I have just spent ten days accompanying John Seed on a trip around Taiwan. John is an environmentalist from Australia well known for his efforts protecting rainforests around the world and also as a philosopher of Deep Ecology. I met John at the Taoyuan Airport on the morning of 28 March. We then took the high speed train to Kaohsiung where we met Dr Lin Yih-ren who arranged John’s visit to Taiwan. Continue reading
Over the weekend I visited the Bunun community of Kalibuan (Wangxiang, 望鄉部落) with a group of students from Providence University and National Chengchi University. The first stop on the way was a small museum in Xinyi Township of Nantou County. The museum contains a range of materials related to Bunun culture.
The picture above shows a reconstruction of a traditional slate house in the museum. There are also some items related to hunting and farming and a reproduction of a Bunun calendar. The Bunun were the only group of Austronesian people in Taiwan to develop a writing system. The calendar contains information about phases of the moon, hunting, farming activities and significant events like births or marriages. The knowledge about making the calendars was only held by a few families.
On the first day in the village of Wangxiang we learnt about the farming activities. The main crops grown in the village are village are plums and grapes. Grapes are mainly grown by people from outside the community. The land is classified as baoliudi (保留地) which can only be sold to indigenous people. However, illegal deals are used by outsiders to gain control of the land.
Neqo Soqluman, pictured on the left above, is one of my colleagues at Providence University. On the right is Dina Ibu, an elder in the community. They are part of a group that established the Tongku Saveq School to teach people about the traditional knowledge and culture of the Bunun. They have set aside some land in the village for traditional farming and seed saving. They enthusiastically introduced some of the many seeds they have planted on the land. Most of the seeds were varieties of beans.
On Sunday morning I woke up to see this view of Taiwan’s highest peak. Most people in Taiwan call it Jade Mountain (玉山), but the Bunun people call it Tongku Saveq. The Bunun people were moved to this area by the Japanese in 1938. One of the conditions for moving to the new village was that they would be able to see the peak of Tongku Saveq. The Chinese name of the village, Wangxiang (望鄉), means “the place with a view.”
The second day, Tiang, a hunter from the community led us along the hunting trail. A large group wandering along in the day time is unlikely to meet many animals. Tiang showed us some plants in the forest and also talked about some of the plant-animal interactions. His knowledge of the forest was quite extraordinary. He also told many stories about his experiences while hunting.
Another special thing about visiting Kalibuan was the singing. The Bunun are famous for their eight part harmony singing. While we didn’t get to hear this we heard a number of songs that sounded truly wonderful. It was a great weekend getting to know more about Bunun culture.
Klaus Bardenhagen, a German reporter based in Taiwan, interviewed Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), director of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of International Affairs, in Banqiao yesterday. He kindly provided me with a copy of the interview for use on this blog. In the interview Hsiao talks about the current election campaign and the the development of democracy in Taiwan.
I recently noted how the DPP was actively encouraging youth to vote. Hsiao explained, “Young people, according to polls, favour our party over the others by a two to one margin which is very good. Unfortunately the young people are not reliable because their voter turnout is low. Only about 30% of the young people come out to vote. So we really want to increase the voter turnout among younger people.”
Part of the strategy to improve the youth vote makes use of the internet. I blogged about how the DPP was actively using social media in the local elections last year. “Social media is very important. In addition to traditional TV commercials and advertising, which is very expensive, we want to work on cost effective means to reach the younger people. We have new internet campaign advertising. We use Facebook, Plurk, YouTube and other means to reach younger people,” Hsiao said.
Another part of the DPP campaign is focused on swing voters. Hsiao said, “In order to win the election we have to capture the swing voters. It’s actually a small number of people in Taiwan, but there are people who do fluctuate between the two major political parties. We need to capture them. That’s very important. So our strategy needs to be focused on the issues that are very much relevant to the people’s daily lives. Contrary to other national level elections where ideology and national security issues would be prominent, these elections are really about the local life here in the cities.”
People who watch television news in Taiwan will see a lot of images of candidates out amongst the voters handshaking and greeting. This is a more traditional form of campaigning. Hsiao said, “I think a lot of Taiwanese want to make a personal connection to the political leaders who they see on TV. But there is not that personal connection so as candidates we try to meet them in person and to do that we really need to be on the streets a lot. Walking along the streets and shopping districts shaking hands, going to the marketplaces where crowds tend to congregate.”
