[{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Michael Turton","ar_views":"1255","ar_id":"2003828562","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-16","ar_head":"Notes from Central Taiwan: So what if the KMT Taiwanizes","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo, speaking at the Reagan Defense Forum last week, said the US is confident it can defeat the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) in the Pacific, though its advantage is shrinking. Paparo warned that the PRC might launch a \u201cwar of necessity\u201d even if it thin","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/16\/2003828562","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828562","ph_attr":"GRAPHIC: TT","ph_cap":"","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/16","ph_fname":"p12-241216-illustrate.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/16\/p12-241216-illustrate.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/16\/thumbs\/p12-241216-illustrate.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Han Cheung","ar_views":"2056","ar_id":"2003828516","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-15","ar_head":"Taiwan in Time: The octagonal market built atop human remains","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"Dec. 16 to Dec. 22Growing up in the 1930s, Huang Lin Yu-feng (\u9ec3\u6797\u7389\u9cf3) often used the \u201cfragrance machine\u201d at Ximen Market (\u897f\u9580\u5e02\u5834) so that she could go shopping while smelling nice. The contraption, about the size of a photo booth, sprayed perfume for a coin or two and was one of the trendy bazaar\u2019s cutt","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/15\/2003828516","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828516","ph_attr":"Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons","ph_cap":"A photo of the Red House Theater at the time of its closing in 1997.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/15","ph_fname":"p12-241215-1997red.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/15\/p12-241215-1997red.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/15\/thumbs\/p12-241215-1997red.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Steven Crook","ar_views":"1266","ar_id":"2003828471","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-14","ar_head":"Travel: East coast tourism slump continues","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"These days, CJ Chen (\u9673\u5d07\u4ec1) can be found driving a taxi in and around Hualien. As a way to earn a living, it\u2019s not his first choice. He\u2019d rather be taking tourists to the region\u2019s attractions, but after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the region on April 3, demand for driver-guides collapsed.In the ","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/14\/2003828471","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828471","ph_attr":"Photo: Steven Crook","ph_cap":"Almost every part of the East Longitudinal Valley came through this year\u2019s earthquake and typhoons unscathed, but tourist hotspots are still suffering from a lack of visitors.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/14","ph_fname":"P12-241214-EastLong.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/14\/P12-241214-EastLong.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/14\/thumbs\/P12-241214-EastLong.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Tyler Cottenie","ar_views":"1283","ar_id":"2003828416","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-13","ar_head":"Travel: Step back in time in Baisyue Village","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"During the Japanese colonial era, remote mountain villages were almost exclusively populated by indigenous residents. Deep in the mountains of Chiayi County, however, was a settlement of Hakka families who braved the harsh living conditions and relative isolation to eke out a living processing camph","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/13\/2003828416","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828416","ph_attr":"Photo: Tyler Cottenie","ph_cap":"The crumbling interior of the Baisuye Village administration building.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/13","ph_fname":"p12-241213-Officeinterior.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/13\/p12-241213-Officeinterior.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/13\/thumbs\/p12-241213-Officeinterior.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Jake Coyle","ar_views":"731","ar_id":"2003828417","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-13","ar_head":"A \u2018Lord of the Rings\u2019 tradition turns small-scale","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"It\u2019s a discombobulating experience, after a Lord of the Rings trilogy that was built, down to every frame and hobbit hair, for the big screen, to see something so comparatively minor, small-scaled and TV-sized as The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.The film, set 183 years before the event","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/13\/2003828417","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828417","ph_attr":"Photo: AP","ph_cap":"Hera, voiced by Gaia Wise, in a scene from the animated film <i>The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim<\/i>.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/13","ph_fname":"P11-241213-315.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/13\/P11-241213-315.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/13\/thumbs\/P11-241213-315.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Dan Milmo ","ar_views":"416","ar_id":"2003828418","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-13","ar_head":"\u2018It\u2019s a pure form of gambling\u2019: the stunning boom in memecoins","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"It is a parable for the attention economy. A celebrity created entirely by social media, \u201chawk tuah girl\u201d Haliey Welch, helps launch a crypto asset that stokes a viral frenzy and then flames out.The Hawk memecoin was worth US$490 million hours after it launched on Dec. 4 but now has a market capital","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/13\/2003828418","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828418","ph_attr":"Photo: AP\r\n","ph_cap":"This mobile phone app screen shot in April 2021 shows the logo for Dogecoin, in New York.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/13","ph_fname":"P11-241213-301.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/13\/P11-241213-301.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/13\/thumbs\/P11-241213-301.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"\r\nBy Hollie Younger\r\n","ar_views":"537","ar_id":"2003828353","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-12","ar_head":"Restaurant review: Black Pepper cracks the code for relaxed romance","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"Black Pepper transports diners to the seductive location of Italy, recreating the space and cuisine essential for a romantic evening.  Taiwan has its own unique way of recreating Italian classics. Other than a surprisingly good 7-Eleven rendition of a spaghetti bolognese, local pasta offerings can l","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/12\/2003828353","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828353","ph_attr":"Photo: Hollie Younger ","ph_cap":"The margherita pizza at Black Pepper.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/12","ph_fname":"p12-241212-111.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/12\/p12-241212-111.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/12\/thumbs\/p12-241212-111.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Cynthia Kim","ar_views":"478","ar_id":"2003828354","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-12","ar_head":"S Korea\u2019s fading nightlife signals shift in hard-drinking culture","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"For pub owner Jun Jung-sook, Seoul\u2019s once-vibrant Nokdu Street is not what it used to be when people queued for a table to end their day with Korean mung bean pancakes and shots of the fiery local rice wine makgeolli.The more common sight now is of half-empty pubs and bars along the neon-lit alley a","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/12\/2003828354","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828354","ph_attr":"Photo: AFP","ph_cap":"People on Monday eat street food in Seoul, South Korea.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/12","ph_fname":"p12-241212-308.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/12\/p12-241212-308.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/12\/thumbs\/p12-241212-308.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"","ar_views":"468","ar_id":"2003828355","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-12","ar_head":"Experts warn of bird flu\u2019s pandemic threat","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"Health experts have been sounding the alarm about the potential pandemic threat posed by bird flu, which has been showing signs of mutating as it spreads among cows and infects people in the US.There is no guarantee that bird flu will ever begin transmitting between humans, and US health authorities","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/12\/2003828355","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828355","ph_attr":"Photo : AFP","ph_cap":"A chicken is pictured in June on a farm where thousands of poultry are produced in Tepatitlan, Jalisco State, Mexico. Health experts have been sounding the alarm about the potential pandemic threat posed by bird flu, which has been showing signs of mutating as it spreads among cows and infects people in the US.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/12","ph_fname":"P11-241212-326.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/12\/P11-241212-326.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/12\/thumbs\/P11-241212-326.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Peter Conrad","ar_views":"77","ar_id":"2003828356","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-12","ar_head":"Book review: A fresh take on the composer\u2019s much-loved work","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"I love the amorous mayhem of Handel\u2019s operas, but have always had my doubts about his oratorios, especially the Messiah. First there\u2019s the bossy compulsion to stand during the \u201cHallelujah\u201d chorus, just because a spurious tradition says that King George II did so in 1743; once hoisted upright, you ha","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/12\/2003828356","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828356","ph_attr":"","ph_cap":"<i>Every Valley: The Story of Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/i>, by Charles King.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/12","ph_fname":"p11-241212-the book.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/12\/p11-241212-the book.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/12\/thumbs\/p11-241212-the book.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Sian Boyle","ar_views":"563","ar_id":"2003828294","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-11","ar_head":"Is the Internet making us stupid?","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"If you want to witness the last vestiges of human intellect swirling down the drain, hold your nose and type the words \u201cskibidi toilet\u201d into YouTube. The 11-second video features an animated human head protruding from a toilet bowl while singing the nonsensical lyrics \u201cskibidi dop dop dop yes yes.\u201d ","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/11\/2003828294","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828294","ph_attr":"Photo: AFP","ph_cap":"A man on Monday uses his phone in Prayagraj, India. ","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/11","ph_fname":"p12-241211-304.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/11\/p12-241211-304.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/11\/thumbs\/p12-241211-304.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Hyunsu Yim, Nicoco Chan and Minwoo Park","ar_views":"469","ar_id":"2003828295","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-11","ar_head":"K-pop light sticks fire up impeachment protests in South Korea","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"While South Korean protesters have long employed songs, dances and chants, customized light sticks popular with K-pop fans have emerged as an effective new tool for demonstrators calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol.Tens of thousands of protesters have braved near sub-zero temperat","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/11\/2003828295","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828295","ph_attr":"Photo: Reuters","ph_cap":"Fans of K-pop boy band NCT on Sunday hold light sticks, as they attend a protest rally calling for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who declared martial law, which was reversed hours later, near the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/11","ph_fname":"p12-241211-301.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/11\/p12-241211-301.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/11\/thumbs\/p12-241211-301.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Anna Furman","ar_views":"629","ar_id":"2003828236","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-10","ar_head":"\u2018Polarization\u2019 is Merriam-Webster\u2019s word of the year","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"The results of the 2024 US presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world \u2014 or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is \u201cpolarization?\u201d\u201cPolarization means division, but it\u2019s a very speci","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/10\/2003828236","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828236","ph_attr":"Photo: AFP","ph_cap":"US singer Taylor Swift performs on stage in October during \u201cThe Eras Tour\u201d at the Hard Rock stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Swift\u2019s song Fortnight undoubtedly spurred many to look the word up. ","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/10","ph_fname":"p12-241210-312.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/10\/p12-241210-312.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/10\/thumbs\/p12-241210-312.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"","ar_views":"352","ar_id":"2003828237","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-10","ar_head":"Japan\u2019s A-bomb survivors: from discrimination to a Nobel","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"Survivors of the US atomic bombings of Japan will receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Tuesday but, after years of anti-nuclear campaigning and showing the world their scars, they still retain the painful memories of the discrimination they have faced.After the 1945 US bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/10\/2003828237","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828237","ph_attr":"Photo: AFP","ph_cap":"Michiko Murata, who helps run the Tokyo Federation of A-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, which calls itself \u201cToyukai,\u201d on Nov. 27 prays at the tomb for Japanese atomic bombing survivors in Hachioji city, Tokyo prefecture. Survivors of the US atomic bombings of Japan will receive the Nobel Peace Prize today.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/10","ph_fname":"p12-241210-311.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/10\/p12-241210-311.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/10\/thumbs\/p12-241210-311.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Michael Turton","ar_views":"1127","ar_id":"2003828177","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-09","ar_head":"Notes from Central Taiwan: Taiwan\u2019s urban \u2018planning\u2019: from crisis to crisis","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"The Taipei Times reported last week that housing transactions fell 15.3 percent last month, to under 20,000 units. However, the market boomed for the first eight months of the year, and observers expect it to show growth for the year as a whole. The fall was due to Central Bank intervention. \u201cThe ne","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/09\/2003828177","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828177","ph_attr":"Photo: AFP\r\n","ph_cap":"Visitors last month take pictures of Taipei city from the top of Elephant Mountain in Taipei.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/09","ph_fname":"P12-241209-New333.