Since I started working near Taipei Main Station there have always been tax protests outside the Control Yuan, but over the last few weeks, there has been a much bigger presence and the mention of Taijimen 太極門, which is (in name at least) a qigong institute.
太極門無罪無稅 – Tai Ji Men NOT GUILTY NO TAX EVASION – Unlawful Auctions and Serious Persecution by the Government
Hung Shi-he (洪石和), the leader of Taijimen, who goes by the alias Hung Tao-zi (洪道子), was fined NT$28 million for allegedly failing to pay over NT$10 million in taxes on income from 1991 to 1995. He appealed the fine with the National Tax Administration and his appeal was denied. He then launched an administrative appeal against the National Tax Administration decision at the Taichung High Court (104年度訴字第228號), which was rejected. He then appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court (107年度判字第422號), and the original verdict was overturned and it was sent back to the Taichung High Court and the case (107 年度 訴更一 字第 19 號和解筆錄) was subsequently settled. He has also been involved in a series of other cases, which you can search for by entering his name 洪石和 into the court verdict database. It’s actually quite fun to trace back all of his re-appeals to his appeals.
And the topic is still very much alive, as this article in ET Today suggested that 52 pieces of real estate in his name in Miaoli were being auctioned off at the end of last month.
There was a modest protest outside the Control Yuan yesterday with people handing out flyers like the one below:
Caption reads: Why do we pay taxes to keep these officials in house and home. (Names has been censored by me).A timeline of the Taijimen case according to TaijimenAn appeal to Tsai Ing-wenRhetorical questions posed by Taijimen to the public.
According to their leaflets, all the tax owed has been adjusted to zero, except for 1995. I haven’t had time to sift through all the cases on the website to verify the info yet.
There has been quite a lot of news coverage (update here) recently about passport application/renewal delays in the UK due to staffing shortages at the passport office as a result of the pandemic.
Many people overseas have to have a valid passport as a condition of their residence in their second country, so I thought it would be handy to post this to give people an idea of turnaround times, especially as the passport office will advise you to come back at a later date due to COVID-19 if you are not travelling during the summer.
The passport renewal website is pretty easy to use and states what you need quite clearly. I would advise going to a photo booth that allows you to save the passport photo online as taking a good photo with a mobile phone is pretty difficult. The cost of the passport is £86 plus a £19.86 courier fee, as well as whatever it costs you to mail your passport to the UK office (I spent NT$390 or roughly £10 for signed delivery of my old passport and a colour-photocopy of my other nationality passport).
July 18, 2020: I filled in the online form with a digital photo.
July 19: Email prompting me to send my documents.
July 20, 2020: I mailed my old passport and a colour photocopy of my second nationality passport.
17:00 July 28: Parcelforce stated that the parcel arrived at the Liverpool HMPO.
July 29: Email prompting me to send my documents and notice informing me that due to COVID-19 I should receive my passport in 8 weeks.
August 2: Email prompting me to send my documents.
August 14: The office acknowledged receipt of my documents.
August 16: Notice of application being processed.
October 19: Application approved and passport ready for printing. (9 weeks and 1 day from notice of application being processed; 11 weeks and 6 days since Parcelforce delivered the parcel to Liverpool HMPO).
October 21: Notification that passport has been printed and sent.
October 26: Received old voided passport in the mail.
October 30: Received new passport in the mail.
That’s 3 months and and 11 days (104 days) from filling in the online form and posting the documents to receiving the passport, and 3 months and 2 days (94 days) from when ParcelForce stated they delivered my documents to receiving my passport and 2 months and 16 days (77 days) from acknowledgement of receipt of documents to receiving my passport.
I want so badly to leave The congestion of the city That at night I expend great effort growing wings But out of fear of being taken for a demon on every morrow I bear the pain of tearing them off
Chen Chuan-hung (陳雋弘) was born in 1979 and graduated with a master’s from the Chinese program at National Kaohsiung Normal University. He currently teaches at Kaohsiung Municipal Girls’ Senior High School. He previously won first prize in the free verse poetry category of the China Times Literary Prize and the literary and artistic creation award of the Ministry of Education in the free verse category, as well as several other literary prizes. His work has been published in newspapers and magazines as well as poetry collections. He has published two volumes of poetry on a limited printing, “Facing Up” (面對) and “Awaiting Confiscation” (等待沒收).
Although I still have my opinions When it comes to the world Under a tree in the yard I watch Flowers bloom and wither and plants grow I’m often so at ease I forget to voice them
This long journey undertaken with such haste Allows no time to really understand the world The end could come at any time If there’s anything upon which I still insist It’s that I’m sure Even though I’m old now, the world is still young
Wu Sheng (吳晟) is the pen-name of Wu Sheng-hsiung (吳勝雄), a poet originally from Hsichou (溪州) in Changhua County in Taiwan. He serves as a senior advisor to the Presidential Office. After graduating from the Department of Livestock of the Taiwan Provincial Institute of Agriculture (now National Pingtung University of Science and Technology) in 1971, he taught biology at a junior high school in his hometown. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature from National Dong Hwa University in June of 2020. The majority of his work has been modern poetry, although he also writes essays. He also has an orchard in Hsichou named after his mother (純園) which is home to 3000 native trees; he lectures part-time at Providence University.
