Social Movements from an International Perspective
I have participated in social movements for close to two years, thanks to the Ma administration, but this year, Taiwan social movements surged up with a raising of people’s consciousness of social issues. But while these can be called “movements,” these usually address domestic issues such as urban renewal, land development, labor disputes, and conservation. Issues which are not domestic such as cross-strait relations, the military, and discussions of foreign affairs are not usually talked about.
社會運動的國際觀
筆者本次到美國，是受福爾摩沙基金會（Formosa Foundation）之邀，以太陽花運動參與者的身分參加該基金會今年的大使計畫（Ambassador Program 2014）。該營隊為期 12 天，第一週的內容是授課，講者從學者、智庫、到商業協會都有，內容包括台美關係發展史、東亞軍事、世界貿易/協議/組織、中國崛起等，第二週則是計畫的重頭戲，分組至國會各辦公室遊說，為期四天，每組一天約拜訪十個辦公室，整個計畫共計拜訪了將近120個議員辦公室（包括參議院與眾議院）。
Civil Revolt in Miaoli County?
This past Friday, approximately 200 protestors gathered outside of the former site of Chang Pharmacy in Dapu, Miaoli. One year ago on July 18th, 2013, the family-owned pharmacy was forcibly demolished in order to make way for commercial development. In September, owner Chang Sen-wen (張森文) was found dead under a bridge. The death was ruled a suicide by police, but there are those who remain suspicious, including Chang’s son.
Review: Meeting Dr. Sun (行動代號孫中山)
Meeting Dr. Sun (行動代號孫中山) tells of a group of poor Taiwanese high school students’elaborate plot to steal an unused Sun Yat-Sen (孫中山) statue from their high school and sell it for scrap metal.
Japan, the Jadeite Cabbage and the KMT’s Regime of Truth
Last week, a rare row arose between Taiwan and Japan over the Jadeite Cabbage. The artifact, originally crafted for one of the Qing emperor Guangxu’s notable concubines, is a prized possession and tourist favorite at the National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院) in Taipei.
Taiwan Minus the KMT?
Following the Sunflower Movement, there have been voices have now begun to speak of eliminating the KMT. And it must be wondered what exactly a Taiwanese political spectrum devoid of the KMT would look like. After all, having existed for the entire duration of what we can speak of as “Taiwanese politics,” it is hard to imagine what Taiwanese politics, period, would look like minus the KMT.
從星洲觀看太陽花
台灣2014年三月太陽花運動在新加坡引起了兩種比較明顯的反應。星國主流媒體和官方一般以亂象看待太陽花。民間和社會媒體則藉著這次運動，開始從新認識政府權限和公民參與的問題。怎麼說是「從新認識」？其實，上世紀五、六十年代，也就是台灣戒嚴、白色恐怖時代，正是星國反殖民、學生、公會等運動最活躍的時候。五、六十多年後的今天，星國在人民行動黨長期嚴厲執政下，似乎遺忘了自己的這段歷史。而太陽花在台灣盛開的時候，也正好碰上了英國政府開放大量外交與英聯邦辦公室（Foreign and Commonwealth Office）和殖民地辦公室（Colonial Office）的歷史檔案。這兩件似乎沒有關聯的事情放在一起，再加上星國近幾年在人口、公共交通、貧富懸殊、房價、物價上受到的衝激，啟發了關心社會議題的新加坡人對政治制度的反思。
最公平的升學制度
教育部要推動十二年國教，每到升學季節就被罵翻，最近國中升高中職的會考、特招，又是一波高峰。
Music Video: 灰色地帶 / Grey Area
音樂是我第一個真的能認真坐下來學習的東西，我常跟朋友說如果我用作音樂的態度去讀書，我一定能上哈佛，因為到目前為止沒有專精任何樂器的我，已經可以製作一首完整的歌，我的初衷就是想幫助那些像我一樣不會樂器但也想玩音樂的人，證明給他們看其實這都是可以的。
Where Have All the Sunflowers Gone?
During one of the initial planning meetings for New Bloom approximately a month after the end of the Legislative Yuan occupation, one editor wryly pointed out that during the height of the Sunflower movement, it was very hard to find sunflowers in flower shops—but now it was easy to do so again.
