David on Formosa

• A hungry girl recommends Orange Tea Mania.
• The Bushman checks out Formosa Station on the Kaohsiung MRT.
• Michael Turton on Charter 08 and Taiwan. And a letter from Canadian Human Rights Associations.
• Carrie has some suggestions for Valentine’s Day in Taipei.
• A traveller at Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree reports on travelling from Taipei to Xiamen.
• Talk Taiwan comments on Robin Winkler’s run for the legislature.
• Kate checks out the cherry blossoms in Guangxing near Wulai.
• Taipei experiences its first flash mob.
• Tai-what visits the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival. So does A Wayfarer.

Events: Amnesty International’s Red Hand Day documentary screening is at 7:00pm on 12 February in Taipei. There are screenings of the documentary Voices from the South about the independent music scene in Kaohsiung on 14 February in Taipei and 15 February in Kaohsiung. There are also other music related documentaries screening as part of PUTS Sound 2009. Details in English and Chinese.

News: Vale Master Sheng-yen. Two Taiwan companies are not laying off staff. Taipei Times article on the difficulties of rice farming. Interesting headline from the Saipan Tribune: The betel nut bikini team? And an even weirder story: Tainan clinic fined for nude nurse photos.

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai set to take over Taiwan’s ERA. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post plans to launch a bilingual newspaper in Taiwan (Update: SCMP later denied this and the story was based on false information). Transport Ministry approves Keelung-Xiamen cruise. Jinmen residents express support for Kinmen-Xiamen bridge plan.

Researchers concerned about the Formosan Black Bear. Orchid Island (蘭嶼) suffers pollution from sunken ship. Green Island coral turned black. Taiwan Environment Information Association names the top ten “green offenders” of 2008. Tibet activists highlight panda’s Tibetan origins.