When artist Chiang Hsun (蔣勳) visited Wangan (望安) in Penghu County last year, he did not plan to see or do anything out of the ordinary.
"I just wanted to roam around that island by myself, without any purpose or destination," he said in his essay "Notes on Wangan."
"The island [Wangan] was nothing more than a small dot on the map," he said. "I was not sure if I needed to spend the night there, nor did I have a scheduled itinerary."
The trip to Wangan, however, turned out to be a worthwhile adventure. With a local resident volunteering to show him around, Chiang saw old-style stone cottages that were abandoned years ago.
LARKS
On a small hill called Tientai (
Chiang said he remembered lying down on the grass on Tientai, waiting to see again what he called the larks' "suicidal performance."
Chiang is one of 30 national celebrities, travel writers and artists sharing their travel stories in a book titled Touring Taiwan (
JOINT EFFORT
The book was part of a project planned by Chunghwa Telecom Foundation and the Tourism Bureau.
Aside from Chiang, the book also features essays by hotel owner Stanley Yen (嚴長壽), writer and playwright Hsiao Yeh (小野), former manager of HP Taiwan Rosemary Ho (何薇玲) and filmmaker Lee Gang (李崗), brother of world-renowned director Ang Lee (李安).
A majority of the writers have chosen to tell about their travel stories along the east coast and in offshore islands.
Fifty writers were invited to take part in the project. While only 30 stories were chosen for the book, the other 20 stories were posted on the Web site Click Taiwan.
While the stories are only available in Chinese, organizers said English translations of the stories will soon be available.
Organizers also said this was a two-year project. They will start posting travel stories from the public, which will be chosen from a writing competition in April.
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
VIGILANT: Enterovirus activity remains in the epidemic phase, with the CDC urging caregivers of infected children to be on the lookout for signs of severe illness Influenza activity is rising in neighboring countries, and, with temperatures forecast to drop this week, flu cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Hospitals reported 87,162 visits for flu-like illnesses between Nov. 23 and Saturday, which remained about the same level as the previous week, but nine deaths and 24 cases with serious flu complications were also confirmed last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. Flu activity reached a peak in late September before declining for eight consecutive weeks, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠)
RSS