· December, 2008

Stories about Taiwan (ROC) from December, 2008

The Death of Ai Iijima, the End of an Era

  28 December 2008

For many men in Taiwan, this Christmas Eve was a day of regret and disappointment. It is not because that at this eve some of us would need to spend a significant amount money to please our lovers--thanks to the endless bombing from merchants and commercials. And neither it is because that others would be upset due to lack of lovers for the holiday--yes, for most people, Christmas in Taiwan is more like Valentine's Day--perhaps the forth or the fifth one. It is that in the era of closure on any discussion of sex issues, an ex-AV porno Japanese actress who accompanied us during much of our private time, and later successfully transformed into an entertainer in show business, was found dead in the afternoon at her house in Shibuya, Tokyo: her name is Ai Iijima.

Northeast Asia: 2008 Review

  27 December 2008

The northeast Asia region is becoming more integrated politically, economically and socially. State leaders from China, Japan and South Korea recently signed a Joint Statement for Tripartite Partnership to address the serious challenges in the global economy and the financial markets. Peace talk between North and South Korea continues, while...

Taiwan: Charter 08 and Taiwan

  25 December 2008

David on Formosa commented on Charter 08 along with quotes from Taiwan News and Financial Times. At the end he said: “In realising the dream of a free China lessons can certainly be learnt from Taiwan. A key lesson is the importance of transitional justice. If China can transform itself...

Taiwan: Pandas arrive at Taipei Zoo

  24 December 2008

Two pandas arrived in Taiwan yesterday from China and are now in quarantine at Taipei Zoo. They will go on public display in late January. Michael Turton explains the pandas are likely to be a fad. The Foreigner in Formosa writes that accepting the pandas means sacrificing Taiwan's sovereignty.

Taiwan: Winners of Citizen Journalism Award

  23 December 2008

Peopo, a unique and successful citizen media project presented by Taiwan's Public Television Service(PTS), just announced the second Citizen Journalism Award winners. The five video reports are about the disaster caused by typhoon, the management of stray animals, taxi drivers’ voices and lives, hoboes’ heath problems, and an old lady...

Taiwan: police evict Wild Strawberries

  11 December 2008

In the early hours of this morning police forcibly evicted students from the Wild Strawberry movement [report also in Chinese (zh)] from Freedom Square in Taipei. The students had maintained a continuous protest there for over one month after an earlier protest at the Executive Yuan in response to police...

Taiwan: President out of mind?

  4 December 2008

Social activist Wobblies says on his twitter(zh): “Knowing that Ma refused Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan, I began to think that my father's friend is correct. He said that this President is either a body double, or is just kidnapped by someone. Or whatelse can there be such an idiot...

Taiwan: Newspaper for the Immigrants

  4 December 2008

Bao Bon Phuong, a unique immigrant-focussing Vietnamese newspaper celebrates its second year from its first issue in Dec. 2006. On its blog(zh), the editor 張正 Zhang Zheng writes : “Everyday, the editorial team receives dozens of letters written in Vietnamese. Each letter contains different state of mind: to thank somebody,...

Taiwan: HIV+ Bloggers’ Love for Life

  1 December 2008

For most of the bloggers in Taiwan and around the globe, Dec 1st is World AIDS Day, but for HIV+ bloggers everywhere, everyday is AIDS day. Two days ago I yelled on my personal twitter: "Does anyone know any HIV Positive bloggers?" I soon received a reply.

Taiwan: Flawed advice from abroad

  1 December 2008

Michael Turton analyses some views of Taiwan from the US establishment. The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato criticises the advice of the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei.