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Chenggong (chinesisch 成功鎮, Pinyin Chénggōng Zhèn) ist eine Stadtgemeinde im Landkreis Taitung auf Taiwan (Republik China).
Inhaltsverzeichnis
1 Name
2 Lage, Klima
3 Bevölkerung
4 Wirtschaft
5 Sehenswürdigkeiten
6 Weblinks
7 Einzelnachweise
Name
Am Ort des heutigen Chenggong befand sich ursprünglich eine Siedlung der Amis, eines der indigenen Völker Taiwans. Der Ami-Name der Ansiedlung wurde chinesisch 麻荖漏, Moalaulau transkribiert. Während der japanischen Herrschaft über Taiwan 1895 bis 1945 wurde ein Fischereihafen erbaut und die Siedlung erhielt den Namen 新港街 (Shinkō machi, „Neue Hafenstadt“).[1] Nach der Übergabe Taiwans an die Republik China 1945 hieß der Ort Xingang (新港, „Neuer Hafen“, die chinesische Aussprache bei identischen Schriftzeichen). Da es noch zwei weitere Orte dieses Namens auf Taiwan gab (Xingang im Landkreis Chiayi sowie Sinkang - heute als Sinshih ein Stadtdistrikt von Tainan), wurde die Gemeinde nach 1945 umbenannt. Sie erhielt zu Ehren des chinesischen Eroberers Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) den Namen Chenggong (成功). Wörtlich bedeutet dies „Erfolg“. Chenggong Zhèn (成功鎮) ist damit gewissermaßen die „Stadt des Erfolges“ oder die „Erfolgreiche Stadt“.
Lage, Klima
Die Gemeinde besteht aus einem langgestreckten Küstenstreifen, der zum Landesinneren hin durch das parallel zur Küste verlaufende Haian-Gebirge getrennt wird. Das Klima ist feucht-warm und wie das des ganzen übrigen Landkreises Taitung durch den Monsun geprägt. Die Regenzeit beginnt im Mai und endet im Oktober.[2]
ChenggongKlimadiagr
Nachbargemeinden sind Changbin im Norden, Fuli (Landkreis Hualien) im Westen, und Donghe im Südwesten und Süden. Chenggong ist in die folgenden acht Stadtteile unterteilt: Xinyi (信義里), Heping (和平里), Zhongren (忠仁里), Zhongzhi (忠智里), Sanmin (三民里), Sanxian (三仙里), Zhongxiao (忠孝里), Boai (博愛里).
Gliederung von Chenggong
Chenggong villages.svg
Boai
博愛里
Zhongxiao
忠孝里
Sanxian
三仙里
Sanmin
三民里
Zhongzhi
忠智里
Zhongren
忠仁里
Heping
和平里
Xinyi
信義里
Bevölkerung
Archäologische Funde weisen auf eine menschliche Besiedlung seit einigen Jahrtausenden hin. An einigen Orten finden sich Relikte der jungsteinzeitlichen Changbin-Kultur. Die Örtlichkeit Xiaoma gehört neben Baxiandong in der Nachbargemeinde Changbin zu den wichtigsten Fundstätten.[3][4] Die Mehrheit (etwa 50-60 %) der heutigen Bevölkerung gehört der Ethnie der Amis an. Die traditionelle Ami-Volkskunst und Folklore spielt dementsprechend eine bedeutende Rolle.[5] Die nach offiziellen Erhebungen in Chenggong im Jahr 2010 zu Hause gesprochenen Sprachen waren: 82 % Hochchinesisch, 55 % Hokkien, 42 % indigene Sprachen, 2 % Hakka und 2 % andere. Ein Großteil der Bevölkerung war mehrsprachig.[6] Die Bevölkerung nimmt seit mindestens den 1980er Jahren aufgrund von Abwanderung und Überalterung ab.[7]
Wirtschaft
Chenggong ist der bedeutendste Fischereihafen an der Ostküste Taiwans.[8] Hauptsächlich werden Echter Bonito, Schwertfisch, Goldmakrelen (Mahi mahi), Thunfische und Dorsche gefangen.[5] Durch langdauernde Überfischung sind die Fangerträge in der Vergangenheit kontinuierlich zurückgegangen. Landwirtschaftliche Produkte der Region sind Jackfrucht, Orangen, Pflaumen und Mandarinen.[9]
Die Hauptverkehrsader bildet die Provinz-Schnellstraße 11, die die Gemeinde in Nord-Süd-Richtung durchquert.
Sehenswürdigkeiten
In Chenggong gibt es unter anderen die folgenden Sehenswürdigkeiten:
Ami-Volk-Museum, ein Freilandmuseum zur Volkskultur der Amis[10] (Welt-Icon)
Chengguangao Mazu-Tempel, der älteste Mazu-Tempel des Landkreises[11] (Welt-Icon)
Taitung-Museum für Meeresbiologie mit Aquarium[12] (Welt-Icon)
Naturhistorisches Museum[13] (Welt-Icon)
Shiyusan (石雨傘), der „Steinerne Regenschirm“, eine Felsformation[14] (Welt-Icon)
Sanxiantai (三仙台), kleine vorgelagerte Felsinsel, die durch eine pittoreske Rundbogenbrücke vom Festland aus erreichbar ist[15] (Welt-Icon)
Chenggong Township (Chinese: 成功鎮; pinyin: Chénggōng Zhèn; Wade–Giles: Ch'eng2-kung1 Chen4; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sêng-kong-tìn) is an urban township in Taitung County, Taiwan. It is a coastal town facing the Pacific Ocean. Fishery Harbor is just west of downtown.
History
Chenggong was originally an Amis settlement from which came the Hokkien name Moalaulau (Chinese: 麻荖漏; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Môa-láu-lāu).[1] During Japanese rule, it was renamed to Shinkō Town (Japanese: 新港街) of Taitō Prefecture. After 1945, to avoid confusion with Xingang Township of Chiayi County and to distinguish it from Tainan's Sinckan (now called Xinshi), it was changed to Chenggong, which commemorates Zheng Chenggong who expelled the Dutch.
Geography
The township has 14,943 inhabitants and its total area is 144.9938 km². The majority inhabitants of the township are the Amis people which makes up to 53% of the population.[2]
Taiwan (/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ (About this sound listen)), officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a state in East Asia. Its neighbors include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taiwan is the most populous state and largest economy that is not a member of the United Nations.
