I'm a teabag sort of person. I drink tea every day, but I'm not usually aware of the taste. I remember how, when covering Taiwan's pu-erh tea fad years ago, I was invited by the head of a tea firm for a tea tasting. His home was lavishly decorated, adorned with antique Buddha heads and Tang pottery. People sat around a long table sharing pu-erh teas. I drank some aged pu-erh said to be 60 years old; the golden-orange brew was clear and mild. The host repeatedly assured me that this tea, if drunk in the morning, would not harm the stomach, and if drunk in the evening would not make me feel bloated. I happily drank tea from dinner till midnight, and to my surprise didn't have to visit the restroom even once.

Another time, I journeyed to Yunnan, home of pu-erh, and learned about "daughters' tea," whose fragrance was a fusion of orchids and osmanthus, and which was touted by the locals as being "gently picked by the hands of virgins." The ball-shaped leaves of the purported 13 remaining wild tea plants in Yunnan have a delightful bitterness and are said to be good for the liver. Of course, there was also the famous "three-course tea" of the Bai people as well as Yunnanese "bird's-nest" tea. I indulged in my tea purchases, but back home I ended up not brewing much for lack of time.

Tea is a culture in its own right: it can only be truly appreciated with a certain setting and mood. This is why in Taiwan 100 grams of premium tea commonly fetches prices exceeding NT$400, more than ten times the price of the most expensive fruits.

Taiwan's tea culture has bloomed in recent years, but tea farming and processing here have declined. For this month's cover story, our reporters went to China to learn about the present and future of Taiwan's tea industry. They visited Taiwanese tea dealers in Guangdong, Taiwanese tea farmers in Fujian, and even a Taiwanese tearoom in Shanghai. Their findings are unsettling: amid China's rapid and full-scale rise, Taiwan's tea industry faces considerable threats and challenges, whether in farming tea, selling tea, or the art of tea. China's tea industry, like many other industries, was invigorated early on by Taiwan, but subsequently Taiwan's tea industry started to lose its past splendor from the competition it brought on itself.

On a broader note, the tea industry is a variety of agriculture. More than 5,000 Taiwanese companies are estimated to be engaged in farming in China, with increasing numbers farming tea, fruit, or fish, or even running recreational farms. In the last two years, China has been making major overtures toward Taiwan's farmers, further fueling the flight of the farming industry and stirring up a debate: will this shift destroy Taiwan's agriculture, or inject new life into it?

I'm reminded of an old saying: "Moved people live; moved trees die." This means that transplanted trees usually die, but people thrive on moving. The reason is simple: trees can't think, but humans act on opportunity and readily adapt to changes in environment.

From this standpoint, Taiwan's agricultural exodus to China need not be a one-way street. Some Taiwanese tea dealers are starting to sell pu-erh tea, some Taiwanese tea farmers are planting tieguanyin tea from Fujian, and the varieties of tea purchased by industry leader TenFu are from all over China. After all, in the world of tea, it's growing, selling and brewing good tea that count. Since China boasts fine varieties, fine techniques, and fine cultural underpinnings passed down through the ages, why not add value through Taiwan's more advanced agricultural technology and modernized business methods? For one thing, this would enrich the lives of people on both sides of the straits; for another, the money earned by the Taiwanese businesses in the end would benefit Taiwan.

This issue also features two articles on pop culture: cosplay and snack toys. To a 1960s-born oldie like me, the subculture of these youngsters is decidedly unusual; moreover, we can gain insight into the pervasive and somewhat troubling influence of Japanese pop culture on Taiwan's youth. There are also two retrospective articles--one on former American military residences and one on military dependents' villages. Finally, let me wish all our readers a happy and fruitful end to 2006.