Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Surgeon-Scientist
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Articles by Albert Wu
A Broad and Ample Road
A Broad and Ample Road Based in Taiwan, we write about culture, politics, religion, & daily life. We're locally rooted and draw on our expertise in history, law, and advocacy. We've been recognized as one of the leading English-language publications covering Taiwan. Based in Taiwan, we write about culture, politics, religion, & daily life. We're locally rooted and draw on our expertise in history, law, and advocacy.
A Broad and Ample Road
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Our Six-Year-Old Is Off to First Grade
Hello dear readers, Albert and Michelle here. Thanks to everyone who wrote in telling us that they enjoyed our conversation with Tim Mak at The Counteroffensive, a Ukraine-based outlet. We admire Tim, who’s been in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion, and we were honored to speak with him. We’re grateful to Tim for showing solidarity with Taiwan and its precarious position today.
A Broad and Ample Road
Based in Taiwan, we write about culture, politics, religion, & daily life. We're locally rooted and draw on our expertise in history, law, and advocacy. We've been recognized as one of the leading English-language publications covering Taiwan. Based in Taiwan, we write about culture, politics, religion, & daily life. We're locally rooted and draw on our expertise in history, law, and advocacy. We've been recognized as one of the leading English-language publications covering Taiwan.
What Travels? Guest essay from Su Shin
Dear readers, We’re delighted today to share an essay from Su Shin, whom we met soon after we arrived to Taiwan five years ago. We were struck by her deep passion for Taiwanese culture and books. Su is the managing director of Bookman,an independent bookstore and publisher, and of BK Agency, a literary agency promoting Taiwanese titles to international markets. She’s hosted many bilingual events at Bookman.
The NASA ABoVE Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor full waveform LiDAR airborne surveys
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Abstract Arctic and boreal regions are experiencing rapid environmental changes that include thawing permafrost and increasing disturbances. The NASA Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) sought to better understand these changes through field, airborne, and remote sensing measurements. One key airborne instrument was the Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS), a wide-swath imaging laser altimeter system.
By Elizabeth E. Hoy, Charles Miller, Peter Griffith, Paul M. Montesano, Amanda Armstrong, Colleen Brooks, Laura Duncanson, Scott Goetz, Michael Howerton Verified, John S Kimball, Matthew J. Macander, Matthew Mullin, Laurence C. Smith, Robert Switzer, Jurjen Van der Sluijs, Yaxing Wei, Albert Wu, Daryl Yang, Michelle Hofton, Sandra Yaacoub, J. Bryan Blair, Helen Cornejo, Shane Hendry, Daniel Hopf, Lisa Kaser, Libby Larson, David Rabine, Hana Travers-Smith
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Nature
Verified
A Golden Age of Taiwanese Literature
Dear all, Hello dear readers! Thanks to all who replied to our missive about a film portraying the last living Taiwanese prisoner-of-war in Siberian camps. Our next rec: we urge everyone who lives in Taiwan to see All Things to All《為一切人，成為一切》in the theater. It’s a beautiful documentary depicting Catholic priests who have worked in Hualien for over 50 years.
Memories Frozen in Time: Taiwanese Prisoners of War in the Siberian camps
Late in the documentary Memories Frozen in Time (《冰封的記憶》), directed by Hsu Ming-chun (許明淳) and available to stream for free on Taiwan’s PTV+, the camera settles on Masao Go (吳正男). Born in 1927 in Douliu, then part of Tainan Prefecture, Go was a Taiwanese subject of the Japanese Empire. Like so many young men of his generation, he was drawn into the imperial machine. At sixteen, without his parents’ consent, he volunteered for the Japanese army and trained as a radio operator.
A Broad and Ample Road
Plus, congratulations to Yáng Shuāngzǐ & Lin King, event this Thursday with Plain Law & Khí-Sū, and good links! We’re delighted to share a guest photo essay by a talented photographer Eric Hsu. But first a quick update: we have an event this Thursday evening, May 28th with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文運動) and Khí-Sū Culture Publishing Ltd. (挑興文化), where we’re discussing director Hsu Ming-chun’s beautiful documentary Memories Frozen in Time.
