Taipei Local Customs

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In Honolulu, Sun Yat Sen enrolled in the Iolani School where he learnt English,
Mathematics and Science. From absolutely no knowledge of English,
Sun Yat Sen picked up the language so quickly that he was awarded a prize
for outstanding achievement in English by King David Kalakaua.
Sun Yat Sen then enrolled in Oahu College for further studies but he
was soon sent home to China as his brother,
Sun Mei was afraid that Sun Yat Sen
would embrace Christianity.

When he returned to Cuiheng village in 1883, the scene that met his eyes
was a China that demanded exorbitant taxes and levies from its people.
The people were conservative, and the schools kept their ancient
methods -accept and not question. There was no opportunity for
expression of thoughts or opinions.

At the tender age of 11, Sun loved to stand under the huge fig tree outside
his home to listen to stories about the Taiping rebellion. Impressions
of a decadent Qing government and the peasant revolt were strongly etched in his mind.

In 1879, the thirteen-year-old Sun Yat Sen and his mother sailed to Honolulu,
Hawaii to join his brother Sun Mei. They travelled in a 2000-ton
British steamship named, S.S. Grannock. On the deck of the ship,
Sun gazed out to the wide expanse of the ocean and thought,
"For the first time I have witnessed such wonders -
that of a metal steamship travelling on the vast sea;
I must learn such technology to unravel the mysteries of heaven and earth
(astronomy and geography)". Since then, Sun became conscious of the
power of machines and the advanced level of science and
technology developed by the West.

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Sun Yat-sen himself had no direct part in the uprising and was traveling
in the United States at the time in an effort to recruit more support from
among overseas Chinese. He found out about the uprising by
reading a newspaper report.

A sense of the Qing dynasty's having lost the mandate of heaven may have
contributed to the revolt. Evidence of the loss of the mandate of heaven,
in China, often constitutes of natural disasters, such as fires and floods.
The Yangtze overflowed its banks in 1911, and the revolting troops were
situated near that river. Such a flood would have had a profound psychological
impact on any government officials, rebels, peasants, and other Chinese in the vicinity,
and the flood was a notable disaster, with 100,000 fatalities.

The Qing government, led by the regent, 2nd Prince Chun, failed to respond
for a crucial few weeks. This gave the revolutionaries time to declare a provisional
government. Other provincial assemblies then joined the revolutionaries.
Within a month, representatives of the seceding provinces had met to
declare a Republic of China. A compromise between the conservative gentry
and the revolutionaries saw Sun Yat-sen chosen as provisional president.

In Taiwan, the date of the uprising, October 10,
is celebrated as a national holiday known as Double Tenth Day.

After the the 72 Revolutionary Martyrs of Huanghuakang
righteously and courageously went to their death ,
revolutionary sentiments swelled across the land,
gaining power and momentum with each passing day.
Supporters of the movement spread word through the
Yangtze River basin area to coordinate its uprising with the New Army.

At this same time, the Ch'ing government was attempting to
nationalize the private railways, a move which brought universal
protest from the people. And when the court ordered its troops to
summarily execute those who disobeyed, popular rage was stirred
to new heights. Feeling that the moment was ripe,
the Wuch'ang New Army began to move, entreating Huang Hsing to instigate
rebellion in Hupei. The plot failed, however,
leading to the arrest of some of the martyrs and seizure of party name lists.
When the New Army heard of this news, there was no turning back,
so it spearheaded the revolution on October 10.

Tsai Chi-min led the public in a bombardment of the
Mancho Viceroy's office. When Viceroy Jui-cheng and
Commander Chang Piao heard the sound of gunfire,
they disappeared without a trace. Without their Commander,
the Ch'ing troops fell into disorder allowing the New Army to
completely occupy the three city Wuhan area within a few days.
Hunan, Kwangtung, Kwangsi, and five other provinces joined in revolt,
and before a month had passed more than 10 provinces
had been liberated by the revolutionary army.
The Ch'ing government was overthrown soon after and
Asia's first democracy was founded(The Republic of China.

The National Day Parade is the main event of the morning
activities on Double Tenth, and is followed by a public parade
including representatives of different professions, as well as
entertainment and folk performances. schools and organizations
from all around Taiwan come to perform a variety of meticulously
planned presentations, ranging from present day cheerleader drills
and honor guard displays to the older traditional dances and folk
performances. Evening events include the National Day Fireworks Display,
which for several hours turns the night sky over the major cities of Taiwan
into a dazzling explosion of color, and the elaborately National Day
Evening Ceremony,
a perfect final hurrah for the nation's birthday party.

THE TEXT IS FROM A ROC SPONSORED WEBSITE....
...just to give ya a feel of the way they advertise the event

Ceremonial raising of the national flag,
dragon and lion dances, a parade,
traditional art performances and display a huge fireworks.

The radiance of October in Taiwan
is ushered in with the Birthday of the Republic of China:
Double Tenth National Day; celebrated every year on October 10th
to commemorate the Wuch'ang Uprising in 1911,
a milestone in China's political development and new chapter
in the history of the Chinese people. Every Double
Tenth National Day the people on Taiwan and overseas
Chinese from all over the world come together to
cheer the nation on its birthday celebration.

The Celebration Ceremony held in front of the Presidential Office
Building in the morning of National Day is attended by ministers,
returned overseas Chinese, foreign dignitaries, and hundreds of
thousands of people from around the country.
The martial spirit of the armed forces is displayed to the nation
in full regalia during the ceremony military review,
and the climax of the day is the Presidential Address made to the nation.

If you examine the receipts (or so called uniform-invoices) given when you purchased stuff from shops in Taiwan, you will find that each has an unique 8-digit number at its top. This is a lottery number where the winning numbers are published on the 25th of every odd month of the year. The lottery is a gimmick used by the government so that businesses in Taiwan have to report actual revenues to the tax office. (Receipts are proof of revenues and the lottery motivates the consumers to ask for them :P) Foreigners can claim the prizes too. ;)

These burners can be found all around Taiwan on the run up to special days and holidays. The tradition is that people burn pretend yellow money which when burnt passes on to loved ones who have died, ghosts, and gods.