Taiwan’s mountain landscapes are no less beautiful than Japan’s, but mountaineering photographer “Snow Sheep” recently shared on his Facebook fan page an article titled “Why Go Abroad to Hike?” In it, he reflects on the many deep-rooted flaws in Taiwan’s mountaineering culture—how it has long blindly copied foreign practices while ignoring the environmental differences between Taiwan and Japan, resulting in what he calls “oolong-style copying.” He lamented that “blindly copying others’ good ideas is a super tragedy.”
He cited two common issues in Taiwan’s mountaineering scene as examples. The first is the oolong-style copying of a well-known mountain hut in Taiwan. The result of blindly copying foreign designs is that what was originally a “drying room” in Japanese mountain huts, in Taiwan—due to the lack of unlimited heating—has tragically turned into a “humid and stuffy room,” making it even more uncomfortable for hikers to enter with their damp clothes.
The second issue is Taiwan’s “mandatory” mountaineering insurance. He pointed out that Japan’s mountaineering insurance has reasonable rates and high-quality coverage, and even without being mandatory, most Japanese hikers voluntarily purchase it. In contrast, Taiwan’s “government-pushed” policy not only has “extremely unreasonable” content and rates, but also fails to provide proper payouts, which he criticized as a “malicious form of copying.”
Taiwan indeed needs to learn from foreign examples, but he also lamented, “Blindly copying others’ good ideas is a super tragedy.” It’s essential to understand the context before devising a mountain culture and direction suited to Taiwan. He also emphasized, “Taiwan doesn’t have their strengths, and Japan doesn’t have ours either.”