The island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, was inhabited by aborigines before the 17th century, when Dutch and Spanish colonies opened the island to mass Han immigration. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed by the Qing dynasty, the last dynasty of China. The Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after the Sino-Japanese War. While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Republic of China (ROC) was established on the mainland in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty. Following the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945, the ROC took control of Taiwan. However, the resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the ROC's loss of the mainland to the Communists, and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949. Although the ROC continued to claim to be the legitimate government of China, its effective jurisdiction had, since the loss of Hainan in 1950, been limited to Taiwan and its surrounding islands, with the main island making up 99% of its de facto territory. As a founding member of the United Nations, the ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, when the PRC assumed China's seat, causing the ROC to lose its UN membership.
In the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, creating a stable industrial economy. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it changed from a one-party military dictatorship dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party democracy with a semi-presidential system. Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. It is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, healthcare,[15] public education, economic freedom, and human development.[e][13][16] The country benefits from a highly skilled workforce and is among the most highly educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentages of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree.[17][18]
The PRC has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and asserted the ROC is no longer in legitimate existence. Under its One-China Policy the PRC refuses diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes the ROC. Today, 20 countries maintain official ties with the ROC but many other states maintain unofficial ties through representative offices and institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates. Although Taiwan is fully self-governing, most international organizations in which the PRC participates either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate only as a non-state actor. Internally, the major division in politics is between the aspirations of eventual Chinese unification or Taiwanese independence, though both sides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal. The PRC has threatened the use of military force in response to any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan or if PRC leaders decide that peaceful unification is no longer possible.[19]
Etymology
There are various names for the island of Taiwan in use today, derived from explorers or rulers by each particular period. The former name Formosa (福爾摩沙) dates from 1542,[verification needed] when Portuguese sailors sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa, which means "beautiful island".[21] The name "Formosa" eventually "replaced all others in European literature"[22] and was in common use in English in the early 20th century.[23]
In the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company established a commercial post at Fort Zeelandia (modern-day Anping, Tainan) on a coastal sandbar called "Tayouan",[24] after their ethnonym for a nearby Taiwanese aboriginal tribe, possibly Taivoan people, written by the Dutch and Portuguese variously as Taiouwang, Tayowan, Teijoan, etc.[25] This name was also adopted into the Chinese vernacular (in particular, Hokkien, as Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tāi-oân/Tâi-oân) as the name of the sandbar and nearby area (Tainan). The modern word "Taiwan" is derived from this usage, which is seen in various forms (大員, 大圓, 大灣, 臺員, 臺圓 and 臺窩灣) in Chinese historical records. The area of modern-day Tainan was the first permanent settlement by Western colonists and Chinese immigrants, grew to be the most important trading centre, and served as the capital of the island until 1887. Use of the current Chinese name (臺灣) was formalized as early as 1684 with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture. Through its rapid development, the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as "Taiwan".[26][27][28][29]
In his Daoyi Zhilüe (1349), Wang Dayuan used "Liuqiu" as a name for the island of Taiwan, or the part of it near to Penghu.[30] Elsewhere, the name was used for the Ryukyu Islands in general or Okinawa, the largest of them; indeed the name Ryūkyū is the Japanese form of Liúqiú. The name also appears in the Book of Sui (636) and other early works, but scholars cannot agree on whether these references are to the Ryukyus, Taiwan or even Luzon.[31]
The official name of the state is the "Republic of China"; it has also been known under various names throughout its existence. Shortly after the ROC's establishment in 1912, while it was still located on the Chinese mainland, the government used the short form "China" Zhōngguó (中國), to refer to itself, which derives from zhōng ("central" or "middle") and guó ("state, nation-state"), [f] A term which also developed under the Zhou Dynasty in reference to its royal demesne[g] and the name was then applied to the area around Luoyi (present-day Luoyang) during the Eastern Zhou and then to China's Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qingera .[33] During the 1950s and 1960s, after the government had fled to Taiwan due to losing the Chinese Civil War, it was commonly referred to as "Nationalist China" (or "Free China") to differentiate it from "Communist China" (or "Red China").[35] It was a member of the United Nations representing "China" until 1971, when it lost its seat to the People's Republic of China. Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become commonly known as "Taiwan", after the island that comprises 99% of the territory under its control. In some contexts, especially official ones from the ROC government, the name is written as "Republic of China (Taiwan)", "Republic of China/Taiwan", or sometimes "Taiwan (ROC)."[36] The Republic of China participates in most international forums and organizations under the name "Chinese Taipei" due to diplomatic pressure from the People's Republic of China. For instance, it is the name under which it has competed at the Olympic Games since 1984, and its name as an observer at the World Health Organization.[37]
Prehistoric Taiwan
Taiwan was joined to the mainland in the Late Pleistocene, until sea levels rose about 10,000 years ago. Fragmentary human remains dated 20,000 to 30,000 years ago have been found on the island, as well as later artefacts of a Paleolithic culture.[38][39][40]
Around 6,000 years ago, Taiwan was settled by farmers, most likely from mainland China.[41] They are believed to be the ancestors of today's Taiwanese aborigines, whose languages belong to the Austronesian language family, but show much greater diversity than the rest of the family, which spans a huge area from Maritime Southeast Asia west to Madagascar and east as far as New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island. This has led linguists to propose Taiwan as the urheimat of the family, from which seafaring peoples dispersed across Southeast Asia and the Pacific and Indian Oceans.[42][43]
Han Chinese fishermen began settling in the Penghu islands in the 13th century.[44] Hostile tribes, and a lack of valuable trade products, meant that few outsiders visited the main island until the 16th century.[44] By the 1700's visits to the coast by fishermen from Fujian, as well as Chinese and Japanese pirates, became more frequent.[44]
Opening in the 17th century
Main articles: Dutch Formosa, Spanish Formosa, and Kingdom of Tungning
Fort Zeelandia, the Governor's residence in Dutch Formosa
The Dutch East India Company attempted to establish a trading outpost on the Penghu Islands (Pescadores) in 1622, but were militarily defeated and driven off by the Ming authorities.[45]
In 1624, the company established a stronghold called Fort Zeelandia on the coastal islet of Tayouan, which is now part of the main island at Anping, Tainan.[29] David Wright, a Scottish agent of the company who lived on the island in the 1650s, described the lowland areas of the island as being divided among 11 chiefdoms ranging in size from two settlements to 72. Some of these fell under Dutch control, while others remained independent.[29][46] The Company began to import labourers from Fujian and Penghu (Pescadores), many of whom settled.[45]
In 1626, the Spanish Empire landed on and occupied northern Taiwan, at the ports of Keelung and Tamsui, as a base to extend their trading. This colonial period lasted 16 years until 1642, when the last Spanish fortress fell to Dutch forces.
