- Culture
Celebrating outstanding writer Eileen Chang’s 100th birthday
Widely considered the best Chinese writer of her generation, essayist and novelist Chang Ai-ling, originally named Chang Yang and better known as...About the very different drinking culture in Taiwan
In Mandarin, days and months don’t have proper names like in Western languages, but are just numbered. So the 9th of September...75 years ago, García Lorca’s last play premiered in Argentina
Poet, playwright and theater director Federico (del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús) García Lorca (1898-1936) is widely considered one of the most important...The first James Bond turns 90
Sean Connery, the first actor to play fictional British secret agent James Bond 007, created in 1953 by English writer Ian Fleming...
- Downfall of the West
- Economy
- Features
- History
European barbarianism in China: ruining the Old Summer Palace
The Second Opium War (October 8th, 1856-October 24th, 1860) was successfully fought by the British and the French Empire against Imperial China...Wansei Back, a movie about Japanese born in Taiwan
After the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894/95, by signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki on April 17th, 1895, China was forced to concede...Debunking some separatist myths about Catalonia
Separatist leader Lluís Companys (born 1882) was first sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 6th, 1935 for staging a coup...Eisenhower’s short visit to Taiwan in 1960
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961, was born on October 14th, 1890 in...
- My personal experiences
The sunset in Valencia and the city’s decay
I live near the beach and still try to go there every late afternoon for a short swim in the Mediterranean. The...Sweet memories of Taiwan’s National Day celebrations
Taiwan, officially still called the Republic of China (ROC), celebrates its National Day on October 10th to commemorate the events which led...Disgraced former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian turns 70
Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian was born on October 12th, 1950 into a poor farming family in Tainan County in southern Taiwan....Why I prefer the company of Asian women
After reading one of my first articles, a friend kindly suggested that I probably presupposed too much knowledge about Asian women among...
- Politics
The sunset in Valencia and the city’s decay
I live near the beach and still try to go there every late afternoon for a short swim in the Mediterranean. The...Disgraced former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian turns 70
Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian was born on October 12th, 1950 into a poor farming family in Tainan County in southern Taiwan....Former “Free China” developing a distinct Taiwanese identity
Taiwan, according to the current Constitution still called the "Republic of China", was baptized "Formosa" by some Portuguese sailors which never went...Spanish government presents its version of civil war history
On September 15th, 2020 the Spanish Council of Ministers approved the Draft Bill of Democratic Memory that will repeal the controversial, very...
- Religion
35 years ago, Pope John Paul II asked pardon for slave trade
Polish Pontiff John Paul II (1920-2005), nicknamed "The Pilgrim Pope”, made 104 foreign trips to 129 countries, including Muslim nations like Azerbaijan,...About Santiago, the patron saint of Spain
Santiago, known in English as St James the Greater, is the patron saint of the whole of Spain, but not only.Papal apology for the Inquisition 20 years ago
In March 2000, Pope John Paul II issued a historic apology for the Inquisition in the name of the Catholic Church.In fact, Saint Mark’s Day is also my day!
Compared to the days of my childhood, the old Spanish tradition of celebrating a person’s name day has lost a lot of its importance.Catholics and the Vatican in Taiwan
Christians are a tiny minority in Taiwan, but Catholics are well-represented by the Vatican.
- Culture
Celebrating outstanding writer Eileen Chang’s 100th birthday
Widely considered the best Chinese writer of her generation, essayist and novelist Chang Ai-ling, originally named Chang Yang and better known as...About the very different drinking culture in Taiwan
In Mandarin, days and months don’t have proper names like in Western languages, but are just numbered. So the 9th of September...75 years ago, García Lorca’s last play premiered in Argentina
Poet, playwright and theater director Federico (del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús) García Lorca (1898-1936) is widely considered one of the most important...The first James Bond turns 90
Sean Connery, the first actor to play fictional British secret agent James Bond 007, created in 1953 by English writer Ian Fleming...
- Downfall of the West
- Economy
- Features
- History
European barbarianism in China: ruining the Old Summer Palace
The Second Opium War (October 8th, 1856-October 24th, 1860) was successfully fought by the British and the French Empire against Imperial China...Wansei Back, a movie about Japanese born in Taiwan
After the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894/95, by signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki on April 17th, 1895, China was forced to concede...Debunking some separatist myths about Catalonia
Separatist leader Lluís Companys (born 1882) was first sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 6th, 1935 for staging a coup...Eisenhower’s short visit to Taiwan in 1960
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961, was born on October 14th, 1890 in...
- My personal experiences
The sunset in Valencia and the city’s decay
I live near the beach and still try to go there every late afternoon for a short swim in the Mediterranean. The...Sweet memories of Taiwan’s National Day celebrations
Taiwan, officially still called the Republic of China (ROC), celebrates its National Day on October 10th to commemorate the events which led...Disgraced former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian turns 70
Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian was born on October 12th, 1950 into a poor farming family in Tainan County in southern Taiwan....Why I prefer the company of Asian women
After reading one of my first articles, a friend kindly suggested that I probably presupposed too much knowledge about Asian women among...
- Politics
The sunset in Valencia and the city’s decay
I live near the beach and still try to go there every late afternoon for a short swim in the Mediterranean. The...Disgraced former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian turns 70
Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian was born on October 12th, 1950 into a poor farming family in Tainan County in southern Taiwan....Former “Free China” developing a distinct Taiwanese identity
Taiwan, according to the current Constitution still called the "Republic of China", was baptized "Formosa" by some Portuguese sailors which never went...Spanish government presents its version of civil war history
On September 15th, 2020 the Spanish Council of Ministers approved the Draft Bill of Democratic Memory that will repeal the controversial, very...
- Religion
35 years ago, Pope John Paul II asked pardon for slave trade
Polish Pontiff John Paul II (1920-2005), nicknamed "The Pilgrim Pope”, made 104 foreign trips to 129 countries, including Muslim nations like Azerbaijan,...About Santiago, the patron saint of Spain
Santiago, known in English as St James the Greater, is the patron saint of the whole of Spain, but not only.Papal apology for the Inquisition 20 years ago
In March 2000, Pope John Paul II issued a historic apology for the Inquisition in the name of the Catholic Church.In fact, Saint Mark’s Day is also my day!
Compared to the days of my childhood, the old Spanish tradition of celebrating a person’s name day has lost a lot of its importance.Catholics and the Vatican in Taiwan
Christians are a tiny minority in Taiwan, but Catholics are well-represented by the Vatican.
Latest News
My personal experiences
The sunset in Valencia and the city’s decay
I live near the beach and still try to go there every late afternoon for a short swim in the Mediterranean. The...
Asian history
European barbarianism in China: ruining the Old Summer Palace
The Second Opium War (October 8th, 1856-October 24th, 1860) was successfully fought by the British and the French Empire against Imperial China...
Asian history
Wansei Back, a movie about Japanese born in Taiwan
After the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894/95, by signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki on April 17th, 1895, China was forced to concede...