Two writers’ perspective on a Sun Moon Lake holiday marked by a peculiar mingling of love and death. By Joshua Samuel Brown The sound of gongs and chanting were already pronounced as we turned the corner and approached our hotel at the alley’s end. Though we’d come to Sun Moon Lake for its legendary peace…
Around the time the Mengjia Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺) was founded in 1738, a grim aphorism was circulating on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Cha̍p lâng lâi tâi saⁿ tī la̍k bông chi̍t hôe thâu (the Holo pronunciation of 十人來台 六亡三在一回頭) translates as: “Of every ten people who have reached Taiwan, just three remain; six…
View the plants and creatures of the deep on an undersea adventure at one of Taiwan’s many splendid diving spots. An island nation surrounded by the bounty of the Pacific Ocean, Taiwan doesn’t merit a mention in the world’s top 100 diving lists. This omission comes despite Taiwan’s considerable natural advantages, diverse array of fish…
While evolving from outdoor performances in villages and city neighborhoods to television and the internet, budaixi has maintained its popularity. Puppet theater’s rich history throughout Asia is well known. China boasts several styles of puppetry dating back to the Han dynasty. These include marionette puppetry in which the action is controlled from above by strings,…
When they find out that the island’s name literally means “seven beauties,” would-be visitors to Qimei could be forgiven for thinking the appellation refers to scenic spots. Qimei is, after all, a spectacular place of rocky coves, basalt cliffs, and undulating grasslands. Qimei (sometimes spelled Chimei or Cimei) is the southernmost link in the chain…
Taiwan’s Penghu County is an archipelago of 90 islands and islets, yet many of the tourists who fly in from Taipei, 275 kilometers to the northeast, never set foot on a boat once during their vacation. From the main airport, four of the county’s six local-government divisions can be reached by rented car or motorcycle,…
Taiwan Business TOPICS profiles five of Taiwan’s ascendant tech startups in industries ranging from healthcare and tourism to transportation and media. Health2Sync Diabetes runs in Ed Deng’s family. Relatives of the Taipei-based entrepreneur have passed away from complications of the disease, which is the third-leading cause of death among Taiwanese women. Researchers believe that East…
Opinion is divided as to whether the designation is positive or detrimental for companies operating in the Taiwan market. For many multinational corporations and other organizations, the treatment of Taiwan together with China and Hong Kong as the combined sub-region of “Greater China” has become common practice as a way of managing their activities within…
Candidates Set for Year-end Elections With only six months to go before the 2018 9-in-1 elections on November 24, candidates are solidifying their candidacies and campaigns. At stake are mayoral contests in all six of Taiwan’s special administrative districts, as well as 16 county mayoral races and hundreds of municipal councilor seats. The Democratic Progressive…
The startup ecosystem has blossomed over the past three years. To accelerate its growth, additional regulatory overhaul is needed. The Taiwanese government has vowed to create a homegrown private company worth US$1 billion or more in the next two years. Known as “unicorns” in tech lingo, these firms are the most celebrated startups in their…
