社評0916 台北圓山飯店之貴氣已退色

台北圓山飯店之貴氣已退色

疫情過後我們首次踏進了有國門之稱的台北圓山大飯店 ，偌大的大廳充斥著陣陣喧嘩聲 ，旅客們衣著簡單， 並大排長龍 。這種平民化之景象， 圆山飯店真的變了 ，變得已經沒有以往之貴氣， 而是充分的平民化了。

當蔣介石退居台灣之後， 世界局勢丕變， 以蔣夫人為首之對外關係至關重要， 因此由她一手策劃建造了這座傲視全球特具中華色彩之圆山飯店。 同時接待了當時訪問台北的無數政要， 當民主之風潮席捲台灣時 ，當年還是黨外之民進黨也在此華豪壯觀之大廳宣告成立， 並澈底改變了由國民黨主導之政治生態。

當年圓山飯店蓋官雲集之場面已不再多見，整個圓山都看不到一面青天白日之國旗， 说明國民黨在台灣已經不斷衰敗之中。

當年這座盘踞在淡水河邊代表中華文化之龎然大物 ，已經有了質和量的變化。 在大堂裡經常看穿著拖鞋口嚼檳榔的平民， 當然這也不是件坏事 ，它代表了民主社會之另外一面。

台北的政治氣氛令人詭異不解 ，台北最高檔的京華飯店之布斐大排長龍 。我們在美國常見街頭到處是流浪漢之情景在台灣幾乎沒有 ，這代表這裡還是個富足之社會， 這種歌舞昇平之景象，他們根本不憂慮海峽兩岸惡化之情勢。

但是多數勞工階級 ，他們仍然要為三餐奔波， 有些人認為如果兩岸發生戰爭， 我們就投降吧。

The Luxury Of The Taipei Grand Hotel Has Faded

This is the first time we walked into the Taipei Grand Hotel since the pandemic ended. We saw a full

line of people waiting to check-in and the lobby was very noisy. This so-called "Gate of the Country" has changed.

In the 1950's when Chiang Kai-Sheik came to Taiwan, Madame Chiang was the one who built this very luxurious Chinese-style hotel in order to greet foreign visitors who came to visit Taiwan. Many important diplomatic events were hosted in this hotel.

In the late 1980's when the democratic movement started on the island, Taiwan's Democratic  Progressive Party announced its inauguration in the Grand Hotel. This also represented the changing of the government in Taiwan.      

Today we don't see any homeless people on the streets of Taipei and many high-end restaurants are still full of  customers. Most people don't feel any threats of a war for the Taiwan Strait, but some working class people have different views. One taxi driver told me, "when the war really comes, we just surrender."