The 499 Chaos

(photo source: 自由時報 screen capture from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8bE9DgSPCo>) 

 

Florence Huang

    Chunghwa Telecom offers several contract deals priced respectively at NT$ 399, 499, and 599 per month, each with a contract period of 30 months. However, last month, the NT$ 499 deal (henceforth referred to as the 499 deal) attracted a great number of people. The deal promises not only 180 minutes of free phone calls, but also unlimited access to the Internet. This special deal causes lots of people to give up their original telecom service and would rather pay a compensation for breaking the original contracts in order to change to Chunghwa Telecom for the 499 deal.

     Chunghwa Telecom lunches the 499 NT deal to undercut its competitors, FarEastOne and Taiwan Mobile, who want to attract more clients and make them enter into a long-term binding contract. This was the reason why there was a long line of people waiting in front of every Chunghwa Telecom store. Besides, too many people wanted the 499 deal, the Chunghwa Telecom staff were forced to work over time. Most of them were exhausted, and there was even one who collapsed during the chaos. However, the other two telecom companies were afraid that they would keep on losing their clients to Chunghwa Telecom, so both began to offer deals similar to the 499 deal.

     Seeing the chaos gets wilder and wilder, someone finally stepped in. National Communications Commission (NCC) fined Chunghwa Telecom NT$ 2,000,000 for inappropriate business operation, over working its employees, and impairing consumer rights. In addition, FarEastOne and Taiwan Mobile also got fined.

     In fact, a similar situation where people swarmed in for something happened in February this year—the tissue paper panic. There was a rumor that the tissue paper manufacturers would raise prices around April. Many people didn't want to pay more for tissue paper. Therefore, they bought a lot of tissue paper to hoard before prices rise. However, why would people in Taiwan have such crazy behavior just for saving a few dollars? On the one hand, it is probably because the average salary in Taiwan is low; on the other hand, it shows that we’re now experiencing an economic recession. These two reasons make people try to spend as little money as they can and limit their spending on money-for-value consumer goods so as to save money.

     The same situation might happen again in the future. Unfortunately, the salary issue and our economic recession does not seem likely to go away in a short time. What we can do now is hoping the government can do make some changes as soon as possible; otherwise, there might be more exhausted and overloaded employees during potential follow-up chaoses or panics.

Rediscover the Joys of Life with Christopher Robin

(photo source: Disney Taiwan <http://www.disney.com.tw/> This photo here is taken intact from the aforementioned source and is therefore subject to immediate removal upon notice)

 Florence Huang

People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing everyday

–Winnie the Pooh

Disney produces some successful live action films in the recent years, such as Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and Beauty and the Beast etc. This summer, they prepared a new heartwarming live action movie, Christopher Robin.

Christopher Robin, who is all grown up now and becomes a working-class family man. He has lost the sight of what is important in life. He returns to Hundred Acre Wood after an unexpected visit from Winnie the Pooh. After a short adventure, Pooh and the friends realize that they should help Christopher Robin to rediscover happiness.

Some people might think that although Disney remakes their old animated films into live actions films, the stories and the characters are still for children. However, this is the reason why Disney remakes their films. They remind us through those characters from our childhood that in this hustle-bustle world, grownups should still keep a pure heart and childlike happiness in their lives. Just like the saying goes, “People say nothing is impossible”. It is an encouraging sentence for children, but for adults, it becomes a struggle. Most of us have become Christopher Robin. We can’t find a balance between work, friendship, and life. We are busy all day, and sometimes we have to sacrifice something important to us in order to achieve other things that we need. Gradually, we lose our joys.

Walt Disney said “Everybody in the world was once a child.” Therefore, sometimes we should slow down our life pace, without thinking of the future or the past. What we need to do is to find the clean and unspoiled world which hides deep in each of our hearts, and then we can taste the happiness that we thought we had lost. That world also reminds us not to forget and also cherish the most innocent moment we had.

