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Category Archives: Uncategorized
SIGNS OF TROUBLE: The Story Behind the Anti-Tibetan-Buddhist Slogans
They are hard to see now, as they are blocked from view by a new building under construction, but for almost 15 years those eccentric signs on the side of a 10-story building next to Yuanshan Station caught my eye … Continue reading
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THE PURGE: Taiwan’s Recall Election Year
Taiwan’s movement to recall KMT legislators en masse is unprecedented. What are the implications for national security if it fails? After making it through the first two stages of the recall procedure, 24 recall elections for Kuomintang (KMT) representatives in … Continue reading
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My Taiwanese Feet Turn Five
This May marks the 5th anniversary of the publication of my book, Taiwanese Feet: My Walk Around Taiwan, a travelogue about my multi-stage walking journey around the entire coastline of Taiwan. And like myself during that long journey, time just … Continue reading
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Tagged Exploring Taipei, My walk around Taiwan, Taiwan, Taiwanese Feet
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UPDATE: RESILIENCE ROADMAP (V2.0)
Version 2.0 of Resilience Roadmap: An Emergency Preparedness Guide to Expats in Taiwan is now ready for sharing. Updates have been made to the following areas: The section on fires now covers dealing with toxic smoke. Material about evacuating buildings … Continue reading
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Tagged China, civil-defense, civil-resilience, emergency-preparedness, pla, Taiwan, taiwan-strait, xi-jinping
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Legacies of the Pacific War: From Tamsui to Yasukuni
By John Groot While there actually is no ancient Chinese curse that translates to “May you live in interesting times,” the idea that major historical events can mean chaos and grief to everyday folk is widely understood. One person who … Continue reading
Stories of the Past from a Son of Taiwan
The mouth of the Tamsui River has long been a strategic location, as the gateway into the Taipei Basin from the sea, and a rare natural harbor on the north coast of Taiwan. This is why, over the centuries, the … Continue reading
Happy Year of the Dragon!
It’s that time of the year again: Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year. But the Chinese Calendar and how it relates to both practical time-keeping and religious symbolism is extremely detailed and complex. What’s more, certain cultural aspects surrounding … Continue reading
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Tagged calendar, chinese-new-year, culture, lunar-calendar, lunar-new-year
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Emergency preparedness guide for expats in Taiwan
Hi all! Here’s the link to my latest project. Feel free to share it with friends. A proper blogpost will be coming soon. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS A NEW VERSION OF THIS GUIDE (V2.0) AVAILABLE, POSTED MARCH 3, 2025. … Continue reading
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Walking With History – Part 2: The Battle of Tamsui with the Formosa Files Podcast
Map of the action at Tamsui, 8 October 1884, by Captain Garnot It was a great pleasure to do these two podcasts with my old friend John Grant Ross, founding member of Camphor Press, and writer of Formosan Odyssey, his … Continue reading
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The Battle of Tamsui: An article for Centered on Taipei
It was a great pleasure to work with Ken Dickson, photographer, and the entire editorial team of Centered On Taipei, the magazine of the Community Services Center in Taipei. Please follow the link below to read the article on pages … Continue reading
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The Culture Shack 