The year 2025 marks a milestone for Taiwan’s cultural diplomacy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has joined forces with the Ministry of Culture to curate the Taiwan Cultural Year in Europe, bringing our wonderful stories to mainstream European audiences through the bridge-building power of culture. The most eye-catching events to be held are two major exhibitions of masterpieces from the National Palace Museum: 100 Treasures, 100 Stories at the National Museum in Prague (September 11 to December

Night markets are an entrée to culture, inviting everyone to experience Taiwan with their eyes, noses, and mouths. —Nguyen Thu Hang

The utility poles and shop signs along Taiwan’s streets give you the feeling of being on the set of an Asian film. —Ku

Taiwan’s night markets are like a downhome meal made by combining passion with human kindness. —Mariko Okubo

Franck Paris, director of the Bureau Français de Taipei (BFT—the French Office in Taipei), arrived in Taiwan to take up his post in August of 2023. His Chinese name, Long Ye, is very cool and classy. “Long,” which means “dragon,” was chosen because he was born in a Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac, while “Ye,” meaning “blazing fire,” reflects the fact that his family name, Paris, is also the name of the French capital, which is known as the City of Light.

Early in 2025, a Taiwanese convenience store rolled out a new ice cream swirl product featuring a subtly bitter Belgian chocolate complemented by rich dairy ice cream. It scored a big hit immediately upon reaching the stores, and eager consumers formed long lines to get a taste. Meanwhile, classic Belgian comics such as Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin and the Smurfs have enchanted people of all ages for many decades.

The traditional method for making soy sauce is to first steam soybeans, then stir in kōji mold and wait for a few days for the mold to penetrate the beans, then place the beans into vats and blend in salt or add salt water. After long exposure of the vats to sunshine, the contents are removed and undergo filtration and pressing. Then the resulting sauce is cooked in a pot and finally bottled for sale to the public.

“Oh, how adorable!” We look at photos of a black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus) moving its head from side to side as it roosts on one of a number of perches for raptors (birds of prey) set up by farmers amid their fields. Two other black-winged kites are wheeling through they air, playing musical chairs for a spot on the perches. Meanwhile, an eastern grass-owl (Tyto longimembris pithecops) carries a small rodent that it has caught directly to one of the perches.

Amass die-off of pheasant-tailed jacanas in 2009 sparked a series of environmental actions. Since then, protected by goodwill and conservation measures, the pheasant-tailed jacana has flown free and unthreatened over the water caltrop fields.

Funerals, the rituals by which the living say goodbye to the dead, have their own traditions in different places around the world. In Ghana, funerals are often like parties to which even performance troupes are invited. On YouTube there are videos of Ghanaian pallbearers who dance as they carry the coffin, creating a joyous send-off. Meanwhile, at last rites in Taiwan, there may be an all-female xiyuedui (“Western music group”) playing upbeat melodies and dancing lively steps to send off the dec