comics by edori💕

STORM OVER YANGTZE RIVER: A Window into 1960s Propaganda

Okay, I know I’ve been writing too much about films recently, and I really intended to diversify a bit more, but I have another film-related event I want to talk about. For the past few weeks, the University of Oklahoma has been holding Sensing Taiwan, a Taiwanese film series and a roundtable discussion. Consisting of four films from different eras, the event still has one film and the panel…

NETFLIX ROUNDUP: 5 Taiwanese Shows/Movies You Can Watch on Netflix

Last week, I was excited to read that Netflix has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA, 文化內容策進院)! TAICCA is an agency that acts as an intermediary between the Taiwanese government and the creative industry to help nurture, fund, and promote Taiwanese content. While Netflix and TAICCA have already worked together in the past by arranging…

WOMEN MAKE WAVES: Empowering Women Behind the Camera

Happy International Women’s Day! In honor of women, this week I’d like to tell everyone about Taiwan’s longest-running film festival promoting female talent. Films are an extremely powerful way of allowing someone else to see the world through your eyes, and the Women Make Waves Festival provides a platform to highlight these gendered perspectives. Established in 1993, the Taiwan International…

NIGHT BUS: Violence for Richness

After receiving Sundance’s 2022 Short Film Jury Award, Night Bus (夜車) has become the first Taiwanese film to win a Sundance award! Written and directed by Joe Hsieh (謝文明), the 20-minute animated film is about the journey of six passengers on the night bus. Inspired by the Northeastern coastal roads of Taiwan, Night Bus is a graphic thriller that follows the theft of a necklace and an ensuing…

THE TAIWAN-REYHANLI CENTRE FOR WORLD CITIZENS: Creating a World Without Walls

Since war has broken out in Syria in 2011, many Syrians have been forced to relocate to other parts of the world. Reyhanli—a Turkish city near the border of Syria—is a common destination for asylum seekers from the Syrian city of Aleppo, and its population has nearly doubled over the past 8 years. However, gaining asylum does not guarantee a safe and secure living. Many refugees continue to…

MUSIC ROUNDUP: 5 Taiwanese Indie Groups

Taiwan has a thriving indie music industry, I love indie music, it’s basically a match made in heaven! The only downside is that my list of Taiwanese topics to cover has quickly been filling up with musical groups—so, here’s a quick roundup of some Taiwanese indie groups you may or may not know that have become my playlist staples: 1. Easyweeds (溫室雜草): Hailing from Taichung, Easyweeds is fairly…

THE LEGEND OF TIANDING: The Robin Hood of Taiwan

If you’ve ever wanted to immerse yourself into Taiwanese history by doling out justice against corrupt officials via your fists, then I might have the game for you! Developed by CGCG and published by Neon Doctrine, The Legend of Tianding (廖添丁-稀代兇賊の最期) is a side-scrolling beat ’em up PC and Switch game, which allows the player to star as Taiwan’s own Robin Hood: Liao Tianding (廖添丁). Set in…

KUMACHAN (熊仔): A Dream Within a Dream

My first encounter of Kumachan (熊仔)—also known as PoeTek—was thanks to a Taiwan Insight article about “academic rappers.” As a former National Taiwan University student, Kumachan was part of the same NTU Hip-Hop club that was strongly influenced by MC Hotdog and Dwagie, and he demonstrates the same deftness through his own clever use of lyrics. However, the part of the article that left the…

Yun Hai (雲海), also known as Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry, was originally founded in 2018 by Lisa Cheng Smith and Ivan Wu, with their third member Lillian Lin joining in 2021. From her work as a wholesale director, Smith was already familiar with supply-chain distribution, and when she found herself importing Taiwanese sauces into the United States bottle-by-bottle whenever she returned from a trip…

NO PARTY FOR CAO DONG: Our Voices Remain the Same

Although the media I tend to gravitate to is often whimsical or fantastical, the charm of the subject of this week’s post is their unapologetic honesty. As an outspoken supporter on a range of issues, including Taiwanese independence, No Party for Cao Dong (草東沒有派對) is a group that resonates with many Taiwanese youth due to heartfelt lyrics that aren’t afraid to dig into grittier truths. After…

Fanart of Detention (返校)

Learn Taiwan’s history, then you will understand where our anger comes from🐯

This week, I was inspired by Maysia’s day 24 prompt: street food! I love getting food at the night markets in Taiwan and here are a few of my favorites! ✨

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An illustration of a dragon coin from Taiwanese folk tales 🐉

There was “a type of large Japanese-minted dragon coin that was also in circulation in Taiwan during colonial times. Since such a large, ornate coin was unusual to Taiwanese, a legend arose that they could fly and bring fortune to the kind-hearted and punish the evil. Whenever someone saw a white light flash in the sky, they would say that it was a dragon coin.” (From this article about Ho Ching-Yao’s compendium of Taiwan’s supernatural beings)

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Continuing with the prompts for #Maysia I decided to try bringing one of my favourite cityscapes to life!

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Since many Asian artists are participating in #Maysia this month, I wanted to use the prompt of Day 1, self portait, to let the both sides of “me” meet at last!

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After working on the application for a few months, I finally got my Taiwanese passport! Since it was something my grandfather really wanted for me, it made me think of him again 💕

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