The Angel East of the River

Father Maurice Poinsot

Maurice Poinsot, 85, is a priest at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Hua­lien County’s Yuli Township, and is currently the oldest priest from the Paris Foreign Missions Society in Hua­lien. He has lived among Taiwan’s native peoples for more than five decades, writing a French‡Amis diction......

My Ambition: To Be a Humble Junzi

Human ambitions vary widely. Some people hope to become scientists, while others love the arts. The Bliss and Wisdom Foundation offers a less skills-oriented alternative: its goal is to cultivate humble ­junzi. What are ­junzi and how do you go about cultivating them?......

Classic Works: Reading Together, Thinking Together

The topic of “classic works” seems inevitably to come around from time to time. In 2016, the Eslite Bookstore chain has launched a major effort to encourage people to read classic works. They invited publishers to recommend books ancient and modern, in Chinese or from foreign lands, with the p......

Sowing the Seeds of International Friendship

Understanding and falling in love with Taiwan in only three weeks. Thirty elite students from top universities in the United States and Canada participated in Mosaic Taiwan 2015, held for the second year by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) from June 15 to July 3. Through attending lectur......

Learning Huayu in Taiwan

—A Journey of Boundless Possibilities

Lukas Engström is a Swedish national based in Taiwan. Shortly after he started to learn Mandarin Chinese here, he visited a soft drinks bar to buy a cup of pearl milk tea. While in the queue, he kept repeating to himself the Chinese phrases he had to say to the staff. When at last he gave the ......

Soothing Taiwan’s Sweet Tooth

Stories of Local Pastries

Rivaling Willy Wonka’s legendary chocolate bars, and laden with even more stories than Marcel Proust’s madeleine cakes, Taiwanese pastries continue to satisfy our sweet tooth. With their origins in traditional Chinese confectionery, they are made with local ingredients rich in cultural meaning......

A New Trend in Medical Tourism

—Healthcare and Health Maintenance in Taiwan

Hospitals in Taiwan possess high-end medical technology and equipment, and Taiwan is a world leader in certain specialties, including liver transplantation and reproductive medicine. Institutions here provide very cost-effective healthcare services and have a competitive advantage against the ......

Wind, Waves, and Wonder

—Surfing in Taiwan

For people from Europe, North America, Japan, and Korea, where winters are cold, it’s a real luxury to be able to surf in warmer climes. People can come to Taiwan and surf year-round, with warm seas, diverse and delicious food, and the friendliness of the Taiwanese people all being normal part......