Zilven Chang doesn’t need a full moon to transform into a silver-maned wolf-man. Once he puts on his “fursuit,” he loses the ability to speak but assumes a newfound cool-and-collected demeanor.
“When I’m a wolf, I’m still myself,” he says. “It’s just a part that I don’t normally display. But I don’t have to act. It comes naturally once the suit is on.”
Chang is one of about 1,000 “furries” (獸迷) in Taiwan who are fascinated with anthropomorphic animals. Many of them don fursuits and adopt a “fursona,” while others are only interested in creative endeavors such as designing their own characters. Chang does both, as he and fellow furry J.C. Lan run Beast Fantasia (奇獸幻響), a studio that makes a variety of furry products — including an illustrated novel titled The Starry Wolves.
Photo courtesy of Infurnity
This “furry fandom” subculture has only emerged in Taiwan in the past few years. Last month, almost 100 wolves, lions, bears, rabbits and mythical animals attended the second annual “Infurnity” convention organized by Chang, Lan and Gary Pai. The country’s first furry trade show, Furrymosa, is scheduled for May.
BECOMING A FURRY
Even though the phenomenon is relatively new, Lan says he’s had an affinity for anthropomorphic animals since he was a child.
Photo courtesy of Zilven Chang
“I’ve always been a furry,” he says. “I watched animal programs and cartoons. I thought they were so cool. I liked their style. It’s just like how some people like cars and watching sports. It’s a natural instinct — I can’t really explain it.”
Lan was described as cat-like in school, and from this trait he developed his fursona as a majestic yellow feline.
Pai’s fascination began with the mascots he saw when he visited Disneyland as a child.
Photo courtesy of J.C. Lan
“I thought they were adorable and approachable, and I liked how they brought people joy,” he says.
As a result, his fursuits lean toward the cartoonish, cutesy type and he adjusts his personality as such. Like Chang, he believes that he’s not acting.
“It’s just how I would act if I became an adorable animal,” he says. “I don’t even think about it.”
Photo courtesy of infurnity
You can have as many fursonas as you want, but the fursuits are expensive — a decent one can cost up to NT$300,000 Lan says.
There are no set rules, and unlike cosplay, there are no existing characters to model after. Some have the ability to talk, while others only communicate through gestures. Lan says his fursona was originally mute, but as an organizer he found it necessary to start speaking.
Some see their fursonas as extensions or alternate versions of themselves, while others create a separate entity with its own name and backstory. Sometimes people show up at gatherings with just a tail or ears, and that’s okay too.
IN THE REAL WORLD
Chang and Lan exclusively interact with the furry community as their fursonas, and reveal their human identities to only a select few (hence the omission of their Chinese names). Some clues to their furry identity can be found while in human form, as both like to wear shirts with wolves printed on them and have furry accessories on their bags.
Outside of furry gatherings, they only wear their fursuits in public during photo shoots, often scaring the children around them because of how realistic they look.
“I heard one mother say, ‘Don’t be afraid, there’s a person inside,’” Lan says. “That actually upset me because I wanted to be a cat at that moment.”
The ones with cartoonish suits are often received warmly, and some enjoy walking around and taking photos with people. But as furry fandom is still obscure in Taiwan, most people don’t know the true connotation behind the suits.
“People just see our exterior and assume that we’re advertising something as a mascot or shooting a film,” Lan says. “But this is something that goes to the core of who we are.”
Jason Han says that the e-arrival card spat between South Korea and Taiwan shows that Seoul is signaling adherence to its “one-China” policy, while Taiwan’s response reflects a reciprocal approach. “Attempts to alter the diplomatic status quo often lead to tit-for-tat responses,” the analyst on international affairs tells the Taipei Times, adding that Taiwan may become more cautious in its dealings with South Korea going forward. Taipei has called on Seoul to correct its electronic entry system, which currently lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan),” warning that reciprocal measures may follow if the wording is not changed before March 31. As of yesterday,
The Portuguese never established a presence on Taiwan, but they must have traded with the indigenous people because later traders reported that the locals referred to parts of deer using Portuguese words. What goods might the Portuguese have offered their indigenous trade partners? Among them must have been slaves, for the Portuguese dealt slaves across Asia. Though we often speak of “Portuguese” ships, imagining them as picturesque vessels manned by pointy-bearded Iberians, in Asia Portuguese shipping between local destinations was crewed by Asian seamen, with a handful of white or Eurasian officers. “Even the great carracks of 1,000-2,000 tons which plied
It’s only half the size of its more famous counterpart in Taipei, but the Botanical Garden of the National Museum of Nature Science (NMNS, 國立自然科學博物館植物園) is surely one of urban Taiwan’s most inviting green spaces. Covering 4.5 hectares immediately northeast of the government-run museum in Taichung’s North District (北區), the garden features more than 700 plant species, many of which are labeled in Chinese but not in English. Since its establishment in 1999, the site’s managers have done their best to replicate a number of native ecosystems, dividing the site into eight areas. The name of the Coral Atoll Zone might
Nuclear power is getting a second look in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centers. Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of the region could, if they pursue those goals, have nuclear energy in the 2030s. Even countries without current plans have signaled their interest. Southeast Asia has never produced a single watt of nuclear energy, despite long-held atomic ambitions. But that may soon change as pressure mounts to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, while meeting growing power needs. The
RSS