Ron Gifford's (boringly titled) Blog

Now that we're back from China -- which means I have access to YouTube again -- I can load up some of the videos I made on our trip (on the video about the Great Wall, you'll hear my wife make fun of the fact that 1.3 billion Chinese don't have Internet access to my "cheesy tourist videos"). 

Taipei Street Scenes

This video is actually from Taipei, Taiwan -- some random street footage showing what life is like in that city of 2.5 million people.  The kids were extremely friendly, as I discovered when a little boy starting jumping up and down in front of my camera to get my attention.

Taipei is an interesting juxtaposition of older buildings and temples and gleaming high-rises like Taipei 101, currently the world's tallest office building.  The American influence is significant:  there are two -- yes, two -- bridges in Taipei named after General MacArthur, along with a Roosevelt Road and other reminders of the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.

The State of Indiana has a business and trade office in Taipei, ably-led by Jeff Wang, who works under the auspices of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.  I had the chance to visit with Jeff for a little while during our trip, and he thinks there are many emerging opportunities for mutual investment between Indiana and Taiwanese companies.  We'll be watching those closely.