Taipei Summers are scorching and July 6 is the perfect day of the year to put on a bikini, hop on a bicycle, and head to S20, the only festival in Taiwan with fire hoses mounted on the main stage! 

Heads will turn as over 100 riders wearing bikinis leave Maji Square and head to Dajia Riverside Park for a day of fun with some of the world’s most popular DJs, like R3hab and Yellow Claw, who will take the stage at the wettest festival setup ever. Party people will pack sunscreen, waterproof cases for their phones, and not much else as they beat the heat by spending a day at the specially designed venue, which brings Thailand’s biggest Songkran music fest to Taiwan’s capital city. 

What makes S2O Taiwan stand out is not only their almost 1 Million USD stage set up with 360 degree water jets making it literally rain on the crowd, but also their thoughtful inclusion of a “Dry Area” where you can sit down in peace and enjoy delicious Thai delicacies, and even get a Thai massage. There will even be a Thai boxing ring with Muay Thai demonstrations. 

Bikini Riders will assemble on Saturday, July 6th and make their way to the first day of the festival. Organizers will insist everyone signs a pledge to obey all traffic laws and to ensure a safe and fun way to travel to the event. Sign up for the Bikini Bike Ride Taipei (Road to S2O) is free, but does not include festival tickets, which can be bought online or at any 711 location. 

Bikeshare and personal bicycles are both options and many festival goers are excited to help solve one of Dajia Riverside’s biggest drawbacks as a venue: The wait for a taxi or the long walk to and from the closest MRT station.

Links

S2O Official Promo Vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWakPGCBQEo

Bikini Bike Ride Vid: https://youtu.be/4-ONGs-wnwI

S20 Official Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2279499158959696/

Bikini Bike Ride Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/690428788070008/

Bikini Bike Ride Sign Up Form: https://forms.gle/bNLEwRU5KRUAjPSD9

Read Pt.1 here

Following a tasty Taiwanese breakfast at the canteen, the group filed into Shunsian Temple just next door to the hostel. A sweet older woman, who we learned was a volunteer, led the tour while our trusty MyTaiwanTour guide, Gordon, played translator. The natural lighting drifting into the temple was almost redundant, for the intricately carved gilded ceilings and pillars brightened up the sanctuary with ease.

First, our temple guide directed us to what appeared to be a blemished section of the wall. This was, as dictated by legend, the site of the Mazu Miracle. After a grueling day of hauling timber and mixing concrete, the laborers poured the paste for a portion of the roof and clocked out for the day. As the story goes, the laborers returned the next morning and were stopped in their tracks by the distinctive face that had supposedly materialized onto one of the walls overnight. Upon closer inspection, the laborers spotted the close-set, heavy-lidded eyes and the small, round chin of the sea goddess.

Upstairs, the guests were given a closer look at the army of brightly-painted animal statues adorning the multi-tiered roof. The Holy Dragon and Tiger paintings emblazoned across the ceilings on either side of the second floor were, in my opinion, the temple’s most memorable attractions. Peer out the windows on the upper wall from inside of the Guanyin shrine, and you’ll see the tiger silently staring you down. Shuffle out to the corridor, however, and you’ll find that the trippy tiger’s head has suddenly shifted via optical illusion, its amber eyes seemingly glued to yours.

We had circled back to the entrance on the first floor by the end of the tour. The group was given the opportunity to choose from the tridents, spears, and other pole arms and fighting knives on display for photographs with the prop weapons. The temple’s in-house performance troupe presents incense to their patron god of theater, General Tiandu, before the start of every practice.

After the quick photo session, we sidled through the swelling crowd and took our seats, just in time for the opening ceremony of Round 1. The four teams competing on Day 1 – Shih Chien University, Lunghwa University of Science & Technology, University of Taipei, and Da-Yeh University, respectively – assembled on the temple square. Each entrance was enlivened by twirling flags, swinging battle axes, synchronized spear thrusting, cheerleading, and other acrobatics.

Intermission was called following a riveting performance by Team 1. Before proceeding to the canteen for lunch, we broke away from the crowd and ducked into the basement of the Yixian Service Center, where the contestants were recharging and prepping for their upcoming numbers. Some touched up their stage make-up – from decorative swirls, intense eyeliner, extreme eyebrows, and drawn-on beards to traditional opera masks.  A few in the group had their faces painted, courtesy of a friendly student from Lunghwa University.

We walked off our lunch at Chishan (also spelled “Qishan”) Old Street. We strolled past historic Japanese architecture and baroque buildings, and snacked on the treats we picked up from the bustling market – with no shortage of free samples, much to our delight – which can only be described as “banana central.” A couple of us also purchased boxes of banana cake from a banana-themed cafe and novelty shop.

