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People Archive
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Ko Wen-je and Taiwan’s political theatre
The following article appeared on UnHerd’s website on January 3, 2024. Theatre and politics have a long history in Taiwan. During the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945), lookouts were posted outside Taiwanese opera performances to warn of approaching police patrols. These raids were part of a Japanisation policy known as kominka, designed to transform the Formosans, as […] -
Homeward bound: The remarkable career of Ho Te-lai
The following article appeared in today’s Taipei Times. This piece was very personal to me as it is about my children’s great-great-granduncle – a painter who has only really started to gain the recognition he deserves (at least in Taiwan) over the last 30 years. Many hours of research went into this over a course of […] -
Kosovo and Taiwan eye an alliance of outsiders
The following article was published on the Foreign Policy website today: Nowhere is Washington held in higher esteem than in the small Balkan nation of Kosovo. On Bill Clinton Boulevard in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, a statue of the former U.S. president waves cheerily to passersby. Clinton’s secretary of state, Madeleine Albright—who in 1999 pushed for […] -
Taiwan’s stand-up scene: a laughing matter
The following article appeared in the July issue of Taiwan Business TOPICS, the magazine of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan. Twenty years ago, live stand-up comedy was a rarity in Taiwan. Now, thanks to the efforts of a committed core of performers, things have taken off – though not necessarily in a direction […] -
Rebooting Taiwan’s SMEs for new challenges
The following article was a cover story for this month’s issue of Taiwan Business Topics, the magazine of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent 99% of all enterprises in Taiwan, have been cited as a linchpin to the country’s rapid post-war development. Yet SMEs across the island […] -
The Ukrainian eyeing long-term cooperation with Taiwan
This is the original version of a piece that appeared in today’s Taipei Times. Even among the diverse gathering at the Liberty Square arch, Glib Ivanov stands out. At 192cm, the 24-year-old Odesa native towers above the crowd, and his floppy mop of hair accentuates this. With a pair of oversized black spectacles, peach-fuzz goatee, […] -
Taiwan’s old Southbound Policy (Global Asia review of ‘Imperial Gateway’)
The following book review appeared in the March issue of Global Asia. When Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen unveiled her administration’s “New Southbound Policy” in 2016, it’s unlikely that historical parallels with imperial Japan crossed her mind. Yet as this compelling monograph reveals, from the moment Taiwan was ceded to Japan, plans to turn the island […] -
Taiwanese as second-class imperialists (Taipei Times review of ‘Imperial Gateway’)
The following book review appeared in today’s Taipei Times: Among the many atrocities committed by the Japanese during World War II, the Sook Ching massacre was notable for the involvement of Taiwanese. Having captured Singapore in February 1942, the Japanese army and its accomplices killed at least 25,000 Chinese. Prominent among the invaders’ henchmen was […] -
Foreign residents banking woes in Taiwan
The following article appeared in this month’s issue of Taiwan Business Topics, the magazine of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan. What’s in a name? When it comes to banking in Taiwan, quite a lot – especially if you’re a foreigner. For Anthony van Dyck, a long-term Canadian resident of Taiwan, an unwieldy name […] -
Little Burma: Where great food meets fascinating history
The following article appeared in this month’s issue of Taiwan Business Topics, the magazine of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan: On most afternoons, Henry Wong and friends sit outside A-Mui’s Noodle Shop (阿妹緬甸小吃, 41 Huaxin St.) in Little Burma, sipping tea from yellow cups. On cooler days the saucers go on top like sombreros, […]