This month we also go to Southeast Asia. In the past we have visited the refugee camps along the border between Thailand and Myanmar, and have reported on how Taiwan’s higher education and Mandarin language teaching efforts are faring in Vietnam. This time we were in Malaysia. Taiwan has long had close trade ties with Malaysia, as well as lively cultural and educational exchanges. Our reporters looked into the efforts of first- and second-generation Taiwanese entrepreneurs in fields such as e-commerce, agriculture, art, and entertainment, and learned about the business opportunities they see in serving Malaysia’s Muslim population. They returned with so much first-hand information that we decided to divide our coverage into seven articles spread over two separate issues.
Many Southeast Asian immigrants have made a home in Taiwan, and their children have thrived here. This month’s Southeast Asian Focus introduces second-generation Southeast-Asian–Taiwanese artists, including film director Rina Tsou, writer Chen Yuchin, and dance educator Chang Wan-chao, whose hardscrabble stories show how much immigrants have contributed to the vibrancy of cultural life in Taiwan.
A pair of articles in our Artists and Artisans series introduce master painter Yahon Chang and rising star Huang Cheng-yuan, both of whom have integrated Eastern aesthetics, especially the ink-wash tradition of painting, into their art, and art into their careers and their lives. They have exhibited on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, in Venice, Italy, and in Cologne, Germany.
We also look at the International Cooperation and Development Fund’s assistance programs. For 20 years, Taiwan’s own ICDF has been supporting development efforts around the world, through investment, technology transfer, humanitarian aid, and education, for which it has won international recognition. In recent years, more and more women too have been contributing their time and energy, turning a new page in the ICDF’s history.
Finally, we follow up on last month’s cover story, “Old Residences, Precious Memories,” with a regular feature on the same theme, for history has left traces behind in every old residence and memorial hall. This month we continue our tour of Taiwan to the northeast, to visit the Lee Rongchun Literary Museum in the town of Toucheng, Yilan County.
So let the golden rooster announce the dawn of a new day, and the beginning of a new year for Taiwan!
And let’s hope “rooster” means happiness for everyone in your “family.”
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