From here you look out over the Tamsui River towards Mt. Kuanyin and Ying-han Peak on the far side. The Tamsui River is quite narrow at this point, before widening as it meets the sea. Kuantu, which controls the bottleneck from the heights above, occupies a site of strategic importance. On a starless, moonless night, rows of military vehicles can just be made out lined up amid the vegetation. Heading upstream, Communist Chinese speedboats could reach the vicinity of No.6 sluice (Tihwa Street, Taipei) in 40 minutes: they've even developed hovercraft that travel still faster and could get to downtown Taipei within half an hour. "The Tigerwatch corps stands guard over our military and political heart," as Chief of the General Staff Gen. Chen has said.
In addition to guarding the river estuary, the Kuantu camps also guards the sea coast, with the whole northeastern coastline falling within its scope. "These days illegal entry and smuggling are rampant, and we must also prevent military operations by the Chinese Communists," says a colonel in the corps.
Under such circumstances, how the Kuantu corps passes Chinese New Year should come as no surprise: foot patrols, motorcycle patrols, vehicle patrols, and concealed sentry duties are carried out as usual, with vital locations being passed by patrols every 20 minutes or less; dazzling arc-lights atop coastal sentry posts sweep past regularly; along the coast there are dozens of sentry units and no-one can have a day off. . . .
At 10 p.m. on freezing, windswept Shalun Beach, foot patrols with army dogs say with a grin that two officers have already dropped by to give them red packets; when drawing lots to decide who would take leave on New Year's Eve, everyone made a point of yielding their place to others. . . esprit de corps and the joy of New Year had quietly found ex pression at last.
[Picture Caption]
(Above) Lucky Year of the Sheep pictures lend military bases a festive atmosphere.
(Below) Gen. Chen Sheng-ling, Chief of the General Staff, shares a year's-end dinner with divisional troops at Kuantu.
On New Year's night, ROC servicemen remaining behind at their posts wish one another a happy new year.
The lucky dragon brings good fortune. Welcoming the new year and welcoming the commander: Yeh Chang-tong, Commander in-Chief of the Navy, arrives to spend New Year's Eve with the Marine Patrol Corps in Keelung.
National waters must be kept under watch every single day, New Year's Eve included.
Praying with incense. Defending the country, but at the same time not forgetting to pay respects to one's ancestors.
Col. Liu, head of the Political Warfare department at Hsinchu air forcebase, hands out two or three hundred red packets in a single evening.
In the Air Services Club's Karaoke video room, Commander Chen and his wife (first row, fifth and fourth from right), lead flying crew and dependents in a festive song.
As on-duty pilots in full flying gear wait in the guardroom, they can only offer each other a new year toast in fruit juice.
Troops of the Tigerwatch division share a year's enddinner together. A few merry toasts help melt away regrets at not being united with their families at home.
At Shalun army camp, get-together participants come and go as they take turns on patrol duty.
Before setting out on patrol, a group photo preserves a happy last memory of the Year of the Horse.
（Above） Lucky Year of the Sheep pictures lend military bases a festive atmosphere.
（Below） Gen. Chen Sheng-ling, Chief of the General Staff, shares a year's-end dinner with divisional troops at Kuantu.
The lucky dragon brings good fortune. Welcoming the new year and welcoming the commander: Yeh Chang-tong, Commander in-Chief of the Navy, arrives to spend New Year's Eve with the Marine Patrol Corps in Keelung.
National waters must be kept under watch every single day, New Year's Eve included.
Praying with incense. Defending the country, but at the same time not forgetting to pay respects to one's ancestors.
Col. Liu, head of the Political Warfare department at Hsinchu air forcebase, hands out two or three hundred red packets in a single evening.
In the Air Services Club's Karaoke video room, Commander Chen and his wife （first row, fifth and fourth from right）, lead flying crew and dependents in a festive song.
As on-duty pilots in full flying gear wait in the guardroom, they can only offer each other a new year toast in fruit juice.
Troops of the Tigerwatch division share a year's enddinner together. A few merry toasts help melt away regrets at not being united with their families at home.
At Shalun army camp, get-together participants come and go as they take turns on patrol duty.
Before setting out on patrol, a group photo preserves a happy last memory of the Year of the Horse.
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