Following the fall of the Ming dynasty, Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), a self-styled Ming loyalist, arrived on the island and captured Fort Zeelandia in 1662, expelling the Dutch Empire and military from the island. Koxinga established the Kingdom of Tungning (1662–1683), with his capital at Tainan. He and his heirs, Zheng Jing, who ruled from 1662 to 1682, and Zheng Keshuang, who ruled less than a year, continued to launch raids on the southeast coast of mainland China well into the Qing dynasty era.[45]
Qing rule
In 1683, following the defeat of Koxinga's grandson by an armada led by Admiral Shi Lang of southern Fujian, the Qing dynasty formally annexed Taiwan, placing it under the jurisdiction of Fujian province. The Qing imperial government tried to reduce piracy and vagrancy in the area, issuing a series of edicts to manage immigration and respect aboriginal land rights. Immigrants mostly from southern Fujian continued to enter Taiwan. The border between taxpaying lands and "savage" lands shifted eastward, with some aborigines becoming sinicized while others retreated into the mountains. During this time, there were a number of conflicts between groups of Han Chinese from different regions of southern Fujian, particularly between those from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, and between southern Fujian Chinese and aborigines.
Northern Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were the scene of subsidiary campaigns in the Sino-French War (August 1884 to April 1885). The French occupied Keelung on 1 October 1884, but were repulsed from Tamsui a few days later. The French won some tactical victories but were unable to exploit them, and the Keelung Campaign ended in stalemate. The Pescadores Campaign, beginning on 31 March 1885, was a French victory, but had no long-term consequences. The French evacuated both Keelung and the Penghu archipelago after the end of the war.
In 1887, the Qing upgraded the island's administration from Taiwan Prefecture of Fujian to Fujian-Taiwan-Province (福建臺灣省), the twentieth in the empire, with its capital at Taipei. This was accompanied by a modernization drive that included building China's first railroad.[47]
Japanese rule
As the Qing dynasty was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Taiwan, along with Penghu and Liaodong Peninsula, were ceded in full sovereignty to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Inhabitants on Taiwan and Penghu wishing to remain Qing subjects were given a two-year grace period to sell their property and move to mainland China. Very few Taiwanese saw this as feasible.[48] On 25 May 1895, a group of pro-Qing high officials proclaimed the Republic of Formosa to resist impending Japanese rule. Japanese forces entered the capital at Tainan and quelled this resistance on 21 October 1895.[49] Guerrilla fighting continued periodically until about 1902 and ultimately took the lives of 14,000 Taiwanese, or 0.5% of the population.[50] Several subsequent rebellions against the Japanese (the Beipu uprising of 1907, the Tapani incident of 1915, and the Musha incident of 1930) were all unsuccessful but demonstrated opposition to Japanese colonial rule.
Japanese colonial rule was instrumental in the industrialization of the island, extending the railroads and other transportation networks, building an extensive sanitation system, and establishing a formal education system.[51] Japanese rule ended the practice of headhunting.[52] During this period the human and natural resources of Taiwan were used to aid the development of Japan and the production of cash crops such as rice and sugar greatly increased. By 1939, Taiwan was the seventh greatest sugar producer in the world.[53] Still, the Taiwanese and aborigines were classified as second- and third-class citizens. After suppressing Chinese guerrillas in the first decade of their rule, Japanese authorities engaged in a series of bloody campaigns against the mountain aboriginals, culminating in the Musha Incident of 1930.[54] Intellectuals and laborers who participated in left-wing movements within Taiwan were also arrested and massacred (e.g. Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) and Masanosuke Watanabe (渡辺政之輔)).[55]
Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilation project to bind the island more firmly to the Japanese Empire and people were taught to see themselves as Japanese under the Kominka Movement, during which time Taiwanese culture and religion were outlawed and the citizens were encouraged to adopt Japanese surnames.[56] The "South Strike Group" was based at the Taihoku Imperial University in Taipei. During World War II, tens of thousands of Taiwanese served in the Japanese military.[57] For example, former ROC President Lee Teng-hui's elder brother served in the Japanese navy and was killed in action in the Philippines in February 1945. The Imperial Japanese Navy operated heavily out of Taiwanese ports. In October 1944, the Formosa Air Battle was fought between American carriers and Japanese forces based in Taiwan. Important Japanese military bases and industrial centres throughout Taiwan, like Kaohsiung, were targets of heavy American bombings.[58] Also during this time, over 2,000 women were forced into sexual slavery for Imperial Japanese troops, now euphemistically called "comfort women."[59]
In 1938, there were 309,000 Japanese settlers in Taiwan.[60] After World War II, most of the Japanese were expelled and sent to Japan.[61]
Republic of China
On 25 October 1945, the US Navy ferried ROC troops to Taiwan in order to accept the formal surrender of Japanese military forces in Taipei on behalf of the Allied Powers, as part of General Order No. 1 for temporary military occupation. General Rikichi Andō, governor-general of Taiwan and commander-in-chief of all Japanese forces on the island, signed the receipt and handed it over to General Chen Yi of the ROC military to complete the official turnover. Chen Yi proclaimed that day to be "Taiwan Retrocession Day", but the Allies considered Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to be under military occupation and still under Japanese sovereignty until 1952, when the Treaty of San Francisco took effect.[62][63] Although the 1943 Cairo Declaration had envisaged returning these territories to China, in the Treaty of San Francisco and Treaty of Taipei Japan has renounced all claim to them without specifying to what country they were to be surrendered. This introduced the problem of the legal status of Taiwan.
