Much of the enjoyment of drinking pearl milk tea is derived from the wide straw that a takeaway cup comes with. First, there is the almost naughty pleasure to be had of violently stabbing your straw through the plastic film that seals the top of the cup. Then the strange sensation as you suck the tapioca balls up through the straw before they bounce into your mouth, one by one.
Unfortunately, this pleasure could soon be a thing of the past. The Environmental Protection Administration is introducing a phased ban of single-use plastic straws, starting in July next year, which looks set to put the kibosh on the thriving pearl milk tea takeaway market. Even President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has voiced concern over the plans. However, one Taiwanese start-up company may be about to come to the rescue.
100% Plants (100%植) has developed a way to turn reusable sugarcane fiber into biodegradable straws which, the company says are able to fully decompose in the soil. The start-up, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Economic Affair’s Central Taiwan Innovation Campus has already successfully patented its sugarcane straws and is currently gearing up to enter into mass production.
Photo: Chen Feng-li, Taipei Times
Oct. 14 to Oct. 20 After working above ground for two years, Chang Kui (張桂) entered the Yamamoto coal mine for the first time, age 16. It was 1943, and because many men had joined the war effort, an increasing number of women went underground to take over the physically grueling and dangerous work. “As soon as the carts arrived, I climbed on for the sake of earning money; I didn’t even feel scared,” Chang tells her granddaughter Tai Po-fen (戴伯芬) in The last female miner: The story of Chang Kui (末代女礦工: 張桂故事), which can be found on the Frontline
There is perhaps no better way to soak up the last of Taipei’s balmy evenings than dining al fresco at La Piada with a sundowner Aperol Spritz and a luxuriant plate of charcuterie. La Piada (義式薄餅) is the brainchild of Milano native William Di Nardo. Tucked into an unassuming apartment complex, fairy lights and wining diners lead the way to this charming slice of laid-back Mediterranean deli culture. Taipei is entirely saturated with Italian cuisine, but La Piada offers something otherwise unseen on the island. Piadina Romagnola: a northern Italian street food classic. These handheld flatbreads are stuffed with cold
President William Lai’s (賴清德) National Day speech was exactly what most of us expected. It was pleasant, full of keywords like “resilience” and “net zero” and lacked any trolling of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Of course the word “Taiwan” popped up often, and Lai reiterated the longtime claim of his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), a claim that now dates back 30 years on the pro-Taiwan side. But it was gentle. Indeed, it was possible to see the speech as conciliatory, leaving room for the PRC to make a gesture. That may have been one of its purposes: if
In the tourism desert that is most of Changhua County, at least one place stands out as a remarkable exception: one of Taiwan’s earliest Han Chinese settlements, Lukang. Packed with temples and restored buildings showcasing different eras in Taiwan’s settlement history, the downtown area is best explored on foot. As you make your way through winding narrow alleys where even Taiwanese scooters seldom pass, you are sure to come across surprise after surprise. The old Taisugar railway station is a good jumping-off point for a walking tour of downtown Lukang. Though the interior is not open to the public, the exterior
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