Behind the Headlines – World Book Student
  • Search

  • Archived Stories

    • Ancient People
    • Animals
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Business & Industry
    • Civil rights
    • Conservation
    • Crime
    • Current Events
    • Current Events Game
    • Disasters
    • Economics
    • Education
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Food
    • Government & Politics
    • Health
    • History
    • Holidays/Celebrations
    • Law
    • Lesson Plans
    • Literature
    • Medicine
    • Military
    • Military Conflict
    • Natural Disasters
    • People
    • Plants
    • Prehistoric Animals & Plants
    • Race Relations
    • Recreation & Sports
    • Religion
    • Science
    • Space
    • Technology
    • Terrorism
    • Weather
    • Women
    • Working Conditions
  • Archives by Date

Posts Tagged ‘taiwan’

The Moon Festival

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017

October 4, 2017

Today, October 4, people in Asia and other places celebrate a holiday known as the Moon Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. The holiday is one of three major festivals on the Chinese calendar. The other two are the Chinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, and the Dragon Boat Festival. The Moon Festival is also celebrated in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and worldwide by people with heritage in these countries. The festival takes place around the September equinox, the date of equal day and night that marks the end of summer and beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Chinese lunar calendar, based on cycles of the moon, the seventh, eighth, and ninth moons make up the autumn season. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth moon. On this day, a full moon marks the midpoint of the season. Because this year’s festival falls near China’s National Day (October 1), the holiday celebration there (which usually runs three days) runs a full week from October 1 to October 8. National Day commemorates the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

Traditional Chinese lanterns light up for celebrating the mid-autumn festival, also known as moon festival on Sept 16, 2016 in Hong Kong. Credit: © Lee Yiu Tung, Shutterstock

Oversized traditional Chinese lanterns illuminate the waterfront of Hong Kong, China, during the annual Moon Festival (also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival). Credit: © Lee Yiu Tung, Shutterstock

The origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival are interwoven with Chinese myths and legends. The festival is often associated with romance. According to Chinese philosophy, there are two principal forces of nature, called yin and yang. The moon embodies yin, which is associated with feminine qualities and with darkness. Thus, the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival is a women’s festival and is celebrated at night. Traditional Chinese poets sing of the beauty of the Moon Goddess or bemoan her loneliness on the moon. According to folklore, young women can make their wishes known to the “old man in the moon,” hoping that he will assist them in finding a suitable marriage partner.

Special pastries called moon cakes are traditionally served during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Asian countries. Credit: © Shutterstock

Delicious moon cakes are traditionally served during the Moon Festival (also called the Mid-Autumn Festival) in Asian countries. Credit: © Shutterstock

People eat special pastries called moon cakes during the Moon Festival. The origin of the moon cake is unknown. The cakes are first mentioned in texts that date to the Tang dynasty, from A.D. 618 to 907. The cakes are baked into round shapes to resemble the full moon. They are usually filled with bean, lotus seed, or almond paste or dried fruits and nuts. The cakes often include a golden egg yoke in the middle to represent the moon. Families celebrate the festival with a shared meal and moon cakes. They then view the full moon together at night and recount tales related to the moon. In imperial China, the emperor viewed the mid-Autumn moon from a special palace.

During the festival, many people try to see the image of a rabbit that is said to be visible on the moon. According to a popular tale, the god Sakra disguised himself as a Brahman (priest) and announced to a group of forest animals that he was hungry. When the animals heard his cry, they brought him their food and begged him to accept their hospitality. The rabbit, however, who was an incarnation of the Buddha, said that he ate only grass and had nothing worthwhile to offer but his body. The rabbit then leapt into a nearby fire to complete the offering. Before doing so, he shook himself to remove the insects in his fur, explaining that he had no right to take their lives. Sakra revealed himself and praised the rabbit for his self-sacrifice and compassion. He placed the rabbit’s image on the moon to serve as a shining example for all. This popular story has been adopted in the Chinese Taoist (also called Daoist) tradition, where the main character is known as the Jade Rabbit.