The ROC administration of Taiwan under Chen Yi was strained by increasing tensions between Taiwanese-born people and newly arrived mainlanders, which were compounded by economic woes, such as hyperinflation. Furthermore, cultural and linguistic conflicts between the two groups quickly led to the loss of popular support for the new government, while the mass movement led by the working committee of the Communist Party also aimed to bring down the Kuomintang government.[64][65] The shooting of a civilian on 28 February 1947 triggered island-wide unrest, which was suppressed with military force in what is now called the February 28 Incident. Mainstream estimates of the number killed range from 18,000 to 30,000. Those killed were mainly members of the Taiwanese elite.[66][67]
The Nationalists' retreat to Taipei: after the Nationalists lost Nanjing (Nanking) they next moved to Guangzhou (Canton), then to Chongqing (Chungking), Chengdu (Chengtu) and Xichang (Sichang) before arriving in Taipei.
After the end of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed between the Chinese Nationalists (Kuomintang), led by Chiang Kai-shek, and the Communist Party of China, led by Mao Zedong. Throughout the months of 1949, a series of Chinese Communist offensives led to the capture of its capital Nanjing on 23 April and the subsequent defeat of the Nationalist army on the mainland, and the Communists founded the People's Republic of China on 1 October.[68]
On 7 December 1949, after the loss of four capitals, Chiang evacuated his Nationalist government to Taiwan and made Taipei the temporary capital of the ROC (also called the "wartime capital" by Chiang Kai-shek).[69] Some 2 million people, consisting mainly of soldiers, members of the ruling Kuomintang and intellectual and business elites, were evacuated from mainland China to Taiwan at that time, adding to the earlier population of approximately six million. In addition, the ROC government took to Taipei many national treasures and much of China's gold reserves and foreign currency reserves.[70][71][72]
After losing most of the mainland, the Kuomintang held remaining control of Tibet, the portions of Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Yunnan provinces along with the Hainan Island until 1951 before the Communists subsequently captured both territories. From this point onwards, the Kuomintang's territory was reduced to Taiwan, Penghu, the portions of the Fujian province (Kinmen and Matsu Islands), and two major islands of Dongsha Islands and Nansha Islands. The Kuomintang continued to claim sovereignty over all "China", which it defined to include mainland China, Taiwan, Outer Mongolia and other areas. On mainland China, the victorious Communists claimed they ruled the sole and only China (which they claimed included Taiwan) and that the Republic of China no longer existed.[73]
A Chinese man in military uniform, smiling and looking towards the left. He holds a sword in his left hand and has a medal in shape of a sun on his chest.
Chinese Nationalist one-party rule
Martial law, declared on Taiwan in May 1949,[74] continued to be in effect after the central government relocated to Taiwan. It was not repealed until 1987,[74] and was used as a way to suppress the political opposition in the intervening years.[75] During the White Terror, as the period is known, 140,000 people were imprisoned or executed for being perceived as anti-KMT or pro-Communist.[76] Many citizens were arrested, tortured, imprisoned and executed for their real or perceived link to the Communists. Since these people were mainly from the intellectual and social elite, an entire generation of political and social leaders was decimated. In 1998 law was passed to create the "Compensation Foundation for Improper Verdicts" which oversaw compensation to White Terror victims and families. President Ma Ying-jeou made an official apology in 2008, expressing hope that there will never be a tragedy similar to White Terror.[77]
Initially, the United States abandoned the KMT and expected that Taiwan would fall to the Communists. However, in 1950 the conflict between North Korea and South Korea, which had been ongoing since the Japanese withdrawal in 1945, escalated into full-blown war, and in the context of the Cold War, US President Harry S. Truman intervened again and dispatched the US Navy's 7th Fleet into the Taiwan Strait to prevent hostilities between Taiwan and mainland China.[78] In the Treaty of San Francisco and the Treaty of Taipei, which came into force respectively on 28 April 1952 and 5 August 1952, Japan formally renounced all right, claim and title to Taiwan and Penghu, and renounced all treaties signed with China before 1942. Neither treaty specified to whom sovereignty over the islands should be transferred, because the United States and the United Kingdom disagreed on whether the ROC or the PRC was the legitimate government of China.[79] Continuing conflict of the Chinese Civil War through the 1950s, and intervention by the United States notably resulted in legislation such as the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty and the Formosa Resolution of 1955.
With President Chiang Kai-shek, the US President Dwight D. Eisenhower waved to crowds during his visit to Taipei in June 1960.
As the Chinese Civil War continued without truce, the government built up military fortifications throughout Taiwan. Within this effort, KMT veterans built the now famous Central Cross-Island Highway through the Taroko Gorge in the 1950s. The two sides would continue to engage in sporadic military clashes with seldom publicized details well into the 1960s on the China coastal islands with an unknown number of night raids. During the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in September 1958, Taiwan's landscape saw Nike-Hercules missile batteries added, with the formation of the 1st Missile Battalion Chinese Army that would not be deactivated until 1997. Newer generations of missile batteries have since replaced the Nike Hercules systems throughout the island.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the ROC maintained an authoritarian, single-party government while its economy became industrialized and technology oriented. This rapid economic growth, known as the Taiwan Miracle, was the result of a fiscal regime independent from mainland China and backed up, among others, by the support of US funds and demand for Taiwanese products.[80][81] In the 1970s, Taiwan was economically the second fastest growing state in Asia after Japan.[82] Taiwan, along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore, became known as one of the Four Asian Tigers. Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China until the 1970s. Later, especially after the termination of the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, most nations switched diplomatic recognition to the PRC (see United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758).
Up until the 1970s, the government was regarded by Western critics as undemocratic for upholding martial law, for severely repressing any political opposition and for controlling media. The KMT did not allow the creation of new parties and those that existed did not seriously compete with the KMT. Thus, competitive democratic elections did not exist.[83][84][85][86][87] From the late 1970s to the 1990s, however, Taiwan went through reforms and social changes that transformed it from an authoritarian state to a democracy. In 1979, a pro-democracy protest known as the Kaohsiung Incident took place in Kaohsiung to celebrate Human Rights Day. Although the protest was rapidly crushed by the authorities, it is today considered as the main event that united Taiwan's opposition.[88]
Democratization
Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek's son and successor as the president, began to liberalize the political system in the mid-1980s. In 1984, the younger Chiang selected Lee Teng-hui, a Taiwanese-born, US-educated technocrat, to be his vice-president. In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was formed and inaugurated as the first opposition party in the ROC to counter the KMT. A year later, Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law on the main island of Taiwan (martial law was lifted on Penghu in 1979, Matsu island in 1992 and Kinmen island in 1993). With the advent of democratization, the issue of the political status of Taiwan gradually resurfaced as a controversial issue where, previously, the discussion of anything other than unification under the ROC was taboo.
