Migration Music Festival
A fascinating mix of music groups from the four corners of the globe gave Da'an Forest Park an eclectic and festive atmosphere over two weekends in October. After last year, when the festival didn't take place, organizers went all out for a special series of shows complemented by well-attended seminars and workshops by the visiting musicians.
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Liang Shan-po and Chu Ying-tai (The Love Eterne)
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The craze for huang-mei musicals has not dimmed in the past 40 years, partly because of the classic movie The Love Eterne (
Wedding Memories
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With Wedding Memories (女兒紅), Hugh Lee (李國修) and the Ping Fong Acting Troupe managed to prove themselves wrong about the demise of Taiwanese drama. (Lee had even thought about closing up shop because of poor ticket sales.) To sell-out crowds, he presented his new show, which premiered on Nov. 3 this year and had audiences of all ages in tears and earned standing ovations from emotional crowds that must truly have warmed his heart. Wedding Memories follows in a line of semi-autobiographical works, in this case dealing with his family's relocation to Taiwan and his mother's nervous breakdown, all handled in a fine melodramatic tradition that touched a nerve among many Taiwanese. The work, which spans over two decades and switches between Shantung dialect, Mandarin, Taiwanese and Hakka, and deals with complex political and emotional issues, tries to encompass a uniquely Taiwanese experience and is a worthy successor to Beijing Opera: The Revelation.
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Tibetan Freedom Concert
Taiwan hosts some grand outdoor music festivals, but few concerts boast international names as big as the Beastie Boys. While their performance would have faired better in a smaller venue (minus a few thousand drunk and aggressive foreigners), an important cause, great sound quality and a highly charged atmosphere helped the occasion.
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Matsu Procession Festival
No event can unveil the genuine colors of Taiwan's religious culture better than the yearly procession of Matsu, a sea-goddess worshipped by fishermen, in central Taiwan. The event, which falls on the third month of the lunar calendar, lasts seven nights and eight days and goes from Dajia, Taichung County, to Hsingang, Chiayi County, covering a distance of more than 280km. To show their belief in the goddess, thousands of followers each year make the trip on foot and sleep in temples along the way to practice the virtue of thrift. Many residents on the procession route offer free drinks and food to the adherents to display their appreciation for the goddess' blessings.
National Symphony Orchestra: Tosca
The best show we saw in 2003 took place in the early hours of the year when Chien Wen-pin (
Cat Power gig at Taipei's Zeitgeist
The New York-based indi-rocker Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) performed live in Taiwan for the first time, after establishing a small but avid fan base here with her 1998 album Moon Pix, a collection of poignant songs. After one hour of warm-up by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Sandy Chen (
Beneath the Red Banner
A dramatic work will occasionally gain importance for its place in history and occasionally for its exceptional literary value. Rarely will it be endowed with both. Beneath the Red Banner (
Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival in Taipei County
What a great idea: music, sun, sea and sand at a location conveniently close to Taipei. The Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival proved to be a big hit with little trouble and plenty to be happy about. One of the best things about the event -- apart from the perfect weather -- was the number of families that took part. Children played, adults watched and teens danced all day long. The main event for domestic bands was the Taiwan Indie Music Award, with NT$200,000 up for grabs, which was won by XL. One of the highlights of the show was a performance of the traditional Eight Generals, with Huang Yi-chin (黃一晉) of downtempo group 78Bpm, drum n' bass by DJ Ty and hip hop by DJ J4. On the Sunday, Magic Tribe, an Atayal Aboriginal rock band from Wulai, Taipei County, Junk Band from Hong Kong and Macau, and finally Jaurim and the Perishers, from Sweden, hit the stage. The outstanding performance, however, came from local stars Sticky Rice, who pretty much capped off a great weekend.
The Wedding Banquet
A combination of memorable performances by Welly Yang, Dina Lynne Morishita and Tyley Ross, a catchy score by Woody Pak and Jim Noone's creative and slick set design that made insightful use of projections saw John Tillinger's musical production of Ang Lee's (
In the March 9 edition of the Taipei Times a piece by Ninon Godefroy ran with the headine “The quiet, gentle rhythm of Taiwan.” It started with the line “Taiwan is a small, humble place. There is no Eiffel Tower, no pyramids — no singular attraction that draws the world’s attention.” I laughed out loud at that. This was out of no disrespect for the author or the piece, which made some interesting analogies and good points about how both Din Tai Fung’s and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) meticulous attention to detail and quality are not quite up to
April 21 to April 27 Hsieh Er’s (謝娥) political fortunes were rising fast after she got out of jail and joined the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in December 1945. Not only did she hold key positions in various committees, she was elected the only woman on the Taipei City Council and headed to Nanjing in 1946 as the sole Taiwanese female representative to the National Constituent Assembly. With the support of first lady Soong May-ling (宋美齡), she started the Taipei Women’s Association and Taiwan Provincial Women’s Association, where she
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) hatched a bold plan to charge forward and seize the initiative when he held a protest in front of the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office. Though risky, because illegal, its success would help tackle at least six problems facing both himself and the KMT. What he did not see coming was Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (將萬安) tripping him up out of the gate. In spite of Chu being the most consequential and successful KMT chairman since the early 2010s — arguably saving the party from financial ruin and restoring its electoral viability —
It is one of the more remarkable facts of Taiwan history that it was never occupied or claimed by any of the numerous kingdoms of southern China — Han or otherwise — that lay just across the water from it. None of their brilliant ministers ever discovered that Taiwan was a “core interest” of the state whose annexation was “inevitable.” As Paul Kua notes in an excellent monograph laying out how the Portuguese gave Taiwan the name “Formosa,” the first Europeans to express an interest in occupying Taiwan were the Spanish. Tonio Andrade in his seminal work, How Taiwan Became Chinese,
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