The DPP has its roots in the opposition movement that formed during the Martial Law era. The culture of election campaigns has changed a lot since those days. Hsiao said, “Taiwan has matured significantly over the past 20 years in our democratization so nowadays in our rallies we try to be more positive and forward looking instead of protesting something negative, instead of being confrontational. We still have street rallies and parades but we try to be more festive and positive so that families so that families can come. We are no longer a confrontational challenge, but instead a party that has a forward looking and happy agenda.”
Voters in the five cities — Greater Kaohsiung, Greater Tainan, Greater Taichung, Xinbei City (formerly Taipei County) and Taipei City — will cast their votes on 27 November. The DPP is widely expected to win the mayorship in Kaohsiung and Tainan while the KMT is expected to win in Taichung. The contests in Taipei and Xinbei cities are much closer and difficult to predict. The results will set the stage for the next major elections for the legislature and president in 2012.
*Photo from Hsiao Bi-khim’s Facebook page.
My recent letter in the Taipei Times ended by saying that youth must speak out to protect freedom in Taiwan. After I posted a link to my letter on Facebook Michael Turton commented that the youth also need to vote.
It seems very timely that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) just released a campaign video featuring rapper Dog G* (大支) titled “Change Taiwan” (改變台灣). The DPP writes in the description (see full text and translation below) of Dog G’s video that they want youth to actively participate in and contribute their ideas to the election campaign. They go on to write, “the DPP wants to promote an overall increase in the youth vote. It is not just concerned with the overall breakdown of votes between the parties. The key point is that youth should play a key role in this election!”
The description also says that the video seeks to overthrow older people’s stereotypes about the younger generation. The lyrics intend to highlight how young people are actively engaged in society. For example, mobilising to help after the Typhoon Morakot floods and their role in the Dapu Land Grab Incident.
The video is also interesting because although it was created for the DPP, it doesn’t actually mention the DPP anywhere in the video. This follows an earlier campaign video from the DPP which also appealed to the centre ground. Peter Martin at Sinocentric noted the earlier ad, “pitches strait to the political centre-ground and tries to talk past the highly partisan debates which often characterize Taiwanese politics.”
The lyrics of the song represent a paradigm change from the ethnic-based politics of the past to a younger generation who have gone beyond ethnicity to just identify with Taiwan. Dog G sings:
我們不管藍綠綠藍這些
[We don’t care about blue versus green and green versus blue]
我們很簡單就是關心台灣，關心社會
[We just simply care about Taiwan and care about the society]
我們也沒有什麼族權問題總總
[We also don’t have a problem with different ethnic groups]
The V-sign in the video represents the word “vote”. I also suggest that V can represent “voice”. The combination of youth using their vote and their voice can change Taiwan.
*At the time this article was published rap artist 大支 used the English name Dog G. He now goes by the name Dwagie.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Chinese-language text from the video description. English translation by David.
年輕選票成為這場選舉的關鍵力量！
Let the youth vote become this election’s key power!
對於台灣的未來，年輕人應該擔當的是有主導權的關鍵者，而不該是在一旁唱唱跳跳的旁觀者。因此選戰以來，民進黨不僅鼓勵年輕人主動參與、規劃各項競選事務，由他們按著自己的想法來主導，對於青年族群在選舉中的影響，民進黨更關心的是整體青年投票率的提升，而非僅僅於政黨的得票比例。重點是年輕人要在這場選舉裡扮演關鍵角色！
Regarding Taiwan’s future, youth are taking on a key leadership role and not just standing on the sidelines as spectators. Hence, since the election campaign began the DPP has not just encouraged youth to participate in planning every aspect of the campaign, it has also let their ideas lead the way. Concerning the influence of youth groups on the election the DPP wants to promote an overall increase in the youth vote. It is not just concerned with the overall breakdown of votes between the parties. The key point is that youth should play a key role in this election!
