"Go out and enjoy yourself," as the Irish say. Taipei's popular expat hangouts will be pulling both the crowds and copious pints of Guinness this coming Wednesday, when the capital's Irish community and those simply out for the craic raise a glass, or half a dozen to Maewyn Succat -- or Saint Patrick as he's known today.
Credited with driving the snakes from Ireland using nothing but a three-leaf clover, or shamrock, and converting the Celtic Pagans to Christianity, Saint Patrick died aged 76 on March 17, 461 AD. While there is some disagreement as to where Patrick was born and is buried, Irish communities the world over all agree on one thing -- March 17 is a day to raise the Tricolor and indulge in heavy drinking.
Brass Monkey: This is the place to be for those seeking to impress with their Lord of the Dance impressions. The best Michael Flatley impersonator, be it a he or a she will receive an as-yet unspecified cash prize. Those dressed in the green, white and orange of the Tricolor will get a free shot of Jameson's Irish Whiskey and -- if they're still standing -- another at midnight. Members of the Taiwan Celtic Sports Club will be showing off their artistic side and painting the faces of anyone who purchases three or more pints of Guinness or Murphy's.
The Tavern: While Taipei's popular sports bar will not be giving away free drinks to customers dressed up as leprechauns or in the Tricolor, it is the place to go if you fancy dinning out on some memorable Irish fare. For NT$590 patrons can eat their fill at the Tavern's Irish buffet, which will include Irish Lamb stew, Irish rarebit and Limerick ham as well as a couple of complementary cans of Guinness or Murphy's.
The Shannon: Taipei's supposed only "genuine" Irish pub will be laying on a special spread of Irish grub for NT$317 and offering half-price beers all night for patrons willing to prove that they're wearing green underwear. For those not wishing to flash their skivvies and who are simply dressed up in Irish attire, then there's a chance for the best dressed to win a grand prize. All patrons who come in fancy dress, however, will have the opportunity to win hats, T-shirts and get free shots of Jameson's throughout the evening. The evening's two live bands will be cutting it up with plenty of U2 cover tunes.
Carnegie's: A huge Irish Tricolor will greet patrons and will be the place to go if you're after a few free pints, as Carnegie's will be giving away 500 cans of Murphy's between 7pm and 9pm, or as long as they last. Ladies will receive free Bailey's and anyone turning up wearing green will receive a coupon which can cashed in for a free shot of Jameson's.
Wherever you go and whatever you do, the Taipei Times wishes you all a happy Saint Patrick's Day, or "beannachtam na femle padraig," as the Irish say.
It’s a good thing that 2025 is over. Yes, I fully expect we will look back on the year with nostalgia, once we have experienced this year and 2027. Traditionally at New Years much discourse is devoted to discussing what happened the previous year. Let’s have a look at what didn’t happen. Many bad things did not happen. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) did not attack Taiwan. We didn’t have a massive, destructive earthquake or drought. We didn’t have a major human pandemic. No widespread unemployment or other destructive social events. Nothing serious was done about Taiwan’s swelling birth rate catastrophe.
Words of the Year are not just interesting, they are telling. They are language and attitude barometers that measure what a country sees as important. The trending vocabulary around AI last year reveals a stark divergence in what each society notices and responds to the technological shift. For the Anglosphere it’s fatigue. For China it’s ambition. For Taiwan, it’s pragmatic vigilance. In Taiwan’s annual “representative character” vote, “recall” (罷) took the top spot with over 15,000 votes, followed closely by “scam” (詐). While “recall” speaks to the island’s partisan deadlock — a year defined by legislative recall campaigns and a public exhausted
In the 2010s, the Communist Party of China (CCP) began cracking down on Christian churches. Media reports said at the time that various versions of Protestant Christianity were likely the fastest growing religions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The crackdown was part of a campaign that in turn was part of a larger movement to bring religion under party control. For the Protestant churches, “the government’s aim has been to force all churches into the state-controlled organization,” according to a 2023 article in Christianity Today. That piece was centered on Wang Yi (王怡), the fiery, charismatic pastor of the
Hsu Pu-liao (許不了) never lived to see the premiere of his most successful film, The Clown and the Swan (小丑與天鵝, 1985). The movie, which starred Hsu, the “Taiwanese Charlie Chaplin,” outgrossed Jackie Chan’s Heart of Dragon (龍的心), earning NT$9.2 million at the local box office. Forty years after its premiere, the film has become the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute’s (TFAI) 100th restoration. “It is the only one of Hsu’s films whose original negative survived,” says director Kevin Chu (朱延平), one of Taiwan’s most commercially successful
RSS