A Broad and Ample Road
Part 2 of an interview with Kevin Wang, who talks about making a life in Taiwan, code-switching, translating Du Fu, and being Chinese American here; plus, little updates Dear all, Hello! We’re thinking of all of you. We’re back this week with an interview with Kevin Wang, who was born in China and migrated to the U.S. when he was nine years old. It’s been four years since he moved to Taiwan.
A Broad and Ample Road
Hello dear readers, We’re so sorry we’ve been out of touch! We’ve felt an incredible sense of writer’s block because of all of the craziness in the world; we’ve been thinking of the senseless misery and violence in Iran and Lebanon. We’ve also had a busy few weeks of travel; Albert was at a conference in Boston on religious history and Michelle went to a conference in Chicago with the Taiwan Innocence Project, then onto a book fair in Bologna, where she shared books from Taiwan.
Found in Translation: A Review of Taiwan Travelogue, Longlisted for the Booker
Hello everyone! We’re thinking of all of you during these turbulent times. This week, we’re reprinting a book review Michelle wrote of Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi, translated virtuostically by Lin King. Set in Japanese-rule Taiwan, the novel was recently longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Happy New Year!
Hello dear readers, Albert and Michelle here. Happy Lunar New Year! We last wrote about our deep sense of paralysis at our current moment. We still feel unmoored, as there’s been so much bad news: the absurd geopolitical standoff between the US and the EU over Greenland; the violent occupation of Minnesota; the crackdown in Iran that left thousands dead; and the relentless, simmering military tension right here in the Taiwan Strait.
When Men Kill
Hello dear readers, We apologize for being out of touch. Partly it’s the continuation of the end-of-year crush that always feels so intense in Taiwan. (We’ve had mountains of work, as well as visitors in town amid our non-Western work schedule.) But we’ve felt agitated and sickened by the news, which is awful and relentless—Maduro’s abduction, the killings of thousands of protesters in Iran, and ICE’s murder of Renee Good and terrorizing of Minneapolis.
Reading Middlemarch: Coming into Middle Age
Hello dear readers, Michelle and Albert here. Sorry we’ve been out of touch—we’ve both had a really nasty bout of illness, and the end of the year in Taiwan is always a whirlwind of events. Plus! We went to Mexico for ten days to attend the FIL in Guadalajara, the biggest Spanish-speaking book fair. We had an amazing time and are still processing everything we learned. Today, Michelle reflects on revisiting Middlemarch, middle age, and marriage.
A Poignant Event Mourns Taiwan's Execution of an Innocent Man
Albert and Michelle here. We were in Tainan over the weekend for a poignant 25-year anniversary of Lu Cheng’s execution. Organized by the Taiwan Innocence Project, it featured a screening of Tsai Tsung-Lung’s documentary Formosa Homicide Chronicle II: The Case of Lu Cheng (島國殺人紀事2), followed by speeches and a candlelight vigil. The Innocence Project also prepared a table of Lu’s favorite snacks for us to eat.
FilmStack Inspiration Challenge Day 63: Two Takes of Contemporary Taiwan
Perhaps every film lover knows the story of the Taiwanese New Wave—that transformative moment in the island’s cinematic history when a new generation of directors catapulted Taiwan onto the global stage. This includes Hou Hsiao-hsien’s City of Sadness, Edward Yang’s Yi Yi, and, later, the “second-wave” meditations of Tsai Ming-liang.
Inspired by "Shovel Heroes"; Plus, Three Taiwanese Stories About the Death Penalty
Hello dear all, Albert and Michelle here. A lot has happened in Taiwan since we last wrote. Flooding in Hualien, on Taiwan’s eastern coast, was caused by Super Typhoon Ragasa, which tore through the Philippines before moving on to China. At least nineteen people have died, and the hardest-hit area was Guangfu Township.
A Sense of Dread: Isolationists under Trump Lay the Groundwork for Abandoning Taiwan, Marking a Radical Departure in Foreign Policy
Hello everyone, Albert and Michelle here. We’re thinking of you all during another chaotic and depressing news cycle. But today we write with a genuine sense of dread about Taiwan—one we have not felt in the four years since moving here. Usually, when people ask if things are okay (by which they mean: will China invade and World War III begin), we shrug it off and say Taiwan is a wonderful place to live. But as some of you know better than we do, the U.S. is off the rails.