這首[改變台灣]由知名的HIP HOP歌手大支創作，MV則由來自五都，包括多個大學HIP HOP社團學生、運動員、藝術工作者等各行各業超過150位年輕朋友在月前透過網路揪團拍攝。[改變台灣]歌詞推翻年輕人被大人世界加上的[草莓族]、[政治冷感]刻板印象，特別以88水災時年輕人發動比政府更有效率的救災行動、日前成功爭取社會注目，最後逼得馬政府退讓的「大埔農地」事件為例，強調年輕人不僅不是冷漠的旁觀者，更有領導時代，改變台灣的雄心與能力。而改變台灣的方式，mv當中則以[v]手勢，作為年輕族群揪團投票(vote)的默契，邀請所有年輕人用選票打造自己的理想五都。
The song “Change Taiwan” was created by well known hip hop artist Dog G. In the music video there are students from university hip hop clubs, athletes, artists and workers of every kind from all five cities* who seized the chance to film last month. The lyrics overthrow older people’s stereotypes of the youth as being the strawberry generation or indifferent to politics. The lyrics especially mention the youth response in providing disaster relief during the Typhoon Morakot floods was more effective than the government’s response. The way youth argued with the Ma government over the Dapu Land Grab Incident is another example. This emphasizes that youth are not just indifferent spectators. They are leaders with ambitions and potential to change Taiwan. The V-sign in the video means “vote” and signifies youth recognising the power of the vote. We invite every young person to use their vote to create their ideal “five cities”.
*Five cities refers to the five cities holding elections: Taipei City, Xinbei City (Taipei County), Greater Taichung, Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung.
I went on a trip to Smangus this week. I carefully checked the weather forecast on Sunday night before I left. I was aware that Tropical Storm Lionrock and the low pressure system to the northwest of Taiwan would influence the weather during the week. However, it seemed unlikely that either of them would directly impact Taiwan. By the time I arrived in Smangus on Monday afternoon the potential tracks of the storms had changed. The low pressure system had been upgraded to a tropical storm named Namtheun and was heading for the north of Taiwan.
On Tuesday morning someone told me the police at the Xiuluan checkpoint had called several times suggesting that I leave the village. I asked a few people in the village for their advice and they didn’t seem too worried. At that stage there had only been a little light rain. I decided to stay because I know that Smangus is a safe place. The most dangerous place to be during a typhoon is the roads and rivers. Travelling down the mountain in the middle of a torrential downpour would certainly be more dangerous than staying in the village.
Anyway with a possible storm approaching the people of Smangus took the opportunity to harvest the final field of millet for the season. A film crew from PTS (公共電視台) were there to film the harvesting for use in a documentary they are making about Smangus.
I have used some photos of the harvesting to illustrate to this blog post. The group of about twenty people moved slowly through the field. They worked efficiently but never seemed to rush.
Soon all the millet was in bundles like the one pictured above. It was then loaded onto a truck and taken back to the village. It was stored in a shed, although they will put the millet outside to dry when it is sunny.
The impending storms never eventuated. There was some rain while I was staying in the village, but nothing serious. By Wednesday morning there was bright sunshine.
Four members of the organisation Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights (MVFHR) from the United States spoke at a forum in Taichung last night. They talked of their experiences as victims of murder and violent crime and how they came to be activists against the death penalty. It is a common assumption that the families of murder victims would all support the death penalty. However, the speakers showed that this is a false assumption and they all sought to affirm the importance of human rights and the value of human life.
Aba Gayle began by speaking about her personal experience following the murder of her 19 year old daughter Catherine. For eight years following Catherine’s murder Gayle she experienced what she called “eight years of darkness.” She was consumed with anger. Gayle said anger is a normal part of the grieving process but many families become stuck in it.
Eventually Gayle began a process of healing through practice of meditation and study of the world’s wisdom traditions. She went on to write a letter to Douglas Mickey, the man who murdered Catherine. In the moment of sending the letter all the feelings of anger were gone and she felt peace, love and joy, she said. She then went to visit Mickey in prison and resolved to become an advocate for the men on death row. Continue reading
On Sunday and Monday I attended a conference in Smangus. The conference, organized by National Chiao Tung University (國立交通大學), brought together a small group of anthropologists to discuss the topic of “Rethinking environment, localisation and indigenisation.” While it poured rain on the Sunday afternoon the cafe at provided a great refuge for the presenters gave their papers.
