Hear in Taiwan

Taiwanese conductor Shao-chia Lu

Renowned Taiwanese conductor Shao-chia Lu is bringing two very special concerts to Taipei.

The first concert, “Spirits on the Tip of Toes”, will feature primarily early 20th-century Russian ballet music. Acclaimed Korean pianist Kun Woo Paik will team up with Taiwan’s National Symphony Orchestra to present Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet: Suite No. 3, Op. 101 and his incredibly difficult Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minior, Op. 16, and Stravinsky’s The Firebird.
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 “The Tanztheater is alive…Fantastic!…with canny theatre instinct Mei-Hong Lin creates an idiosyncratic, eerie piece, as enthralling as Ang Lee movies, filled with fascinating allusions and unforgettable impressions…This is it: the new Tanztheater.” - Wiebke Hüster in Frankfurter

Choreographer Lin Mei Hong

Choreographer Lin Mei-Hong and Tanztheater des Staatstheaters Darmstadt of Germany are bringing their latest work Schwanengesang (Swan Song) to Taiwan.

Inspired by the Belgian poet George Rodenbach and his symbolist novel Bruges-la-Morte, this piece probes into the mind of a distressed widower. Read the rest of this entry »

Tse-hsuan Kao is an eight-year-old girl who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy 12 days after she was born. When she was three, she made a birthday wish that she could walk. Her wish came true when she was seven. Last year, Kao sent a letter of invitation to the first lady when her Angel Heart Family Social Welfare Foundation decided to hold a concert. It took her four days to write the 115-word letter. She sent the invitaton to the presidential office, not knowing whether or not she would get a reply. But a few days before the concert, the first lady called back saying she would attend the event.  The two met for the first time at the concert. They hugged each other without saying a word. The Angel Heart Family Social Welfare Foundation is aimed at helping children with mentally and physically disabilities.

The letter written by her

In this week’s Soft Power, I take a look at the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corp. The TRMPC works to provide health care where it’s needed both locally and abroad. I feature an interview with with Ms. Haiping Cheng, a TRMPC volunteer who recently returned from medical aid work in Haiti.

Last week I posted about  my interview with a spiritual medium, Mr. Hsieh Yen-tang.  In the second half of our interview, I wanted to know more about these spirits and the state of existence they occupy. Mr. Hsieh began by explaining to me how to differentiate between different kinds of spiritual beings. 

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Tamkang University American Studies professor I-Hsin Chen (second from right)

Recently, four social and political commentators were strongly critical of President Ma Ying-jeou’s performance. They said the president has not done anything since he took office in May of 2008, and that the  public has no expectation of Ma following the KMT government’s election setbacks.  In response to the criticism, the KMT said they found it  biased and unacceptable, saying that the government has improved cross-strait ties, managed to survive the financial crisis and raised Taiwan’s profile in the international community. In an interview with RTI, Tamkang University American Studies professor I-Hsin Chen said while Ma, the KMT chairman, should be responsible for losing four local elections, he still has confidence in the president’s  ability in running the country. Chen also said Ma should stick to his policies, especially his plan to sign an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China.

It was a great pleasure speaking with Arvin Chen, the movie director of Au Revoir Taipei. The romance comedy won the Best Asian Film Award at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival. Arvin also won the Silver Bear at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival for his short “Mei”. Arvin is a very humble man, despite winning such a big award as a very young movie director. He speaks fondly of his valuable apprenticeship with the late renowned Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang. He talks about why he seems to always dwell on romance in his movies and why he has often used Taipei as his filming location. Definitely tune in to People on March 5 and 12 to listen to Arvin’s life story and his recollection of the making of Au Revoir Taipei. For video version of the full interview, have a look below.

Recently the Taiwan government announced the relaxation of restrictions on flat panels and microchip investment in China. Several flat panel makers have expressed the wish to expand their operations in China. Will the new government policy cause a wave of exodus of Taiwanese companies and aggravate unemployment here?

Tune in to Think Tank on March 4 for an interview with Professor Norman Yin (pictured) from the Department of Money and Banking at National Chengchi University.

Right now, Taiwan has just 23 diplomatic allies in the international community, largely due to pressure from China, which sees Taiwan as part of Chinese territory. Some people have questioned the importance of these countries, many of which are small nations that do not carry a lot of weight in the international community.

In the Wednesday, March 3 edition of Think Tank, we speak with former Foreign Minister C. J. Chen Chien-jen (pictured at left), who was also a former representative to the United States. Minister Chen talks about the role that diplomatic allies play in relations with Taiwan, and about changes that have taken place in Taiwan’s foreign policy since President Ma instituted a “diplomatic truce” with China, and began engaging in a policy of “flexible diplomacy.”

Chen says that while Taiwan values its diplomatic allies – who serve a very important purpose in helping Taiwan prove its sovereignty – it also values a host of other allies which work alongside Taiwan on a variety of other issues, too.

Yang Tai-shuenn

The ruling Kuomintang has had some setbacks in a string of local elections, including losing 3 out of 4 legislative seats last weekend.  I talk with two political scientists this week about the recent political scene.

Check out Tuesday’s Think Tank on RTI Plus as Chinese Culture University Political Scientist Yang Tai-shuenn analyzes why the Kuomintang (KMT) lost in the weekend’s legislative by-elections and what the KMT needs to do to regain public support.

Hear another perspective on Newstalk Friday 3/5 as I talk with Soochow University Political Scientist Loh Chih-cheng about why the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is gaining momentum in the domestic political scene.