@sleggat I think it is all a matter of people's perceptions. I agree it is nothing unusual, but some people pay more attention to details. 12 hours ago
@sleggat Maybe it depends on which angle you look at it from. 12 hours ago
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 »
The Taipei International Book Exhibition opened yesterday. I visited the exhibition today at the Taipei World Trade Centre to see what was new this year. This year’s special guest exhibitor is France. Francophones will be sure to enjoy the large range of French literature on display. There is also a selection of French films screening every day.
One of the new things on display this year is e-readers. I was curious to have a look at them and get some idea of how they look and operate. The one pictured above is the BenQ nReader K60 which was on sale for NT$8,990. It is operated via buttons and also a touchscreen. Books can be downloaded via wi-fi. Several other e-readers were on display including Greenbook, the Amazon Kindle and iRex. Read more »
I saw the short filmMsgamil: Once Upon a Time (泰雅千年) while visiting Smangus in August last year. I then saw Through Thousands Years* (走過千年) at the Ethnographic Film Festival. Msgamil is a short film produced by Chen Wen-bin (陳文彬) about the historical migration of the Atayal. Through Thousands Years, by the Atayal director Pilin Yabu, documents the process of the making of Msgamil.
I recently visited Taichung to talk with Dr Lin Yih-ren (林益仁) at Providence University (靜宜大學). Dr Lin very kindly gave me DVDs of both films and also two books about the production of the films. The books, titled Words from Yaba (Chinese: Yaba的訪; Atayal: Kay na yaba), are both bi-lingual with one edition in Chinese and Atayal and the other in English and Atayal. The text is beautifully illustrated by Wang Yong-cheng (王永成) and also includes photos from the making of the films. Read more »
Freedom Square hosted an exhibition of freestyle motocross riding yesterday afternoon. It was part of the Red Bull X-Fighters exhibition tour.
The riders pulled off extreme mid-air maneuvers in the space between the National Theatre and the National Concert Hall. Despite having only a short run up to the launching ramp they gained some serious air time. Read more »
Taiwan has maintained its status as free in Freedom House’s 2010 report released yesterday. Taiwan received the same score as last year but its score for civil liberties decreased from 1 to 2 while its score for political rights increased from 2 to 1. Taiwan’s score put it equal with Japan and South Korea in the Asia-Pacific region.
Freedom House wrote that, “In Taiwan, increased government efforts to enforce anticorruption laws were marred by flaws in the protection of criminal defendants’ rights, and new legislation restricted the political expression of academics.” Read more »
I sent a letter about climate change to the Taipei Times on 7 January, but as of today it hasn’t been published (Update: published on 17 January). The Taipei Times published this letter on climate change today (which contains some ridiculous claims) and also Johnny Neihu took an amusing look at the qualities of Shezi Island in his column on Saturday. My letter follows:
The decision to develop Shezi Island (社子島) in Taipei as a “new Manhattan” is an example of short-sighted decision making (CEPD passes Shezidao development plan, Taipei Times, 6 January 2010). It shows that governments in Taiwan are not aware of, or planning for, the future impacts of climate change.Read more »
The Supreme Court last month ruled on the Smangus Beech Tree case sending the case back to the High Court for a reexamination. The news seems to have been almost ignored by Taiwan’s media, but Taiwan Indigenous Television provided some good reporting. In addition to embedding a video of the English news report from TITV Weekly, I have also translated a report (中文) from Taiwan Indigenous Television which provides more details.
On 7 December the Supreme Court repealed the verdict of the second hearing in the Smangus Beech Tree Case. The original verdict in the second hearing found the three Atayal men who moved a wind fallen beech tree back to their village were guilty. In addition the Supreme Court emphasised that there should be respect for indigenous peoples’ traditional customs. It was the first time since the beginning of the Smangus beech tree case that the judge’s verdict had included the wording of “indigenous peoples’ traditional territory”. It affirmed indigenous peoples’ right to use their traditional territory. It also raised the spirits of the Smangus community. Read more »
