The Nanshan Gravesite at the southern outskirt of the Tainan city central is a historical site of land burials that had been in use for hundreds of years until 2008 when it was forbidden for any further interment. The “no interment” rule follows an earlier order in 1991 by the Tainan City government to restrict new interments on the site. The “no interment” regulation is aligned with the general trend in Taiwan where the use of cremation has been much preferred over land burial in funeral practices. The Ministry of Interior of the Taiwan Government, for many years now, has been persistent in encouraging its people to use cremation to bid final farewell to the recently deceased. By one count, in 2017 there were only 38 land burials in Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan of about 2 million residents Read More
With its story about an outcast family, “Mountain Woman” explores humanity’s darkness against a beautiful backdrop of Japan’s countryside Read More
The documentary "Singing in the Wilderness" is a look at a church chorus thrust into China's national stage after fame from participating in a televised singing competition. What makes this chorus especially interesting is that all its members are Miao—one of China's officially recognized ethnic minorities. Unlike the Muslim Uyghurs and Hui or Buddhist Tibetans, the Miao receive little international focus, which makes this documentary especially notable Read More
A recent scandal involved singer Rainie Yang claiming not to be Taiwanese, but a “Guangdong person that grew up in Taiwan” on a Chinese program. Yang claimed this despite being born in Taipei in 1984 Read More
Although most discussion of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan has been about the geopolitical implications, a bizarre undertext to the visit was the frequent times that food came up as part of political attacks Read More
Temple festivals in Taiwan often seem to be a mixture of the sacred and the profane. Sure, temples are places of worship—but temple festivities often have elements of what would otherwise be considered “low” culture incorporated into them Read More
Pingtung County recently began offering cash rewards for local residents that bring in an invasive vine, as part of an effort to prevent its spread. The vine, Mikania micrantha, is among the world’s 100 most invasive species, and is known for its ability to rapidly spread, even from branchlings, and it smothers native species by blocking access to sunlight Read More
Get the Hell Out is an absurdist zombie comedy that starts out well enough Read More
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
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
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
2013 年出品的紀錄片《十二夜》是一部探討動物收容所的紀錄片,影片中有許多收容所過去發生的悲慘景象,可能是很多人從未聽說過但最具影響力的台灣倡議紀錄片之一。 Read More