The presentations started with Dr Lin Yih-ren (林益仁) talking about the politics of the plan for the Maqaw National Park. The proposed national park covers a mountain area that is the traditional territory of the Atayal people. The social movement to promote the park developed through several stages. Initially indigenous people were not involved but an alliance between indigenous people and conservationists later developed. However, there was also another indigenous group that opposed the park. The plan for the park is now suspended but it has had an important influence on the development of ecotourism and laws related to indigenous peoples.
Jackson Hu’s paper on the fetish landscapes of the Theravada Buddhist communities in the China-Burma border region wasn’t able to attend to give his presentation, but presented via a PowerPoint presentation with a voice recording.
Kerim Friedman presented a paper on language rights in Taiwan. He looked at how Taiwan developed a place-based multiculturalism in the 1990s, based on Japanese ideas. This has led to a fragmentation of the local language market. For example, there are 43 different language tests for Austronesian languages, even though there are only fourteen officially recognised ethno-linguistic groups.
The next set of presentations were both about Amis communities on the east coast of Taiwan. Yi-tze Lee (李宜澤) talked about the development of organic agriculture in the Talampo community in Fuli (富里). Interestingly this community is known as the “dark village” (黑色部落) because it has no electricity, a name that was also once given to Smangus. Lee contrasted the organic farming practices of Talampo with those of the Chinese-speaking farmers on nearby Liushi Dan Mountain (六十石山).
Next was a presentation about the ‘Tolan community (都蘭) near Taitung. The spirit of the community was very much present as four of the five authors, all members of the ‘Tolan community, were involved in giving the presentation. They looked at the driftwood from Typhoon Morakot and how this sparked action among the young people in the community. Even though most of the young men live outside the village, they discussed the topic via their community website and this led to them taking action to assert their rights to the wood.
Anna Tsing who is a professor of anthropology at the University of California Santa Cruz was the final presenter. She is well known for her book Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection which looks at the forests of southern Kalimantan in Indonesia as a site for understanding the interplay of the local, provincial, national and global networks that shape the forests.
Tsing’s paper was on the subject of “blasted landscapes.” She looked at the ecological the harvesting of matsutake mushrooms in four countries. These mushrooms only grow on disturbed forest environments with poor soils. Hence they can be used to understand the ecological concept of disturbance. The disturbed landscapes the matsutake mushrooms grow on show how humans can live in disturbed environments. For example, in the US Pacific Northwest the mushrooms are picked by Vietnam War veterans and refugees from Cambodia and Laos. Going into the forests and picking the mushrooms is a form of recuperation for these people whose lives have been affected by war.
A number of members of the Smangus community joined us in the evening for Anna Tsing’s presentation and then gave their own presentations. Lahuy Icyeh introduced the Smangus community and explained how they developed their communal system of management. Then Kevan Berg, a Ph.D. student from Canada, who is currently doing fieldwork in Smangus introduced his research. His study is about landscape ethnoecology and seeks to understand the forest habitat classifications of the Atayal in Smangus. Finally the chief of Smangus, Icyeh Sulung, spoke to the group. He was very happy that the conference was being held in Smangus. He said that the development of ecotourism in Smangus was a way to share traditional knowledge about the environment and to educate people about the importance of environmental protection.
The skies were clear on Monday morning as the group set out on the hike to the Yaya Qparung, the grove of ancient cypress trees. The walk was punctuated by a number of stops along the way where Lahuy talked about the history of various sites. Although the walking trail is now lined by bamboo and forest, it was until a few decades ago being cultivated in some areas. Some evidence of this is still present.
At lunch before we left Lahuy pounded some millet for everyone to try. Accompanied by wild honey it tasted quite delicious. The photo above shows Lahuy displaying some of the different millet varieties that are grown in Smangus. Although millet is no longer a staple in their the diet the people in Smangus still grow some millet every year. One of the reasons for this is to preserve the different varieties. Currently they grow seven varieties and they plan to cultivate more in the future.
Smangus was a great location for the conference on the ethnoecology. There was a chance to learn from anthropologists studying ecologically related topics and also learn directly about traditional ecological knowledge in Smangus.
*For more photos see Kerim’s set of Smangus photos at flickr.
