Taiwan, an island in East Asia, identifies itself as the Republic of China ( 中華民國). The real very much bigger China is to its west. Japan, of course, is nearby, to the east; and northeast, there is the Philippines. Movies from Taiwan had always been abundant in Malaysia. In the 70s and 80s, romantic movies in Mandarin starring Chen Chen, Ker Chun Hsiung and later Lin Ching Hsia, Lin Fong Chia, Chin Han, Ching Hsiang Lin etc found their ways to local cinemas and lately, there have been tons of Taiwanese series in the Taiwanese or Min Nan dialect flooding the local TV channels. Having Taiwan, especially its capital, Taipei as a staple in mass medias probably makes the place less of a novelty and an attraction. And it was a surprise then, that I found myself at Taipei Metro Ximen Station traveling to Ximending (西門町)...a shopping district in Taipei's Wanhua District... 1
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