There’s a lot of cool stuff to explore about Taiwan. I’m not very good about updating this page, but here’s what I’ve got for you today:
Quick Overview:
Brief sketches of Taiwan’s history, society, people, religion, and geography
News and Editorial:
Taipei Times – one of the major English-language newspapers published in Taiwan.
Taiwan Journal - an English language weekly published by Taiwan’s Government Information Office.
The Only Redhead in Taiwan – a thoughtfully written blog by an American journalist living in Taiwan.
Social Justice:
TaiwanACT - they work against human trafficking in Taiwan
OMF’s work among the urban marginalized in Taipei
Movies:
Eat Drink Man Woman – a sexy and comical film about a senior chef at the Taipei Grand Hotel and his three daughters. Also a great film for foodies and those who love to watch the hands of a master of a craft. Directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain).
Yi-Yi (A One and a Two) - a poignant, reflective story about learning to see, exploring could-have-beens, and wrestling with what it means to be fully human in our modern society. The story is told from the perspectives of the members of a Taiwanese family, including a winsomely sagacious 8-year-old boy. This film is one of my all-time favorites and won heaps of international film awards, including Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival.
Missions:
The Joshua Project – ethnographic data on Taiwan from this research initiative on unreached people groups
Christianity Today article on Christianity in Taiwan
Resources for Americans:
American Institute in Taiwan – Taiwan doesn’t have an American embassy because it isn’t officially recognized as being independent from China. So this is what we have instead.
Eslite Bookstore – this website is mostly in Chinese, but Eslite (誠品) has a respectable collection of books in English and tilts towards the humanities. They have a lot of American titles in translation, so it’s interesting to see which of our books they’re currently reading there.
