Admin, Author at No Man Is An Island

“A Camp Unknown” Sheds Light on a Forgotten Period in Taiwan’s History

·March 18, 2023·3 min read

The PTS documentary "A Camp Unknown" (彼岸他方), directed by Awei Liu, proves an insightful look at a forgotten period in Taiwanese history. The documentary examines refugee camps for Chinese Vietnamese refugees that existed in Taiwan from 1977 to 1988 Read More

“Goddamned Asura” Aims for Humanistic Social Commentary

English Film

·March 15, 2023·3 min read

Taiwanese film in the last decade seems to have been fixated on depicting random acts of violence committed by troubled youth. This is due to the impact of real-world events such as the “Little Lightbulb Murder” in 2016 and the Cheng Chieh subway stabbing in 2014–but also due to the in-depth media reporting on these incidents that followed Read More

“Marry My Dead Body” Proves A Well-Intended and Capably Shot if Problematic LGBTQ Crime Caper

English Film

·March 11, 2023·4 min read

Marry My Dead Body is an entertaining and capably executed, if a bit breezy, buddy cop comedy with LGBTQ themes. The outlandish premise–featuring a straight, initially homophobic police officer whose attitudes gradually change through interactions with a gay ghost that he becomes haunted by–certainly proves memorable Read More

The Ingenious Nobuyoshi Araki Reenactments: Manbo Key, Transgression of Queer

Art English Events Life

·March 8, 2023·16 min read

Regarding Japanese photographer, contemporary artist Nobuyoshi Araki, I will discuss how the latecomers—Ren Hang, the Chinese photographer, and Manbo Key, Taiwanese photographer influenced by Araki, reenact his transgression but at the same time create something novel Read More

Terry Gou Stokes 2024 Speculation, Claiming to Have Approval of Not Only Sea Goddess but War God

English Life

·March 3, 2023·3 min read

FoxConn founder Terry Gou is at it again. After having announced his 2020 presidential bid with the claim that Mazu, Taiwan’s patron sea goddess, came to him in a dream, Gou claimed earlier in the month that Mazu and war god Guanyu had expressed approval of another presidential run by him. Gou claimed this after visiting temples over the Lunar New Year to ask the gods about his potential run Read More

Egg Shortages Honed in on by Chinese Disinformation?

English Life

·March 1, 2023·3 min read

Taiwan has been plagued by egg shortages as of late, resulting in a significant increase in egg prices. However, at the same time, there have been warnings from the Tsai administration that Chinese cognitive warfare and disinformation efforts have been leveraging this egg shortage as a particular fault of the Tsai administration. In the meantime, the KMT has been attacking the Tsai administration over the issue Read More

From Cross-Strait Provocateur to Memelord?: Chen Shui-bian’s Recent Memes

Art English Life

·February 24, 2023·4 min read

Chen Shui-bian has gone from a perceived cross-strait provocateur to memelord, as of late, with a series of viral images posted by Chen on Instagram and Facebook Read More

“If We Burn” Recollects Hong Kong’s 2019 Protests in a Slow Burn Manner

English Film

·February 22, 2023·3 min read

Lianain Films’ four hour-long documentary “If We Burn” offers one of the most exhaustive retrospectives on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protest movement Read More

“One Hundred Years and Hope” Profiles the Japanese Communist Party Whilst Avoiding High Drama Or Emotionality

English Film

·February 18, 2023·3 min read

Documentary "One Hundred Years and Hope" offers a capable peek into candidates and campaigns of the Japanese Communist Party Read More

“Convenience Story” Paints Surreal Picture of the Creative Process Using Japanese Convenience Stores

English Film

·February 14, 2023·3 min read

Director Miki Satoshi’s latest movie “Convenience Story” explores a scriptwriter and actress’ journey through a series of increasingly surreal situations Read More

Series of Data Leaks Raise Concerns About Information Being Used by Scammers, China

English Life

·February 11, 2023·3 min read

Data leaks continue to be a matter of significant concern in Taiwan, with concerns raised by civil society groups about popular online ecommerce platform Shopee and a widely reported data leak by iRent, a service for sharing motorcycles and cars or renting vehicles Read More

China Relents on Kaoliang Ban as Gesture to Kinmen

English Life

·February 8, 2023·3 min read

Following a meeting between Kinmen County magistrate Chen Fu-hai and newly appointed Taiwan Affairs Office director Sung Tao late last month, the Chinese government has relented on its import ban on Kaoliang produced by Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor Incorporated Read More