After the death of Chiang Ching-kuo in January 1988, Lee Teng-hui succeeded him as president. Lee continued to democratize the government and decrease the concentration of government authority in the hands of mainland Chinese. Under Lee, Taiwan underwent a process of localization in which Taiwanese culture and history were promoted over a pan-China viewpoint in contrast to earlier KMT policies which had promoted a Chinese identity. Lee's reforms included printing banknotes from the Central Bank rather than the Provincial Bank of Taiwan, and streamlining the Taiwan Provincial Government with most of its functions transferred to the Executive Yuan. Under Lee, the original members of the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly(a former supreme legislative body defunct in 2005）,[89] elected in 1947 to represent mainland Chinese constituencies and having held the seats without re-election for more than four decades, were forced to resign in 1991. The previously nominal representation in the Legislative Yuan was brought to an end, reflecting the reality that the ROC had no jurisdiction over mainland China, and vice versa. Restrictions on the use of Taiwanese Hokkien in the broadcast media and in schools were also lifted.[citation needed]
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Taiwan's special envoy to the APEC summit, Lien Chan, November 2011
Democratic reforms continued in the 1990s, with Lee Teng-hui re-elected in 1996, in the first direct presidential election in the history of the ROC.[90] During the later years of Lee's administration, he was involved in corruption controversies relating to government release of land and weapons purchase, although no legal proceedings commenced. In 1997,"To meet the requisites of the nation prior to national unification",[91] the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China was passed and then the former "constitution of five powers" turns to be more tripartite. In 2000, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party was elected as the first non-Kuomintang (KMT) President and was re-elected to serve his second and last term since 2004. Polarized politics has emerged in Taiwan with the formation of the Pan-Blue Coalition of parties led by the KMT, favouring eventual Chinese reunification, and the Pan-Green Coalition of parties led by the DPP, favouring an eventual and official declaration of Taiwanese independence.[92][clarification needed] In early 2006, President Chen Shui-bian remarked: “The National Unification Council will cease to function. No budget will be ear-marked for it and its personnel must return to their original posts...The National Unification Guidelines will cease to apply."[93]
The ruling DPP has traditionally leaned in favour of Taiwan independence and rejects the "One-China policy".
On 30 September 2007, the ruling DPP approved a resolution asserting a separate identity from China and called for the enactment of a new constitution for a "normal country". It also called for general use of "Taiwan" as the country's name, without abolishing its formal name, the Republic of China.[94] The Chen administration also pushed for referendums on national defence and UN entry in the 2004 and 2008 elections, which failed due to voter turnout below the required legal threshold of 50% of all registered voters.[95] The Chen administration was dogged by public concerns over reduced economic growth, legislative gridlock due to a pan-blue, opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan and corruption involving the First Family as well as government officials.[96][97]
The KMT increased its majority in the Legislative Yuan in the January 2008 legislative elections, while its nominee Ma Ying-jeou went on to win the presidency in March of the same year, campaigning on a platform of increased economic growth and better ties with the PRC under a policy of "mutual nondenial".[95] Ma took office on 20 May 2008, the same day that President Chen Shui-bian stepped down and was notified by prosecutors of possible corruption charges. Part of the rationale for campaigning for closer economic ties with the PRC stems from the strong economic growth China attained since joining the World Trade Organization. However, some analysts say that despite the election of Ma Ying-jeou, the diplomatic and military tensions with the PRC have not been reduced.[98]
On 24 May 2017, the Constitutional Court ruled that current marriage laws have been violating the Constitution by denying Taiwanese same-sex couples the right to marry. The Court ruled that if the Legislative Yuan does not pass adequate amendments to Taiwanese marriage laws within two years, same-sex marriages will automatically become legitimate in Taiwan.[99]
Specifications
Engine
• VR-series twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6.
• 480 hp @ 6,800 rpm. 430 lb-ft torque @ 3,200–5,200 rpm.
• Dual overhead camshafts with variable intake-valve timing.
• Cast aluminum cylinder block with high-endurance/low-friction plasma-sprayed bores.
• IHI twin turbochargers, one per cylinder bank.
• Pressurized lubrication system with thermostatically controlled cooling.
Drivetrain
• ATTESA ET-S All-Wheel Drive (AWD) with independent rear-mounted transaxle integrating transmission, differential and AWD transfer case.
• Rigid, lightweight carbon-composite driveshaft between engine and transaxle.
• Electronic traction control plus 1.5-way mechanically locking rear differential.
• Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC-R) with three driver-selectable settings: Normal (for daily driving, controls brakes and engine output), R-Mode (for ultimate performance, utilizes AWD torque distribution for additional vehicle stability) and Off (driver does not want the help of the system).
• Hill Start Assist prevents rollback when starting on an incline.
DisclaimerVDC-R cannot prevent accidents due to abrupt steering, carelessness, or dangerous driving techniques. Always drive safely.
Transmission
• 6-speed Dual Clutch Transmission with three driver-selectable modes: Normal (for maximum smoothness and efficiency), Snow (for gentler starting and shifting on slippery surfaces), and R mode (for maximum performance with fastest shifts).
• Fully automatic shifting or full sequential manual control via gearshift or steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
• Dual clutch design changes gears in less than 0.5 second (0.2 second in R mode).
• Downshift Rev Matching (DRM).
• Predictive pre-shift control (in R mode) based on throttle position, vehicle speed, braking and other information.
Wheels and Tires
• 20 x 9.5" (front) and 20 x 10.5" (rear) super-lightweight forged-aluminum wheels with Gunmetal Gray finish.
• Exclusively developed nitrogen-filled Bridgestone® RE070A high-capacity run-flat summer tires, 255/40R20 front and 285/35R20 rear.
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
• Optional exclusively developed nitrogen-filled Dunlop® run-flat all-season tires, 255/40R20 front and 285/35R20 rear (includes Bright Silver wheels).
Brakes
• Brembo® 4-wheel disc brakes with 4-wheel Antilock Braking System (ABS), Brake Assist, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Preview Braking.
• Two-piece floating-rotor 15-inch front and rear discs with diamond-pattern internal ventilation.
• 6-piston front/4-piston rear monoblock calipers.
Steering
• Rack-and-pinion steering with vehicle-speed-sensitive power assist.
