by Peng-yu Chen
Located off the southeast coast of the Asian Continent at the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, Taiwan suffers from numerous typhoons each year, especially during the period from July to September, and mostly in August. Japan, which is close to Taiwan geographically, also encounters the same challenge; however, typhoon holidays only exist in Taiwan.
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by Ryan
(Note: This interview was conducted mainly in Chinese and translated to English for the article. Thank you to my friends, who have chosen to remain anonymous, for being live translators when I stumbled on my Chinese.) NTU’s food vendors quite literally fuel the school. They toil from dawn to dusk, preparing and serving food to students and teachers alike, providing them with the energy for the days’ classes, studying, club activities, and whatever else one might be up to. These vendors are a constant throughout our time here – one that we often take for granted. Yes, their primary purpose in the school may be to serve us food and earn money, but that should not make us overlook the fact that they also have names, lives, stories, triumphs, and struggles. In this article, we sit down with Bai Shang-yong, owner of one of my favourite food spots in the school: Shao Bao (稍飽), or Soulba, as it is known in English. He tells a moving story of how he came to be a food vendor in NTU, his experiences, both the good and the bad, of working here for almost seven years, and gives us a glimpse of his life outside of work, and his plans for the future. By Serena Bazzana
During the last week, the representatives of the EU and its members expressed unconditional support for Israel, which is violating international law by committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocidal campaigns, and ethnic cleansing towards the Palestinian in the occupied territories, including apartheid and starvation. However, the European Union describes itself as a “firm promoter and defender of human rights and democracy across the world, as well as within its own borders.” By Christine Cheng
Speaking of local fast-food chains, Dan Dan Burger is the first thing that comes to southern Taiwanese people’s minds. Located in Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Pingtung, Dan Dan Burger is considered to be more important than traditional Western fast-food chains like McDonald’s or KFC in southern Taiwan. Moreover, the shops of Dan Dan Burger have even become famous tourist attractions in southern Taiwan. With barely any marketing, why is Dan Dan Burger so famous and popular? By Justine Benais
The study that changed the game The University of Cambridge published a study that will likely be a big game changer in the field of mental health. Decades of psychological wisdom, stretching back to Freudian beliefs, have taught us that bottling up feelings of negative emotions is bad for a person’s mental health; as it can disrupt the normal function of your stress hormones called cortisol. In light of recent publications, this long standing dogma may no longer hold true as the study concluded that suppressing negative thoughts is actually good for mental health and a positive coping strategy. By Daniela Ivančáková
Arisen from a scorpion sting, passed on from generation to generation and powered by an odd beauty standard – theories about the most common phobia or why do we hate spiders so much? With a bonus guide to Spiders of Taiwan. By Jonathan Flynn Albino people in Africa are being hunted and mutilated because of superstitious beliefs that their body parts have magical powers. A Malawi High Court has recently convicted 12 individuals, including a catholic priest and a police officer, of charges relating to the kidnapping, mutilating and selling of a 22-year-old Albino man’s organs and limbs. This is just one example of hundreds of cases in which Albinos are being hunted like animals and persecuted due to superstitious beliefs. Source: listverse
by Anonymous The death toll has risen to more than 5000 casualties following the October 7, 2023 Palestinian militant offensive on Israel and the subsequent Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip. Western news outlets have been reporting on these rising tensions, however, their content has received backlash on social media. They have been accused of pro-Israel bias, omitting the decades-long historical and political context that predates the October 7 violence. The most prominent example of such bias is the above-attached article of The Guardian, titled ‘Gaza Strip protesters received bullet wounds to ankles.’ Now, logic dictates bullet wounds are not something you receive. Gifts are something you receive. Bullet wounds are caused by being shot at and commonly something from which you die. This reporting goes against The Guardian’s own journalistic writing guide, which states active verbs are much more effective in headlines, such as ‘Israeli army shot at Gaza Strip and wounded protestors’ ankles.’ The resurfacing of older articles and publication of new ones have highlighted two broader writing patterns of distorting the conflict towards the Israeli perspective. Ths is done by divorcing the violence Palestinian people have been subjected to from its perpetrator: the settler-colonial policies of the Israeli establishment, allowing the audience to conceptualize the Israeli administration as the faultless victim.
By Chelle Lee
The hunting traditions of Taiwanese Aboriginal people are complex and diverse, but some common themes run deep in all the tribes. One of the most important is the reverence that hunters uphold for the animals they hunt. It is believed that animals are sacred beings, and hunters only take what they need to survive. Hunting was not only an essential way for indigenous people who inhabit remote mountainous regions to secure daily food sources, but it also became an indispensable part of their culture, tradition, and life. By Anonymous
A recent trend on TikTok is centered around the hashtag “girl dinner.” The trend sees females making videos of what they are eating for dinner while a sound plays in the background saying “this is my meal, I call this girl dinner.” The meals shown are generally very low effort, small, and nutrient deficient. Essentially, they are clearly not nutritious, filling meals. While a seemingly straightforward and accessible trend, #girldinner is the center of a fierce debate about feminism, unhealthy eating habits, domestic labour, and eating disorders. |
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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