Admin, Author at No Man Is An Island

“Life of a Mountain Road Monkey” Phenomenon Reflects Social Inequality

·August 19, 2023·3 min read

A YouTube animation, “Life of a Mountain Road Monkey”, has become a sudden overnight hit in Taiwan. At time of writing, the animation has to close four million views–a figure suggesting that one in six Taiwanese has seen the video Read More

When Gangster Politics Collides with Political Realignment

English Life

·August 17, 2023·3 min read

Political streamer and Internet celebrity Holger Chen raised eyebrows earlier this week by accusing the DPP of being behind a shooting incident in August 2020 in which he was shot by a gunman Read More

“Port of Lies” Dramatizes Charged Racial Issues in Taiwanese Society

English Film

·August 13, 2023·3 min read

Though problematic in some regards, Port of Lies is an attempt to grapple with some of the pressing racial issues of Taiwanese society Read More

“Starring Jerry as Himself” Blends Fact and Fiction in a Tale of Scams and Family

English Film

·August 9, 2023·3 min read

Inspired by the tale of a Taiwanese American immigrant retiree, “Starring Jerry as Himself” captivates with authentic acting and masterful staging Read More

“Eye of the Storm” Reimagines Taiwan’s SARS Outbreak through a COVID-Tinged Lens

English Film

·August 5, 2023·3 min read

"Eye of the Storm" dramatizes the infamous 2003 lockdown of Taipei’s Heping Hospital, providing a COVID-influenced historiography of the event Read More

Taiwan People’s Party Wades Into Accidental Expression of Support for White Supremacy

English Life

·August 1, 2023·3 min read

The pan-Blue camp experienced another strange controversy regarding English-language messaging earlier this week when it came to the attention of the Taiwanese public that the website for Ko Wen-je’s TPP featured a slogan that read “Vote White, Vote Right.” Subsequently, podcast program Bailinguo, which focuses on international affairs, honed in on the bizarre optics of the website, which could be interpreted as expressing support for white supremacy Read More

Bad Taiwan Takes: Donald Trump on Taiwan “Stealing Jobs” from the US

English Life

·July 29, 2023·2 min read

Recent comments by former President US Donald Trump on Fox News lashed out at Taiwan Read More

“Dear Mother I Meant to Write About Death” Offers a Powerful Look at Mortality and Mother-Daughter Relations

English Film

·July 26, 2023·2 min read

Filmmaker Siyi Chen uses an artistic approach to explore mortality, and her own relationship with her cancer-stricken mother Read More

“The Cord of Life” Explores Modernity Versus Tradition in Inner Mongolian Music

English Film

·July 22, 2023·2 min read

Director Qiao Sixue’s “The Cord of Life” uses the story of an Inner Mongolian electronic musician to offer musings on traditional Mongolian culture’s role in modern times Read More

Bad Taiwan Takes: Reactions from DC to Lai’s Comments on a White House Visit

English Life

·July 20, 2023·3 min read

A report in the Financial Times earlier this week indicated that some in Washington DC were upset with DPP presidential candidate William Lai for suggesting that one day he hoped to see a Taiwanese president visit the White House. As the same article quoted an official stating that the White House had not been in contact with the Lai campaign over the remarks, those unhappy about Lai’s comments may not be from the White House, but could be from the State Department Read More

“Rewind, Pause, Then Play” Reminisces on the Videotape’s History in South Korea

English Film

·July 17, 2023·2 min read

Documentary “Rewind, Pause, Then Play” looks at how the videotape connected South Korea with the world during its authoritarian period Read More

Social Distancing 2.0: A Review of Hsin-Hui Lin’s Contactless Intimacy

Books English

·July 13, 2023·7 min read

Hsin-Hui Lin's Contactless Intimacy is a claustrophobic character study, a dazzling exercise in worldbuilding, and a chilling thought experiment: what would happen if artificial intelligence gained the power to dictate human intimacy? In a world where physical contact is prohibited, relationships are optimized by machines, and free will is exposed as fiction, what might become of individual agency? Read More