Hear in Taiwan

Dr. Ho Feng-shan, ROC Consul-General to Vienna, 1938-1940

Dr. Ho Feng-shan (1901-1997) was a remarkable man. While serving as a diplomat for the Republic of China (now on Taiwan) he became one of the great unsung heroes of the Second World War.

Ho Feng-shan was posted to the Austrian capital Vienna in 1937. The following year, when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, Ho was promoted to the position of consul-general.
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I’m standing in a subterranean tunnel beneath the busy streets of Taipei, not far from the bustling Hsingtien Temple. At first it looks just as any other tunnel, but a few steps forward shows otherwise. Built into the wall are a series of small offices with lines of people in front of them. One might wonder just what kind of business is being conducted underground.  That business is fortune-telling, and in Taiwan, business is thriving. Read the rest of this entry »

The Chinese name of the group Da Mouth literally means big mouth. When one woman and three men get together, they like to talk, sing, talk about music… That’s how Aisa and the boys gave themselves that name and they got popular. Have a listen to their music on Soundwaves on Monday, Feb. 8.

Revital Golan is a very pleasant woman to talk to. She loves it here in Taiwan, having lived here for eight years. Before Taiwan, she was in Korea. She talked about the roles of women in Israel, Korea and Taiwan. Among other things, she marveled that the island has a lot more to offer than Korea for a vegetarian like her. To learn more about Revital in Taiwan, tune in to People on Friday, Feb. 5.

 It’s going to get a little more expensive for the rich to live in their luxury homes in Taipei, starting the middle of next year. That’s because the city is planning a tax on luxury homes (about 1-3 times what they’re paying now), which the mayor estimates will bring in NT$300 million a year to the city’s coffers.

(pic: PChome)

So what constitutes a luxury home in Taipei? Read the rest of this entry »

Professor Annie Cleveland is a Fulbright scholar currently teaching digital design at the Department of Drama and Theatre at National Taiwan University. (See a slide show of her students’ work below.) Besides costume design, she has taught make-up design, costume crafts, computer-aided design software, introduction to theater, clothing and culture, and other theater-related courses in the United States. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s only recently that I got around to visiting the Shilin Night Market for this first time. I tend to avoid things that there’s too much hype around (i.e., Avatar), and people have been talking to me about Shilin since my first time in Taiwan in 2005.

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Vincent Soars always has people turning their heads in amazement whenever he starts singing in Chinese. And a good job he does, singing traditional Taiwanese songs such as Molihua (literally means jasmine flower) and Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin (literally means moon representing my heart). Have a listen to Soundwaves on Feb. 1 to hear more old Chinese songs as well as some of Vincent’s original works, also in Chinese.

Lights out!

From the files of Instant Noodles — listen online now at english.rti.org.tw

South Korea’s health ministry is to send its staff home early once a month in a bid to boost the country’s low birth rate, according to a report last week from news agency AFP.

The ministry said that office lights will be switched off at 7.30pm every third Wednesday in the month to “help staff get dedicated to childbirth and upbringing.”

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