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Book Review: The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism

·February 9, 2021·5 min read

In 2016, Trump shocked liberal Democrats. They should not have been shocked. It takes a certain level of ignorance and magic thinking to believe in their candidate at the time. Hilary Clinton, after all, is the spouse of a president whose trade policies were largely responsible for the closing of factories and deindustrialization of the nation Read More

Celebrating a God’s Birthday with a Temple Rave

English Life

·December 7, 2020·8 min read

The first hint that something big would be taking place in Bangka over the weekend was when a large stage was set up on the street of my apartment building and started blaring loud electronic music every day at 11 AM Read More

Film Review: Twelve Nights 2 (十二夜 2)

English Film

·December 7, 2020·5 min read

Twelve Nights, a 2013 documentary film about animal shelters, is probably one of the most influential Taiwanese advocacy films you have not heard about Read More

Haunted by the Ghosts of Taiwan’s Colonial Past

English Film

·April 6, 2021·4 min read

Green Grass, Pale Fire follows three Taiwanese runaway miners in 1935 who are on the run from the Japanese army. Stranded in the jungles of Iriomote Island, Okinawa prefecture, after having escaped from the infamous “Green Jail” coal mine, the three hope to find a way home by boat. Given this setting, the short film explores Taiwan’s Japanese colonial period, which lasted from 1895 to 1945 Read More

Interview: Charles Yu

English Interviews

·January 19, 2021·8 min read

New Bloom/No Man is an Island editor Brian Hioe spoke to writer Charles Yu about his recent book, Interior Chinatown, which recently won the National Book Award Read More

LAB KILL LAB

English Events

·December 15, 2020·9 min read

The LAB KILL LAB project concept aims to “permit a well-defined working lab the possibility to be renewed, substituted, replaced, regenerated and retired as time progresses”. The concept is exemplified and laid out as five “work stations” at C-LAB in Taipei from the week of December 14 to December 20, 2020 Read More

Memorializing the White Terror: The Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park

English Exhibitions

·March 9, 2021·6 min read

The Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park in Taipei is one of the two White Terror sites managed by the National Human Rights Museum. Without knowing Taiwan’s history, this park would look like a quaint college campus from a bygone era, but as the name of the park implies, this was a historical site dedicated to the legacy of White Terror, the very place where victims of White Terror were interrogated, tried, and imprisoned Read More

Reflecting on the Critical Success of Your Name Engraved Herein (刻在你心底的名字)

English Film

·December 29, 2020·19 min read

Part one of a two-part conversation on the critical success of Your Name Engraved Herein Read More

Review: A First Farewell (第一次的離別)

English Film

·March 2, 2021·4 min read

A First Farewell is a remarkable film by first-time director Wang Lina. The film is shot in Wang’s hometown of Shaya, Wang being a Han director that grew up in Xinjiang Read More

Review: A Sun (陽光普照)

English Film

·December 22, 2020·4 min read

Despite its release last year to much domestic acclaim, winning best film in 2019’s Golden Horse Awards, A Sun has received a new wave of critical attention internationally after making Variety’s list of best films of the year last month Read More

Review: Cracks and Glimmers Photography (裂縫．微光——勢必與屋共亡的攝影展)

English Events Exhibitions

·January 12, 2021·5 min read

The struggle against the Tainan Railway Eastern Expansion has been ongoing for twenty-five years, and Huang Chun-Cian’s house is the very last holdout against eviction to expand the railway. This exhibition takes place at the very site of struggle and will continue until the house is torn down Read More

Review: Tiong Bahru Social Club

English Film

·December 24, 2020·4 min read

Tiong Bahru Social Club, Tan Bee Thiam’s solo directorial debut, is a satirical comedy that follows a man who leaves his humdrum routine office job to become an “Agent” for a data-driven project aimed at creating the “happiest neighborhood in the world” Read More