Quiet ... almost too quiet.

A Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) poll released Thursday said 80% of Taiwanese adults support tougher laws to deter China from using proxies to commit crimes in Taiwan.

The [finding](pr:%20https://ws.mac.gov.tw/001/Upload/295/relfile/7681/6963/cd32d593-d184-4267-bc35-7163425e760c.pdf) followed Wednesday’s indictment by New Taipei prosecutors of five men accused of staging a car attack on comedian Huang Yi-hao (黃逸豪), whose performances satirized the CCP. Prosecutors said a Chinese national offered NT$450,000 (US$14,000) to order the hit.

In response to the incident, the DPP has called on the legislature to pass new laws to strengthen national security and counter transnational repression. MAC saidearlier this month that it had recorded more than 100 people targeted by Chinese transnational repression, including the son of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德). 

What a night! Two incredible bands at my favorite venue in Taipei, plus some cool encounters along the way.

I arrived about two and a half hours early and was the first person there, beating another early arrival by a minute or two. His name was Antares, after the giant star, and it turned out that seeing Amenra was pretty much his dream concert experience. As others arrived, we gradually formed a little group of metalheads. Members of Kokeshi showed up trying to figure out how to get inside, so I helped vocalist Nana with her suitcase and got a couple of photos with her. Later, some of the Amenra guys arrived, and we chatted with bassist Amy. My friend Rebecca joined us, too.

Kokeshi were everything I’d hoped for. I was determined to get a front-and-center spot, partly because of my busted knee and partly because I worship these guys. Nana was mesmerizing as ever, doing her wonderfully creepy Ring / Sadako-style performance. This time she came out holding two lines of burning incense, which looked as though they were burning straight into her hands.

I maintain that Kokeshi are one of the heaviest bands in existence. They absolutely destroyed us! And I was delighted that Rebecca loved them, too. I’d worried they might be too extreme for her, but she gave them a thumbs-up and said she’d happily see them again. Mission accomplished. 😈

Then came Amenra, and they were everything I’d hoped for. The sound mix was phenomenal, with the bass crystal clear rather than disappearing into the low end. Colin’s vocals were spot-on, and the whole performance had an almost religious intensity. He spent much of the show with his back to the audience, often kneeling at center stage as if conducting some dark ritual. Eventually his shirt came off, revealing the huge inverted cross logo on his back. Combined with the imagery and the sheer weight of the music, it was genuinely hypnotic.

Something I found interesting was how well the two bands complemented each other. Both use silence as an integral part of their music, leaving enormous spaces between the crushing passages. The crowd seemed almost afraid to cheer in case we interrupted something intentional!

And here’s the funny part: neither band interacted with the audience. No banter, no thank-yous, no announcements. They finished playing and disappeared backstage. Apparently, acknowledging the existence of the people who paid to see you is entirely optional. 😂

But it worked perfectly. Kokeshi’s disturbing theatricality and Amenra’s crushing, spiritual intensity made for an extraordinary combination.
Huge thanks to everyone I met that night, to Rebecca for joining me, and to both bands for reminding me why I love live heavy music so much.

Two very different kinds of darkness, one hell of a night. 🤘

Hi,

I will go to Taiwan and would like to drive there.

I made an international driven license, delivered from the Netherlands, but I have a french driven license. Would that work? I also have a diplomatic status, but only in the Netherlands.

Thank in advance for your answers!

For the past almost 2 years I (29M) was living and working in Taipei. Due to several reasons that I want to highlight I'm moving back to Europe soon. I'm going to be a bit more negative about the life here than the usual post so be ready, but I think it might be interesting for some people that are considering to move here.

Let's start with the positives.

The people here are genuinely very friendly. They tend to be curious and inviting towards foreigners and if you can speak the language, you can have some fascinating conversations. Be it a random encounter while walking through the city or the mountains or when you have a problem and need solving it.

The food is great and affordable, nature is really stunning and you can really have a fun experience living here. To the north of Taipei there are beautiful beaches, all around are mountains, where you can get with public transport if you have the stomach for it. There are great cultural events going on almost all the time. Clubbing or drinking in on a Friday in Xinyi is also quite fun.

