making it a little easier to navigate in Asia !

[Wantonmien]

It's bad enough navigating in poor visibility, but I am trying to get "Taiwan" recognised as a valid reason to have a forum for its own use, and info, as it currently merged with China/Hong Kong/General Asia, so is umm ..... .... not so clear.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/feedback/360550-not-part-greater-china.html

:voodoo:

If there are any divers in mainland or "Greater China" (as called on forum) that want to tell me 'Taiwan is part of China', or vice versa - please do feel free to drop me a pm, I'll argue the case, and then I will encourage you to head over for a few dives in the great waters we have here, in Taiwan.

Cheers

 

[jh_MacLeod]

It's bad enough navigating in poor visibility, but I am trying to get "Taiwan" recognised as a valid reason to have a forum for its own use, and info, as it currently merged with China/Hong Kong/General Asia, so is umm ..... .... not so clear.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/feedback/360550-not-part-greater-china.html

:voodoo:

If there are any divers in mainland or "Greater China" (as called on forum) that want to tell me 'Taiwan is part of China', or vice versa - please do feel free to drop me a pm, I'll argue the case, and then I will encourage you to head over for a few dives in the great waters we have here, in Taiwan.

Cheers

I really did try to stay clear of this political diversion that you have stirred up on the forums that I read because I'm interested in information about scuba. But you're obviously not going to let it rest and I've had enough of your paternal British attitude. The Taiwanese people can and will take care of themselves, and eventually Taiwan and mainland China will come to some kind of compromise that they can both live with. But what I'm wondering is why you feel it is your job to somehow fix what is, essentially, a family squabble. If you were a native Taiwanese islander, I would cut you some slack, because the island's native people did get invaded and taken over by the KMT and suffer indignities at the hands of both the Chinese and Japanese; but give me a break. This is a scuba board, and as someone who travels in and out of both Taiwan and mainland China on a monthly basis, I'm not buying what you're selling. I think the one who is confused is you.

Now back to diving if you don't mind. Taiwan has some pretty good dive sites; why don't you talk about them. Mainland China unfortunately has few good sites along their industrialized coastline and the diving industry there is still in its infancy (geared mainly toward basic training before sending small groups on package tours to Hainan, Thailand and Malaysia from what I have seen). But still, there is potential further inland if people are willing to mount the expeditions. Qinghai Lake is huge, and I've been thinking about doing Kanasi (Hanas Lake) next summer, if I can make the right connections this winter to get the undoubtedly necessary permissions from the appropriate agencies. I don't have any experience with altitude diving (1400 meters) though, so that will need to be figured in. But take a look at that lake on the internet and tell me it's not worth diving. I've been there twice and the visibility up the lake should be fantastic. Might even find that monster that legend says lives there, or else get eaten by a monster fish.

 

[raskous]

I'm not really into politics but i gotta say that diving in (mainland) china is just ... crap

I've never tried in HK/TW but I've been to Hainan and there's nothing in the water, it's all gone, the guy from the dive shop i learnt at in shanghai goes diving in qiandaohu sometimes but it's also empty (just about looking at a sunken city with 1m viz)
So if you guys know any decent diving spot anywhere in china i'd be really interested.
Sure it won't be a tropical paradise with reef kinda dive, but it's better than nothing... (hmm actually i'd say diving in sanya is NOT better than nothing... haha)

 

[Wantonmien]

Jh_Macloed,

I don't think you've read all my suggestion/request (accessible through the earlier link) for a seperate forum place for info about Taiwan or perhaps you've misunderstood it or read others comments and consider them mine, as I did state the political issues are for the politicians, and my interests are quite simply having a clear forum corner dedicated just to Taiwan (not solving politics or squabbles with Taiwanese/Chinese - or squabbling with fellow divers !) In the long run I would like to think if we had such forum place we could more get more local Taiwanese divers contributing, as currently they shy away and it being shown as part of "Greater China" is one reason that's been thrown back at me, from a few local divers. I dive with Taiwanese buddies, and getting more dive info from them and their local contacts would be of benefit to all coming to Taiwan to dive, or actually living in Taiwan and diving regularly.