The full trailer has released, and comments acclaim it one of the most adorable and heartwarming films. It receives a lot of positive comments. In addition, lots of people comment that Winnie the Pooh is their best childhood memory, and they get emotional while watching the trailer. It seems like Christopher Robin is going to be Disney’s next big hit.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

(photo source: "5 Reasons Why Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Should Win Best Picture This Year." Taste of Cinema. By Conor Lochrie. <http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2018/5-reasons-why-three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri-should-win-best-picture-this-year/>. This photo is taken intact from the aforementioned source and is therefore subject to immediate removal upon notice.)

Penny Lai

    This Oscar nominated film discuses a mother’s journey of seeking justice for her daughter who was raped and murdered. The power of a mother’s love is not a new subject for Hollywood movies. It is easy for directors to portrait a mother’s struggle on parenting, because family issues are a relatable subject for most people. However, to present a tough mother who will do anything to find the murderer of her daughter is a difficult task. 

     Mildred’s daughter was raped and tortured to death by a remote road of a small town, Ebbing. After one year of her daughter’s death, the police have no useful evidences to bring in the murderer. Unwilling to give in, Mildred decides to rent the three giant billboards located exactly where her daughter was killed. Mildred uses the three billboards to publicly shame Willoughby, the head police officer of the town. The mother thinks that the police fails their job of catching the murderer and of bringing justice to those who deserve it. Suddenly, Mildred becomes the target of the whole town for going extreme and shaming the police. However, she does not back down, and the tension between Mildred and the police keeps rising as the story goes. 

     The director, Martin McDonagh did a fantastic job on building the character Mildred. The basic setup of Mildred is an angry mother who will do anything to find the murderer, but at the same time, the audience can see Mildred’s weak spot when she’s committing crimes. She turns her anger into violence and defense when she goes against the authorities. It is easy to portrait this character as an extreme maniac who will hurt anyone getting in her way. However, a closer look will reveal that actually Mildred does not want to hurt anyone; she just wants the authorities and the public to treat her and her daughter’s death seriously. All she asks for is an answer, so she can exempt herself from the guilt of failing as a parent. 

     The story itself might seem dull for a Hollywood big production. However, the details in each character’s construction is more than admirable. We as viewers can definitely relate to the changing of each character throughout the film and grow with the characters as Mildred comes to a realization of being a parent in the end of the movie.

Buchenhain #1 (Beech Grove #1 1902) by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)

Beech Grove No.1 (1902)                                             The Kiss (1907-1908)

   On the right, you see the Klimt you’ve always known; on the left, you see the Klimt that I really like. Der Kuss (The Kiss; 1907-1908) has been drowning too many eyes in its glittering glim of gold. While some critical eyes note that the kneeling lady by the cliff may forebode the insidious danger of love and some skeptical eyes highlight that the kissing couple seem to contour an erectile gesture of lust, I suggest we swipe it straight off the screen, so that we can concentrate on the Klimt that fewer know, the Klimt that heals.

   In Buchenhain #1 (Beech Grove No.1; 1902), each beech tree stands alone but not apart, reminding of our modern condition of “alone together.” Each is unique, as featured by the four in front–some charred on one side, some stout with gnarls, some humbly thin and ready to blend in, and still some showing a completely different shade of color from its kind.

   I’m not a big fan of  the Impressionist dotting and impasto (though I’m a sucker for Seurat’s pointillism), but a similar touch is applied here which stabilizes the grove by providing it with a leavy footing (as shown in front) and merges the two by reducing the farther part of  the grove to the background (as shown at the back). When the already-too-thin beech trees reach out to the sky, they’ve formed a beaded curtain that combs the view and calms the mind. The arbor multitude comes into one unified being, without trypophobic density, but with a soothing efficacy that promises every lonely existence a place to stand, in its most protective camouflage.

Alvin Dahn

Brick-and-Mortar Bookstores

(photo source: 〈百年洋樓 金石堂城中店6月熄燈〉.《蘋果日報》.劉耿豪攝. <https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/daily/20180425/37995838>. This photo is taken intact from the aforementioned source and is therefore subject to immediate removal upon notice.)
 

