Part One here; and Part 2 If the Tao people of Taiwan’s Orchid Island can overcome some modern-day challenges while celebrating and sharing their rich heritage, the future looks bright for this amazing but remote haven Check out this link at Travel & Culture magazine to read AmCham’s abridged version
Read moreHistory
Historical locations, events, and analysis in East Asia, including China, Japan, and Taiwan.
Orchid Island’s rocky history, Part 2/4
Part One here If the Tao people of Taiwan’s Orchid Island can overcome some modern-day challenges while celebrating and sharing their rich heritage, the future looks bright for this amazing but remote haven Check out this link at Travel & Culture magazine to read AmCham’s abridged version of this article.
Read moreKinmen: Now the Battle is for Tourism, part 4/4
By Trista di Genova / published 2005 in Travel & Culture magazine in its abridged form “EVERYWHERE IS A MUSEUM” This year, Kinmen made international headlines when Kinmen was transformed from a former battlefield into an international art exhibition. A hundred thousand visitors came to Kinmen to see some of
Read moreKinmen: Now the Battle is for Tourism, part 3/4
By Trista di Genova / published 2005 in Travel & Culture magazine in its abridged form THE BATTLE OF GUNINGTOU The Chinese Nationalist army (KMT), led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), defeated the Japanese in Nanking, but lost the Chinese Civil War to Mao Zedong’s Communists. The KMT then “took
Read moreKinmen: Now the Battle is for Tourism, part 2/4
By Trista di Genova / published 2005 in Travel & Culture magazine in its abridged form Even though they it is not a UN member, Taiwan has made significant efforts to demine Kinmen island (金門). About 75,000 landmines still remain, and the process is ongoing. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said
Read moreKinmen: Now the Battle is for Tourism, part 1/4
Kinmen’s rich history of broken landscapes: Once the frontline of Taiwan’s conflict with China, Kinmen is now a lush national park. It also has historical and cultural sites to offer (as well as fiery Kaoliang liquor). By Trista di Genova / published 2005 in Travel & Culture magazine in its
Read moreMapping Taiwan: A journey through history
By Kwangyin Liu / Taiwan Today Taiwan may be Asia’s most vibrant democracy, but this lofty status masks a colonial past that continues to impact local society and the identity of the people. For Jerome F. Keating, a U.S.-born academic, documenting the island’s history through the cartographic lens is a
Read moreTutu discusses ‘echoes’ in Taiwan’s truth movement
By Trista di Genova / Originally published in The China Post in April 2007 [Ed. This is being republished because Desmond Tutu’s 2007 visit to Taiwan was such a momentous occasion, and this article was the only coverage to quote him at length; the lessons therein still ring true.] Celebrated
Read moreTaipei graveyard may hold key to White Terror, Part 2
Former ‘tea country’ Before it was a cemetery, it was prime “tea country,” key tea-growing areas on the outskirts of town. Then, after the Chinese Civil War of 1949 and Chiang Kai-shek fled here with Nationalist armies, it became a resting place for lost souls. Sixty years ago, the area
Read moreTaipei graveyard may hold key to White Terror
By Trista di Genova / Originally published in The China Post [China Post no longer exists: broken link removed] Barely a stone’s throw from Taipei 101 and overlooking one of the more scenic views of the city, a small group of foreigners, one Taiwanese and I clamber up the side
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