Our next stop was the Tianliao Moon World Landscape Park. The dull, beige color and jaggedness of the rambling rock-hills are reminiscent of the moon’s rugged mountains, hence the park’s name. The group split up for the hike, and eventually reunited at the top of the climbing trail, where we enjoyed a stellar panoramic view of the badlands.

We stopped at a local re-chao place for dinner on our way back from the moon before returning to Shunsian Temple for the Day 1 closing ceremony. Once again, we cut through the throng of spectators, photographers, and camera crews, and took our seats. Kaohsiung City Mayor, Han Kuo-Yu, was the guest of honor. Politics aside, the Korean Fish’s entrance was pretty spectacular.

Spectators craned their necks and teetered on the tips of their toes as Han and his entourage strode towards their seats in the front row, a swarm of photographers and camera operators in tow. He waved at the cheering crowd and hit them with a few fist-and-palm salutes. The billows of purple-tinted smoke from the fog and light machines, dancing across the stage behind him, only added to the drama of his arrival.

The event concluded with a hypnotic fireworks and dancing fountain display. You could say that the tour ended with a bang – several bangs, in fact. 

Taiwan is often praised by visitors and residents for its healthcare system. Not only is the healthcare cheap, it is efficient. There aren’t long wait times or lack of experienced medical professionals like in some other places that offer universal healthcare. In fact, in 2018, Taiwan ranked 9th in Bloomberg’s annual Healthcare Efficiency Index. This brings Taiwan up three places from 2017’s evaluation, in which it placed 12th in the world.

The Bloomberg index looks at places with a population of over 5 million people, a life expectancy of at least 70 years, and a GDP per capita of over $5,000 USD.

Taiwan’s life expectancy was listed as 79.6 years, and the relative cost of healthcare was 6.2 percent. People spent US$ 1,401 on average a year, in absolute terms, on their healthcare.  The total score awarded to Taiwan, based on these factors, was 60.8. This is a far cry from the top rated economy on the list, Hong Kong, which had a score of 87.3.

The top 10 places for healthcare efficiency on the list were, in order, Hong Kong (87.3), Singapore (85.6), Spain (69.3), Italy (67.6), South Korea (67.4), Israel (67), Japan (64.3), Australia (62), Taiwan 60.8, and the U.A.E. (59.7). The second least efficient healthcare system in the world, which might not come as that much of a surprise, was the U.S.A, ranking just higher than Bulgaria and tying with Azerbaijian with a score of only 29.6.

It is no wonder why places like Thailand have seen their medical tourism industries skyrocket in recent years, as absolute costs of healthcare there are only US$ 219 a year, the lowest on the index, compared to the U.S.A. with US$ 9,536.

All this data reflects what a lot of residents in Taiwan know and love about the affordability of healthcare and the efficiency of the system. It sure is a lot better to be sick in Taiwan that most other places in the world!

The Gallup Global Emotions index for 2018 is here. It confirms what we all know instinctively. The world is getting angrier and more negative for its dwellers. However, if you live in Taiwan, you might feel better about the situation than almost everyone else in the world, as Taiwan has ranked lowest in negative experiences in the world. Over 150,000 responses were tallied from over 140 countries to see how people around the world felt about their situations.

“Gallup asked adults in 142 countries if they had five different negative experiences on the day before the survey. More than one in three people said they experienced a lot of worry (39%) or stress (35%), and three in 10 experienced a lot of physical pain (31%). At least one in five experienced sadness (24%) or anger (22%).” – Gallup

The country of Chad ranked highest on the survey, showing that at least 66% of residents in 2018 experienced physical pain. 61% reported that they worried a lot, and 51% endured a lot of sadness and stress. 38% of people in Chad also said they were angry a lot, which is nearly twice the global average of 22%. Their overall score was 54 on the Negative Experiences Index.

This is in stark contrast with Taiwan, which scored 40 points lower on the Negative Experience index, getting only 14. This made Taiwan the place with the least negative experiences in the world. Other countries in the world at the bottom of the list were Singapore (17), Kazakhstan (17), Vietnam (18), and Turkmenistan (18).

However, it must be noted that Taiwan was not at the top of the Positive Experiences Index either. Latin America dominated that list with Paraguay (85), Panama (85), Guatemala (84), Mexico (84), and El Salvador (83), rounding out the top 5 places with the most positive experiences.

The global average for positive experiences was 71, and the global average for negative experiences was 30. Compared to previous years the global average of negative experiences are on the rise while positive experiences have generally stayed the same.

How do you feel about the situation in Taiwan? Is it less negative than any other place you’ve been to?

Hey there, Observers and Taiwan Daily News fans!

