Wedged at the base of a tall cliff on the pristine beach at Jintsun (
The people who lived on the beach are a group of mostly Aboriginal artists who collectively call themselves the Consciousness Tribe (
Inspired by the creative energy generated at the beach community, where the group made art and tried to revive and teach each other Aboriginal traditions, some of the artists have regrouped in the nearby village of Dulan (
PHOTO: MAX WOODWORTH, TAIPEI TIMES
"The Consciousness Tribe started as a short-term project that we all knew wouldn't last. We were sort of waiting to see our work get washed out to sea. But eventually some of us began to think that we should find ways to make it last beyond the first couple of months," said Siki, an Amis tribe member and artist from Dulan.
Most of the art created at Jintsun were sculptures made from driftwood that washed up onto the beach, so the artists saw it as fitting that the ocean would eventually take them back. The 2,000-ping sugar factory site, by contrast, was chosen because it would provide a fixed and protected location at which to exhibit and hopefully sell works.
The Dulan artists envision spaces for workshops, exhibition areas and a space for performing arts. They also plan to rip up the concrete courtyard of the factory complex to make green areas, pavilions and even a cafe that would offer a panoramic view of the ocean across the East Coast Highway that runs in front of the factory.
"We have lots of ideas about how to use the space. It will be open to tourists, but it will mainly be a place for the resident artists to begin a cultural and artistic interaction," said Shih Ying-yuan (
There are a number of hurdles, however, that the "tribe" will need to first overcome before the sugar factory becomes their base of operations. The site has been abandoned since 1990 and since then its three main buildings have fallen into a grave state of disrepair. Renovating the place to eventually open it to the public would be a huge and costly job.
Then, there's the factory site's owner Huang Tsan-hui (
"The contents of the plan sound great, but they've overlooked several of the practical details. If attention isn't paid to those details then the whole project will be in vain," Huang said.
The "details" are the exact costs of renovation and a clear view of who will manage the space.
"I'd like to see the project go ahead, but a lot of so-called artists villages never get off the ground because they lack strong management," Huang said. "We will need to take a cautious approach to the matter." Shih says the artists are willing to compromise and have even proposed applying for financial assistance from the county's cultural affairs bureau. This last suggestion is a major concession to Huang, because the artists harbor a deep-rooted distaste for any form of interaction with the government.
"Aborigines have often gotten the short stick when dealing with the government," Shih said, "so, we'd rather not turn to them." Even if the whole plan is abandoned, though, Siki said, some members of the group will continue to live at the factory and use it as an art space much as he and fellow Aborigine Talaluki do now with Huang's permission.
The two have erected tents and set up a makeshift kitchen in the cavernous storage room of the factory, where they do most of their carving and welding work and where the other artists congregate to work and discuss plans for the space.
Strewn about are chunks of driftwood hauled up from the beach, chainsaws, axes, chisels and dozens of completed works leaning against the wall and resting on the sawdust-covered concrete floor.
Occasionally a carload of tourists, drawn by the sculptures at the factory's gate, pokes their heads in to see some of the carvings, sculptures, totems and metal pieces that the artists make to earn their living. Some visitors are intrigued and linger for closer inspections, but most are put off by the shabby appearance of the site. If the group's plan pans out, Siki said, they'll have a more inviting space for visitors where the artists have a greater chance of selling their works. It's clear that with the factory's mountain backdrop and view of the ocean with Green Island on the horizon, the commercial potential for the site is enormous. Huang already runs a hostel in a primly restored administrative building on the factory's grounds and he says his enthusiasm in the artists' village at the site is based on practical business grounds.
For now, the artists persist with their work and hold on to their hope for the site. Looking through the obscurity of the space and watching the rain leak through the ceiling, Siki said "At the beach we were running on an ideal and it was a bit like vacation. But we need to make a living. This place seems like it could be perfect."
Earlier this month, a Hong Kong ship, Shunxin-39, was identified as the ship that had cut telecom cables on the seabed north of Keelung. The ship, owned out of Hong Kong and variously described as registered in Cameroon (as Shunxin-39) and Tanzania (as Xinshun-39), was originally People’s Republic of China (PRC)-flagged, but changed registries in 2024, according to Maritime Executive magazine. The Financial Times published tracking data for the ship showing it crossing a number of undersea cables off northern Taiwan over the course of several days. The intent was clear. Shunxin-39, which according to the Taiwan Coast Guard was crewed
China’s military launched a record number of warplane incursions around Taiwan last year as it builds its ability to launch full-scale invasion, something a former chief of Taiwan’s armed forces said Beijing could be capable of within a decade. Analysts said China’s relentless harassment had taken a toll on Taiwan’s resources, but had failed to convince them to capitulate, largely because the threat of invasion was still an empty one, for now. Xi Jinping’s (習近平) determination to annex Taiwan under what the president terms “reunification” is no secret. He has publicly and stridently promised to bring it under Communist party (CCP) control,
On Sept. 27 last year, three climate activists were arrested for throwing soup over Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh at London’s National Gallery. The Just Stop Oil protest landed on international front pages. But will the action help further the activists’ cause to end fossil fuels? Scientists are beginning to find answers to this question. The number of protests more than tripled between 2006 and 2020 and researchers are working out which tactics are most likely to change public opinion, influence voting behavior, change policy or even overthrow political regimes. “We are experiencing the largest wave of protests in documented history,” says
In Taiwan’s politics the party chair is an extremely influential position. Typically this person is the presumed presidential candidate or serving president. In the last presidential election, two of the three candidates were also leaders of their party. Only one party chair race had been planned for this year, but with the Jan. 1 resignation by the currently indicted Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) two parties are now in play. If a challenger to acting Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) appears we will examine that race in more depth. Currently their election is set for Feb. 15. EXTREMELY
RSS