Gendered Politicians
When it comes to politicians, what is the first image that comes to mind? I would presume it is a man with an assertive attitude, high self-esteem and confidence, and who might occasionally talk aggressively. However, recently more and more women are participating in politics. What if I were to ask you to imagine a female politician? I bet the characteristics associated with this image of a female politician will be similar to the first image of the male politician.
媒體下的政治人物伴侶形象
對於政治人物的另一半，我們常抱持著一些既定的印象。藉由此次臺北市長選舉兩位主要候選人的另一半，讓我們有機會思考到底這樣的印象源自何處，以及如何影響我們對於女性在公/私領域中應該扮演何種角色的想像。一位候選人的伴侶從小養尊處優，留美回台之後短暫有過正式職業旋即嫁為人妻，成了一個專職太太/媽媽；另一位候選人的伴侶則如同大多數生長在台灣的女性，婚後依舊保有職業婦女的角色，在工作與家庭兩個領域間來回奔波數十年。在此我無意看低專職太太/媽媽這個角色，也不是想要誇大職業婦女的辛勞與面臨的衝突，但這兩個女人讓我們看到公領域仍存在強烈的性別偏見及刻板印象。
太陽花運動揭示的台灣現狀
2014 年 3 月 18 日夜晚，一群台灣青年衝入立法院議場，佔領議會超過 20 天，抗議立委貿然和中國簽署《服務貿易協定》。這波被稱為「太陽花運動」的抗議，不僅衝破了台灣民主的黑幕，更使得許多原本對政治冷漠的台灣人，開始正視台灣的民主危機，連帶地掀起後續大規模的公民參與浪潮。同時，太陽花運動也揭示了台灣政治、經濟和社會各層面，長期以來潛藏的問題。
Film: 戒不了癮 / Can’t Quit You
“Can’t Quit You” is an autobiographical short film about Zico, a hair stylist based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It’s the story of his first love, a relationship with a man called Yin that blossomed when Zico began his career as a hairstyling assistant in Hsinchu.
TPE→HKG→TYO?
It would seem that Asia is in the streets these days. Three months have passed since Taiwan’s Sunflower movement. With the revival of Hong Kong’s Occupy Central in new form, sovereignty issues regarding mainland China and questions of democracy have generally taken center stage whereas Chinese speaking countries and territories on China’s periphery are concerned.
Power and Discourse
Over the last thirty years, there’s been a slowly manifesting trend in regard to Taiwan’s international position, a series of processes that amount collectively to a single linear motion, and which offers no small indication of the future of Taiwanese democracy. I speak, of course, of Taiwan’s growing isolation in the international arena.
無政府主義
Radical 在台灣常常會翻譯成「激進」，但我認為應該翻成「基進」會更為恰當。根據 Merriam-Webster Online 關於 radical 的條目， radical 是「與根（root）相關的」，衍生為基礎、起源與重要之意。所以 radical 的『ㄐㄧ』應該翻譯為「基」礎的基而非「激」烈的激。為什麼我要從 radical 開始談呢？因為無政府主義（Anarchism）常常被認為是最 radical 的政治思想體系（ political ideology ），然而在沒有弄清 radical 真正的意思之前，我們常常在一開始就搞錯整個無政府主義的方向，把無政府主義連接到混亂、失序、毫無規則等等…。但其實無政府主義者的重點是思考最「基本」的問題，挑戰問題的「根基」，而非採取「激烈」的手段。
What the Sunflower Movement unveiled for Taiwan
ON THE NIGHT OF March 18th 2014, a number of Taiwanese young people rushed into the Legislative Yuan, and began an occupation of the legislative chamber that lasted over 20 days in protest of the Cross-Strait Agreement on Trade in Services (CSSTA) which had been passed by legislators without detailed examination.
Photos: Sunflower Retrospective by Justim Pam
This photo series shows the lead singer of the Taiwanese band Fire EX (滅火器), Sam Yang (楊大正）, when he visited to the Legislative Yuan chamber to support the students and teach them how to sing one of his songs.