台灣

Foreign bones on Taiwan soil: the Princess of Eight Treasures (part 2)

(part 1) Having read about the Princess of Eight Treasures online years ago, when we were in Kenting for a night at a resort in late December 2015 (thanks parents!), I made sure to go see the temple in person. Granted, my pictures shared here are little different from what you can find yourself via online…Read more Foreign bones on Taiwan soil: the Princess of Eight Treasures (part 2)

Foreign bones on Taiwan soil: the Princess of Eight Treasures (part 1)

At the southern point of Taiwan, not far from the hedonic bustle of Kenting's main strip, small waves rush and retreat reassuringly across the white sand of the village's beach. At its eastern end sits a small temple, easily looked over as another one of the millions of shrines that dot the Taiwanese landscape, urban…Read more Foreign bones on Taiwan soil: the Princess of Eight Treasures (part 1)

What I did on my Winter Vacation… (what vacation?)

We spent a fantastic week or so in Taiwan in December.  It says something about the past eight weeks, in which I've collected 10 boarding passes for three different itineraries (including the Taiwan vacation) and purchased tickets for two new itineraries (Seattle and Kyoto, I'm hitting both AAS conferences this year), that I'm only just now,…Read more What I did on my Winter Vacation… (what vacation?)

Followup with PayPal on my issue with shipping to a Taiwanese address

PayPal customer service (@AskPayPal) and I had a conversation this morning via direct messages on Twitter. I appreciate their prompt response. They looked into the issue where the Taiwanese address I gave them was passed on to the seller with "Province of China" appended. They will forward it on to the software engineers behind the…Read more Followup with PayPal on my issue with shipping to a Taiwanese address

You thought we wouldn’t notice? : Eroding Taiwan’s international identity

Followup to this issue can be found here. ----- Do you use PayPal? Do you have things that you buy using PayPal shipped to Taiwan? Did you know that PayPal adds "Province of China" to Taiwanese addresses after the fact? I discovered this when a book I ordered for my father in mid November failed…Read more You thought we wouldn’t notice? : Eroding Taiwan’s international identity

Maiden Huang 黃寶姑 (3)

(1: Tainan local women, Taiwan local religion) (2: Mother Gu Temple 辜婦媽廟) This post has been a very long time in coming because Huang Baogu's story is so rich with issues to discuss that it keeps threatening to turn itself into an article or a book chapter. Which, in fact, it may end up becoming…Read more Maiden Huang 黃寶姑 (3)

9-in-1 elections: A candidate who won’t win, and a plea for candidates who might

Next Saturday, Taiwanese will go to the polls in local elections for a record number of posts: over 11,000 nationwide. Since nine categories of elected offices (from mayors down to village wardens) make up the 11,130 open posts, the elections have been termed the 9-in-1 elections. Mr. Chao Yan-ching is running for Taipei mayor. He…Read more 9-in-1 elections: A candidate who won’t win, and a plea for candidates who might

Review: Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan’s White Terror

The title of Milo Thornberry's book, Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan's White Terror, comes from the remark of US State Department official, made shortly after the family was deported from Taiwan in 1971: "There is no shortage of American graduate students, missionaries... with both ardent views on Taiwanese Independence and a willingness to conduct…Read more Review: Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan’s White Terror