• 2.6 steering-wheel turns lock-to-lock.
Suspension
• 4-wheel independent suspension with Bilstein® DampTronic system with three driver-selectable modes: Normal/Sport (for automatic electronic control of damping), Comfort (for maximum ride comfort), and R mode (engages maximum damping rate for high-performance cornering).
• Electronically controlled variable-rate shock absorbers. High-accuracy progressive-rate coil springs.
• Front double-wishbone/rear multi-link configuration with aluminum members and rigid aluminum subframes.
• Hollow front and rear stabilizer bars.
Body/Chassis
• Exclusive Premium Midship platform with jig-welded hybrid unibody.
• Aluminum hood, trunk and door skins. Die-cast aluminum door structures.
• Carbon-reinforced front crossmember/radiator support.
Back to Top
Standard Features
Exterior
• Wide-beam headlights with High Intensity Discharge (HID) low beams.
• LED taillights and brake lights.
• Dual heated power mirrors.
• Flush-mounted aluminum door handles.
• Body-color rear spoiler with integrated center high-mounted stop light.
• UV-reducing tinted glass.
Audio/Navigation/Performance Monitor
• Digital Bose® audio system with AM/FM/in-dash 6-CD changer and 11 speakers including dual subwoofers.
• HDD Music Box system, including hard drive with 9.4 GB for audio storage.
• MP3, WMA and DVD audio capable. In-dash Compact Flash card reader.
• HDD-based GPS navigation with touch screen.
• Driver-configurable performance monitor, developed with Sony® Polyphony, with graphical readouts of vehicle data and driving data displayed on a total of 11 screens.
• 7-inch WVGA high-resolution color-LCD display for audio, navigation and performance monitor.
Interior
• Automatic Temperature Control (ATC).
• Electronic analog instrument cluster with multi-function trip computer and digital gear indicator.
• Power front windows with one-touch auto-up/down feature.
• Intelligent Key system with pushbutton start. Power door locks.
• Cruise control.
• Tilt/telescoping steering column.
• Bluetooth® Hands-free phone system with voice recognition.
Seating/Appointments
• Leather upholstered front seats with perforated Alcantara inserts.
• 8-way power front seats with entry/exit switch for rear-seat passengers.
• Driver-shaped bucket seat.
• Dual individual rear seats.
• Heated front seats.
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.
• Drilled aluminum pedals.
Safety/Security
• Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual-stage supplemental front air bags, seat belt sensors and occupant-classification sensor.
• Driver and front-passenger side-impact supplemental air bags and roof-mounted curtain supplemental air bags.
• Front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters.
• Nissan Vehicle Immobilizer System.
• Vehicle Security System.
Paper: Octagon cutted from sandwich paper painted with Faber Castell Gelatos
Model: Jorge Jaramillo
Book: Origami All Kinds by Meenakshi Mukerji p. 42-3
Paper was a bit subborn on reversing folds, hence I stopped after two levels, even though the size was not too small. Certainly will fold this again with other paper, Kraft or something like that.
Sometimes things get lucky. While having lunch, saw neighbor building being painted. Obviously grabbed camera and took the shot. Cropped to get this view. While playing with picasa, zero tint position gave this feel. I liked the grain and pattern. One of most satisfying shot for me. :-)
Owned by: Progressive Waste Solutions in Tampa, FL also known as Waste Services of Florida (WSI)
Chassis: Mack MR
Body manufacturer: McNeilus
Type of truck: Front end load garbage truck
Additional notes: This is a former ACC Recycling truck, this was repainted into Progressive colors.
Location of photo: Hillsborough County, FL
If you want to use this image, ask permission PRIOR to use. Don't be a thief - under most circumstances, I'm quite reasonable.
Copyright 2013 - Alan B.
HISTORIA
La situación del Alcázar de Segovia, sobre una roca labrada por los ríos Eresma y Clamores, indica el origen militar de esta fortaleza durante siglos inexpugnable.
El testimonio más antiguo de la existencia del Alcázar de Segovia es un documento de principios del siglo XII, fechado en 1122, poco después de la reconquista de la ciudad por Alfonso VI, que menciona la fortaleza como un castro sobre el Eresma. En una carta algo posterior (1155) ya se le da el nombre de Alcázar. No obstante, es muy probable que la fortificación existiese en tiempos más remotos, quizá desde la dominación romana, pues en recientes excavaciones se ha encontrado sillares de granito análogos a los del Acueducto. En la Edad Media, el Alcázar, tanto por la belleza de su situación y su indiscutible seguridad militar, como por la proximidad a famosos cazaderos en los bosques serranos, se convirtió en una de las residencias favoritas de los Reyes de Castilla.
No se han encontrado vestigios arquitectónicos notables de este Palacio Real anteriores a la época de Alfonso VIII "el de Las Navas", aproximadamente a finales del siglo XII y principios del siglo XIII. Sin embargo, lo cierto es que se consolida el proceso que de forma progresiva va convirtiendo la fortaleza en residencia cortesana. La reforma se hizo cuando se iniciaba la transición del románico al gótico, con la sobriedad elegante del estilo del Císter. Sin duda pertenece a este tiempo la gran grujía del lado norte, compuesta por una gran estancia, flanqueada en los extremos por gabinetes, al estilo oriental, llamada "sala del Palacio Mayor". Al mismo impulso constructivo, que constituye el núcleo del Alcázar, corresponde la gran torre del poniente, llamada "Del Homenaje", con su estancia cubierta de cañón apuntado, que sirvió de sala de armas, y sus ventanales germinados. A pesar del tono cisterciense de estas construcciones, lo morisco aparece en la decoración pictórica, con zócalos de lacerías pintadas de rojo sobre el fondo claro del estuco.
Alfonso X El Sabio demostró hacia Segovia una extrema predilección e hizo del Alcázar una de sus residencias favoritas, hasta los últimos años de su vida, en los que celebró Cortes en esta ciudad que le había permanecido fiel.
En el siglo XIV, Segovia fue testigo de combates entre bandos nobiliarios a los que no fue ajeno el Alcázar, obligando el nuevo empleo de la artillería a reforzar sus murallas y ampliar su sistema defensivo.
