Furniture made of paper materials as well as bamboo wall-coverings and speakers greet visitors to this year's Taipei International Furniture Show (台北國際家具展, TIFS), being held at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall (世界貿易中心展覽大樓).
These displays are part of local manufacturers' efforts to meet the demands of increasingly green-minded consumers. Reflecting the trend, this year the exhibition highlights eco-friendly furniture, home decorations and designs. Another highlight, Oriental aesthetics in Taiwanese designs, features conceptual and home products designed by local firms.
Besides these, there are more than 300 domestic and international manufacturers and more than 1,000 booths. Displays include lighting, office furniture, building material and furniture for children.
PHOTO: HO YI, TAIPEI TIMES
The LOHAS Green Furniture pavilion, organized by the Bella Cycla Alliance (美麗再生聯盟), catches the eye with innovative pieces made from natural, recycled and eco-friendly material and ventilating elastic cushions.
The earth-friendly designs may not delight fashion hounds, but the build-it-yourself paper furniture might. In addition to being bright, it's waterproof, wear-resistant and free of toxins.
A formaldehyde terminator goes one step further, promising to help lower the density levels of hazardous chemicals in the home. A stone mosaic table made from reused stones is appealing and at the same time meets environmental concerns.
PHOTO: HO YI, TAIPEI TIMES
"Taiwan Design: Oriental Attitude," another pavilion, has furnishings, home appliances and decorations by 26 designers and 14 design firms. The exhibits bear witness that design has become a strong player in the country's creative industry in recent years.
One particular item of interest is the LED lamp that can be folded into different shapes, alternately resembling abstract sculpture or ceramic tableware that fuses Chinese and Western aesthetics.
The last of the four seminars centered on the theme Green Design Slow Life will be held in the conference room of the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall today. Keynote speakers include Andreas Gursch, acting director of the German Trade Office, and Yao Cheng-chung (姚正仲), the chairman of the Chinese Society of Interior Design (中華民國室內設計協會). The two will exchange views on the application and market development of green building material. The show runs until tomorrow and admission is free to all.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50