The latest online blow-up by authoritarian leftists–commonly referred to as tankies–proves a bizarre one Read More
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Over 4,000 have signed a petition against development plans by National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University for the campus of its College of Hakka Studies, which is located in Zhubei Read More
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
For a week she stood inside a room at the Taichung train station. There was something quietly defiant about her stance, left foot crossed over her right, the weight of her body slightly on the back foot, as if she were just about to take a small step forward. Her chin tilted up so that her eyes, not fully shut, received light and her eyelids were pearly and diaphanous. She held a soft gaze, not focusing on anything in particular, but able to take in everything Read More
No Man is an Island presents a political cartoon by Suzanne Duroy on French president Emmanuel Macron's recent meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping. Read More
A June piece in The Telegraph, on the joys of tourism in Taiwan as it is under geopolitical threat, proves a bizarre exercise in colonial disaster tourism–or pre-disaster tourism, if you would, seeing as there has been no Taiwan contingency as yet Read More
A number of recent incidents in Taiwanese society involve influencers behaving badly, in faking incidents of violent crime for hits Read More
New Bloom’s Brian Hioe spoke to Jean-Aurel Maurice, the founder of the Xaragua Arts Center in Haiti, and Jean-Paul Weaver, Administrative Director and organizer of the fundraiser for the Xaragua Arts Center in Taipei next month, Danse Pou Xaragua. The fundraiser will include authentic Haitian food, live performances, and a Konpa dance workshop, taking place at the Exotica Bar and Grill in Tianmu on June 3rd from 6 PM to 10 PM. Tickets will cost 1,500 NT. All proceeds go towards supporting their Dance Passport program Read More
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
劉紹華是一名醫療人類學學者，長年在中國與臺灣研究衛生管理。從2002年起，她在中國四川涼山以民族誌方式研究涼山彞族的愛滋、毒品與流動青年的現象，深入分析社會變遷與國家衛生政策的關係。劉紹華從她對愛滋病與麻風的研究而深知，疫病、污名歧視、人權以及政治的互相關聯。在2020年出版的書籍《疫病與社會的十個關鍵詞》裡，她從正在肆虐全球的COVID-19疫情切入，以多年積累的知識提醒讀者，這一波疫情所引發社會、人權及政治的困境與爭執，並非新穎之事，反而是歷史中反覆再現的問題。劉紹華舉各種例子描述在面對疫情的過程中，不可淡忘的歷史教訓。本書的特點在於，剖析國家所採取的、看似理所當然的政策，如「防疫大作戰」等口號標語或高舉前線醫療人員為「道德模範」，探討其未料的後果，以及其掩蓋社會基層問題的企圖。 Read More
New Bloom/No Man is an Island editor Brian Hioe interviewed Lance and Stuart Chen-Hayes, who recently published 兩個爸爸. This follows up on an interview conducted following the publication of Double Dads One Teen in English in 2019. Lance is Taiwan’s first out gay dad and their nonbinary teen, Kalani, became the first Taiwanese citizen with two father’s names on both an international birth certificate and an international marriage license Read More
In the past week, Bondee, an app allowing users to create virtual avatars and chatrooms in which they can host up to fifty of their friends, has taken Taiwan by storm. This follows the popularity of apps such as Gathertown in Taiwan, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic Read More