A big book, a huge book, and expensive book: NT$2,000 more or less. But this big/huge/expensive book just might be worth perusing at your local bookstore -- free of charge, of course. Later, you can decide about buying it.
Produced by Lynn Pan in Singapore and handsomely published by Curzon Press in Britain, the book is a virutal who's who and what's what and when's when of the Chinese diaspora. Worldwide.
Almost 400 pages of encyclopedic news and information, full of color photos and detailed graphics, this book, billed as "the first comprehensive study of the global Chinese diaspora" belongs in libraries and office suites.
Whether you want to fork over the NT$2,000 is up to you and yours, but do check it out at the bookstores. Might make a nice Xmas present this December. Recommended.
London calling
When the 921 earthquake struck the island last month, BBC radio in London obviously wanted to get some first-hand accounts of the disaster. An enterprising editor at the BBC rang up ICRT reporter Andrea Chen and asked her if she could recommend some people he could talk to for some "man in the street" interviews in Taipei.
Chen said she had a bilingual friend named Christine Hsu, who had experienced the quake in a most "unsettling" way in her apartment in Taipei. London called, Hsu talked.
Two days later, in an e-mail letter to friends and relatives and Off the Beat, Hsu humbly noted: "I've been overwhelmed by the number of phone calls, e-mails and ICQs that I've been getting since the quake struck. I can't tell you how much it helps. I've always thought of myself as a relatively strong person who could handle emergency situations such as these, but I've been put to the test and the result is as follows: I'm a total wuss."
Faith in Faith
Faith Yang is a rising star in Taiwan's music scene, with a second album -- Silence -- recently released. Her first album, One, did well when it was released two years ago, with good reviews and press interviews here in Taipei. Check out our Q&A with the spirited rocker on page 7 today.
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