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

·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

Dogū Shapes the Images of Digital Monsters: From Jōmon Figurines to 21st Century Pop Culture

Art English

·July 2, 2023·3 min read

After a few days, my cousin was at our family dinner table. In his hands were some cards which always appeared in my childhood. “Hey Gi! Check out my new collections!” he said with a grin. He passed the cards to my hand, and I had an answer: “Claydol the Pokemon! They look like Dogū!” Read More

FTM Representation in Taiwan Takes One Step Forward and Two Steps Back with Chang Yi-ching’s “Be Myself”

English Film

·July 1, 2023·9 min read

Director Chang Yi-ching's (張伊青) new documentary, 《做自己的條件》Be Myself, made its world premiere last night at the 25th annual Taipei Film Festival. Be Myself documents video editor Hsin-yu’s (欣嶼) journey through gender affirming surgeries and changing his legal gender from female to male. Chang’s new full-length documentary, running at 138 minutes, is the first of its kind, providing viewers with a detailed portrayal of female-to-male (FTM) transition and achieving new heights in FTM transgender representation in Taiwan. However, Be Myself suffers from a severe lack of sensitivity and accountability on the part of the director, as well as a narrative arc that ultimately centers Hsin-yu’s family members rather than himself and inadvertently perpetuates subtle forms of transphobia Read More

Review: Sexca-paint (一邊打砲，一邊畫畫)

English Life

·June 28, 2023·3 min read

When I went to the gallery at Ho Sng House (about a 10-15 minute walk from Guting station) to see Peng Hsiung Hsu’s Sexca-paint (一邊打砲，一邊畫畫) exhibition, the artist was there in person to offer a guided tour. I was handed a lollipop as part of the experience: “The lollipop is part of the exhibition.” Read More

A Stylish, Humanistic Take on a Classic Franchise: A Review of Shin Kamen Rider

English Music

·June 22, 2023·3 min read

Shin Kamen Rider, the latest in Hideaki Anno’s “Shin” series reimagining Japanese classic television shows, is an effective action film and drama. If the film does not compare to the heights of 2016’s Shin Godzilla, it is still a cut above last year’s Shin Ultraman Read More

Bad Taiwan Takes: Warren Buffett on the Dangers of Geopolitical Conflict Over Taiwan

English Life

·June 21, 2023·2 min read

In comments last month, famed investor Warren Buffett justified his sale of 4 billion USD worth of stocks in TSMC on the basis of the geopolitical risk faced by the semiconductor manufacturing giant. While Buffett rather diplomatically praised the company’s management, as well as how it was run, Buffett stated that it was geopolitical risks that made him decide to sell stocks in TSMC. In particular, Buffett stated that he would rather own stocks in Japan or closer to home in the US Read More