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TrackbackListeners have been asking for some new photos of Ryan, the son of Feast Meets West host Ellen Chu. So Frances, our former producer for Groove Zone (the show currently known as Feast Meets West), and I decided to pay a visit to Ryan and his parents Ellen and Zach at their house in Taipei. We dropped by to play with Ryan for a little bit and then went out for dinner. We were delighted to see that Ryan has become quite the big, huggable bundle of joy! And we were truly impressed by how good-natured he is. He was all smiles for the entire evening — no tears to be seen! To see larger versions of the photos, click on them once, and then again.
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Tamkang University Professor Lin Chong-pin
This past Monday, the top story in the China Times, one of Taiwan’s foremost Chinese-language newspapers, was about retired military officials (including former generals) from Taiwan who are visiting China in increasing numbers. The article said that the United States government had expressed the concers that President Ma was trying to convey some sort of message to China through these retired generals. Taiwan’s government has said that’s not the case.
In today’s Think Tank, we speak with former Deputy Defense Minister Lin Chong-pin, who is currently a professor with Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies. In our interview, we take a closer look at the unofficial visits, and why the United States might be concerned.
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San-fu Garden Resort
Yilan is a wonderful place full of great places for the family. My son (not him in the pic, by the way) recently went on a summer camp sponsored by our church to the San-fu Garden Resort where he got to see black swans, pigs, dozens of species of frogs, and…learn photography. Read the rest of this entry »
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Taroko Gorge is one of the most famous traveling spots in Taiwan. The name, Taroko, means the “magnificent and beautiful”. Long ago a tribesman of the Truku aboriginal tribe saw the beauty of the azure Pacific when he walked out of the gorge. Astonished by the elegance of the scene, he cried: “Taroko!”. And so it became the name of the place, in fashion not dissimilar to how the island, Formosa, got its name.
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Political Scientist Yang Tai-shuenn
The upcoming Flora Expo is supposed to be a source of pride for Taiwan and its captial Taipei. But a recent crisis has occured from flowers bought at an outrageous price – over 12 times the market price – for a city overpass (not directly related to the expo).
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(CNA photo)
The Central Weather Bureau Monday issued both land and sea warnings against heavy rains throughout the island as three typhoons (Lionrock, Kompasu and Namtheun) are approaching Taiwan. The warnings are the first this year. Weathermen called on the public to take precautions especially in northern Taiwan as strong winds and heavy rains are likely to hit Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan in the next two days. Weathermen also said while Namtheun might decrease its strength, Lionrock has an opportunity of increasing its power. This is not the first time that Taiwan will be visited by three typhoons at the same time because similar situation happened in 2006.
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Taiwan’s legislature recently approved a bill to allow Chinese students to study at local universities. The bill represents another aspect of the increasingly warm relations between Taiwan China. The new law will take effect in early 2011 and will allow local colleges to admit up to 2,000 mainland students a year to enroll in all areas except military, police and security-related studies. Chinese students had originally been barred from studying in Taiwan for fear they could bring unwelcome political influence. But does the new policy put Taiwan at greater risk of Chinese spy activity?
Tune into Think Tank on Monday, August 30 for an interview with Dr. Alexander Huang, professor of strategic studies and war-gaming at Tamkang University and former Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman.
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Pilgrimage Wall
In the unlikely location of suburban Taipei County, you’ll find the Museum of World Religions. The museum was founded by Buddhist Master Hsin Tao on three principles, those being respect for all faiths, tolerance for all cultures, and love for all life. Those mottoes carry a distinctly Buddhist inflection, but you’re not long past the museum’s entrance before you realize the curators have worked to ensure that every major religion receives equal representation within the museums walls.
I was treated to an exclusive tour of the museum by Ms. Jing-mei Chou and Ms. Mavis Wu. They were both kind enough not just to show me the museum’s exhibits, but to give me a new insight into what religion means and how much different faiths share in common. Read the rest of this entry »
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Françoise Zylberberg (pictured) was from Paris, France. Her teaching career started in Paris when she opened free language classes for Vietnamese and Chinese refugees at the University of Paris.
In 1979, she came to Taiwan through a teacher exchange program. The program was to teach French at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at National Taiwan University. She loved Taiwan so much that she decided to stay on and later became a naturalized Taiwanese citizen. Aside from teaching, she was also engaged in educational television programs on French teaching.
For the past three decades, Zylberberg had been introducing French language and culture to generations of Taiwanese students. In 1999, Zylberberg opened a bookstore in Taipei and named it Le Pigeonnier. It was the first bookstore in Taiwan to specialize in French-language books. The bookstore also served as a venue for cultural exchanges through forums and speeches which were held there. The bookstore has such an iconic status that many French tourists to Taiwan visit the place. Le Pigeonnier has also attracted readers from China and Hong Kong in search of French-language books.
In March this year, Zylberberg was also honored with an “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the Centre National du Livre (CNL) in Paris, in recognition of her significant contribution to the arts and literature.
Zylberberg died of illness in Taipei early August, 2010. She was 65. Soon after her death, The CNL in France issued a recognition to Zylberberg, thanking her for her contribution to the promotion of French culture.
The centre issued a statement which said “throughout her life, Zylberberg was more than willing to share with people her passion for French literature and culture.” The statement also said that “Zylberberg was one in a million. She welcomed all her loyal customers and new customers with sincerity and passion. All her customers would remember that Professor Zylberberg invited everyone to have breakfast or dinner together, talking about literature.”
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