Ad blockers, good or bad? | Felix Tsai – Grade 10

Ad blockers, good or bad? | Felix Tsai – Grade 10

Ads are annoying. That is something that everybody, even the guy that invented pop-up ads, can agree on. Ads crowd the page when browsing through articles, get in the way when scrolling through Instagram, force little ten-second gaps when watching YouTube, and...

Modern mobile games are trash | Felix Tsai – Grade 8

Modern mobile games are trash | Felix Tsai – Grade 8

If you have used the internet at any point of time in the last decade, chances are that you’ve already been introduced to the concept of “video games”. Video games are games that a person can play through a computer, like a PC, game console, or even some calculators....

Teenagers are addicted to TikTok | Phoebe Chen – Grade 9

Teenagers are addicted to TikTok | Phoebe Chen – Grade 9

Everyone has heard of the app TikTok, it just sneaked into our lives silently without notice. However, it became so popular that everyone downloaded it voluntarily. Teenagers make friends on the platform and shoot crazy videos. But then the problem occurred; teenagers...

Review: The Social Dilemma | Vera Huang – Grade 10

Review: The Social Dilemma | Vera Huang – Grade 10

The Social Dilemma on Netflix, which is about the problem with social media, is set in the dark underbelly of Silicon Valley and explains how once people are hooked on the internet and social media, they will crave more. It also covers how social media’s ability to...

Review: Enola Holmes | Sidney Chen – Grade 9

Review: Enola Holmes | Sidney Chen – Grade 9

Netflix recently released Enola Holmes, an original movie written by Nancy Springer. The film is a spinoff of the popular Sherlock Holmes detective stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock’s teenage sister, Enola Holmes, is played by Millie Bobby Brown. Story &...

How to stay positive on Instagram | Ryan Yu – Grade 9

How to stay positive on Instagram | Ryan Yu – Grade 9

Instagram is all fun and games until Britney unfollows Tina. Instagram is creating a toxic atmosphere for students. Here is how you stay positive and avoid misunderstandings, jealousy, loneliness, and all sorts of negative feelings on Instagram. Be mature Flexing is...

Fake news, duped audiences, and an irresponsible media | Irene Lin – Grade 12

Fake news, duped audiences, and an irresponsible media | Irene Lin – Grade 12

Politicians often use the phrase “fake news” to oppose criticism from rivals. One false comment causes no harm, however, with the widespread social networks, anything online could easily go viral. Both media and audiences should learn to accept different ideas even if they conflict with their beliefs. On September 6, two days after Typhoon Jebi […]

Newspapers vs. Online News | Lily Chen, Grade 9

Newspapers vs. Online News | Lily Chen, Grade 9

Online news is updated more frequently, but it’s difficult to tell whether it’s reliable Newspapers are a waste of paper Newspapers have fewer photos and no distracting videos People have invented more efficient ways to spread news after the industrial revolution, and in such a modern society and high-tech world, people prefer to read news […]

Kpop stars vs. Taiwanese stars: a break down | Theresa Liao – Grade 8

Kpop stars vs. Taiwanese stars: a break down | Theresa Liao – Grade 8

Kpop stars have to start training from an early age Taiwanese stars’ companies won’t spend as much money on their artists There are a lot of good-looking stars all over Asia, but the best ones are Kpop stars, and they’re definitely better than Taiwanese stars. People might say that they think they are the same, […]

Eastern Literature vs. Western: Why is it different? | Minnie Chen – Grade 10

Eastern Literature vs. Western: Why is it different? | Minnie Chen – Grade 10

Western authors often take a lot of time to describe characters’ feelings It is easy to understand the characters’ perceptions in western novels Plots in eastern novels often features characters working as a team Beginning in the Age of Discovery, western culture and eastern culture began to blend with each other. Western culture has seriously […]

