Archive No.: 1

January 29, 2007
One problem with writing about Taiwan is that it is such a small country with so many people in it. 23 million people are living on an area smaller than the Netherlands or Switzerland. However, the latter are home to only 16.5 million and 7.5 million people, respectively. So, Taiwan is densely populated but well developed and as a result everything that can be done and can be written about has probably already been done and written about numerous times over. That presents some creative stress if one wants to be innovative. However, it can be done.

If you click on Links, you’ll get to a growing list of sites about Taiwan, sometimes with comment, sometimes without - basically sites I like or find useful. (I found only a few sites that impress me - no offense intended.) If you know a site that you think should be there, let me know.

Why do I add another site to the list of Taiwan sites, when it’s so difficult to be interesting and impressive? May be because I have been living in Taiwan for almost a decade now and it’s about time to show off. May be I think, that I can do better than others. May be I can, you’ll be the judge.

I think it’s one of those things that one decides to do and then it’s too late to stop, because the mind is made up. Or it’s because it gives me an incentive to get away from the computer once or twice a week, leave house and neighborhood and check out some things.

I’m going to write something interesting now and then. Always from a personal (a.k.a opinionated) point of view. Promise. And I’ll put up some useful information (a.k.a. facts) now and then. I’ll focus on Kaohsiung, because that’s where I live.

I’d love to tell you more about me, but may be you won’t love it as much as I. So, I put it elsewhere. Click here, if you are interested.

January 30, 2007
Actress Beatrice Hsu dies
Beatrice Hsu (許瑋倫), a 28-year-old actress and pop idol, died at a Taichung hospital on Sunday, two days after sustaining a serious head injury in a car crash on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway. The accident occurred on Friday night, when Hsu's assistant, Lin Yi-wen (林怡妏), was at the wheel. For reasons that remain unclear, the southbound car hit a guardrail and was then hit from behind by a truck, Taichung County's Sanyi police department said. Lin suffered light injuries, but Hsu suffered serious head and chest wounds and fell into a coma. The pair were rushed to hospital in Taichung where Hsu died on Sunday evening, the hospital said.

(Article ripped off www.taipeitimes.com. If they complain, I write my own. But then I won’t link to them anymore.)

I mention her here, because her death really shocked a lot of young people, like my 15 year old daughter, for example. Life can be short. Beatrice had been known as an actress for only 3 years, but was very popular today - mainly through TV series. May be I get my daughter to write something about her.