Los reyes de la dinastía de Trastámara aprovecharon la nueva crujía, construida paralelamente a la primitiva, para convertirla en un suntuoso conjunto de salones al estilo de los alcázares andaluces. La decoración gótico- mudéjar de estas salas se inicia con la reina Catalina de Lancaster, regente de su hijo Juan II. Durante el reinado de este último tuvieron lugar en el Alcázar las grandes fiestas cortesanas evocadas por Jorge Manrique en sus célebres "Coplas".
Enrique IV, tan amante de Segovia, continuó embelleciéndolo y en su reinado debió terminarse la gran torre que lleva el nombre de su padre. Fue el Alcázar fortaleza clave para el dominio de Castilla y de él salió Isabel la Católica para ser proclamada reina en la Plaza Mayor. También tuvo importancia este castillo en las luchas civiles de todas las épocas sucesivas, desde el reinado de Juana la Loca y la Guerra de las comunidades hasta la Guerra de Sucesión en el siglo XVIII y las guerras Carlista en el XIX.
Los reyes de la Casa de Austria lo visitaron frecuentemente y Felipe II celebró en él la boda de velaciones con su cuarta esposa, Ana de Austria. Este rey realizó importantes obras en el Alcázar, como el patio herreriano o cubrir las techumbres con agudos chapiteles de pizarra al estilo de los castillos centroeuropeos.
Más tarde comienza a utilizarse la fortaleza como prisión de Estado, donde estuvieron confinados importantes personajes. Así permaneció hasta que en 1762 Carlos III fundó en Segovia el Real Colegio de Artillería, cuyo primer Director fue el conde Félix Gazola, quedando instalado en el Alcázar en 1764. Este centro permaneció aquí, con leves paréntesis hasta el 6 de mazo de 1862, día en el que un incendio destruyó las techumbres. A partir de esta fecha el Colegio, luego la Academia de Artillería, pasó al Convento de San Francisco de Segovia, El Alcázar fue restaurado, en 1898 se instaló en la primera plante del edificio el Archivo General Militar y en 1953 se creó el Patronato del Alcázar de Segovia, responsable del actual Museo.
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HISTORY
The situation of the Alcazar of Segovia, on a rock carved by rivers and Clamores Eresma indicates the military origin of this impregnable fortress for centuries.
The earliest evidence of the existence of the Alcazar of Segovia is a document of the early twelfth century, dated in 1122, shortly after the conquest of the city by Alfonso VI, which mentions the fortress as a fort on Eresma. In a letter somewhat later (1155) and is given the name of Alcazar. However, it is likely that the fortification existed in ancient times, perhaps since Roman times, as in recent excavations found granite blocks similar to the Aqueduct. In the Middle Ages, the Alcazar, both for the beauty of its situation and its indisputable military security, such as proximity to famous hunting grounds in the mountain forests, became one of the favorite residences of the kings of Castile.
No notable architectural vestiges of this former royal palace at the time of Alfonso VIII "the Las Navas," about the late twelfth and early thirteenth century. However, the truth is that consolidates the process is becoming progressively strength courtly residence. The reform was initiated when the transition from Romanesque to Gothic, with elegant sobriety Cistercian style. No doubt this time belongs to the great grujía north side, consisting of a large room, flanked at the ends by cabinets, oriental style, called "Mayor of the Palace hall." At the same constructive impulse, which is the core of the Alcázar, account for the great western tower, called "The Tribute", by staying tracked gun deck, which was the armory, and its windows sprouts. Cistercian Despite the tone of these constructs, Moorish appears in the pictorial decoration with sockets lacerías painted red on light background stucco.
Alfonso X El Sabio showed extreme predilection toward Segovia's Alcazar and became one of his favorite residences, until the last years of his life, in which Cortes held in this city which had remained faithful.
In the fourteenth century, Segovia witnessed fighting between factions of nobility to which the Alcazar was no stranger, again forcing the use of artillery to strengthen its walls and expand its defense system.
The kings of the dynasty of Castile took the new bay, built parallel to the primitive, to turn it into a sumptuous set of rooms in the style of the Andalusian palaces. The Gothic-Mudejar decoration of these rooms opens with Queen Catherine of Lancaster, regent for her son John II. During the reign of the latter took place in the great feasts Alcázar evoked by Jorge Manrique courtesans in his famous "Verses".
Henry IV, as a lover of Segovia, embellishing and continued his reign had completed the great tower that bears the name of his father. Alcazar fortress was the key to the mastery of Castile and Isabella the Catholic left him to be proclaimed queen in the Plaza Mayor. Also of significance, this castle in the civil strife of all successive epochs, from the reign of Mad Love and War communities until the War of Succession in the eighteenth century and the Carlist wars in the nineteenth.
The kings of the House of Austria and visited him often held at the Philip II's wedding revelations with his fourth wife, Anne of Austria. This king made major works in the Palace, as the patio cover herreriano or roofs with sharp slate spiers style of Central European castles.
Later the fort began to be used as a state prison, where inmates were important people. So in 1762 he remained until Carlos III founded in Segovia the Royal School of Artillery, whose first director was Count Felix Gazola, being installed in the Palace in 1764. The center remained here, with slight parentheses mallet until 6, 1862, the day on which a fire destroyed the roofs. From this date the College, then the Artillery Academy, went to the Convent of San Francisco de Segovia, El Alcázar was restored in 1898 was installed in the first plant of the General Military Archives building and in 1953 created the Board of Alcazar of Segovia, responsible for the present Museum.
Home of the 1st Place Cleveland Indians! Took this photo at last night's game against the Detroit Tigers. Photo taken in the Bottom of the 9th as Chris Perez was securing another Win!
This is a hand stitched Panorama using 3 images taken with my iPhone 4s.
Owned by: Progressive Waste Solutions in Tampa, FL
Chassis: Mack MRU TerraPro
Body manufacturer: E-Z Pack Hercules
Type of truck: Front end load garbage truck
Additional notes: This is the first Progressive Waste Solutions branded truck in the Tampa area.
Location of photo: Hillsborough County, FL
If you want to use this image, ask permission PRIOR to use. Don't be a thief - under most circumstances, I'm quite reasonable.
Copyright 2011 - Alan B.
Owned by: Progressive Waste Solutions in Tampa, FL also known as Waste Services of Florida (WSI)
Chassis: Mack MRU
Body manufacturer: E-Z Pack Goliath G400
Type of truck: Rear end load garbage truck
Additional notes: This is one of the final trucks they bought with the WSI branding.