Streaming and the donation system in Taiwan | Phil Wang – Grade 10

Streaming and the donation system in Taiwan | Phil Wang – Grade 10

Streamers get advertising fees, but they also earn an income through viewer donations Streaming is not as easy as it looks There is a lot of distrust around the idea of making donations to people who stream Streaming has become popular in Taiwan. Since YouTube has implemented the YouTube Partner Program, which is a program […]

Kpop stars vs. Taiwanese stars: a break down | Theresa Liao – Grade 8

5 Reasons Why K-pop Is So Popular | Claire Liao – Grade 7

K-pop songs are designed to be catchy Idols are usually trained for years before they produce their own music and albums Korean stars are known for their looks Korean Pop, or K-pop, is popular everywhere in the world, and you can often hear it on the streets and on the radio. For people that aren’t […]

Review: Star Wars – The Last Jedi | Brian Tu – Grade 10

Review: Star Wars – The Last Jedi | Brian Tu – Grade 10

**spoiler alert** “Darkness rises and the Light to meet it.” Yes, after two long years of waiting, the eighth installment of the star-fighter battling, lightsaber flashing epic saga has finally arrived – and wow. With mind-shattering visuals, remarkable acting, and an unforgettable plot, it is truly the epitome of modern-day entertainment. Even so, it doesn’t […]

4 reasons why Taiwan’s news media sucks | Carson Hu – Grade 10

4 reasons why Taiwan’s news media sucks | Carson Hu – Grade 10

News media in Taiwan is well known for its disrespect of intellectual property Taiwan news is also full of product placement News outlets are notoriously biased Let’s be honest, news media in Taiwan sucks. They are imprecise, money driven, and have zero social responsibility. If they don’t fix their problems right now, they will self-destruct. […]

Trends in Anime | Phil Wong – Grade 10

Trends in Anime | Phil Wong – Grade 10

Audience criticism has shaped the way anime has evolved Anime published before 2006 were focused on glorious battle scenes Around 2014, popular anime was suddenly all centered around girls When people hear the word anime, many tend to think about cartoons such as Doraemon or Fullmetal Alchemist or famous movies like Your Name or A […]

News Media in Taiwan: Tiger Yang – Grade 10

News Media in Taiwan: Tiger Yang – Grade 10

The most basic job for news media is to provide important facts to the public. However, it seems like Taiwanese media is doing a fairly good job going the opposite way. Here is some evidence exposing the darker side of media in Taiwan. 1. Too Much Emphasis on Entertainment Despite the fact that there are […]

4 reasons why Taiwan’s news media sucks | Carson Hu – Grade 10

OpEd: Why News Media Shouldn’t Have a Political Slant: Irene Lin – Grade 10

People in Taiwan are being brainwashed by the news media. News reports aren’t objective and are often reported in different ways based on a network’s political leaning. The KMT (Kuomintang) and DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) are two major political parties in Taiwan and also dominate most of the media. Different political views in media force […]

Game Review – Minecraft: by Phil Wang – Grade 9

Game Review – Minecraft: by Phil Wang – Grade 9

Minecraft is a sandbox game where you can do a lot of things you can’t do in real life, such as build houses, chop down trees with your own hand, and fight zombies or skeletons. It was released on May 17, 2009 on PC with the alpha version and made a commotion with online players, […]

Movie Review – Spectre: Brian Tu – Grade 8

Movie Review – Spectre: Brian Tu – Grade 8

James Bond returns in a smashing two-hour action-packed joyride and continues to keep the high standard of the beloved Bond franchise. With an awesome plot, endless action, and stunning stunts, Spectre dominated the box office and caused waves across the globe. Many critics have even been ranking it as the top 007 film ever to […]

Manga: Phil Wang – Grade 9

Manga: Phil Wang – Grade 9

Many people are interested in manga all over the world. Some people think that it’s just a kind of comic, but it’s so different from traditional comics. Manga comes from Japan, and characters in it are so much cuter than characters in comic books. People love manga for different reasons. One of them is because […]