Underdog Stories in the Shadow of Empires
Dear all, Michelle and Albert here. For this week we’re recommending two dazzling Taiwanese graphic novels. One of the most distinctive features of Taiwanese graphic novels, comics, and children’s books is their sustained engagement with history. Taiwan is special in this way. Its storytellers are deeply interested in recovering, reworking, and rethinking the past. This has much to do with more than four decades of martial law, when stories were circulated underground, told in hushed tones.
What do the ghosts want?
Hello readers, It’s Ghost Month in Taiwan, a time when the gates of the underworld open. In the Kuo-Wu household, we’re rather superstitious (or perhaps faithful?) about observing the rules of Ghost Month. So, for instance, we’ve avoided going to the beach—you’re not supposed to swim or even stand in the water; ghosts might carry you off. Yesterday was the central point of Ghost Month: the 15th day of the seventh month in the Festival of Zhongyuan (中原節), also known here as Pudu (普渡).
What do the ghosts want?
Hello readers, It’s Ghost Month in Taiwan, a time when the gates of the underworld open. In the Kuo-Wu household, we’re rather superstitious (or perhaps faithful?) about observing the rules of Ghost Month. So, for instance, we’ve avoided going to the beach—you’re not supposed to swim or even stand in the water; ghosts might carry you off. Yesterday was the central point of Ghost Month: the 15th day of the seventh month in the Festival of Zhongyuan (中原節), also known here as Pudu (普渡).
Hear Our Voices: An Interview with Radhika Natarajan
We are so thrilled to welcome our old friend, historian Radhika Natarajan, to the conversation. Radhika released a children’s book Hear Our Voices: A Powerful Retelling of the British Empire Through 20 True Stories, co-authored with Chao Tayiana and illustrated by Alexander Mostov. Albert knows Radhika from their graduate school days; today, she’s a professor of modern British Empire at Reed College, researching migration, citizenship, and the welfare state in the twentieth century.
Update from Taiwan; plus we review two bestselling films here, Invisible Nation & A Chip Odyssey
Dear all, We’re really sorry about being absent for so long. To be completely honest, we’ve gone through a rough patch. Meanwhile, we've had ideas about what to write, but whenever we face the page, we’ve had major writer’s block. The news cycle has left us feeling powerless and confused, on the border of despair. What is there to say? We have no hot takes, no clear-eyed vision for the future.
End of Semester (Blues)
Michelle and Albert here. We just finished a semester of teaching, phew! I taught two courses this semester, one on creative expression, at a women’s juvenile detention center in Taipei and the other, on storytelling and the law, at National Chengchi University, where I teach at the International College of Innovation.
Finding His Sound: Minyen Terry Hsieh Reflects on Jazz, Identity, and Taiwanese Democracy
Hello dear readers, Many apologies for being out of touch; we’ve had some serious family health issues. We appreciate all the feedback we received on our last post, which addressed a divisive topic in Taiwan—perhaps one of the few issues in recent memory to split progressives so sharply. (The fact that it was written in English offered some degree of insulation from controversy.) We’re grateful to everyone who takes the time to read our work.
The ‘Slingshot’ technique: balloon-guide assisted tracking of distal systems past tortuosity and ledges in thrombectomy
Abstract Background We describe and analyze a novel technique by which inflation of a proximal balloon guide catheter (BGC) permits tracking of distal catheter systems past vessel tortuosity and ledges like the ophthalmic segment of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Inflation of the BGC counteracts slippage when deployed, and careful advancement of the system builds up energy that is translated forward, allowing users to cross segments otherwise inaccessible by endovascular techniques.
A Tough Case: Taiwan Deports a Chinese Influencer Who Calls For Annexing Taiwan
Dear all, The news has been worrying and dizzying. The big news this week has been President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of tariffs on all of the United States’s trading partners. Taiwan was not spared—Trump levied a 32% tariff on Taiwanese goods.
The "Danger Within"
Dear readers, dear friends, Like many of you, we’ve felt unmoored by the political chaos of the past couple of weeks. Deportations, detentions, firings of veterans and park rangers (and more), cuts to free lunches for low-income kids, defunding of scientific research, anti-trans laws, the gutting of the Department of Education, countless needless deaths from the cuts to USAID—we lie awake at night, sinking into depression.
Potpourri: Confusing & Senseless Politics; Taipei Book Fair; Rest in Peace, Kiah Duggins
Dear readers, Albert and Michelle here. Apologies for being out of touch. It’s been non-stop since the Lunar New Year, and we’ve been feeling overwhelmed and blocked. A couple of links first: Michelle has two things out, a review of Yang Shuangzi’s Taiwan Travelogue at China Books Review and an interview with Hannah Taieb about teaching the poetry of W.S. Merwin in prison in Transatlantica.
Navigating the path to corneal healing success and challenges: a comprehensive overview - Eye
Abstract The cornea serves to protect the eye from external insults and refracts light to the retina. Maintaining ocular homeostasis requires constant epithelial renewal and an efficient healing process following injury. Corneal wound healing is a dynamic process involving several key cell populations and molecular pathways.
"Like the Fungus / Living on the Remains of a Bygone Life": On the Constitutional Crisis in Taiwan
Today marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday. Happy Year of the Snake! (Scroll to the end for a video of a snake greeting that some Gen Z-ers in Taiwan taught us!) We wish you a joyful and prosperous new year! For the past couple of weeks, machinationsin Taiwan’s legislature have sparked fear, anger, and outrage of the likes that we haven’t seen since we first arrived here nearly four years ago. The catalyst? Something seemingly mundane: budget cuts.
Taiwan and the Trump Win
What you need to know A more isolationist US emboldens China, increasing pressure on Taiwan. However, this clarifies US transactional motivations, prompting Taiwan to redefine its global value beyond "chips." Welp. So that happened. It’s been nearly a week since Trump won another four years in office; you’ve probably read all of the takes and analyses about why the election broke the way it did, and there isn’t much more we feel like we can add.
Desensitization with Telemedicine: A Novel Protocol Utilizing Remote Monitoring for Oral immunotherapy for Alpha-Gal Syndrome
Property Value Status Version Ad File Disable Ads Flag Environment Moat Init Moat Ready Contextual Ready Contextual URL Contextual Initial Segments Contextual Used Segments AdUnit SubAdUnit Custom Targeting Ad Events Invalid Ad Sizes 1Department of Internal Medicine, Northwell Health: Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY 2Allergy and Immunology Division, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY Publication History: Received September 13, 2024; Revised December 20, 2024;...
The History of Religion in Taiwan is the History of Violence, Migration & Coexistence
Hello dear readers, Happy New Year! We went to a lovely New Year gathering hosted by one of Michelle’s work friends; it was so nice, although we definitely were the oldest people there. We were home in bed by 11:30. We wished we had attended the “crying to welcome the new year” party in Da’an Park, in which thousands of people gathered to watch a Tsai Ming-Liang film, Vive l’amour, about urban alienation (there’s apparently a 7 minute crying scene).
A Potpourri Missive from Taiwan
Tw: suicide Hello dear readers, Two particular bits of news—on widely different ends of the spectrum—have occupied our attention since we last wrote. On November 4, the body of a civil servant, whose last name is Wu, was found in his office; he had hung himself. His death has sparked a major outrage on Taiwanese social media, especially as details from an apparently toxic workplace have emerged.
Taiwan and the Trump Win
Welp. So that happened. It’s been nearly a week since Trump won another four years in office; you’ve probably read all of the takes and analyses about why the election broke the way it did, and there isn’t much more we feel like we can add. We didn’t think the Democrats deserved to win, but we don’t want to pile on. Everything we think about the post-mortem Democrats is basically summed up by the brilliant Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on The Dig podcast.
Religious Diversity in Taiwan
Albert here. In 2014, a Pew Research study on global religious diversity ranked Taiwan as the second most religiously diverse country in the world, just behind Singapore. Taiwan’s religious landscape is unique, blending Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, indigenous religions, and various popular beliefs. This diversity is notable, but what is perhaps even more striking is the ubiquity of religious and spiritual beliefs across Taiwanese society.
InCommon Federation Service Enhancements: Metadata Query Service and Federated Access to Federation Manager
By Albert Wu, InCommon Federation Manager, Internet2 Trust & Identity Estimated reading time: 3 minutes In the spring, the InCommon Federation announced a series of long-awaited enhancements to Federation services. We are nearing the finish line for two of the projects, and we’d like to share an update so that you’re able to take full advantage of federated access to the Federation Manager Portal and the InCommon Metadata Query (MDQ) Service.
