Taiwan Docs

The emotional cost of participating in social movements is difficult to assess or quantify. When I learned of political activist Ting-hao’s plans to accept a new position in Matsu, I saw a potential opportunity to weave a relatively easygoing, pleasant narrative on self-reflection and healing.

However, my assumptions were soon exposed as naïve. This group of islands has a unique story all its own; a story that lifts the veil on the tangled absurdity of the politics against which we fight. Here on these islands of wind, rain, and granite, along the boundary line between two very different political systems, it is easy to imagine yourself caught in an online RPG game … only, no one steps up to ‘role play’ with you.