On Jianguo Rd Sec 2 in Minsyong Township, Chiayi County there is a statue of late president Chiang Kai-shek, which was placed inside the main doorway of a recycling depot after having been reclaimed. Because the statue reaches over 3 meters tall, the head reaches above the top of the door in an eye-catching manner and so has playfully been named as the “door god.” An employee of the recycling depot surnamed Wang says some children don’t know who Chiang is and mistakenly thought it was a statue of Sun Yat-sen. It has turned into a signpost for the recycling depot, says Wang.
A year ago, the depot purchased wooden building materials from a demolition contractor which had demolished a disused village for military dependents in Yunlin County’s Huwei Township. It was then that Wang discovered the abandoned statue of Chiang made from fiberglass, although the paintwork was already peeling off badly. However, Wang decided there was a value to a commemorative statue of Chiang, since he was the first president of Taiwan. Wang therefore agreed with the contractor to purchase the whole lot together. After giving the statue a fresh coat of paint, it looked like new again.
Wang says she was worried the statue would be blown over during the recent typhoon that ravaged Taiwan, so used ropes to tie it down.
Photo: Yu Hsueh-lan, Taipei Times
照片：自由時報記者余雪蘭
The statue appears somewhat out of place, surrounded by piles of assorted recycled materials and seems a world apart from Chiang’s powerful image while in power. Wang says a passerby walked in to inquire whether they could purchase Chiang, offering NT$30,000, but she hopes to be able to sell the statue for an even higher price.
(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)
嘉義縣民雄鄉建國路二段有一家資源回收場回收一尊蔣介石雕像後擺在大門內，因高達三公尺，高出門牆一顆頭，相當醒目，被戲稱是「門神」。回收場業者王姓婦人說，有些小朋友不認識蔣介石，誤以為是孫中山，現已成為回收場的地標。
王女說，一年多前從雲林縣虎尾一處已遷移的眷村向承包拆除工程的包商收購拆下來的建築木料時，發現被醒目的蔣介石像，材質為玻璃纖維，已嚴重落漆，但她覺得蔣氏是台灣第一位總統，其紀念像應有價值，經包商同意一併收購。重新上漆後看起來像新的一樣。
日前颱風來襲，王女怕蔣介石像被吹倒，還用繩子栓住，周邊堆置各種回收物，場景看起來很突兀，與過去蔣家執政的威風模樣有天壤之別。王女表示，有民眾路過看到雕像，進來詢問可否讓售，開價三萬多元，但她希望賣到更好的價格。
（自由時報記者余雪蘭）
If you’ve recently spotted adults parading around with cuddly toys dangling from their designer handbags, your eyes haven’t been deceiving you. The playful trend of adorning bags with cute charms has become popular among people of various ages. Plushies like Labubu and anime and manga characters such as Chiikawa have become must-have accessories that make personal statements. The practice of attaching charms to personal items has been common across cultures throughout history. In ancient civilizations, charms were often used as symbols of protection, good luck, or identity. Fast-forward to more modern times, and style icons like Jane Birkin, a
A: Apart from Jin Yong, the late martial arts novelists Liang Yusheng and Gu Long were also very popular. B: Wasn’t Liang a pioneer of the “new school” wuxia genre in the 20th century? A: Yup, I really like his Tianshan mountain series. All the characters — such as the “White Haired Demoness” — are so vivid. B: The roles in Gu’s books are lively, too — like the “Fragrant Commander” Chu Liuxiang. A: And the TV drama adapted from the Chu Liuxiang series swept across Taiwan in the 1980s, with ratings surging over 70 percent at that time.
★ Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Kevin leaned over the bubbling pot. “Hey. . . are you okay? You’ve barely touched your food.” Zoey blinked. Her face was red — not from blushing, but from the “mala” spice and the heat of the room. Her blond hair clumped to her face like strands of fine spaghetti. Her carefully applied makeup now streaked. “This isn’t what I expected,” she said softly, forcing a smile. All around them, Kevin’s friends were laughing, shouting, and tossing ingredients into the broth. The air smelled of chili oil and garlic.
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