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• My next trip: Beijing => Hong Kong => Taipei => Kinmen => Xiamen => Beijing. Wow! The history nut in me is excited! http://tr.im/EXBt

  Sunday, Nov 15, 2009 4:05AM / Standard Entry

  Stephen Wang My next trip: Beijing => Hong Kong => Taipei => Kinmen => Xiamen => Beijing. Wow! The history nut in me is excited! http://www.alivenotdead.com/stephen... 11 hours ago from Twitter - Comment - Like

  
  

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• Beijing to Hong Kong to Taipei to Kinmen to Xiamen to Beijing

  Sunday, Nov 15, 2009 4:02AM / Standard Entry

  Some of you might know that I recently moved up to Beijing after living three years in Hong Kong. I'll be working to help expand alivenotdead.com through mainland China. As part of the job, I'll continue to return back to Hong Kong on a monthly basis (including my next trip on November 21), and this trip back will include my upcoming birthday celebration. After my birthday, though, I'm returning to Beijing on a very special itinerary.

  
  

  First, I'll be going to Taipei on November 27th where we're having a big family reunion. I'll be able to see my Mom for the first time in about a year and a half and one of my brothers for the first time in over two years as well as much of my extended family. Our family reunion this year includes a trip to Kinmen Island (金門島) (or "Quemoy") on November 29th, a place that I've wanted to visit for many years. Kinmen Island is only two kilometers away from mainland China, but is still a part of Taiwan. In fact, before living in Hong Kong, I was living in Xiamen and could see Kinmen from my office on clear weather days. The two islands are so close together that you can actually receive a Taiwan Chunghwa cellphone signal from parts of Xiamen.

  
  

  

  
  

  Historically, the tiny island has historical significance as one of the final battles of the Chinese Civil War and effectively stopped the PLA from overrunning Taiwan. Several years later, China again tried to retake Kinmen and, in response, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff actually recommended a nuclear attack against China to obliterate the PLA. Luckily, President Eisenhower, not being a complete nutcase, overruled his advisors and decided against the attack. Nonetheless, the island continued the first line of defense for Taiwan against mainland China for decades afterwards and many members of our older Taiwanese generations spent many cold nights during their mandatory military service years watching China from the hundreds of bunkers on the island while being constantly bombarded with artillery shells. Not fun...

  
  

  Luckily, as Cross-Straits relations improved, China and Taiwan replaced the military bunkers with tourist ports, and direct ferry transit between Kinmen and Xiamen began for Taiwanese businessmen in 2002. Unfortunately, I was never able to take the short trip while living in Xiamen because I hold an American passport, so even though it was enticingly close, I continued to have to go to Hong Kong whenever I had to travel out of China to renew my visa.

  
  

  Now, thanks to Ma Ying-jeou, we can all now travel between the two islands with a simple China tourist visa. Thanks, President Ma!

  
  

  Now, after my family trip to visit the beautiful Kinmen National Park, I can travel directly to Xiamen for the FIRST time and visit my friends. After that, I can travel directly back to Beijing on a cheap domestic flight instead of having to fly all the way back to Taipei.

  
  

  So here's is an outline of my upcoming trip... historically impossible only two years ago and now no problem at all...

  
  

  
  
  

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• Join us Sat. nite @ Beijing Club showcasing #alivenotdead music acts (11/7: 24 Herbs). Limited free tix here: http://tr.im/tokyonites

  Wednesday, Nov 4, 2009 10:41AM / Standard Entry

  Stephen Wang Join us Sat. nite @ Beijing Club showcasing #alivenotdead music acts (11/7: 24 Herbs). Limited free tix here: http://www.alivenotdead.com/cityofn... 8 hours ago from Twitter - Comment - Like

  
  

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• Am watching U2 Live at the Rose Bowl on the the Internets from Beijing... somewhere in that mob is one of my brothers.

  Monday, Oct 26, 2009 5:17PM / Standard Entry

  Stephen Wang Am watching U2 Live at the Rose Bowl on the the Internets from Beijing... somewhere in that mob is one of my brothers. 8 hours ago from Twitter - Comment - Like

  
  

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• BoA / BUMP BUMP! feat.VERBAL(m-flo)

  Tuesday, Oct 6, 2009 12:25AM / Standard Entry

  Stephen Wang BoA / BUMP BUMP! feat.VERBAL(m-flo) - http://www.youtube.com/watch... 10 hours ago from YouTube favorites - Comment - Like

  
  

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