Malaysia’s representative in Taiwan, Aznifah Isnariah Binti Abdul Ghani, arrived to take up her post in July of 2023.
With her blended ethnic background, she has a rich, dynamic understanding of Southeast Asia. This enables her to understand Taiwan and Malaysia’s long history of interactions and links from a broader perspective.
For Taiwanese, who are accustomed to looking north, Malaysia, to the south, is a country that is close yet distant, familiar yet different. While there are some similarities in our cultural origins, in character we are quite distinct. Aznifah Isnariah Binti Abdul Ghani, Malaysia’s Representative in Taiwan, endeavors to promote mutual understanding and positive interactions between us.
On the day of our visit, a group of Indigenous children are taking an outdoor class in the hills of Wulai. They learn from hunters about the animals and plants in mountain forests, as well as how to use a bow and arrow, cut bamboo, and start a fire with friction, becoming versed in humbly coexisting with nature.
The various fishing communities located along Taiwan’s Northeast Coast have each developed their own distinct character based on differences in climate, topography, and ecology. Their residents have preserved the skills of living in a marine environment, and these communities are like a string of pearls waiting to be discovered.
In the foothills of Yushan, Taiwan’s tallest peak, lies the home of the Tsou Indigenous people. In their mythology, the Tsou were created by their deity Hamo. Later the world was flooded and they fled to Yushan, waiting for the waters to recede. The deity then left his footprints in the mountain forests, and the Tsou followed them to take up residence there, with the first footprint becoming Tfuya.
Deep in the Alishan Mountains, silken clouds waft through towering red cypresses in a world that can only be understood by following in the footsteps of hunters. Today, the huntsmen of the Tfuya Indigenous Community share it with outsiders through “Noyoca Giant Trees Ecological Experience” guided tours, creating new possibilities for their tradition of forest conservation.
On the Changhua Plain in winter, life settles into a distinctive rhythm after the second rice harvest. Though the fields lie fallow, daily life is anything but quiet. Children turn the empty paddies into playgrounds. Some families plant winter vegetables such as radishes and peas, and others plant vivid cover crops for fertilizer, as the land transforms into a bright tapestry of vibrant colors.
At the southwestern edge of the Changhua Plain, the fertile black soil deposited by the Zhuoshui River has nurtured the confident disposition of Erlin Township’s people. Stepping into Erlin, we encounter not only rippling rice fields and the fragrance of fruit, but also the township’s “three treasures”—grapes, buckwheat, and red coix seeds—along with dragon fruit, which has gained popularity more recently. Yet what truly shapes Erlin’s character is not just its crops, but its community of cheer
Most people get to know northeastern Taiwan on land, but for this article we visit the Northeast Coast by sea. We sail aboard the Sincer Princess, and so are able to take in the coastline as a whole, getting a clear view of its bays, capes, and eroded rock formations. Seen from this different perspective, the majestic landscape is stunning.
Calligrapher and painter Chu Chen-nan has the courage to venture beyond his comfort zone. As a mature artist, he plunged himself several times into unfamiliar environments in Europe and America to pursue knowledge and inspiration. His gentle and affectionate temperament belies a self-scrutinizing soul ever yearning to transcend boundaries and attain new vistas. These strikingly vivid, if also paradoxical, personal traits have enabled him to breathe a distinctively modern vibe of untrammeled fre
