David on Formosa

On the evening of 26 February a group of Taiwanese university students in Taipei went out to show their support for the Jasmine Revolution in China. While attempting to cross the road they were blocked from crossing by a group of plain-clothes people claiming to be police officers. The video embedded above shows the incident. The Taipei Times has also reported on the incident.

The students involved in the incident have established the “226 Students Self-Help Group” (226學生自救小組) and have created a blog, Facebook page and YouTube channel. I have translated the description of the event from the 226 students’ blog below. Read more »

Several dozen members of Falun Gong (aka Falun Dafa) protested the arrival of Chen Zhenggao (陳政高), the governor of Liaoning Province, in Taichung this afternoon. The protesters shouted, “Chen Zhenggao, you’ve been accused, stop persecuting Falun Gong” (陳政高，你被告了，停止迫害法輪功). According to a Falun Gong website 409 Falun Gong practitioners have died as a result of persecution in Liaoning Province. Read more »

I had a letter published in the Taipei Times today on the subject of the birth rate and population growth. Another letter by Brian Schack also makes the same point that I do. There is much talk in Taiwan about the urgent need to lift the birth rate, however there is little balance in the debate. It is becoming more and more obvious that economic and population growth is now pushing the world up against physical limits. These limits were clearly predicted in the 1972 book Limits to Growth and have become more obvious and well understood in the decades since then.

Population is a sensitive topic and it is unfortunately used by some people to promote racist and anti-immigrant agendas. It is a topic that needs to be discussed in a sensitive and compassionate manner. Limiting population growth is a key to reducing the most adverse effects of overshoot. Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute in a recent article about the impending food crisis said, “On the demand side, we need to accelerate the shift to smaller families.” In coming decades, as the impacts of resource shortages and pollution become more severe, small families in Taiwan may be viewed more positively.

The full text of my letter in the Taipei Times is below. Read more »

Today is Valentine’s Day so it seems like an appropriate day to talk about sex. This article in the Taipei Times today discusses a survey about rates of condom use in Taiwan. It is based on a recent survey of more than 1,000 men aged 15-59 about condom use in Taiwan. Here are some key statistics quoted in the article:

• 47 percent said they used a condom the last time they had sexual intercourse
• 32 percent of males surveyed said they had not used a condom during sex in the past year
• 68 percent agreed that a condom should be used during sexual relations
• 91 percent of sexually active men said they would wear a condom if their partner asked them to do so
• 32 percent said they believed using condoms would decrease the amount of pleasure they felt during intercourse
• 24 percent said they didn’t use condoms because their partner did not want them to
• 21 percent said that buying condoms was embarrassing for them
• 10 percent believed a condom only had to be used right before the moment of ejaculation
• 41 percent of men used a condom the first time they had sexual intercourse

I find the results of concern and these concerns have also been reflected in some conversations I have had in Taiwan about condoms and other matters related to sex. It seems there is a widespread attitude amongst Taiwanese men that condom use is unnecessary. This is combined with women being too embarrassed to buy condoms and/or insist that their partners use them. I have been told that many Taiwanese men will use the withdrawl method rather than use a condom. I have also been told many women will have abortions or take the morning after pill instead of using safer methods of birth control.

Condoms are a cheap, easy and effective way of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. However, it seems many people have failed to get the message! I think the survey results generally reflect a lack of knowledge about birth control methods and sexually transmitted diseases. It highlights a need for better sex education in schools and also public education campaigns to promote condom use.

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau has launched a new logo and slogan. “Taiwan – The Heart of Asia” replaces the grammatically incorrect “Taiwan, Touch Your Heart” which had been in use for ten years.

Focus Taiwan reports the logo was designed with the assistance of London design firm Winkreative. It  packs in a bunch of symbols of Taiwan — Taipei 101 features prominently while the building at the top might be the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall although it could also be a generic representation of Taiwan’s temples. There are also fireworks, lanterns, a teapot, a bird, flower blossoms, a butterfly, two people eating and an aboriginal motif. The only obvious thing that is perhaps missing is an image of Taiwan’s mountains.

One good thing about the slogan “Taiwan — The Heart of Asia” is that it places Taiwan at the centre. While the actual geographical centre of Asia is near Urumqi in East Turkestan (Xinjiang), Taiwan does occupy a special position in Asia that connects it to other Asian countries and the Pacific Ocean. I detailed this in an earlier blog post, Perspectives of Taiwan.

The slogan invites comparison with the slogans of some other Asian countries which are actively promoting international tourism. Other countries are using slogans such as “Amazing Thailand”, “Malaysia Truly Asia”, “Wonderful Indonesia”, “Incredible India” and “Korea, Be Inspired”. There is an obvious preference for the emphatic here. Whether Taiwan’s “heart” can compete with these is the real question.

The Freak Out Beast (吵年獸) music festival began in 2006. It is held in Taipei each year around the time of the Lunar New Year holiday, when there is usually a lack of live music events. I attended the festival for the last couple of years in Ximending. This year the event moved to Da’an Forest Park.

The amphitheatre in Da’an Park has a big stage where plenty of bands had the chance to strut their stuff. The weekend also had beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures. This was quite a contrast to the typical Lunar New Year weather in Taipei and the crowd enjoyed both the music and the sunshine. Read more »