Taiwan or Republic of China: How to Address Formosa in Snail-Mail

When using postal services to send something to Taiwan, how should one address the country? Whether you write Taiwan or R.O.C. (Republic of China), the mail usually reaches the recipient. Recently, someone carried out an interesting experiment to see if there was a difference in the time it takes for

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Taipei Embarrasses Beijing in Washington

January 1, 2015, Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Washington marked the new year by doing something that hadn’t been dared since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979: it raised the flag of the Republic of China. This of course immediately raised the ire of the People’s

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Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim tackling some tough questions

By Trista di Genova / The Wild East, political beat The Breakfast Club really outdid itself this time, inviting DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-Khim (蕭美琴) to speak at its monthly gathering on July 27. Hsiao discussed the life and work of Taiwan legislators and addressed major issues facing the foreign community,

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China’s like Taiwan’s ‘asshole twin sister’

Ron’s an acupuncturist practicing in the U.S. after having studied Chinese Medicine in Taiwan, then China. Follow Ron’s blog, “Adventures of 22nd Century Chinese-Like Boy” My friend Michael in Seattle, who is also an acupuncturist, wrote me an email recently. He noticed that my blog entries in China haven’t been

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Kinmen: 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

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Kinmen: 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

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Kinmen: 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

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Kinmen: 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

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Chinese Python Swallowing the Taiwan Frog

OPINION / By Linda Arrigo (permission to republish; originally here) The New York Times editorial, “To Save Our Economy, Ditch Taiwan”, has raised my hackles – I always warned Taiwanese independence advocates that the US would sell them out, and here it is literal. I have not been following the

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'Give China time’ to democratize; Taiwan's a catalyst: Post reporter

Long-time reporter Kenneth Liu speaks to The Wild East on the need to ‘give China time’ for its democratic development, how Taiwan can act as catalyst and positive example and what he sees are Chiang Kai-shek’s most significant achievements Story and photo by Trista di Genova, The Wild East In

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