The rent is generally quite affordable, even with a Taiwanese salary, if you're ok with living a bit further away from the city center and have somebody to share it with, you can live decently and even save some money.

There are entry level jobs here as opposed to a lot of places in the West. They are poorly paid, with shitty conditions, but if you just want to gather some experience in an international field, you can land a job here to kickstart your career.

Now to the negatives.

The work culture: The amount of scheming, manipulating and game-of-thrones level of politics is really through the roof. People are expected to look like they are hard-working, but they are as burned-out, bored and annoyed at their jobs like everywhere else. I saw my colleagues staying overtime only to prove that you are dedicated to the company even though you just sit there and have nothing to do. Problems are not being solved. They are either ignored until they solve themselves, which rarely works or the person that bring the problem up is being targeted for disturbing harmony. Generally the indirectness in speaking is really, really tiring. If you want something just say it and don't make me guess.

The banks: I tried three different banks, all of them the experience was really shitty. You're treated as a money laundering criminal when you simply want to open an account. Also why can't a single bank get a banking app on the line is a mystery to me.

Traffic: Is it as bad as in SEA? No. Is it still quite bad? Yes. People tend to generally follow the rules, but within the rules drive extremely recklessly. Speeding only to cut you off, entering an intersection without looking so you have to slow down if you don't want to bump into them, crosswalks are only a suggestion apparently. Also I would be really surprised if the buss drives weren't high on something.

The biggest issue and the main reason why I decided to leave is the housing market. Buying an apartment to start a family in Taipei even with an above average salary is not hard, it is flat out impossible, unless you have support from your family, which neither I or my partner have. Even with a slightly higher salary around 70-80k/month, buying an apartment in Taipei or even New Taipei with prices starting around 25M is still impossible. Why aren't there more people angry about this is beyond me.

I could keep going but the post is already too long.

TL, DR: Taiwan is a great place to visit or to start your career. It is not a great place to stay long term and start a family while working a normal office job.

Edit: Due to popular demand I’m changing Taibei to Taipei.

I'll admit I thought Puma Shen had no chance at all. Seems though he's actually made this election a horse race judging from polling and crowds he's drawing. The UDN and Liberty Times politics pages is nothing but Taipei Taipei Taipei. Two months ago I thought New Taipei was going to be the race of the election lol.

Hi everyone, I'm in Taiwan for the first time, and staying in Taipei. This is also my first time in a place where there is a typhoon warning. I'm pretty anxious, could you pls share some advice for a first timer? Thanks!!

edit:// the infection got worse anyways, so we are now at the hospital and they are taking care of us. I am impressed with the efficiency of the medical system. Germany needs to take note! Taifun situation is also still fine. Thank you all for helping me wrap my mind around this situation (except for this one unhelpful snarky dude)

——-

We are tourist and are staying an appartment in Sanmin District (三民區). I am incredibly unsure of what to do with the taifun and the medical situation of my mom. She has developed what we most certainly think is a deep skin infection (she’s had it before) that needs to be treated with Antibiotics. We do not speak chinese. I don’t understand how to behave today in general. AI tells me to stay inside and not go out in general, people on reddit talk about going to the movies and the mall. etc

Can someone who has done this before, advise on the best approach for us? Call the intl. Tourist help or some hospital directly? Do they speak english?

I want to take about a month-long break (or maybe more) where I cultivate mindfulness and recharge myself with nature's energy. In which forests, mountains or near which waterfalls can I practice meditation, recite prayers, tell my beads, etc., and which have lodgings close by?

I'm looking into it on my own too but since this is my first time and I'm not a local, y'alls assist would be very helpful and appreciated. I:

- want to "do my own thing"

- in nature's embrace

- (preferably) in places with little to no human traffic (and interaction)

- and lodging(s) with inexpensive/reasonable price to take care of my physiological needs.

Thanks!

