The 1984 Taiwan New Wave film "Teenage Fugitive" was recently restored—and it highlights the earlier style of a young Tsai Ming-liang, who co-wrote its script Read More
Transmasculine Storytelling in Taiwan Reaches New Heights with Gia-Yeh Huang’s 《等一下，我的身分證字號是不是給錯了！？》
《等一下，我的身分證字號是不是給錯了！？》(hereafter referred to as “等一下") is the first part of an autobiographical solo performance trilogy written and performed by Gia-Yeh Huang, the first publicly out trans man in Taiwan to run for office during the 2022 local elections for a Hsinchu City Council seat, and directed and produced by Yu-i Liang. Bringing audiences into Huang’s life story through witty writing and exceptional acting, 《等一下》 opens up new creative space for transmasculine storytelling in Taiwan during an era of increased public engagement on transgender issues. Read More
Set mostly in a car driving through Taipei, "She's Talking in Island" pairs a Millennial documentary filmmaker with a Gen Z high school student on a reflection of life and society Read More
Former Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo raised eyebrows with comments earlier this month asserting that Taiwan was a “piece on the chessboard.” Though these comments provoked some outrage in Taiwan, Yeo’s full comments were not necessarily incorrect, in that he went on to state that Taiwan was itself aware of its role as a geopolitical pawn of larger powers, and that it was its own choice as to how to be played. Yeo next went on, however, to rather outlandishly suggest that a solution for Taiwan and China to establish peace was to form a confederation with China Read More
The Post-Truth World is an intriguing, if somewhat narratively flawed read on the nature of news, virality, and truth. The crime drama follows Liu Li-min, an online media personality, who inadvertently becomes caught up in the series of events around the apparent murder of rich heiress Wang Shih-yun by high school sports star Chang Chen-yi. Liu is first present at the baseball game where Chang apparently murders Chang by stabbing her to death. Then, seven years later, Liu is taken hostage by Chang during a jailbreak after visiting the prison where he is imprisoned to interview another inmate Read More
Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, one of a host of Republican contenders for the presidential nomination, recently raised eyebrows with comments to the media suggesting that the US abandon its policy of strategic ambiguity regarding what stance it would take in the event of an invasion of Taiwan. Ramaswamy instead suggested that the US should commit to an unambiguous stance on Taiwan, that of strategic clarity—at least until the US could ensure that it is not dependent on Taiwan for semiconductors Read More
Gaga, directed by Laha Mebow, is not a perfect work, but it manages to be a candid intergenerational family drama nonetheless Read More
With elements drawn from familiar manga and anime, “Life of Mariko in Kabukicho” offers quick tastes of its eponymous lead character and famous Tokyo nightlife district Read More
With bigoted depictions of Kazakhs and an uninspiring plot, “Dauren’s Wedding” spoils its chance to elucidate an otherwise intriguing premise Read More
A recent article by MintPress proves a bizarre attempt to frame the Taiwanese government as actively contributing to the political persecution of Chinese Americans in the US. The article purports to be based on wires that MintPress claims to have obtained Read More
First-time director Yusuke Morii’s “Amiko” offers a narrowly focused but inspired look at a child’s life through its titular character Read More
Edward Yang’s classic, A Brighter Summer Day, is a film split by its focus on the family and friendship bonds surrounding Si’r, the main character. Though supporting a boisterous cast with characters of all backgrounds, from a displaced family after the Chinese Civil War to friends and foe of notorious street gangs, his bond with his second sister stands apart as the only one where he is able to find a shared understanding of each other Read More