Location of photo: Hillsborough County, FL
If you want to use this image, ask permission PRIOR to use. Don't be a thief - under most circumstances, I'm quite reasonable.
Copyright 2013 - Alan B.
Some places are full of hidden treasure. The Progressive Rock Museum is one such place. When you land explore, take all the teleport destinations, climb and sit on whatever you can. The art exhibits are amazing, especially if you are a fan of rock music.
Wearing JRC Ripped Jeans $100L on the marketplace. Hair is Stealthic Paradox in Red $300L on the marketplace. Top is part of Layla’s Gigi outfit $500L on the marketplace.
Luxrem - O'Malleys, Margate, FL _2023-02-04
Finding the balance between complex progressive metal riffs and captivating anthemic choruses, Luxrem finds itself at the forefront of the Miami metal scene.
Luxrem is:
Marcus Noga - guitar
Jonathan Sookdew Sing -vocals
Gabriel Cuevas - guitar
Peter Alvarez - bass
Ed Escalante - drums
Shot during a cold, rainy weekday afternoon.
*** For the guessewherenyc group members trying to find this location, due to the angle these buildings span a few blocks at least one of the cross streets that these buildings are on would be good I think.
TP&W used slogans on its rolling stock playing to its initials — “Trans-continental Peoria Way” and “The Progressive Way”—although another, “Links East and West,” was more to the point. Color schemes and decorations on its freight cars were almost as numerous as its freight-car types.
-J. David Ingles, " Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway remembered," Classic Trains, September 2022. Read more about the TP&W at the following link: www.trains.com/ctr/railroads/fallen-flags/toledo-peoria-a...
Although today, the continued use of the smiling Indian moving a package might be a bit too much.
Today, the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway, operated by RailAmerica, is a short line railroad with 247 miles (398 km) of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana. TP&W has trackage rights between Galesburg, Illinois, and Peoria, between Logansport and Kokomo, Indiana, and between Reynolds, Indiana, and Lafayette, Indiana.
We are back today, at our new location.
Come and enjoy amazing tunes played by:
11:30 am - DJ Nath
01:00 pm - DJ Dex
02:30 pm - DJ Nina L
Never seen this on a train loco before, some kind of plastic tank, maybe DEF? Don't know if train engines use that or not..In Bloomington, Minnesota.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) was founded in 1929 and is often recognized as the most influential museum of modern art in the world. Over the course of the next ten years, the Museum moved three times into progressively larger temporary quarters, and in 1939 finally opened the doors of its midtown home, located on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in midtown. The building underwent extensive renovations, closing on May 21, 2002 and reopening to the public in a building redesigned by the Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi, on November 20, 2004. The renovation project nearly doubled the space for exhibitions and programs, featuring 630,000 square feet of new and redesigned space.
MoMA's holdings include more than 150,000 individual pieces. Highlights of the collection inlcude Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night, Salvador Dali's The Persisence of Memory, Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiseels d'Avignon and Three Musicians, Claude Monet's Water Lilies, Piet Mondrian's Broadway Boogie Woogie, Paul Gauguin's The Seed of the Areoi, Henri Matisse's Dance, Marc Chagall's I and the Village, Paul Cezanne's The Bather, Jackson Pollack's Number 31, 1950, and Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans.
When David Rockefeller became president of MoMA in 1958, replacing his brother Nelson who took up the position of Governor of New York, he hired the noted architect Philip Johnson to redesign the Museum garden and name it in honor of his mother, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden. The Gardens are framed by the Peggy and David Rockefeller Building, which houses the main exhibition galleries, on the western end of the site; and and The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building, on the eastern end.
In 2007, the Museum of Modern Art was ranked #146 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.
Don Voisine
Progressive
13 in x 11 in
Oil on wood
2009
Artist Biography
Don Voisine's paintings are notable for their nuance and sophistication, as well as their quiet drama. His geometric oil on wood paintings can be described as straightforward and reductive: rectangular bands of black dominate the center, overlapping lighter fields of beige or white. The hard-edged forms are bordered by bright bands of contrasting color of varying width. In some instances the paintings are bisected to produce two fields of form and color that play against one another.
Using a strict geometric language, limited palette and consistent compositional format, the artist achieves a remarkable diversity within a narrow framework. For example, the central black areas in the paintings, rather than appearing monolithic, have a subtle yet rich variety of tones, weight, and illusion of depth or flatness, all achieved by employing directional brushwork and variations in surface finish. Voisine's edges are taut and sharp, and there is an inner tensile strength expressed in the forms. Even in the emphatic diagonal movement in his Xs, there is a feeling of containment within the picture frame, and an implication of spatial depth. The scale of the works ranges widely, from small twelve-inch squares to long five-foot horizontals. The surprisingly bright color bands provide a rich contrast to the somber predominant blacks, and add weight and movement to the paintings. The playful colors can be inspired by a locale or an event, such as the yellow and green tones of Michelle Obama's outfit worn on inauguration day.
(Bio courtesy Mckenzie Fine Art)
Coll Misc 0840-19
The Electors. The Borough Council 'Municipal Reformers' promised you... The text on this poster continues in alternate black and red.
La victoire sur soi-même: elle se passe de vos acclamations. Une action qui dédaigne tous les gestes désordonnés, qui refuse de se perdre dans les orages de la poussière et les remuements des dunes; une action qui s'en tient à l'essence de nous même, au soin de la racine, à la culture profonde de notre vigne, à la santé du cep, voilà mon fils, qui compte. Le seul orgueil d'en avoir fini avec toutes les ambitions vaines, et d'être le feu qui fait oraison à la lumière. Se conquérir sans cesse, pour atteindre à la connaissance suprême dans le suprême amour. Et dans le rien de tout, faire porter à ce néant la fleur d'un sourire qui ne doit pas se flétrir, voilà des conquêtes. (...) Tu ne te connais pas. Laisse là ces mépris: ils font vivre en nous la vermine, dont ils veulent nous venger. Défais-toi de ces colères puériles. Purge ces flammes trop lourdes de fumée. Réserve ta puissance à d'autres entreprises. Garde toi pour le feu, toi qui es tout feu. Et ton sang même est feu. Tourne-toi désormais vers les seuls objets qui te sollicitent, où tout aspire à la beauté. Pour l'étincelle de l'instant comme pour le temps éternel, ta passion est là uniquement.
- André SUARES, Voyage du condottière.