Most of us recognize “To infinity and beyond!” as Buzz Lightyear’s catchphrase in the movie Toy Story, but it also describes an ambition shared by many nations on our blue planet. With vast realms to explore and curious to learn new things, humanity has learned from past mistakes and now prefers cooperation to competition to further its incremental march into space.
Founded in 1946, Taiwan Power Company has been providing power to Taiwan for 77 years. Generally considered a rather staid and conservative state-run enterprise, the company began intense internal discussions about its future direction and standing in 2016. It initiated a document preservation program in that year, and has been hard at work reframing its image ever since.
Faced with waves of change such as the trend toward intelligent manufacturing and the drive for net zero carbon emissions, Taiwan, the world’s fifth largest exporter of machine tools, has organized a carbon neutrality alliance and is actively pursuing carbon reduction by developing energy-saving technology for the spindle drives of advanced machine tools, as well as smart energy-saving products.
In an era in which we rely on images for everything, the idea of encouraging people to close their eyes and listen to the pure emotion of the human voice, a mode of communication completely different from the more visually oriented ones, is giving rise to a new wave of technological innovation.
While landmark structures in every country articulate the idiosyncratic visions of eminent architects, those public spaces that are closely intertwined with our everyday lives have a greater emotional resonance for us. Traditional markets are important sites in popular culture. In recent years, many of Taiwan’s tin-clad old markets have been rebuilt, but what else has changed aside from physical renovation?
Whenever I go abroad, I like to visit local markets to check out the local produce and get a feel for how people interact. It was with this mindset that I strolled through two markets in Taipei City. One is Shi-Dong Market, known as the “five-star food market.” It is spacious and comfortable, and the vendors’ booths are presented with a sense of design. It feels like a department store, but with a friendlier atmosphere.
Britain is the world’s most discerning market for black teas, whereas Japan takes the lead with the production and cultural appreciation of green teas. Taiwan, meanwhile, reigns supreme when it comes to oolong teas. In black teas, the tea leaves undergo oxidation during processing. Green teas are not oxidized, while oolong teas are partially oxidized.
In discovering a city, markets are full of clues, while shops are the guides to these clues. To explore the tastes and style of Taiwan, let’s visit Dihua Street, the oldest street in Taipei’s Dadaocheng area, as well as the Taipei Flower Market, which adds color to daily life.
In Chinese the word for “fish” (yu) sounds the same as the word for “surplus,” so fish has always been an auspicious symbol. Fish is de rigueur at Lunar New Year, and the older generation will say it’s best not to eat it all, so that there is a “surplus” in the new year.
As far back as the Qing Dynasty, gentry visiting Taiwan would return home with sleeping mats woven from triangular club-rush. Even then they made great souvenirs and gifts. During the Japanese era, rush products comprised the third largest category of exported agricultural goods, and the rush weaving industry brought prosperity to the town of Yuanli. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the industry there gradually began to fade away.
