The last time TC Lin (林道明) tried to organize a photography walk around Zhongzheng District’s (中正) dilapidated Nanjichang (南機場) neighborhood, it snowed in Taipei.
A street and documentary photography instructor at Zhongzheng Community College, Lin is hoping for better weather tomorrow as he attempts to gather photographers — amateurs and professionals alike — to capture everyday life in this 52-year-old community of about 2,000 households before it disappears to the city’s urban renewal plan.
Once a “model community,” the neighborhood has deteriorated over the years and is now largely occupied by elderly living alone or low-income families. The renewal project has been in talks for many years, but progress has stalled due to a number of problems including resident eligibility and the debate on whether to keep the community’s elementary school.
Photo courtesy of TC Lin
“I talked to the borough warden and he wants to leave a recording of the people, objects and life in the community,” Lin says. “He invited photography students before, but they only took pretty pictures such as flowers and sunsets.”
That’s where Lin’s expertise comes in. He named the event “international photo walk” because he wants to encourage foreign photographers to join in.
“I think it would be interesting to include their point of view in this documentation of the community,” he says. “Their angle and style are often different from Taiwanese.”
The borough warden will give a presentation on the community and take the photographers on a tour — including places that are not usually accessible to the public. Lin says he will provide translation and answer questions for those who don’t understand Chinese, though he hopes that there are more bilingual people on the scene to assist him.
Participants don’t need to be too self-conscious about intruding, as the borough warden has notified residents of the photography tour.
However, Lin says the number one key to documentary photography is respecting the subjects.
“You want to record the people and place because you like them and you respect them,” he says. “What mentality you use to photograph your subject is important because he or she will feel it too.”
Lin hopes to turn the results into an exhibition, set tentatively for late March or early April. He also wants to host a forum with exchanges between local and foreign photographers.
Last week saw the appearance of another odious screed full of lies from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian (肖千), in the Financial Review, a major Australian paper. Xiao’s piece was presented without challenge or caveat. His “Seven truths on why Taiwan always will be China’s” presented a “greatest hits” of the litany of PRC falsehoods. This includes: Taiwan’s indigenous peoples were descended from the people of China 30,000 years ago; a “Chinese” imperial government administrated Taiwan in the 14th century; Koxinga, also known as Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), “recovered” Taiwan for China; the Qing owned
In Taiwan’s politics the party chair is an extremely influential position. Typically this person is the presumed presidential candidate or serving president. In the last presidential election, two of the three candidates were also leaders of their party. Only one party chair race had been planned for this year, but with the Jan. 1 resignation by the currently indicted Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) two parties are now in play. If a challenger to acting Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) appears we will examine that race in more depth. Currently their election is set for Feb. 15. EXTREMELY
Jan. 20 to Jan. 26 Taipei was in a jubilant, patriotic mood on the morning of Jan. 25, 1954. Flags hung outside shops and residences, people chanted anti-communist slogans and rousing music blared from loudspeakers. The occasion was the arrival of about 14,000 Chinese prisoners from the Korean War, who had elected to head to Taiwan instead of being repatriated to China. The majority landed in Keelung over three days and were paraded through the capital to great fanfare. Air Force planes dropped colorful flyers, one of which read, “You’re back, you’re finally back. You finally overcame the evil communist bandits and
They increasingly own everything from access to space to how we get news on Earth and now outgoing President Joe Biden warns America’s new breed of Donald Trump-allied oligarchs could gobble up US democracy itself. Biden used his farewell speech to the nation to deliver a shockingly dark message: that a nation which has always revered its entrepreneurs may now be at their mercy. “An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms,” Biden said. He named no names, but his targets were clear: men like Elon Musk
RSS