Cindy Hsieh

     When was the last time you walked into a bookstore? Where do you purchase books nowadays? In these years, several famous chain bookstores closed down in Taiwan. Kingstone Bookstore’s Chengzhong branch on the Book Street (a.k.a. Chung Qing S. Rd.) in Taipei is closing down next Sunday after more than 30 years of business. Furthermore, Taiwan's popular Eslite bookstore chain said that its 24-hour Dunnan store in Taipei will probably close in 2020. How does the deterioration of the bookstore business happen?

     In my opinion, the change of consumer behavior is the primary reason. Because of the advancement of technology, we can get information whenever and wherever we want, as long as we have our cellphones are at hand. At the same time, electronic commerce is rapidly rising. Online bookstores are only a category of it. Without having to pay the rent of storefront, online stores save a considerable amount of money and could offer more discounts to their customers. Needless to say, it is so convenient that customers can go on line 24 by 7 to order what they want and pick up their orders at home or any convenience stores they choose. Gradually, a growing number of people get used to shopping on line. On the other hand, more and more people get used to reading on line, so more and more e-books are published. As you can imagine, all these innovations have impacted the business of brick-and-mortar bookstores.

     Now, let’s talk about the advantages of brick-and-mortar bookstores. There are still a lot of people who enjoy book shopping in a physical store. In a physical brick-and-mortar bookstore, we get to read the book title in front, the introduction at the back, and check for the bookbinding and the paper quality. I believe that meeting with a book through all your five senses is a much warmer and more exquisite experience than that of a mere glide of your finger and a glance of your eyes on the screen.

     The category of traditional physical bookstores are now branching into different market aims: some aim at special customers like the elders; some specialize in particular books like those printed in simplified Chinese characters; still some, while facing the setback posed by on-line bookstores, start combining their services with coffee shops’, allowing people a place to stay for a comfy reading time. Many people put efforts in supporting brick-and-mortar bookstores because they never want to lose a wonderful time having a vis-à-vis rendezvous with books. Maybe all of us should give a second thought next time we go for book shopping on line.

The First SHU Mandarin Speech Contest

   This year, we are having our Mandarin speech contest for the very first time. Held and hosted by the Center for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (henceforth referred to as the TCSL Center), one of the youngest departments and certainly the most exuberant on campus, the contest took place at R102 of the Sherwo Building (舍我樓) on May 30th. 17 contestants on five topics speak on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon. Each with a different learning experience and a different level of proficiency yet all deliver impressive talks on “A Taste of Taiwan,” “Fun to Learn Chinese,” “Traveling in Taiwan,” “My Favorite Book,” and “I Loooove Taiwan! Why?”

   Each speaker has to make the most of their five-minute time slot to share their opinions and experiences on the topics they choose for themselves. After one and a half hours of competition, three judges decide on five winners:

1st Place: 溫慧怡 (Malay)

2nd Place: 鄭依淳 (Malay)

3rd Place: 戴慈殷 (Malay)

4th Place: 安心蕊 (Polish)

5th Place: 武藤祐太 (Japanese)

Of course, there are never enough prizes to go around for devoted and competent (and some are very competitive too) competitors like them.

   Now, a word from the Director of the TCSL Center, Professor Shirley Chang (張雪媃主任) to wrap up the first-time-ever Mandarin Speech Contest. “I’ve been teaching for years, but it has always been so moving for me to see such a progress made from ground zero to fluency, to see the transition of students as beginners to advanced learners. I believe, for any teach, this is the most rewarding of all.”

   Indeed, there is a telling difference between speaking nothing and speaking something. And, for that matter, maybe it is a better idea that we have two separate categories next year: the non-native-speaker contest for students outside Sinophone communities and the native-speaking-level contest for students from Sinophone communities. Nationality alone doesn’t seem to do much justice to the fairness of the game. And yet, like all achievements, without the significant first step, all improvements that finally lead on to fruition would be impossible.

Alvin Dahn