March 2012 Special Issue

RCRC joins in 30th Anniversary Celebrations of RC of Taipei North-East  

By Rtn Jeffrey Chan PHF

RCRC Rotarians led by President Aaron travelled to Taipei to participate in the 30th Anniversary dinner of our sister-club, the RC of Taipei North-East.  Other members of the team are PPs Johnson, Ron, Koy Nam, Gerald, PE-Designate Jeffrey and their respective spouses, as well as Rtn Karen and her friend, Li-Ying.

We were met on arrival at Taoyuan Airport by the Taipei NE Rotarians who transported us to our respective hotels in Taipei. The welcome fellowship dinner took place at the Sant Wan Hotel on the evening of 1 Mar. This was attended by Rtns from Taipei NE as well as large delegations from their sister clubs in Japan and other parts of Taiwan.  The dinner featured numerous delicious dishes plus copious amounts of fine wine (Rothschilds) and liquors. The karaoke sessions during the dinner saw numerous Rotary talents from Taiwan and Japan showcasing themselves.  We were no less with PPs Ron and Johnson putting up admirable performances, the poor sound system notwithstanding.  

RCRC Rotarians and spouses

The dinner featured numerous delicious dishes plus copious amounts of fine wine (Rothschilds) and liquors.  

The next day we declined to join in the golf game but chose to join some of the  visiting Japanese Rotarians for a sight-seeing tour to a historical gold mine which has been converted into an ecological park.  Then it off to an excellent seafood lunch at Keelung beach. There PP Koy Nam and his spouse See Khem who were in Taiwan with a large team from their Health Management Institute joined us as guests of Taipei NE.

That evening was the 30th Anniversary Dinner of Taipei NE which was held at the lavish Danwell Banquet Hall in North Taipei. The Taipei NE Rotarians and their spouses turned up in full force. But more than half of the participants were guests –many being visiting Rotarians from sister-clubs and Rotoractors who greatly assisted in the proceedings. In true Rotary tradition, there was the usual long litany of speeches and exchanges of gifts. The shortest speech, to our relief, was President Aaron’s.which was completely impromptu. Then came the food, which was excellent and abundant, and the entertainment. 

Gracious dance by the spouses of the Taipei NE Rotarians 

The entertainment began with a gracious dance by the spouses of the Taipei NE Rotarians. The ladies who are from a wide range of age-groups obviously had put in much effort in practicing for the occasion and sourcing for the costumes. We wondered if our ladies can be persuaded to do the same at our events. Other entertainment items included a bevy of stunning Taiwanese beauties who played modern Chinese music on classical Chinese instruments and an energetic yet spiritual Japanese drum and flute performance. The most rousing and enjoyable evening was, true to Chinese tradition, well lubricated by almost non-stop “kan pei” of wine and liquors. The evening ended with all the Taipei NE Rotarians lining up at the exit of the hall to bid goodbye and present gifts to each and every one of their many guests.

Visit to Countryside Yilan

The next day the Taipei NE Rotarians organised a tour for us to Yilan, the county next to Taipei. There was visited a high-tech  Orchid farm, had another lavish meal at a high-tech fish farm, visited the Ka Va Lan whisky distillery of the King Car group and also visited the Taiwan Traditional Arts and Crafts Centre. The Taipei Rotarians were insistent on hosting us to another lavish dinner but we declined and asked for hawker food instead. So they brought us to the Shen Chuang Food Street, Taipei’s premier street food area where they booked a private dining room and had the hawkers bring up to us food from no less than 30 different stalls. Our expectation of a simple makan after all the non-stop feasting came to nought.

For Sunday, many of us went our separate ways. PP Kevin and spouse Diana took a few of us to Yang Minshang park to view the cherry blossoms, and also fight our way through the huge Sunday crowd. Then it was a visit to the showroom of what must be Taipei’s most luxurious (and expensive) development and, again, a delicious Japanese sushi lunch. An offer was made for dinner but this time we were insistent that we burden our hosts no more. The Taipei NE Rotarians arranged transportation for us to the airport and bid us good bye at our hotel when we left.

President Aaron and First Lady "escaped" to the Orchid Farm

This visit to Taipei was a truly enjoyable experience for those of us fortunate enough to have participated in it.  Our sister-club Rotarians were truly generous in the way they offered the right hand of Rotary to us. Now it is our turn to do no less when we next meet them here.