The election of the nation's eighth president and vice president in the latter part of March Was the subject of broad attention, being the first such election since the lifting of the emergency decree.
Our new series "Trademarks of the Chinese," which has been a long time in the works, gets under way this issue with an overview of the subject by Li Yih-yuan, a noted ethnologist and a member of Academia Sinica. "Trademarks" here doesn't refer to products: it means the characteristic features and behavioral patterns associated with being Chinese. The first entry in the series examines our physical appearance.
People who follow the pop music scene here will have noticed that children have started playing a determining role in the music marketplace. If you're an older fan who can't understand what all the fuss is about the Young Tigers, then you'd better read "A New Market for Pop Music--Little Kids" and find out what's what.
Small- and medium-sized businesses lament that the investment environment here is worsening, and environmental problems have been cited among the causes. Pollution used to be accepted as a fact of life, but increasing protests have become a subject of controversy in recent years. Just what are the pros and cons of building a fifth and sixth naphtha cracking plant? And where does the crux of the protest problem lie? This issue offers an in-depth look.
People who return to Taiwan after a long period abroad will certainly be surprised at the territorial expansion of betel nut stands--they seem to have invaded every street and byway. How did this "natural chewing gum" become so popular? What's the art to chewing it? And what side effects should you watch out for? "The Story of the Betel Nut" gives you all the dope.
In this issue's overseas reports, our series on Southeast Asia reports on the investment climate for Chinese people in Indonesia, and our series on famous world universities introduces Kyoto University.
