Golden Horse undiminished
The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival officially opened on Nov. 9. Before that, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), unveiled his five major cultural policies, pledging to “polish the Golden Horse” again, while simultaneously blaming the government for the China’sagainst the Golden Horse Awards, because of its cross-strait policy, as the scope of the awards has narrowed in recent years.
The reason for China’s boycott of the Golden Horse Awards is that during the awards ceremony in November 2018, director Fu Yue (傅榆), who won Best Documentary that year, said in her acceptance speech onstage: “I hope that our country can be regarded as a truly independent entity, and this is my greatest wish as a Taiwanese.”
In Taiwan, the winners of the Golden Horse Awards enjoy freedom of speech and are allowed to say whatever they want, but unexpectedly, this triggered the sensitive nerves of the narrow-minded Chinese authorities, and some Chinese filmmakers simply walked out of the ceremony. China has not participated in the Taiwanese event since then.
As for this year’s Golden Horse Awards, the five nominees for Best Narrative Feature include: Time Still Turns the Pages (年少日記) from Hong Kong, Snow in Midsummer (五月雪) from Malaysia, and Stonewalling (石門) from Japan. Meanwhile, members of the jury include Singaporean director Anthony Chen (陳哲藝), Hong Kong songwriter Chris Shum (岑偉宗) and many more filmmakers.
With such a lineup, international participation is particularly broad. Has the scope really narrowed that much since 2018? Despite the absence of Chinese filmmakers, the Golden Horse Awards are still glittering as they enter their 60th year.
Wang Shan
Taipei
Lessons from 3D knives
As videos about 3D-printed “radish knives” (蘿蔔刀) on TikTok go viral in China, the popularity of such toy knives has spread to elementary schools in Taiwan.
Surprisingly, an Internet celebrity joked in one of the videos: “If you see someone you do not like, just stab him.” This Internet celebrity was completely irresponsible and failed to take into account the consequences of his actions. That was unbelievable.
There are two sides to every story. As a tool, a toy knife is essentially a piece of stationery, if used properly. If not, it might become a weapon. We can allow students to use a toy knife, but we must explain the rules of use correctly, so they know how to use it with caution. It not only cultivates a sense of responsibility, but is also a good teaching moment.
From a psychological point of view, the more forbidden something is, the more desirable it becomes. This is what we might call the “forbidden fruit effect.”
If students try to use the toy knives in secret, if they were to hurt each other accidentally, they will not dare to tell the adults and would delay getting treatment, which would only make the situation worse.
Instead of banning the toy knives, students should be actively guided to think and discuss why they want to use the knives and what the alternatives are. Through a series of reflective questions, children can have a sense of awareness and use the toy knives responsibly.
Lin Yen-yu
Kaohsiung
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
US President Donald Trump’s second administration has gotten off to a fast start with a blizzard of initiatives focused on domestic commitments made during his campaign. His tariff-based approach to re-ordering global trade in a manner more favorable to the United States appears to be in its infancy, but the significant scale and scope are undeniable. That said, while China looms largest on the list of national security challenges, to date we have heard little from the administration, bar the 10 percent tariffs directed at China, on specific priorities vis-a-vis China. The Congressional hearings for President Trump’s cabinet have, so far,
The US Department of State has removed the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” in its updated Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, which instead iterates that “we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.” This shows a tougher stance rejecting China’s false claims of sovereignty over Taiwan. Since switching formal diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China in 1979, the US government has continually indicated that it “does not support Taiwan independence.” The phrase was removed in 2022
For years, the use of insecure smart home appliances and other Internet-connected devices has resulted in personal data leaks. Many smart devices require users’ location, contact details or access to cameras and microphones to set up, which expose people’s personal information, but are unnecessary to use the product. As a result, data breaches and security incidents continue to emerge worldwide through smartphone apps, smart speakers, TVs, air fryers and robot vacuums. Last week, another major data breach was added to the list: Mars Hydro, a Chinese company that makes Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as LED grow lights and the
RSS