Taiwan Observer is pleased to announce that we have entered into a definitive merger agreement with Taiwan Daily News In English, a leading provider in the English news market in Taiwan.

This takeover from Taiwan Daily News in English, based in Taichung, further strengthens our position in the market, and will bring great things for everyone involved.  The combination of Taiwan Observer and Taiwan Daily News In English will provide our audience more news and environmental activism than ever before. There will be so much news and environmental activism in your Facebook news feed, the anti-climate change movement will be inescapable. On your TV, on the internet, on the underside of bottle caps – wherever you look there will be more news and environmental activism.

As with all important business decisions, we want to work closely with our audience to make this transition as smooth as possible. Taiwan Daily News in English and Taiwan Observer are now undertaking the integration process that starts on April 1, 2019, and is scheduled to be completed by May 1, 2019.

As we wish to be transparent with our audience, we will disclose our deal publicly. For an undisclosed sum of shares in the Taichung Power Plant, the second largest coal-fired power station in the world and also the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide with approximately 40 million tons annually (or about as much as the country of Switzerland as a whole), Taiwan Daily News in English will be taking over Taiwan Observer. We would also like to voice our appreciation to the main Taiwanese power company for all their support in our endeavor!

The new name of the company will be The Taiwan Daily News In English Observer Media And News Group and Environmental Activist Organisation.

sincerely,

Ticket Giveaway

We are giving away free tickets to 2019 夏都春宴 Spring Break on the Beach

How to win
Step 1: Share this link https://www.facebook.com/events/1965355333554178/
Step 2: Send a screenshot to Taiwan Observer 台灣爆報 page in a message.
Step 3: Include your name, email, and phone number in the message. (The name you provide must match the one on your ID card so you can collect the tickets from the organizers at the entrance to the event)
Step 4: Watch the live draw featuring Tony Capatch on Sunday evening(March 31st) to see if you are a winner.

Also if you need a ride to Kenting check out NEKBRACE’s Spring Break Partybuses!

Here is everything you need to know about Spring Break On The Beach

English Info

中文 Mandarin Info

William Hung, a Grade 12 student at Dominican International School has organized a charity concert to raise funds for disabled swimmers. The beneficiary is the Taipei Swimming Association for the Disabled (TSAD), a charity organization that provides free swimming lessons to people with disabilities.

The Brave Swimmer Concert will be held in the gym of Dominican International School on March 29, starting at 18:00.

A coach in the association once told William a story about a particular student who was afraid of water. Every class, they would spend half an hour trying to convince him to get into the pool only for him to jump out moments later. Though there seemed to be little progress, they tried week after week only because the student came back. It was six months before the student first hesitantly moved into the pool without help. “He told me that coaching those children is not always about improvement or making a big change, but simply being there with them, hoping and persisting,” said William

For the past four years, William has worked with those amazing people as a fellow volunteer coach. “I see the coaches trying their best. I see the student’s perseverance. Yet, I do not see the organization receiving the support it should so I decided to hold this concert to help raise funds and spread awareness for the Taipei Swimming Association for the Disabled”, William told Taiwan Observer.

The program includes the performance of the student orchestra and choir of Dominican International School,  two short plays , the winners of the school’s annual Young Shakespeare Playwriting Competition and four members of the association.

It coats NT 200 for a ticket and all revenue will be donated to TSAD.  Email 1300019@dishs.tp.edu.tw for tickets, or buy them at the door.

This whole weekend, starting on Friday the Red Room, a creative space in central Taipei, will see a lot of performing action coming from one of Taipei’s most dedicated group of actors. The group itself is an amalgamate of locally based international and native Taiwanese actors and actresses.

Taipei Shorts is currently the only English language theatre production in Taiwan. The group hopes to keep English theatre alive on the Taiwanese soil. With the sound designed specifically for the show by composer Anton Botes and featuring a cast of professional actors, including the well known to the Taipei community, veterans such as Charlie Storrar, Sarah Brooks, and Sharon Landon, the production will take the audience on a journey mixed with thrills, laughter and satire.

The event starts this Friday, March 22, and it carries on through to Sunday. Performances will start at different times with Friday and Saturday seeing the show kicking off at 8:00 pm, and on Sunday it will start at 1:00 pm.

Single passes range from NT$300-NT$400 and are on sale online at https://www.accupass.com/go/taipeishorts , passes are also available at the door subject to availability.

For additional information about all those involved, visit our event page on Facebook. There you can view behind the scenes footage of rehearsals.
https://www.facebook.com/events/544253582650811/.

You can also see the interview with the cast of  ‘Love Drug’, one of the plays that will be performed under the link below:

https://to.to/eEf41

Interested parties can learn more about the show and book or purchase passes by visiting:

https://www.accupass.com/go/taipeishorts