People around the world seem to take Friday night as a cue to go clubbing, sing in KTVs or dine out. However, where does one go if one is looking for something a little more cerebral?
In comes “Cafe Philo a Taiwan,” a forum hosted at Cafe Philo every Friday night, supported and continued by the dedication of the speakers and staff recording and editing a range of philosophical talks.
The forum was started by Fu Jen Catholic University philosophy professor Shen Ching-kai (沈清楷). The 42-year-old Shen said it began when the owner of Cafe Philo and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君), wanted to promote a forum in which the voice of the common people may be heard.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Shen and Cheng, a former head of the National Youth Commission (NYC), met in Belgium when Shen was studying for his doctorate. Cheng later became the director of the Youth Synergy Foundation, where Shen had started working on his return to Taiwan.
“[Cheng’s idea] made me think of Gabriel Marcel’s ‘Friday Evenings’ philosophical discussion groups,” Shen said.
That gave birth on Aug. 13, 2010, to the Taiwanese version of Marcel’s “Friday Evenings,” choosing suicide as the first topic of discussion.
Shen has continued to host the forums after switching to teaching at Fu Jen.
“There are a lot of people in other foundations that are very curious as to how we are able to maintain a forum for two years without pause or break aside from the short period when Cafe Philo closes for the Lunar New Year,” Shen said with a small laugh, saying there were not really any special tricks.
It is just a group of volunteers sitting around to chat in their spare time, Shen said, adding: “There isn’t any pressure, and we don’t even have to score ourselves on effectiveness.”
Pointing to about 10 volunteers who play the role of hosts, camerapeople, record keepers, editors and even accountants, Shen said that some of the volunteers were his younger classmates, and some were frequent visitors to “Friday Evenings” and had simply come to help.
There are still people in Taiwan who are a bit naive and still think simply, Shen said, describing the volunteers.
When asked if he included himself in that group, Shen laughed and said: “Of course.”
Shen said that funding for the forum came from friends who gave small sums of between NT$1,000 and NT$3,000, adding that he sometimes put in a little himself.
Someone donated more than NT$20,000 a while ago, and that was enough to tide the forum over for two or three months, Shen said, adding that although others had promised they would pay for whatever the forum did, “we didn’t really dare do anything on such a grand scale; we just needed a tiny bit of funding.”
Commenting on the forum’s style, Shen said he usually started the discussions with the phrase: “What’s interesting is that ...”
However, Shen’s forums usually avoid popular topics. He said the forum was not an elite gathering, but rather a place where average people could express their thoughts, citing a discussion the forum had on the months-long strike by workers at Hualon Corp that started in June.
Some talked about the process of the strike, and some talked about their personal experiences — of how family members were unable to receive their pensions upon retirement, Shen said.
To put it simply, Cafe Philo a Taiwan is simply a gathering place for those who want to get things off their chest and for people looking for something different to do on Friday evenings, Shen said.
“We are able to pool our minds and keep things simple, which is why it works,” Shen said, adding that the forum has gained enough momentum to start making a voice for itself outside the cafe, on the streets in opposition to certain policies, such as the Kuokuang chemical plant, monopolization of the media and the Miramar Resort Village project.
And it keeps on growing stronger, Shen said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS