Libraries across Taiwan have seen a surge in demand for a Japanese non-fiction book with the provocative title Why Doesn’t My Husband Just Go Die? (老公怎麼還不去死).
As of Monday, 2,373 people had joined waitlists for the book, including 771 in Taipei, 80 in New Taipei City, 160 in Taoyuan, 520 in Taichung, 559 in Taoyuan and 283 in Kaohsiung, municipal public library data showed.
The book, by former Economist journalist Miki Kobayashi, features profiles of multiple women in Japan describing their experiences with pregnancy, childcare and domestic duties, often borne at the expense of their own careers and with little help from their spouses.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Tohan Co. Ltd.
The inequality of the situation creates bitterness and fissures in the women’s marriages, Kobayashi writes.
In some cases they consider divorce, but ultimately decide against it due to factors such as age, money, social expectations or their children, and are left secretly thinking that their problems would be solved by their husband’s death.
Kobayashi blames the situation on various factors, including government policies and Japan’s male-dominated work culture, which she argues leaves men little time to share duties at home, and must be reformed for real progress to be made toward gender equality.
Kobayashi’s book was originally published in 2016 with the Japanese title The Wives Who Hope Their Husbands Die.
The simplified Chinese edition has the slightly milder title The Wives Who Hate But Do Not Get Divorced.
Given that the book’s traditional Chinese version was only published in 2022, its sudden increase in popularity may owe more to its recent discussion in online forums in Taiwan, rather than the eye-catching title alone.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
RSS