History
An Imperial Past
Andrew Bullen | December 1, 2006
Mr Huang, 83, is a member of a fast-disappearing generation in Taiwan. Not, as you might first think, as someone who remembers the Japanese era first-hand, but rather as someone who was as assimilated into Japanese culture and life as a Taiwanese person could be. More
Taiwan's "Zu Qun": Identity Politics and Posturing
Linda Gail Arrigo | October 20, 2006
Nowadays with the Democratic Progressive Party in the Presidency (at least for now) we hear a lot in Taiwan about ethnic group cultures and identity; the term is “zu qun” in pinyin, something like race/nation, and it’s supposed to be important and explain all kinds of social and political behavior. If the zu qun are balanced in representation in the media and in all kinds of social groups there will be social harmony – or that is at least the wishful vision of the ruling party. More
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- Politics
The Origins of Double Ten Day
Andrew Bullen | October 6, 2006
The national day of the Republic of China, on 10th October (Double Ten Day), commemorates the Wuchang uprising in 1911 which was the start of the Xinhai Revolution – leading to the establishment of the Republic. After 4,000 years of dynastic autocratic rulers in China, the latest in that line, the Qing Dynasty, was eventually overthrown after a year of turmoil, conflict and negotiation. The ideological basis for this new state was the Three Principles of the People, a doctrine proposed by Sun Yat-sen which included Mínzú (nationalism), Mínquán (democracy) and Mínshēng (the people's livelihood). In mainland China, Hong Kong and overseas Chinese communities this event is celebrated simply as the anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution, but in Taiwan, the government officially claims the country to be the one and the same Republic of China founded in the chaos of 1911-1912. The event is therefore celebrated as National Day, with much pomp and circumstance in Taipei, including fireworks, military parades and the president taking the salute. More
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- History
A Memory of Orange
Andrew Bullen | September 21, 2006
One of the briefer episodes in world colonial history was the Dutch occupation of a swathe of southern Taiwan in the 1600s, lasting a scant 38 years before disease, privation and a Chinese-Japanese pirate-king swept away their nascent administration. Take a trip to the Anping district in western Tainan today and few sites remain to bear witness to the European (mis)adventure on Formosa. The most prominent of these is Fort Zeelandia (安平古堡; Ānpíng Gǔbǎo), built on what was originally a sandy bank isolated from the mainland in order to provide both access to the sea and defensibility from hostile parties on the mainland. More
1960's Taipei through American Eyes
Linda Gail Arrigo | September 1, 2006
Hard to imagine now, forty-some years ago Taipei was a somnolent Asian backwater. Though heavily militarized by the warlord forces of Chiang Kai-shek and by the American military that manned airbases ready to strike communism in China and Southeast Asia and radio listening posts, the ambience of Taipei was slow and close to nature in the languid humidity. On a typical summer afternoon, the blue of the sky above one-story tile-roofed Japanese-style houses was broken by sudden lightning and a tropical downpour, and then forty minutes later the sun broke through again and glistened on wet hibiscus bushes and tree branches pushing over the concrete walls topped with broken glass. The lanes were quiet except for neighborly foot traffic, pedicabs with their bicycle bells, and vendors hawking roast sweet potatoes or ice cream. More