This is a deeply unsettling period in Taiwan. Uncertainties are everywhere while everyone waits for a small army of other shoes to drop on nearly every front. During challenging times, interesting political changes can happen, yet all three major political parties are beset with scandals, strife and
When Lisa, 20, laces into her ultra-high heels for her shift at a strip club in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, she knows that aside from dancing, she will have to comfort traumatized soldiers.Since Russia’s 2022 invasion, exhausted troops are the main clientele of the Flash Dancers club in the center of the nor
It was just before 6am on a sunny November morning and I could hardly contain my excitement as I arrived at the wharf where I would catch the boat to one of Penghu’s most difficult-to-access islands, a trip that had been on my list for nearly a decade. Little did I know, my dream would soon be crush
Succession fans rejoice. Jesse Armstrong has again gathered together a conclave of uber-wealthy megalomaniacs in a delicious satire.Mountainhead, which the Succession creator wrote and directed, is a new made-for-HBO movie that leaves behind the backstabbing machinations of media moguls for the not-
Imagine being able to visit a museum and examine up close thousand-year-old pottery, revel alone in jewelry from centuries past, or peer inside a Versace bag.Now London’s V&A has launched a revolutionary new exhibition space, where visitors can choose from some 250,000 objects, order something they
The injured fox is cornered in a cage, teeth bared and snarling at the woman trying to help it.Nicki Townsend is unfazed. Wearing only rubber gloves and an outfit suitable for a yoga class, she approaches with soothing words. “All right, baby,” she coos as she deftly drapes a towel over his head, gr
Two more BTS members were released from South Korean military service yesterday, bringing the K-pop supergroup closer to a reunion as they promised fans a “better version” of themselves soon.The septuplet BTS, South Korea’s most lucrative musical act, has been on a self-described hiatus since 2022 w
Gen Z are used to headlines about the things they’ve “killed”: writing in cursive, getting their driver’s licenses, knowing how printers work, wearing skinny jeans. Their latest offense, according to a recent New York Times article: opening bar tabs.Bartenders and drinkers alike spoke to the Times a
In 1998, Roy and Silo, a pair of male chinstrap penguins at Central Park Zoo in New York, were given an abandoned egg to incubate after zookeepers observed them performing mating rituals together. For 34 days, they took turns sitting on it. When the egg hatched, the story became a viral sensation. T
The main reason why Taiwan became one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and a net exporter of food until the 1960s, is that local conditions favor productive agriculture. Fertile soils and a subtropical climate made it possible — at least until urban sprawl and industrialization
On the evening of June 1, Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) apologized and resigned in disgrace.His crime was instructing his driver to use a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon.The Control Yuan is the government branch that investigates, audits and impea
One of the most important gripes that Taiwanese have about the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is that it has failed to deliver concretely on higher wages, housing prices and other bread-and-butter issues. The parallel complaint is that the DPP cares only about glamor issues, such as removing mar
June 9 to June 15A photo of two men riding trendy high-wheel Penny-Farthing bicycles past a Qing Dynasty gate aptly captures the essence of Taipei in 1897 — a newly colonized city on the cusp of great change. The Japanese began making significant modifications to the cityscape in 1899, tearing down
In an interview posted online by United Daily News (UDN) on May 26, current Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was asked about Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) replacing him as party chair. Though not yet officially running, by the customs of Taiwan politics, Lu has been signal
When the scaffolding came down inside the unassuming hilltop church near Pittsburgh, it revealed a raging storm of biblical proportions.A wide-eyed Moses holds the Ten Commandments aloft in righteous fury, ready to shatter the tablets when his followers abandon God for a golden calf. Lightning sizzl
Jade Mountain (玉山) — Taiwan’s highest peak — is the ultimate goal for those attempting a through-hike of the Mountains to Sea National Greenway (山海圳國家綠道), and that’s precisely where we’re headed in this final installment of a quartet of articles covering the Greenway.Picking up the trail at the Tsou
When Whan consulted her new fortune teller about the future of her relationship with her boyfriend, she was told that one half of the couple tended to be sulky, while the other would over-analyze things. The fortune teller recommended that they try to be more open with each other.But the advice on t
“They say you murdered my mother,” the young would-be nun tells the shady tycoon. “I feel the need to address this.”There’s something about the deadpan delivery and the clear-eyed manner that makes you sit up and take notice of Liesl, and even more of Mia Threapleton, who plays her in The Phoenician
Beware the quirky foster mother who introduces herself as a bit of a weirdo. That’s how Laura (Sally Hawkins) cheerily greets the newly orphaned teenage siblings Andy and Piper in the new horror Bring Her Back, currently in theaters in Taiwan.The comment, more telling than the kids realize at the ti
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