TEXT & PHOTO: NAPAT CHARITBUTRA
(For Thai, press here)
A series of photographs documenting my journey to visit a Taiwanese friend on Matsu Islands, an archipelago of 36 islands and islets that’s about an 8-hour boat ride from Taiwan and less than 30 minutes away from China. The trip took place in the time when Thai media’s news coverages on the Taiwan-China conflict were more frequent and intense than ever.
The observation points built on almost every cliff on the islands house old military bunkers overlooking rocky shores, endless aquatic mass and waves and herds of goats with windmills owned by China visible from a distance. Several military bases are still active while some have been turned into locally-run hostels and cafes. My Taiwanese friend told me how mountains on the island were heavily drilled into holes for the military to transport weapons in the case roadways were damaged. As I listened to the story, my eyes caught the sight of people, both locals and tourists, going on about their days, like any other ordinary day. “They’re used to this kind of life; the life trapped between the war in the past and the war that hasn’t come.”
Looking at this set of photographs again when I’m back in Thailand, the story and memories feel strangely distant, like something out of a Wikipedia page. The pictures are informative and don’t tell anything much more than the islands’ geographical conditions. The feelings made me ask myself, “What do I actually know about Taiwan?”
Most people spend their entire life trying to understand their own countries; their own roots and birthplaces. Spending merely nine months in Taiwan and the 9 days I spent traveling around Matsu Islands, I don’t dare say that I know more about Taiwan than most Thai people. But it frustrates me every time I hear someone casually say, ‘Taiwan and China are about to start a war, you know,’ and they somehow make war sound so nonchalant.
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Napat ‘Mai’ Charitbutra is a writer and a post-graduate student who studied Creative Industries Design in Tainan, Taiwan.
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