Another day another government app. Unlike the NHI app, you need an Alien Citizen Digital Certificate to authenticate the Labour Insurance Mobile Services App ( Google Play / Apple Store ) where you can see how long you’ve been covered under government labour insurance and if you’re registered under the government pension scheme (APRC holders).
It is likely more use to citizens than to foreigners, as I only had data listed under one field (labour insurance coverage) but useful to know how to access as legislation continues to change.
So if you’ve already got your Alien Citizen Digital Certificate and a card reader installed, navigate to the Labour Insurance Bureau’s e-desk website, which looks as below after you close the pop-up on the initial screen:
Podcasts have really taken off over the last couple of years but Chinese-language podcasts from Taiwan have been rather limited, with most just being radio segments repackaged for podcast platforms. However, recently more have taken off, so I thought I’d feature them here and you can feel free to share more in the comments section! I’ve focused on Chinese-language podcasts here, although there are also an increasing amount of English-language podcasts too.
大麻煩不煩 (In the Weeds with Lawyer Zoe Lee): This is a great intro into Taiwan’s weed landscape, informing people of their rights in terms of getting stopped and searched by police, what to do if you’re arrested, and the progress of efforts to legalize weed in Taiwan for medical or other uses. (Links to different platforms listed on site) 5/5 Recommended
來自五星的你 (5 Star Nation) (Nov 2021 update): This is a newish Chinese-language podcast from Ghost Island Media. With interviews of Chinese young people who have studied in Taiwan and Taiwanese people who have lived in China. The Chinese name (來自五星的你) is a riff on the Korean drama My Love from the Stars (來自星星的你). Really recommend this one! 5/5
股癌 GooAye Although this is nominally a podcast about stocks and shares, and does get into investing quite a lot, there’s also a quite a lot of cultural commentary running through it. As the host is married to a foreigner, he often talks about exchange across cultures too. Although, he was kind of making pro-Trump noises during the election. 5/5 Recommended Spotify Apple Podcast YouTube
Firstory Lab 最偏激的Podcast Tried one episode which consisted of a group of guys making fun of the way a female host spoke. Maybe it gets better if you listen from the start?
(UPDATE March 24, 2022) 博音 Brian: The king of awkward stand-up comedy and all-around heart-throb Brian Tseng hosts this funny podcast, with special guests. The episode I’ve listened to is Brian reflecting on his time at the Brian Night Night Show with Jim. Would really recommend this one!
(UPDATE April 1, 2022) 調教診聊事 Kenta Playroom: Explore the gay BDSM scene in Taiwan with Kenta. This podcast is a surprisingly intimate and thoughtful take on the BDSM world and attempts to counter the mainstream stigmatization of BDSM.
(UPDATE September 1, 2022) 羅密歐與豬八戒 Romeo and Piggy: Full disclosure, this podcast was launched by a friend of mine, but he is hilarious. Both presenters (one guy one girl) are ex-soldiers from Taiwan, so lots of funny stories about their military careers come up in conversation. Definitely worth checking out!
If you have any recommendations, let me know in the comments section below!
Readers Recommend (Update):
WetBoys 潤男的Room recommended by Erik K. (NSFW mens issues): I’ve listened to quite a few episodes of this one and recommend it to LGBT+ folks. As well as some rather adult themes and flirting, there is quite a lot of cultural commentary and book reviews.
KMT supporters protesting Chen Chu’s (陳菊) appointment to the presidency of the Control Yuan, with the slogans 「拒絕酬庸撤換陳菊」 (Reject cronyism, withdraw Chen Chu), 「民主已死，暴政必亡」 (Democracy is dead, tyranny must fall) and 「民心已死，還我民主」(The hopes of the people are dead, give us back our democracy). There was a middling crowd outside the Legislative Yuan in the morning, where KMT legislators occupied the floor. These were taken after work.
Now you can use a virtual EasyCard in your Samsung Pay wallet for all your EasyCard needs, including MRT turnstiles, YouBike rentals and mobile payments by EasyCards. First go to your Samsung Pay app (non-Samsung users (excluding iPhone users) can use the EasyCard Wallet app here), and click the EasyCard option on the front page (if you don’t see this, you should do a software update on your phone or check if your model is compatible):
If you want to use your phone as your EasyCard and you’re not a Samsung user (see here if you are), you can use the Easy Wallet app (Google Play) to beep in and out of the MRT and even use YouBikes! Unfortunately, the Apple version of the app doesn’t include this functionality due to the apparently ongoing tension between Apple and the EasyCard corporation about third-party apps using NFC functionality (although there are rumors this will change).
