David on Formosa

I reviewed Tears (眼淚) last year after I saw it at the Golden Horse Film Festival. The movie is officially released in Taiwan today. The movie tells the story of Guo, an old policeman who employs some unethical policing methods and eventually has to face up to his past.

The movie is being widely discussed in Taiwan for its theme of transitional justice. I have selected a couple of articles on the topic and translated part of them. In the Liberty Times (自由時報) Wang Dan (王丹), who recently spent six months in Taiwan as a visiting professor at NCCU, wrote:

做為「轉型正義」三部曲的第一部，鄭文堂並沒有去處理白色恐怖這個政治性的轉型正義議題，而是從員警執法的 社會層面入手，我認為這是很值得肯定的努力。關於轉型正義的議題，我一向認為過去的討論太政治化，反而不利於這個議題的深入進行。其實在社會層面，也有很多轉型正義的面向要去處理，這些面向涉及的是人性和人與人之間的關係的問題，因而來 得更加復雜。同時，這也是政府和國家權力無從處理，而需要公民社會本身來處理的問題。

In the first of a trilogy of films about transitional justice, Cheng Wen-tang didn’t deal with the issue of the White Terror period. Instead he began by looking at how the police enforce the law in society. I think this is a commendable effort. With regard to the topic of transitional justice I always believe the discussion in the past was too politicised and it’s not really favorable to discussing this topic deeply. Actually at the social level there are many issues of transitional justice that need to be faced. These involve human nature and the problems in relations between people. As a result they are more complex. At the same time this is something that the government or the power of the state can’t manage. It requires the citizens and society itself to manage.

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Paris, Taipei: Bicycles Forever (巴黎.台北 單車萬歲) is a documentary directed by Jean-Robert Thomann (尚若白). It looks at the experience of bicycle commuters in Paris and Taipei. I went to the premiere screening at Eslite Dunnan Bookstore today and it will screen on PTS (公視) tomorrow.

The documentary explores the attitudes of those who have chosen to use a bicycle as their primary form of transport. It looks at both the positives and negatives of this lifestyle choice. The people featured are quite a diverse group. I thought the most interesting one was a woman who uses a bicycle to send her two children to school. If only more people in Taipei would follow her example.

The documentary also considers the development of bicycle paths and bike sharing systems. Taipei’s U-bike system obviously lags a long way behind Paris’s Velib system. It shows that while there have been some improvements in Taipei, the city still has a long way to go before it provides a friendly environment for bicycle commuters.

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The 2010 Justice For All Concert (正義無敵音樂會) was held in Pingtung yesterday. I arrived at the venue in the mid-afternoon while the bands were still doing their sound checks. The venue was a park in the Pingdong Sugar Factory — a big grassy area surrounded by palm trees with a banyan tree providing some nice shade.

In the late afternoon the crowd began to build as the first band Windmill (風籟坊) took to the stage. Windmill’s Hoklo rock was followed by the Hakka folk of Lin Sheng-xiang (林生祥). Sheng-xiang is well known as a protest singer and lives in Meinong, not far from Pingtung. Read more »

It was three years ago that I first attended and photographed a cosplay event at NTU. I went to NTU again today to photograph some of the cosplay action at Fancy Frontier 15. This was also a photowalk event for the Taiwan Photo Club. It was nice to see some other photographers there including Mei, Craig, Dilip, Neil and Pei.

This man made a good strong pose. Read more »

Monga (艋舺), directed by Niu Chen-zer (鈕承澤), is a classic gangster tale. The scene is set when Mosquito, played by Mark Chao (趙又廷), a new boy in the high school finds himself being picked on. His brave response catches the attention of Dragon, played by Rhydian Vaughan (鳳小岳), who is the son of Geta, the boss of the Temple Front. He is inducted into the gang and forms part of the group of five that also includes Monk, played by Ethan Ruan (阮經天). Monkey and Dog Boy complete the line up.

The film, set in Taipei’s Wanhua district in the 1980s, evokes a nostalgia for a not so distant past. It perhaps represents a time of innocence, a world on the cusp of old and new. This sets up the plot with outside gangs seeking to move in and change things, while the Temple Front resists change.

Mosquito has grown up without a father and looks up to Geta, played by Ma Ru-long (馬如龍), as a father figure. Xiaoning, played by Ke Jia-yan (柯佳嬿), is Mosquito’s love interest. However, she plays a fairly peripheral role. This is essentially a film about a male world of brotherhood and betrayal. There are quite a few fight scenes, some of which are quite violent. However, the real focus is on the relationships between the gang members.

Overall Monga is a well executed production that successfully builds dramatic tension and sympathy for the key protagonists. With the benefit of a wide opening Monga has already enjoyed success at the box office and will no doubt draw big crowds over the Lunar New Year holiday. It is an entertaining film and the audience will certainly enjoy it.

*The film has English subtitles in cinemas screening the non-digital version.

Links

• Monga – official blog
• Monga – trailer at YouTube
• What tangled webs they weave – Taipei Times review
• Monga – China Post review
• ‘Monga’ beats ‘Avatar’ on first-day gross – Focus Taiwan
• “Monga” box office success feeds local tourism – Taiwan Today

The High Court yesterday passed down a not guilty verdict to three men from the Atayal village of Smangus. The verdict follows the Supreme Court decision in December last year that sent the case back to the High Court for another hearing.

The case concerned the use of wood from a tree that fell over on the road to Smangus in a September 2005 typhoon. The Forestry Bureau later removed the main part of the tree. The three men from Smangus then took the remaining tree stump for use in their village following a decision made at a community meeting. They were subsequently charged with theft of forest products under the Forestry Act.

Regarding the decision the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (台灣人權促進會) wrote on their blog:

This is not only victory and justice for Smangus after a long battle. It will also have major influence on the autonomous development of all indigenous communities. It also means that the nation’s justice system attaches importance to the basic human rights of indigenous peoples. [translated from Chinese by David]

The decision ends a legal battle that has gone on for more than four years. During this time the community of Smangus has consistently asserted its rights under the law, in particular Article 15 of the Forestry Act and the Indigenous Peoples’ Basic Law. The decision to bring the tree stump back to the village was also in accordance with the gaga, their system of traditional law.

Freak Out Beast (吵年獸), a music festival featuring a huge line up of Taiwan indie bands, took place on Saturday and Sunday in the space around the Red Theatre in Ximending. I attended both days last year but this year I was only able to attend for one day on Sunday.

The event took place on multiple stages around the Red Theatre. At the entrance there were turntables and mixing decks set up for DJs to perform. I had seen this crew performing in Ximending a couple of months earlier. In the evening Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤) performed their Taiwan-style hip hop. Read more »

On Saturday the Amis community of Sanying (三鶯部落) in Sanxia held its end of year celebration. The event attracted a crowd of about 500 people which was more than last year’s event. The community had also undergone a lot rebuilding after its demolition in February 2008.

The afternoon began with dancing by members of Sanying and also the nearby riverside community of Saowac. As the evening approached the dancing ended and there was a generously catered meal enjoyed by everyone in attendance. Read more »