Over the weekend I joined a trip organised by the Research Centre for Austronesian Peoples at Providence University to Ren’ai Township in Nantou County (南投縣仁愛鄉). We visited several villages in the area to learn more about Seediq (賽德克族) culture. The main purpose of the trip was as an orientation for professors from several universities who are working on a project to improve science and maths education for indigenous children. They plan to include various elements of local culture and knowledge into the curriculum to make it more relevant and improve learning outcomes.
The first place was visited was Sadu (靜觀), which was at the end of the road at an altitude of 1,500 metres. In the church Pastor Kumu Tapas gave us a talk about various aspects of the local culture and history. Actually the people in this village identify as Toda, a sub-group of the Seediq. The other two sub-groups of the Seediq are the Tkdaya and Truku. The Seediq groups were classified as Atayal until the Truku gained official recognition 2004. Then the Seediq (Tkdaya) were officially recognised in 2008. However, the Toda haven’t gained recognition as a separate group.
On the way down from Sadu we stopped at a small village. This village contained a number of wooden buildings which date back to the Japanese era. Some of the scenes of the forthcoming movie Seediq Bale were shot here. This is the area where many of the historical events surrounding the Wushe Incident that the movie is based on took place. Following the Wushe Incident in 1930 the people from these villages were forced to move down by the Japanese.
Although we didn’t go Lushan (廬山) we stopped on the road to view it from above. Lushan was in the news when Typhoon Sinlaku hit in 2008. A hotel that toppled in the river and was captured on video attracted a lot of media attention. It might be a little difficult to make out in the photo above (click through to view the large size) but some of the buildings in the centre were partially buried and what you can see is actually just the second or third floor of the original building, now at ground level. This event cannot be described as a “natural disaster” though. The buildings are actually occupying the channel of the river. The “disaster” was man-made and an inevitable consequence of inappropriate development.
Later in the afternoon we reached Snuwil (春陽). On the road we met Labai, an elderly woman. She took us up to some fields where she cut some ramie (苧麻) which is the plant used to get the fibre for weaving. Then we got down to the church where she demonstrated much of the process involved in preparing the fibres and then weaving them. The first step is stripping the fibres from the raw plant. The next step was spinning the fibres. The steps of washing and dying weren’t shown, but once the fibres had been prepared Labai then showed how the threads are set up for the loom. This is shown in the picture above. After this the threads are transferred to the loom so the weaving work can begin.
Seeing the amount of work and knowledge that went into creating the final product gives one a new level of appreciation for this craft. After showing us the weaving Labai played the bamboo mouth harp for us. This is shown in the picture at the top of the post.
On Sunday morning Seling led us on a walk to the top of a nearby hill. Along the way he stopped to point out various plants in the forest and to talk about various aspects of hunting. He also showed us how he sets up several kinds of traps.
The photo above shows one of the traps in closer detail. On a hunting trip he would set dozens of traps like this. It is a good reason to be cautious about wandering off established trails in mountain areas! Seling also explained how hunters will tie the grass or make marks on the trees as a signal to others that they are in the area. There are also rules about the ownership of hunting grounds which reduce the risk of hunters “catching” each other.
Later on Sunday morning we joined the church service in Snuwil. The community is quite large with over 1,000 people so there was a sizable congregation. There were also a lot of young people who played an active role in the service. The service was conducted in both Seediq and Mandarin. It was great to experience this as it is a very important part of the community life.
中文版：賽德克巴萊的傳統領域
The Asia Pacific Greens Network Congress took place in Taipei from Friday through Sunday. It brought together members of Green parties and environmental activists from many countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region and also from Europe. I attended the conference on Saturday.
The focus of the day’s talks was climate change, particularly in the light of the failure of the COP15 meeting in Copenhagen last December to achieve a satisfactory outcome. The opening speech was given by Mr Apisai Ielemia, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu. Tuvalu is one of the smallest nations on Earth and also one of the most vulnerable to climate change. The people of Tuvalu must face not just the impacts of climate change but the possibility that their entire country may be submerged by rising sea levels.
Ielemia explained why he believed the talks in Copenhagen were a failure. He put the blame squarely on the USA, saying the Copenhagen Accord was hastily put together to cover over the lack of action by the USA and for President Obama to have something to take home for domestic political reasons.