Tags: china, japan, korea, mid-autumn festival, moon festival, taiwan, vietnam
Posted in Current Events, History, Holidays/Celebrations, People | Comments Off

Taiwan’s Woman of Firsts: Tsai Ing-wen

Tuesday, May 24th, 2016

May 24, 2016

Last Friday, May 20, Tsai Ing-wen became the first woman president of Taiwan, an island nation in the South China Sea. Tsai, of the Democratic Progressive Party, won election back in January, easily defeating Eric Chu of Taiwan’s incumbent—and long dominant—Kuomintang party. In the few months between election and inauguration, Tsai assembled a new Cabinet and appointed people to senior government positions, leaning on professional capacity over partisan politics. She announced green energy and biotechnology initiatives aimed at improving Taiwan’s faltering economy. She also vowed to keep Taiwan in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement and maintain strong investment in national defense.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen gestures to her supporters after her election victory at party headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan January 16, 2016. Credit: © Damir Sagolj, Reuters

Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen gestures to supporters after her election victory in January 2016. She took office as Taiwan’s first woman president in May. Credit: © Damir Sagolj, Reuters

Taiwan’s most pressing issue, however, is its often-rocky relationship with its giant neighbor across the Taiwan Strait, the People’s Republic of China. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, but Taiwan considers itself an independent nation. Tsai has vowed to protect Taiwan’s democracy and freedom. She has also taken a pragmatic and diplomatic tone when dealing with China, and hopes to maintain the existing status quo. Under current conditions, Taiwan largely acts independently but refrains from provoking China by not openly proclaiming its independence.

Tsai Ing-wen was born on Aug. 31, 1956, in Fangshan Township, located in Pingtung County in southern Taiwan. By the time Tsai was a teenager, her family had moved to Taipei. Tsai studied law in Taiwan, the United States, and in the United Kingdom, and taught law in Taipei before entering politics.

Tsai—affectionately called “Little Ing” by her supporters—boasts a few other “firsts” besides being Taiwan’s first woman president. She is also the nation’s first unmarried president with no children (but she proudly exhibited her two cats on the campaign trail). She is the first president of Hō-ló, Hakka, and aboriginal Taiwanese descent. Tsai is also the first Taiwanese president who was not previously mayor of Taipei. In fact, she is the first president to have never before held an elected post.

Tags: china, presidential election, taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen
Posted in Current Events, Government & Politics, People | Comments Off

Historic Meeting

Monday, November 9th, 2015

November 9, 2015

Over the weekend, the leaders of China and Taiwan met for the first time in more than 60 years. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou met for dinner in Singapore on November 7. Although the meeting was seen as a largely symbolic gesture, it represented a major step toward normalizing relations between the two governments.

In 1946, a civil war broke out in China between supporters of the Communist Party and the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party). The war ended in 1949, after the Communists drove the Nationalists from China's mainland. The Communist leader, Mao Zedong, proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China, based in Beijing. The Nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan, where they established the Republic of China, based in Taipei.

In 1946, a civil war broke out in China between supporters of the Communist Party and the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party). The war ended in 1949, after the Communists drove the Nationalists from China’s mainland. The Communist leader, Mao Zedong, proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, based in Beijing. The Nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan, where they established the Republic of China, based in Taipei.

Tensions between the two countries have deep historical roots. Following a period of unrest, Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party leader Chiang Kai-shek led a campaign to unite China under a single central government. At first, members of China’s Communist Party aided the Nationalists. In 1927, however, the Nationalists turned against the Communists, and hundreds of Communists were executed. The Nationalists captured Beijing in 1928 and gained control of China. The Communists continued to fight the Nationalists. Full-scale fighting in a civil war between the two parties began in 1946. In 1949, the Communists captured Beijing and announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists fled to Taiwan. Since then, the heads of the two governments had not met until this past weekend.

Today, China regards Taiwan as a renegade province, and Taiwan considers itself an independent nation. Ma and Xi, who assumed the presidencies of their nations in 2008 and 2013, respectively, have worked to reduce tensions and increase trade and cultural links between their countries. Many Taiwanese people are suspicious of China’s increased influence in their country, particularly in light of a Taiwanese presidential election scheduled for January 2016. Ma and the Nationalists have lost a large amount of support in recent years. The party suffered widespread defeat in 2014 local elections that analysts viewed as a referendum on Taiwan’s relations with China. Following the defeat, Ma resigned as party chairman, though he remained in office as president.

Other Behind the Headlines articles

  • Massive Pro-Democracy Demonstrations Clog Hong Kong

Back in Time articles

  • China (2013)
  • Taiwan (2008)

Tags: china, ma ying-jeou, taiwan, xi jinping
Posted in Current Events, Government & Politics, People | Comments Off

  • Most Popular Tags

    african americans al-qa`ida ancient greece archaeology art australia barack obama baseball bashar al-assad china climate change conservation donald trump earthquake european union france global warming iraq isis japan language monday literature major league baseball mars mexico monster monday moon mythic monday mythology nasa new york city nobel prize presidential election russia space space exploration syria syrian civil war Terrorism tornado ukraine united kingdom united states vladimir putin world war ii