By David Johnson The Wild East Just ‘got wind’ of the AIT’s (American Institute in Taiwan) typhoon warning for U.S. citizens. Bloody hell, don’t Americans make a big deal out of everything? Next they’ll be making a Hollywood movie out of all this rain. Warnings like this only make people
Read moreAuthor: Trista di Genova
Every Dog Has Its Day: The Case of Animals Taiwan
Animals Taiwan founder Sean McCormack wants Taiwan to become a model nation in animal control policy By Trista di Genova Special to The China Post Originally published in May 2007 “Everybody wants a perfect dog,” said Animals Taiwan founder Sean McCormack in an interview at the organization’s rescue shelter in
Read moreAn Adventure 'round the Island: Couchsurfing, Hitchhiking, and Island Hopping
By Mary Weathers The Wild East As soon as I had secured myself a teaching position in Taipei, I decided to take a couple months off to tour the Island that is Taiwan. I needed to see more of the country; I had certainly not fallen head over heels in
Read moreAnswering In A Quiet Place: Taiwan Singing Legend Kimbo
Kimbo and I were able to have an extended chat that afternoon; he agreed to allow me to interview him for The Wild East Magazine, about his experiences not only as an award-winning Aboriginal singer, but what led him to become an activist and leader in Taiwan’s democratic and human rights movement.
Kimbo was born in 1950 in Xinku, Taitung, “near a small harbor of the Amis tribe,” he said. His mother was Amis and father Baiwan. He lived there until he was 2 ½ years old, then moved again to the village Jialau, near Taimali, his “final home,” as he called it.
“Typhoon loves us,” he said, of the village that floods and is nearly wiped away every few years; the latest devastation took place during Typhoon Morakot last August.
Read moreChiang Kai-shek's kidnapper a hero in Hsinchu village
By Barry Martinson For The Wild East Magazine A museum featuring Chang Hsueh-liang, Chiang Kai-shek’s kidnapper, has become the star attraction of Chingchuan, Hsinchu County for the past few years. Chang Hsueh-liang was brought to Chingchuan as a political prisoner when the Kuomintang army (KMT, Chinese Nationalists) fled to Taiwan
Read morePeacefest 2010: It Flows Like a River / 2010和平音樂祭：如河般流動
Press Release: Peacefest 2010 Nestled in an idyllic valley between lush green mountains – peace runs like the river through it – Taoshan, Hsinchu County will be the site of this year’s seventh annual Peacefest Music Festival, taking place Friday to Sunday, October 8-10 新竹的桃山，依偎在茂密的綠色山谷及田園之間，寧靜的小溪貫穿，這就是第七屆和平音樂祭坐落之處，時間定於10/8-10，星期五~星期日。 Up to four thousand are
Read moreThe healing hot springs of Chingchuan
By Barry Martinson I am floating in the steaming hot springs of the aboriginal mountain village of Chingchuan (清泉), an hour’s ride from the foothills of Chutung (竹東), not far from Hsinchu (新竹) City. Outside, the air is chilly. But once in the water, there is nothing but warmth. “Chingchuan”
Read moreN.Korea releases jailed American teacher
Associated Press A smile flickered across Aijalon Gomes’ face as he hugged former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and boarded a plane for Boston on Friday, seven months after his arrest in North Korea. Carter flew to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, this week on a private mission to secure a
Read moreChomsky’s Appeal: Speaking Scientifically to the Power of Truth
In this age of demagogic bombasts, famous (and infamous) for bloated, turgid rants and supercilious harangues on the ‘fear-of-the-day’ or cause célèbre, what was it about hearing a soft-spoken, octogenarian academician that appealed to the disparate gathering in Taipei on August 9th? One may conclude that what brought all those people together was the chance to bear witness – a hunger even – to one man’s quest for truth in a world of obfuscation, deception and propaganda.
Read moreFar East POW Day: Free film at Taipei Spot Sat. Aug. 14
Press Release: Taiwan POW Society Dear Friends, Sunday August 15th – will be the 65th anniversary of VJ Day – the day the Japanese surrendered and World War II came to an end. Although it seems so long ago now, let us take a few minutes on this special day
Read more