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Sona Eyambe (伊恩貝)’s Transphobia is Dangerous

·December 6, 2022·5 min read

Several right-leaning foreign national YouTubers have found an audience in Taiwan. They often purport to “explain” the culture of their home countries or Taiwan. Some promote vapid consumerism, an American lifestyle, and play heavily on shock value by making a spectacle of cultural differences. Few, however, are as dangerous as American YouTuber Sona Eyambe (伊恩貝). Eyambe pretends to be impartial and to do “tons of research,” but instead his videos present common far right-wing conservative arguments Read More

What’s in a Sheet of Paper?

English Life

·November 29, 2022·3 min read

China has been rocked by protests in the past days, which have taken place in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and others. The protests, which are broadly against the restrictive measures maintained in China as part of COVID-zero, broke out in the wake of a fire in Urumqi that killed ten and injured nine. The protests have been termed the “A4 Revolution” by some. Namely, protesters have often taken to holding up blank pieces of white paper as part of their protests. This is due to authorities cracking down on signs with slogans on them. Read More

Murder, Corruption, and Plagiarism: An Election Cycle Characterized by Scandal

English Life

·November 23, 2022·4 min read

The present election cycle has been, if nothing else, characterized by a great degree of political scandal. Indeed, as a consequence, many races have boiled down to the personalities running for office, rather than their policies. To this extent, both DPP and KMT have sought to leverage on the scandals of the other camp Read More

Who Are This Year’s Fringe Candidates in the Taipei Mayoral Race?

English Life

·November 18, 2022·2 min read

The Taipei mayoral race saw twelve candidates this year. The three serious candidates are, of course, Chen Shih-chung of the DPP, Chiang Wan-an of the KMT, and Vivian Huang of the TPP. It remains unclear as to which of them may win, with a tight three-way race anticipated. At the same time, as the nation’s capital, Taipei often attracts a number of fringe mayoral candidates. This was no different this year, with the views of these candidates on display at the four-hour policy platform held by the Central Election Commission, in which all of the candidates were given thirty minutes to express their views Read More

“100 Ways to See Transgender” Exhibition Shares a Wide Range of Transgender Experiences

English Events Life

·November 11, 2022·6 min read

This past weekend, over 200 participants came to see the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights’ (TAPCPR) "看見跨性別藝文展 100 Ways to See Transgender" exhibition at 二空間 SPACE TWO. Since their first Transgender Film Festival in 2020, TAPCPR has made it a tradition to do larger scale public engagement programming around transgender issues every year in the month of November. Last year was the second Transgender Film Festival, and this year is the 100 Ways to See Transgender exhibition Read More

The Cross-Straits Politics of Global Panda Health

English Life

·October 7, 2022·3 min read

Tuan Tuan, one of four giant pandas displayed in the Taipei Zoo, has become ill with brain lesions. MRI imagery from late September shows that Tuan Tuan has local large-scale necrosis and edema on the left-side of his brain. There is local small-scale edema on the right side of his brain. Read More

Jiufen Old Street: A 2022 Pandemic Profile from a Taiwanese American Tourist

English Life

·September 21, 2022·8 min read

If you've heard of Jiufen, you might know it is the site of filming for many Taiwanese movies, most notably City of Sadness. You might have heard it has wonderful teahouses, and maybe from a friend you heard to try the taro balls there. But you probably first and foremost know it as where Hayao Miyazaki allegedly drew inspiration from in Spirited Away, the hit animated movie about a girl who loses her parents in the spirit world Read More

“Beitou Witch Magic Festival” Criticized Over Depiction of Indigenous

English Events Life

·September 8, 2022·4 min read

A cultural event in Beitou has been criticized regarding Indigenous representation. Namely, the event, the “Beitou Witch Magic Festival”, draws on the history of female Indigenous mediums in Beitou Read More

Rainie Yang Controversy Prompts Netizens to React by Posting Photos of Seafood on Social Media

English Life

·September 6, 2022·4 min read

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

Kinky Community Musical: Tongzhi Politics Meet BDSM, Asexuality, and Polyamory

English Events Life

·September 2, 2022·9 min read

This past weekend, BDSM Company hosted four performances of “Kinky Community Musical 2.0" at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park. Written by Della Wang and directed by Hsiao-I Lu, "Kinky Community Musical 2.0” is a revised version of Wang’s first “Kinky Community Musical,” which debuted in late April 2019 just weeks before the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan. Featuring mesmerizing rope-binding scenes, catchy tunes in the form of twelve original songs, and gripping script writing, the play tells an intertwined love story of four main characters that pushes the boundaries of tongzhi politics to further incorporate Taiwan’s BDSM, asexual, and polyamory communities Read More

The Politics of Food and the Pelosi Visit

English Life

·August 10, 2022·3 min read

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

What’s Behind Pingtung County Offering Bounties on Invasive Species?

English Life

·July 23, 2022·2 min read

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