lectures on 13 feb.
Purgatories of Weeping: Tears on the Early Modern Stage
Three serious topics on one evening. I usually attend the seminars held at Senate House, and perhaps leave with a few different perspectives or references that are useful to my research. This time there appears to be a rare visitor in town. The Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, I would suggest, is the Taiwanese equivalent of Boris Johnson without the shenanigans (I hope). He's known for his presentable demeanour and sporty figure, represents the younger, less hidebound generation of the KMT party and tends to take the middle ground regarding certain controversial issues, such as the reunification/independent disputes--an incendiary matter amongst the Chinese for as long as I had conscious. I have a good first impression of his wife. It was at a public speech done by the then new Nobel Laureate Gao Xingjian; I was sitting at the front rows. Just when the event was about to start, a tall lady with a boyish haircut quietly walked in. Of course an official led her to the better seats, but she opted to be in the back. Later I found out that she was Mrs Ma. I recall that unlike most Taiwanese politician's wives, she doesn't really participate in her husband's election campaign (only making appearances now and again), and would rather focus on a career of her own. The subject about Taiwan's future sometimes comes up amongst Taiwanese overseas students. During one of my BL coffee breaks with D, he described a recent article in the Wallpaper Magazine introducing Taipei. The reporter asks, this city has the world's tallest building, a brilliant subway system, the citizens are creative and ambitious, but why can't it become an international world-class metropolis, like Tokyo and Seoul? The answer lies in the mighty giant that stands across the strait, and even this outsider is not too far from truth. Living the life of an expat and studying English lit., I lose touch of such issues. For a change, I shall walk to LSE on Monday.