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.

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Touring Taiwan’s outlying islands

An excerpt of the Lin Yang (of the DPA, Deutsche Presse-Agentur) interview with Trista di Genova, who has traveled to and written about her fascination with history and culture on Taiwan’s outlying islands, so far Orchid Island, Green Island and Kinmen. Lin Yang’s travel story will be published in the

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A Blessing for the Start of Work on the Chingchuan Community Center

Last year a group of foreigners organized the Wufeng Project, working with aboriginal kids in Wufeng and Chingchuan, Hsinchu County. They gave the kids cameras and their photography was then sold at auction, raising over NT$2 million to renovate a desperately needed community center in Chingchuan. This is the blessing

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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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Mapping 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

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‘Can You Feel A Big Love’: Part 3

The following is a Part Three of a report by Taipei Medical University (TMU) International Students who attended Tzu Chi University’s Eco-awareness Camp. Team leader: Trista di Genova (US); with Olaiya Tunbosun (Nigeria), Van Tuyen Duong (Vietnam), Yudha Nur Patria (Indonesia). Friday, Feb. 18: Took 2-hour bus ride to Loshan.

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Can You Feel A Big Love: Part 2

Thursday, Feb 16: Several very interesting classes were held in the morning, and we visited the Recyling Station in the afternoon. The first class, ‘Co-exist with Mother Earth’, was taught by Hsieh Ching-Keui, a field manager who told us he used to ‘cry at midnight’ every night, then put on

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