A problem with the Accord is that it sets a target of below 2ºC for the peaking of global temperatures. “Recent science tells us that a global temperature peak of around two degrees is likely to cause Tuvalu to disappear under the sea. I was certainly not going to sign on to a document that would spell the end of Tuvalu,” Ielemia said.
Ielemia proposed that the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol and setting ambitious targets for this. “The Kyoto Protocol is the only international agreement that binds industrialised countries to emission reduction targets,” Ielemia said. He also said the UK government has expressed support for continuation of the Protocol and he hopes the rest of Europe will follow. Continue reading
Over the weekend I visited some of the areas affected by Typhoon Morakot in Kaohsiung County with a group of law students from Providence University. It is now more than eight months since the typhoon hit Taiwan. While there has been so much reported about the event in the media visiting these places provides a better understanding of the magnitude of the disaster.
The first part of the trip visited Liugui (六龜) and Baolai (寶來). In Liugui a Bunun elder related the history of his community. Following the typhoon they have been frustrated in their efforts to find a new place to relocate their village. Even though they have found a suitable place the government has repeatedly refused them permission to move there.
Dr Lin Yih-ren raised the important point that “moving the village” (遷村) is actually a normal part of the culture of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. Historically they also migrated to new locations within Taiwan. However, forced relocation by the government is something different and doesn’t respect the autonomy or integrity of indigenous communities.
A satellite photo in Liugui showed the extent of landslides. These occurred in both areas were people lived and also in other places were there were no people living and no agricultural or other activities. This indicates the problem is not just related to land use, but is closely linked to the geology of the area. The landscape is very fragile in nature.
Travelling between Liugui and Baolai was a chance to see some of the landslides. The roads are still under reconstruction and in some places there are temporary roads through the landslides. In some places the landslides are more than ten metres deep. The forces of nature that were unleashed were truly formidable.
On the second day of the trip we visited Tzu Chi’s Da Ai Village in Shanlin (杉林慈濟大愛村). The development of the village is still ongoing, but there are presently about 800 people living in the village. One good thing about the village is the use of surface drainage that doesn’t rely on large amounts of concrete. It is more natural and is a good example of ecological design. However, I didn’t see this reflected in the construction of the buildings or the layout of the site. The long grey lines of concrete boxes did not include any elements of passive solar design and there were no solar hot water systems installed on the roofs. The square layout and box-like designs don’t reflect the natural environment or necessarily promote the development of community. It seems more authoritarian in nature.
In two days there was only enough time to gain a preliminary understanding of the situation. It was a chance to hear some different voices at the grassroots level speaking about how they had been affected by the disaster. But ultimately in the short time there were a lot more questions than answers.
In the time immediately after the disaster people need basic assistance like food, shelter and medicine. But in the long-term they need to be self-reliant. This means government should not just think about how to provide basic assistance, but put long term plans in place that consider sustainability and security for local people. Dr Lin Yih-ren said that we should think about “people in the disaster area” (災區裡面的人民) instead of “disaster victims” (災民).
Local people need to be able to make decisions about the future, but they cannot do this while there is continuing uncertainty or if the government is unwilling to listen to their voices. It is important to make a proper assessment of local people’s needs and ensure their voices are heard and they play an active role in decision making. Local people have a lot of knowledge about the area and they are also the ones who have to live with the consequences of the decisions that are made.
Disaster also brings benefits such as construction projects, gravel and driftwood. But who actually benefits from this? This is a fundamental issue of social justice. What if infrastructure is built in a way that satisfies demands of contractors and corporations but is not appropriate or of poor quality? Who takes responsibility for this? If infrastructure needs to be rebuilt every time there is a big typhoon then corporations and contractors can profit from this, but the local people and the taxpayers are the ones who bear the burden.
While the central government is controlled by the KMT, the local government in Kaohsiung County is controlled by the DPP. The problems are not just related to political parties, but are linked to the nature of the political economy in Taiwan.
*Thanks to Dr Lin Yih-ren and Lin Shu-ya for inviting me to join this trip.
Post-script: After returning from the trip to Kaohsiung County I learnt of the landslide across the freeway in Keelung. It again highlights the fragile nature of Taiwan’s geology. While the immediate response to the disaster is important, in the long-term it is also necessary to seek answers about why this event occurred.
David on Formosa 