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David on Formosa
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A blog about Taiwan and all things Taiwanese from Taipei, Taiwan. Includes travel, photos, movie reviews, environment, culture, news and commentary.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'taipei city'
Workers protest for a day off
More than a thousand workers from Southeast Asia marched through the streets of Taipei today. The march had the slogan “Still no day off” (還沒休假), calling on the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) to ensure that workers have one day o...
Saturday in Ximending
On Saturday afternoon I headed to Ximending (西門町) to meet a friend and see what was happening. The place was abuzz with activity. One of the first things I spotted was this concert going on in the plaza beside the Red Theatre (紅樓). The pla...
New live music venues opening
The Taipei Times today reports on three new live music venues opening in Taipei and Kaohsiung this weekend. Lovers of live music have ever more choices of places to go. The first and the biggest is Legacy located in the Huashan Culture Park (華山...
Referendum march starts in Taipei
A march around Taiwan calling for a referendum on any Taiwan-China agreement and amendments to the Referendum Law began in Taipei this morning. Several hundred people wearing “doli” (bamboo hats) set out from Longshan Temple to begin a s...
Loving out loud and proud
A beautiful sunny day greeted participants in the LGBT Pride Parade in Taipei today. Organisers estimated 25,000 people participated in the parade and increase from 18,000 last year. The theme for this year’s parade was “Love Out Loud&#...
Cycling at the Deaflympics
The 2009 Taipei Deaflympics began with the opening ceremony held at the new Taipei Stadium last night. Today the sporting events began and I went to see the cycling held at Taipei City Hall. The men’s 1,000 metre sprint cycling race began with ...
Free Tibet concerts in Taipei
Thousands of people attended a Free Tibet Concert (西藏自由音樂會) held in the Xinyi District of Taipei yesterday. When the concert began at 1:30pm under blue skies and a scorching hot sun the crowd was quite small. However, by the late aftern...
2009 Taipei Film Festival
The 11th Taipei Film Festival (台北電影節) is on from 26 June to 12 July. This year the film festival venues are all conveniently located in Ximending. Most screenings will be at the Shinkong Cineplex (新光影城) and Zhongshan Hall (中山堂...
Shung Ye Museum marks 15th anniversary
The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines (順益台灣原住民博物館) celebrated its 15th anniversary yesterday. The day was marked by the opening of a special exhibition from Japan. The exhibition contains artifacts from the National Museum ...
517: DPP reclaim the streets
Hundreds of thousands# of people took to the streets of Taipei and Kaohsiung today for the DPP’s 517 rally. The rally marked the one year anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou taking office. During this time there has been the financial crisis,...
Thousands protest rising unemployment
About 10,000 people from labor unions and other groups joined a march protesting unemployment in Taipei today. Taiwan’s unemployment rate reached 5.8% in March. Many unions participated in the march. Youth and students also joined to express th...
Cosplay at Petit Fancy 10
Petit Fancy 10 held at NTU over the weekend brought out Taipei’s cosplayers from some more cosplay fun. The above scene is based on the anime Ranma. Two lovely ladies in black dresses strike a pose. This woman sported angel’s wings. An...
Bamboo bikes and recumbent trikes at Taipei Cycle
Taipei Cycle 2009 is now on at the Nangang Exhibition Centre. In the middle of the exhibition hall on the fourth floor were all the big names in cycling: Giant, Merida, Dahon, Campagnolo, Shimano and SRAM. Elsewhere there were all sorts of bicycles, ...
Thousands march for Tibet in Taipei
Three thousand people marched through the streets of Taipei today to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising which was on 10 March. Today also marked one year since major protests in Tibet which led to a brutal crackdown by the Chines...
Merida team dominates Tour de Taiwan
The Tour de Taiwan finished with a criterium around the Taipei City Hall today. The race was ridden in chilly conditions with the mercury hovering around 11°C. Polish rider Jezowski Krzysztof of the Merida Europe Team was the overall winner after ...
New bike hire system in Taipei
Today I went to check out Taipei City’s new public bike rental system which is marketed under the name U-bike. The system is currently operating at five stations in the Xinyi Special District (信義特區). Six more stations will open on 11 Ap...
310 Tibet action in Taipei
At around 7:30 a group of Tibetans proudly flying their magnificent national flag marched into Freedom Square shouting “Free Tibet!” This marked the start of the Taipei event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising. His Holin...
Green Party protests to save tree
Green Party candidate for the Taipei City No. 6 District by-election, Calvin Wen (溫炳原), spent 26 hours in a camphor tree on the site of the Old Songshan Tobacco Factory (松山菸廠) in Taipei to protest and prevent its removal. The protest b...
Tibetans not celebrating New Year
Today marks the start of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. However, this year there are none of the usual celebrations. In memory of the hundreds of Tibetan people that died during protests last March, Tibetans both inside and outside of Tibet have decide...
Wang Wen rock Underworld
Chinese band Wang Wen (惘聞) played their first gig in Taipei last night at Underworld (地下社會) in Shi-Da Road. Hailing from Dalian, Wang Wen are in Taiwan as part of the PUTS Sound 8, a documentary film and music festival. Wang Wen’s ...
2009 Taipei Lantern Festival
Last night I visited the Taipei Lantern Festival (臺北燈節) at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and Taipei City Hall. The exit of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall was also decorated with lights — it looks great with Taipei 101 in the background. Alt...
2009 Taipei Book Exhibition
The Taipei International Book Exhibition (台北國際書展) is now on at the Taipei World Trade Centre. It opened for the trade yesterday and to the public today. The exhibition features a huge range of books from Taiwanese and international publis...
Freak Out Beast in Ximending
A free music festival called Freak Out Beast (吵年獸) was held over the weekend in Ximending. The event took place on two stages next to the Red House Theatre (西門紅樓). The north stage featured guitar based bands while the south stage host...
Cosplay at Fancy Frontier 13
The sun came out on the weekend and so did Taiwan’s cosplayers for Fancy Frontier 13 at the NTU Sports Centre. The event featured hundreds of people in a huge variety of costumes with a similar number of photographers and friends. The lake at ...
KMT values dictatorship above democracy
Plaque bearing the Chinese characters for Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (photo taken 19 January 2009) The Taipei Times today reports that the military honor guard has been restored to the hall in central Taipei which contains a large statue honoring...
Lee Ming-tiao’s photos at TFAM
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM; 臺北市立美術館) currently has an exhibition of photography by Lee Ming-tiao (李鳴鵰). Lee is one of Taiwan’s most influential photographers and the exhibition provides a comprehensive look at his lif...
Dihua Street market
Last Sunday the Taiwan Photo Club held its monthly meeting. Brian Webb has a report on the meeting. Following the meeting a group went to Dihua Street (迪化街) to take some photos of the busy market that sets up there in the few weeks before the L...
Wild Berry House opening
Students and supporters of the Wild Strawberry Movement celebrated the opening of Wild Berry House (野莓之家) in Taipei today. The office, located near Guting MRT Station in Taipei City, will serve as the new headquarters for the movement. The st...
Artists support PTS
A group of artists joined together in Taipei today to express their support for Taiwan’s Public Television Service (PTS; 公共電視). The event at Freedom Square brought together film makers, musicians, writers and artists who all put their n...
Rally for PTS in Taipei
Thousands of people joined a rally in support of PTS (公共電視), Taiwan’s Public Television Service, in Taipei today. The rally was organised by the National Association for the Promotion of Community Universities, Media Watch and Citizen C...
