That's the air we breathe every day of our lives. The air of tension is compounded by the possibility of natural disaster. On top of that, every July, another kind of tension fills Taipei. In the Buddhist temples, crowds of high-school students pray for success in the vitally important university entrance exams. Only about 56 per cent pass.
Suicide rates are high.
Lin often attends a temple after Cloud Gate performances and maintains a shrine in a room at Taipei's National Theatre, the main performance venue of the company. The interview continues over the next two days - watching the clouds at sunset by the swimming pool of his club, the Royal Balibay, another dinner of rice soup and steamed fish, then at his home, sitting on the floor by his shrine, on the balcony overlooking the river, and finally at the company's studio. The family had little money. Up to 30,000 were murdered. Even photos of loved ones who disappeared were hidden by their families.