March 16 to March 22In just a year, Liu Ching-hsiang (劉清香) went from Taiwanese opera performer to arguably Taiwan’s first pop superstar, pumping out hits that captivated the Japanese colony under the moniker Chun-chun (純純). Last week’s Taiwan in Time explored how the Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwane
A white horse stark against a black beach. A family pushes a car through floodwaters in Chiayi County. People play on a beach in Pingtung County, as a nuclear power plant looms in the background.These are just some of the powerful images on display as part of Shen Chao-liang’s (沈昭良) Drifting (Overtu
At a funeral in rural Changhua County, musicians wearing pleated mini-skirts and go-go boots march around a coffin to the beat of the 1980s hit I Hate Myself for Loving You. The performance in a rural farming community is a modern mash-up of ancient Chinese funeral rites and folk traditions, with sa
While riding a scooter along the northeast coast in Yilan County a few years ago, I was alarmed to see a building in the distance that appeared to have fallen over, as if toppled by an earthquake.As I got closer, I realized this was intentional. The architects had made this building appear to be jut
Western Europe has a new oldest face: the facial bones of an adult nicknamed “Pink” discovered in Spain are from a potential new member of the human family who lived more than 1.1 million years ago, scientists said Wednesday.Until now, the oldest-known human species in Western Europe was the slender
Shula is driving home from a fancy dress party one night when she encounters an unusual sight in the middle of a country road: her Uncle Fred’s dead body.But Shula, portrayed by Susan Chardy, does not behave in a way that we would expect. She doesn’t cry out in horror or appear the least bit upset o
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s radiation levels have significantly dropped since the cataclysmic meltdown in Japan 14 years ago. Workers walk around in many areas wearing only surgical masks and regular clothes.It’s a different story for those who enter the reactor buildings, including
As she watched her five-month-old son lying in intensive care, wires and tubes crisscrossing his tiny body, Uyanga cursed her hometown Ulaanbaatar and its chronic pollution.The toxic smog that settles over the Mongolian capital every winter has been a suffocating problem for more than a decade that
If South Korea formally impeaches its suspended president over his martial law debacle, one firebrand pastor says he is ready for “revolution.”Evangelical preacher Jun Kwang-hoon is one of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s most fervent defenders, calling Yoon’s Dec. 3 martial law declaration a “gift from Go
The New Yorker magazine, a staple of American literary and cultural life defined by its distinctive covers, long-form journalism, witty cartoons and particular grammar, is celebrating 100 years on newsstands.To mark the publication’s centenary milestone, four commemorative issues are being released,
Twenty years before the Titanic changed maritime history, another ship touted as the next great technological feat set sail on the Great Lakes.The Western Reserve was one of the first all-steel cargo ships to traverse the lakes. Built to break speed records, the 91.4-meter freighter dubbed “the inla
A series of dramatic news items dropped last month that shed light on Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attitudes towards three candidates for last year’s presidential election: Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), Terry Gou (郭台銘), founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also kn
Climate change is already causing all sorts of problems on Earth, but soon it will be making a mess in orbit around the planet too, a new study finds.MIT researchers calculated that as global warming caused by burning of coal, oil, gas continues it may reduce the available space for satellites in lo
More than 100,000 people were killed in a single night 80 years ago yesterday in the US firebombing of Tokyo, the Japanese capital. The attack, made with conventional bombs, destroyed downtown Tokyo and filled the streets with heaps of charred bodies.The damage was comparable to the atomic bombings
If you listen to some self-proclaimed exercise experts on social media, they swear that working out on an empty stomach burns more fat.But it’s a common misconception that exercising in a fasted state improves performance or burns more calories, said Abby Langer, a dietitian in Toronto.“The research
Last week Elbridge Colby, US President Donald Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, a key advisory position, said in his Senate confirmation hearing that Taiwan defense spending should be 10 percent of GDP “at least something in that ballpark, really focused on their defense.” H
March 10 to March 16Although it failed to become popular, March of the Black Cats (烏貓進行曲) was the first Taiwanese record to have “pop song” printed on the label. Released in March 1929 under Eagle Records, a subsidiary of the Japanese-owned Columbia Records, the Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) l
From insomniacs to party-goers, doting couples, tired paramedics and Johannesburg’s golden youth, The Pantry, a petrol station doubling as a gourmet deli, has become unmissable on the nightlife scene of South Africa’s biggest city.Open 24 hours a day, the establishment which opened three years ago i
Seawoman Second Class Stephane Villalon’s voice reverberated on the bridge of her Philippine ship as she issued a radio challenge to a much larger Chinese Coast Guard vessel in a disputed area of the South China Sea.The 152-centimeter-tall radio operator is one of the Philippine Coast Guard’s 81 “An
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