As is, if you dredge the forum(s) - dive info on Kenting is good, dive info on Green Island is reasonable - but dive info on N/E coast is lacking, dive info on Penghu is lacking, dive info on Orchid island is lacking, dive info on Liochiu is lacking (and I think I was the first to ever mention that island), dive info on the Eastern coast (north of Green island) is lacking, dive info on Keelung/Yeiliou area is lacking (albeit there's some busy dive shops there frequented by locals), dive info on N/W coast is lacking -- etc etc, and whilst I know a few expat and local divers around the island, obtaining info from some more Taiwanese divers via a forum like this would be excellent. For example I was told that late summer this year some excellent new dive sites close to Keelung were found by one of the dive shops there, and apparently news of such was carried in Chinese language in a local newspaper - but how and where to get to such new sites remains a mystery !

We have little sub forums for Indonesia, Malaysia/Singapore, Philippines and Thailand in Asia, so why not a little sub forum for Taiwan (or Formosa !) - It might help you and others.

I don't see it as a personal mission - I just see it as simple suggestion to hopefully get more info on diving around Taiwan.

Cheers and safe diving.

I really did try to stay clear of this political diversion that you have stirred up on the forums that I read because I'm interested in information about scuba. But you're obviously not going to let it rest and I've had enough of your paternal British attitude. The Taiwanese people can and will take care of themselves, and eventually Taiwan and mainland China will come to some kind of compromise that they can both live with. But what I'm wondering is why you feel it is your job to somehow fix what is, essentially, a family squabble. If you were a native Taiwanese islander, I would cut you some slack, because the island's native people did get invaded and taken over by the KMT and suffer indignities at the hands of both the Chinese and Japanese; but give me a break. This is a scuba board, and as someone who travels in and out of both Taiwan and mainland China on a monthly basis, I'm not buying what you're selling. I think the one who is confused is you.

 

[jh_MacLeod]

I don't think you've read all my suggestion/request (accessible through the earlier link) for a seperate forum place for info about Taiwan or perhaps you've misunderstood it or read others comments and consider them mine...

In the long run I would like to think if we had such forum place we could more get more local Taiwanese divers contributing, as currently they shy away and it being shown as part of "Greater China" is one reason that's been thrown back at me, from a few local divers. I dive with Taiwanese buddies, and getting more dive info from them and their local contacts would be of benefit to all coming to Taiwan to dive, or actually living in Taiwan and diving regularly...

We have little sub forums for Indonesia, Malaysia/Singapore, Philippines and Thailand in Asia, so why not a little sub forum for Taiwan (or Formosa !) - It might help you and others...

Fair enough. And for the record, I don't have a problem with the idea of a "Taiwan area" subforum. What I objected to was the politization of the issue by comments that all people in Taiwan are offended by the word China, or that the subforum must somehow be removed from the "Greater China area", and that if these things were done, the input from locals would improve. I don't live in a vacuum and I have also asked a few Taiwan diver friends for their opinions on these issues. The people I have talked to don't have a problem with being called Chinese or being in the China region (If anything they think they are the real Chinese :-^). Guess it just goes to show that all people in Taiwan aren't cut from the same monolithic mold that "ambertiger" made it seem.

Regarding lack of participation by locals, I simply think it's natural that people tend to prefer to use their native language. Look at the other Asian forums you mention and you will see that the comments are primarily from expats working in those areas. And the poor Singaporeans must share with the Malaysians; and poor Sabah must share their space with those from the peninsula; and Japan, where the hell is Japan? The locals I dive with in Malaysia wouldn't consider posting info about their favorite undeveloped dive sites in a world-wide English forum. It would be crazy to invite the tourists in to stress and ruin a perfectly good site when they can keep it somewhat protected.