We started the day with a late morning stroll to the hot springs of Beitou. It was once the homeland of the Ketagalon people who have long since vanished. During Japanese rule, Beitou was once the pleasure district of Taipei, located on the northern basin. The sulfurous fumes emanating from the springs are renowned for shortening the lives of electronics and tarnishing metals. The waters exceed 100 degrees celsius in places and are not safe to bath in. In addition, there are high levels of lead sulfate in the water rendering it dangerous to ingest. The buildings surrounding the springs have been the focus of renovation and preservation by the municipal government as they are largely a remnant of foreign and Japanese influence as reflected in the architecture. This area was also the summer retreat of Yu Youren, father of the Control Yuan, sage of cursive script, and flowing-beard aficionado.
We then returned to the hotel to change into formal attire for our visit with the Vice President of the Republic of China: Vincent Siew (蕭萬長 or Xiao Wanchang). He was courteous enough to address some questions from the group and impressed upon us the importance of remembering who we are and where we come from. We also took a group photo in the Presidential Palace which is forthcoming. We departed carrying with us gifts of lapel pins and pop-up pamphlets.
After the meeting, we enjoyed hot pot for dinner.
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