By Christine Cheng
Jason, a Taiwanese high school student, is preparing for his college entrance exam. A common day of his life happens as follows. Jason wakes up at 6 o’clock, buys his breakfast on his way to the train station, and rushes to catch the train in order to be at school at 7:30. After the bell rings, Jason tries to eat his breakfast while taking a test. Next, he is asked to stay at school for almost ten hours – including lunchtime, a ten-minute break between lessons, and an extra class for examinees. Once Jason finishes school at about 5 o’clock, he eats his dinner and takes lessons in a cram school until 8 o’clock. When Jason arrives home at almost 9 o’clock, he still has to do his homework for an hour and study for tomorrow’s test. Finally, Jason goes to bed at midnight. Being a student in Taiwan, Jason’s life is occupied by school and tests. If Jason had time, he would want to sleep more than six hours. If he had a chance, he would want to enjoy a meal with his family. As a sleep-deprived student, too, I think the government can recognize this problem and start reducing school hours, and I will explain how long school hours can harm students’ academic performance as well as their mental health.
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By Daniela Ivančáková
Youth is a strange concept. We heard all about it in the songs and movies, we desired to be young when we were kids and possibly will again desire to be young 20 years from now. These should be the memories fading to yellow and orange, these should be the moments we will share repeatedly with our future friends, lovers, even kids. By Ana Susin
In the wake of Israel’s continuous carpet bombing of the Gaza Strip, boycott activists have called for global consumer boycott campaigns targeted at several companies and institutions they claim to be complicit in Israel’s apartheid policies towards Palestinian people. Human rights organizations have previously concluded that Israel’s administration of the Gaza Strip and illegal settlements in the West Bank break international law and force Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to a living in the “largest open-air prison” in the world. Calls for targeted consumer boycotts are organized primarily by Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), a Palestinian-led movement against Israel. BDS is encouraging activist pressure of Domino’s Pizza, McDonalds, Papa John’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Starbucks and calling for targeted consumer boycotts in the most complicit companies and brands HP, Siemens, Axa, Puma, SodaStream, Ahava, and Israeli fruits and vegetables. They emphasize consumer boycotts focused on a small number of companies for maximum impact. They argue the most impactful consumer boycotts are those that are targeted, strategic and have the potential to inflict the most tangible (economic) impact. However, what makes boycotts effective? And most importantly, do they actually work? By Serena Bazzana A million Uyghurs are currently being held in “re-education camps” in the Chinese region called Xinjiang 新疆 or East Turkestan شەرقىي تۈركىستان. According to a UN Human Rights panel, the Chinese Government is committing Crimes Against Humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities. The report includes “substantial mass arbitrary detention, torture, cultural persecution, and forced labor” as serious human rights violations. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, The Netherlands, and other countries have denounced the human rights abuses China is committing as genocide. Yet, the Chinese government denies all accusations about violationing Uyghurs’ human rights. Photo Credit: Ozan Kose, Getty Images
What if every embarrassing childhood home-video of yours was shown to millions of people online? Such is the life of a child on a family vlogging channel. Family vlogging channels are social media channels generally involving parents video-taping or photographing their family’s daily life, struggles, and experiences and posting them online to social media platforms. Family vlogging channels have gained increasing popularity with the rise of Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok, as viewers flock to see allegedly ‘genuine’ experiences of others.
By Jonathan Flynn
Below is an image of one of the world rarest mammals – The Vaquita Dolphin. Cute, right? Unfortunately, the International Whaling Commission has recently declared this beautiful subspecies critically endangered. This alert is the result of a recent study conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which predicted only 10 Vaquita remain, all of which live off the Gulf of Mexico by Angie Liza Donnelly is an American cartoonist and writer. Donnelly’s collection of political cartoons which are showcased in The New Yorker. They have made an evolutionary impact on society regarding gender stereotypes as they are widely shown in the media and displayed in museums. Donnelly’s political cartoons commonly circle around using humor to criticize the societal gaze on women. Figure 1, Untitled (“I can’t decide what I’m going to be when I grow up – a good girl or a slut.”), 2020
by Ryan
Convenience stores are the lifeblood of Taiwanese society. With over 13,000 convenience stores (1 for every 1582 people!), Taiwan boasts the second highest convenience store density worldwide, only behind South Korea. You would be hard pressed to walk a couple blocks without encountering at least one 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, or OK Mart. Step inside and be overwhelmed by the plethora of goods, services, and features that they offer: Clean, comfortable, well-lit 24/7 spaces selling everything you could possibly need. All kinds of goods like electronics, cleaning supplies, makeup; services ranging from printing, ATMs, paying bills, sending and receiving packages; groceries both frozen and fresh; ready-to-eat meals and snacks you can consume straight from the counter or prepare using the store’s many microwaves and hot water dispensers; and spacious in-store dining areas equipped with free wi-fi for you to enjoy them. These stores truly put the “convenience” in convenience stores. But could this convenience come at a cost? In this article, I will explore the pros and cons of convenience stores in Taiwan and attempt to answer the question: should we be celebrating them as much as we do? By Chelle Lee
The “zero tolerance” policy under the Trump administration was a policy that resulted in the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The policy was implemented in April 2018 and was officially halted in June 2018, but the effects of the policy are still being felt today. By Bernardo Zorzetto Rech
There are few things more distressing than constantly seeing flaws in your own physique. For most people, these perceived flaws are nothing more than a nuisance, it would be sufficient enough to join a gym and find satisfaction in their own selves. For others, the search for a “dream physique” might be never-ending, with the perception of their own flaws growing day by day. This is when the search becomes problematic. Even more so when a person might be unsatisfied with the results they have achieved and look for performance-enhancing drugs, steroids, to drastically alter their appearance. |
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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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