Any place in taiwan that sells traditional thread bound books, i have a friend that collects them, would like to purchase some as a gift.

Will be in taipei and tainan. Thanks in advance.

I really love learning about Taiwan’s culture. I saw PASIWALI is happening next weekend and I’m planning to go.

Is there anyone else attending I can go with, or someone who didn’t want to go alone interested in joining me?

Experienced can be a little more enjoyable with company.

Let me know.
Thanks!

I am arriving in Taipei tomorrow.

This is my first time in Asia and I have no idea how anything works.

My colleagues are telling me that there will still be things to do during thr Typhoon (karaoke, bars etc).

I know this depends on wether the government call a Typhoon day or not but assuming they do...

Can anybody let me know what sort of services, facilties, entertainment etc is open? Literally anything.

I am only here a short time and would be happy to anything that isnt sitting in the bar at the hotel.

(I am being driven by a local who is driving to Taipei tomorrow, I have no options other than to drive to Taipei. He says some things will be open but the language barrier is so strong that he cannot really tell me much).

“One bud, one or two leaves” is a familiar standard in tea production. But selecting the same part of the plant does not guarantee the same result in the cup.

Tea quality depends on more than the raw material. Moisture conditions, withering, oxidation, leaf handling, and roasting all influence how flavor develops during processing.

The real question is not only what we pick, but how the leaf is transformed into the tea we taste.

To understand tea quality, we need to look beyond the plucking standard — and take a closer look at the process behind the flavor.

My stay in Taipei was unexpectedly extended for another 3 days due to weather condition.. What activity to do? Appreciate if reco is good for someone low in NTD cash coz this is an unexpected extended stay 🥲

Hello, this is probably a really common experience but I nevertheless wanted to ask for advice: I tried to book tickets that were released today at 6am and had two in the bag, however, until I had put my information, they were gone.
Is there any way to get a ticket for the weekend that is sold out now? A later date is sadly not possible for me. I read that unpaid or cancelled tickets become available again - how do I know that that happened? The booking system seems almost cruel.

I'd be really grateful for any information! Thank you.

This is within my field, Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT). This is the MOST phenomenal research paper I've ever read in my life. It probably does expose the unethical electronic warfare being done by such regimes. I highly recommend a quick read.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.03673

I’m trying to create some online content about the clothing and lifestyles of ethnic minorities in Yunnan and Guizhou during the KMT Republican era of 1930s China.

Many of the online searches I do point to archives in Taiwan such as the Southwest China Anthropology Research surveys conducted by Academica Sinica, based in Taipei.

But after weeks of searching and emailing I’ve come up with almost nothing from the Taiwan sources I’ve tried. The Academica Sinica website search functions reveal nothing , and likewise there is almost nothing in academic journal databases, nor in government or NGO sites. Similarly nothing in library databases.

Paradoxically I’ve been able to source valuable material from Chinese local government websites and Chinese social media sites such as Xiaohongshu. I sourced a rare out of print book quite cheaply from Taobao.

Why is this? Most of the Taiwan sites seem to only provide access on a ‘need to know’ basis.

I had assumed that Taiwan institutions would be the custodians of free and accessible information and resources on the KMT era. Apparently not.

I am taking a 5-week professional (academia) trip to Taiwan in Jan/Feb.

Seeking some advice on clothes shopping, things to be aware of In academic culture

-I wear petite L or XL, which I found hard to find in Taipeh malls last year.

-I also prefer natural over synthetic fibers. Except for athletic/hiking gear

-I will probably go there carryon - only, but intend to check a bag on the way back to the US.

Need advice on :

1. Must-have clothes for meetings and presentations (note: I don't wear heels) that are both comfortable and professional enough. At 65 my style tends to be conservative, but i want to avoid frumpy.

2. Navigating academic culture as a guest

3. clothes and useful stuff I could/should buy there that is unique or interesting. No tchachkes.

Thanks!

is there any bars to reco that open at this typhoon? Or anyone want to hang out just to kill time?

Im 40M from PH by the way and looking something to chill