According to a report released by the National Central Library in April 2021, the number of new books published in Taiwan has fallen for the third year running and is now at its lowest in 20 years. The printed word no longer seems to be in demand. Where have all the readers gone?

Taiwanese millet is small-grained, with a distinctive flavor; but there is more to millet than meets the eye.
From ancient times, wherever there were indigenous communities there was millet. According to the Council of Agriculture, in the 1960s millet was grown on some 6000 hectares of land in Taiwan. It was the staple crop of indigenous peoples, and an important offering at tribal rituals. Major annual celebrations revolved around millet planting and harvesting.

In the cultural and creative industries, revolutionary changes in media and information brought about by the advent of the Internet and digital connectivity have overturned traditional ways of reading. Reading is no longer restricted to paper texts; the high walls that once stood between words and readers have been demolished as people abandon paper books, newspapers, and magazines for other modes of “reading.”

Among the younger generation, a growing sense of compassion and social vision has been accompanied by a turn from seeking to benefit oneself toward a desire to benefit others.

With each major archaeological discovery, it is always surprising to learn that clues about different periods are stacked within the ground beneath our feet. Scholars dig up large shells and study them to construct a grand narrative of the times, but in the same stratum, there are less impressive fish and shrimp fossils that also offer a slice of contemporary life.

Few citizens understand what life is like for foreign migrant workers in Taiwan. It is as if they are invisible in society.
In 2021 the National Human Rights Museum has invited 15 domestic NGOs to jointly curate a Special Exhibition on the Human Rights of Migrants, depicting the situation of migrant workers in Taiwan. Only by raising overall awareness of human rights in society can the rights and interests of migrant workers be protected.

As a liberal and open-minded modern democracy, Taiwan encourages public exchanges of ideas and is home to a prosperous publishing industry. Our flourishing and highly competitive cultural sectors have been attracting professionals of Chinese origin from different parts of the world. In this article we interview editors Chu Anmin and Woo Kamloon. Brought up in Korea and Malay­sia respectively, why did they choose to settle in Taiwan?

Taiwan’s Civil Code provides: “If a period be fixed by days, weeks, months, or years, the first day shall be excluded from the calculation thereof, and said period shall expire at the end of the last day of the period.”

Whaaat? Convoluted enough for you?

—Daily Cold, Plain Law Movement

In the 1920s, a group of Taiwanese intellectuals and local gentry baptized in the waters of modern education formed something called the Central Club. This cultural organization, whose membership included prominent figures such as Lin Hsien-tang, Lin Zixiu, Chang Shen-chieh, and Loa Ho, went on to found the Central Bookstore.

Our first meeting with the Jesuit priest Father Aloisius “Luis” Gutheinz was at the Faculty of Theology of St. Robert Bellarmine on the campus of Fu Jen Catholic University. In contrast to the noisy streets outside, the faculty’s grounds are a tranquil place of dignified beauty, featuring low grey buildings surrounded by grass and trees. This is where the octogen­arian Father Gutheinz has lived and worked for most of his life.