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/09\/P12-241209-New333.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/09\/thumbs\/P12-241209-New333.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Han Cheung","ar_views":"9934","ar_id":"2003828128","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-08","ar_head":"Taiwan in Time: The Collector of historic buildings","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"Dec. 9    to    Dec. 15When architect Lee Chung-yao (\u674e\u91cd\u8000) heard that the Xinbeitou Train Station was to be demolished in 1988 for the MRT\u2019s Tamsui line, he immediately reached out to the owner of Taiwan Folk Village (\u53f0\u7063\u6c11\u4fd7\u6751). Lee had been advising Shih Chin-shan (\u65bd\u91d1\u5c71) on his pet project, a 52-hectare","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/08\/2003828128","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828128","ph_attr":"Photo courtesy of Changhua County Cultural Affairs Bureau \r\n","ph_cap":"The Liuying Liu Mansion in 1995 at the Taiwan Folk Village.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/08","ph_fname":"p13-241208-liumansion.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/08\/p13-241208-liumansion.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/08\/thumbs\/p13-241208-liumansion.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Wyatte Grantham-Philips","ar_views":"950","ar_id":"2003828091","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-07","ar_head":"Bitcoin finds its foothold, for now","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"Bitcoin topped US$100,000 for the first time this week as a massive rally in the world\u2019s most popular cryptocurrency, largely accelerated by the election of Donald Trump, rolls on.The cryptocurrency officially rose six figures Wednesday night, just hours after the president-elect said he intends to ","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/07\/2003828091","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828091","ph_attr":"Photo: AP\r\n","ph_cap":"An advertisement for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin is displayed in May 2021 on a tram in Hong Kong.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/07","ph_fname":"P13-241207-302.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/07\/P13-241207-302.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/07\/thumbs\/P13-241207-302.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Claire Savage","ar_views":"785","ar_id":"2003828092","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-07","ar_head":"Work-life balance isn\u2019t working for women. Why?","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"About half of working women reported feeling stressed \u201ca lot of the day,\u201d compared to about 4 in 10 men, according to a Gallup report published this week.The report suggests that competing demands of work and home comprise part of the problem: working women who are parents or guardians are more like","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/07\/2003828092","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828092","ph_attr":"Photo: AFP","ph_cap":"A woman walks through the halls of the US Senate on Dec. 2 in Washington, DC.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/07","ph_fname":"P13-241207-304.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/07\/P13-241207-304.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/07\/thumbs\/P13-241207-304.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"By Donna Lu","ar_views":"1210","ar_id":"2003828042","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-06","ar_head":"Do multivitamins just create expensive urine?","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"Supplements are no cottage industry. Hawked by the likes of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, vitamin gummies have in recent years found popularity among millennials and zoomers, who are more receptive to supplements in the form of \u201cpowders, liquids and gummies\u201d than older generations. Gwyneth Paltrow\u2019s G","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/06\/2003828042","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828042","ph_attr":"Photo: AP","ph_cap":"Multivitamin tablets are photographed in Philadelphia on Oct. 13, 2011.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/06","ph_fname":"P13-241206-316.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/06\/P13-241206-316.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/06\/thumbs\/P13-241206-316.jpg"}},{"ar_sbhdtease":"","ar_byline":"","ar_views":"409","ar_id":"2003828043","ar_sbhdbody":"","ar_section":"Features","ar_pubdate":"2024-12-06","ar_head":"\u2018Miracles\u2019 and controversies in Notre Dame\u2019s renaissance","dp_urlname":"feat","ar_desc":"The more than five-year reconstruction of Notre Dame cathedral has featured some near-miraculous recoveries, as well as several controversies. Ahead of the official reopening of the cathedral on Saturday, we look at some of the key moments: THE SAVIORS Paris firefighters won universal praise for the","ar_url":"News\/feat\/archives\/2024\/12\/06\/2003828043","photo":{"ar_id":"2003828043","ph_attr":"Photo: AFP","ph_cap":"Canadian Emily MacKinnon from London, Ontario, on Monday shows her tatoo in front of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, in Paris, a few days before its reopening.","ph_fpath":"2024\/12\/06","ph_fname":"p13-241206-317.jpg","ph_url":"images\/2024\/12\/06\/p13-241206-317.jpg","ph_url_thumbs":"images\/2024\/12\/06\/thumbs\/p13-241206-317.jpg"}}]