By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan –In many countries, languages ebb and flow as generations replace generations and new words replace old words. In Taiwan, where 23 million people live on a tobacco-leaf shaped island where several languages mix on a daily basis — from Mandarin Chinese to Hoklo Taiwanese to Hakka and over [...]
By Danny Bloom CHIAYI, Taiwan — To make a long story short, after the San Diego Jewish World ran a story about a convenience store chain in Taiwan selling cartoonish images modelled after what appeared to be a Hitler face and armband, although modified as a parody and not designed to promote Nazi thinking, the [...]
By Danny Bloom CHIAYI, Taiwan — New Hitler lookalike dolls are for sale at 7-ELEVEN convenience stores in Taiwan today. Seems as if images of Adolph Hitler, the German Nazi dictator, have a special place in the marketing hearts of Asian advertising agencies and PR mavens. From Japan to India, from Taiwan to Vietnam, images [...]
By Danny Bloom TAIPEI, Taiwan — On a bright sunny Sunday afternoon in tasty, tantalizing and terrific Taipei, a group of around 200 people, Jews and non-Jews, marched through the city streets celebrating the arrival of a Hebrew-language Torah scroll donated by an Israeli businessman who flew in for the occasion as well. The festive [...]
By Danny Bloom TAIPEI, Taiwan — Are there any Jews in Taiwan? Well, there are 23 million Taiwanese Buddhists and Taoists, and a few Christian converts and Muslin converts, but there aren’t many Jews in Taiwan to speak of. But that isn’t stopping Lubavticher Outreach Rabbi Schlomi Tabib at the Taipei Jewish Center from celebrating [...]
By Dan Bloom HUALIEN, Taiwan — For 60-something Grandpa Ba-Su, riding around this seaside town on his advertising tricycle touting his original “mouse bagels” at the local Mud Cafe he runs in the downtown area, is just part of his busy, colorful day here. Sometimes he sports a pair of Groucho Marx glasses and accompanying [...]
By Danny Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — There I was, minding my own business, as usual, working not out of my wireless cave that day, but in my local internet cafe, since I don’t own a computer and do all my email and surfing chores at the rent-a-computer cafe down the street from the place [...]
By Dan Bloom CHIAYI, TAIWAN — For a 30-something American woman from New Jersey who married a Taiwanese man and is raising her family now in southern Taiwan,it’s not easy to find a minyan, let alone a mikvah. Trying to find some fellow Jews to observe the Sabbath and get togetherfor some Friday night services [...]
By Dan Bloom TAIPEI — Almost 40 years ago, a young American missionary couple, Milo and Judith Thornberry, were eyewitnesses to history and played an important role in Taiwan’s march towards democracy. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the two Americans met democracy activist Peng Ming-min and played a key role in his secret [...]
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C — The U.S. Department of the Army put out a request for information on “Afghanistan National Army Air Corps English and Pilot Training.” The Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training & Instrumentation (PEO STRI) is conducting market research by seeking sources with innovative business solutions to (1) train and certify [...]