Adverse Ocular Effects and Therapeutic Applications of Cannabis and Ca
Mostafa Bondok,1 Anne Xuan-Lan Nguyen,2 Leonardo Lando,3 Albert Y Wu4 1Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 2Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ONT, Canada; 3Ocular Oncology Service, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil; 4Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA Correspondence: Albert Y Wu, Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford...
Potpourri: A Terrible Law, Taiwanese Comics and Children's Books, and a Parade in Dadaocheng
Hello dear friends, dear readers, Once again, we’re sorry for being out of touch. (We’ve paused payments for four months, as we feel guilty taking money from paid subscribers, but we’ll continue to be in touch every other week.) We’ve been really overwhelmed. Almost immediately after no-longer-a-baby P.
"A disaster for abolitionists."
Dear readers, Sorry for being out of touch for a bit: our (no-longer) Baby P. was struck down by a case of enterovirus, and her daycare requires her to stay home for seven days, which means no childcare. Meanwhile, Michelle has been dealing with a series of nasty infections, making it a struggle to keep up with our work. On Friday, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court released its decision on the death penalty hearing. Long-time readers will know that we've been closely following this court case.
The RISE (Resilience in Stressful Events) Peer Support Program: Creati
Back to Journals » Journal of Healthcare Leadership » Volume 16 Authors Connors CA, Norvell M, Wu AW Received 20 July 2024 Accepted for publication 26 November 2024 Published 9 December 2024 Volume 2024:16 Pages 537—542 DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S487709 Checked for plagiarism Yes Review by Single anonymous peer review Peer reviewer comments 7 Editor who approved publication: Dr Pavani Rangachari Cheryl A Connors,1 Matt Norvell,1,2 Albert W Wu1,3 1Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety...
Letting Go Of English And Other Language Stories
What you need to know Michelle Kuo, an American writer based in Taipei, reflects on the importance of embracing imperfection and multilingualism in language learning and teaching. Michelle here. I recently finished co-teaching a course at a juvenile detention center in Taipei (台北少年觀護所) along with a librarian, Peggy Huang, and a college student at NCCU, Rebecca Hsu.
INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE PATIENT SAFETY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
The authors have declared no competing interest. This study was funded and commissioned by the World Health Organization's Patient Safety Flagship Unit. I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
Protest Scenes, Inauguration
Hello dear readers, A lot has happened in Taiwan since we last wrote. On May 20, William Ching-te Lai of the Democratic Progressive Party was sworn in as Taiwan’s new president. Inauguration ceremonies are always a moment for a country to take stock of its past, present, and future; they’re also an opportunity for the country to present itself to the rest of the world. In this wonderful thread on Twitter/X, Ian Rowen called the inauguration “exuberant and eclectic,” and we heartily agree.
We Recap Taiwan’s Historic Day-long Hearing About the Death Penalty
What you need to know In this interview we talk about recurring, central questions of the death penalty in Taiwan. Is it really “local” to Taiwan? How has public dialogue changed on this topic, and how much should social consensus matter? Should courts decide? Last Tuesday, on April 23rd, Taiwan’s constitutional court held a historic day-long hearing to review the constitutionality of the death penalty.
Death Penalty Abolition: A Potentially Historic Moment in Taiwan
What you need to know The Taiwanese Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP), led by Chuanfen Chang and Hsinyi Lin, has been advocating for death penalty is unconstitutional and that public opinion is gradually shifting in favor of abolition. On Tuesday, April 23rd, the Taiwanese Constitutional Court will review the constitutionality of the death penalty. This is a closely watched case here, and potentially a historic moment.
The Future of InCommon Federation Services: 3 Important Enhancements
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes By Albert Wu, InCommon Federation Manager, Internet2 Trust & Identity There’s a great deal on the horizon for the InCommon Federation in 2024. We’re pleased to announce three long-awaited enhancements to our services, and I’m excited to share the details with the community to assist in your future planning. That’s right. Federation Manager, the tool you use to manage InCommon-registered metadata, will support federated access for site admins this summer.
InCommon Federation Community Consultation through April 30: Deployment Guidance for REFEDS Access Entity Categories
In 2023, REFEDS published the latest revisions of three attribute release entity categories designed to facilitate privacy-preserving, standard, and streamlined user information release in federated transactions. These are Anonymous Access, Pseudonymous Access, and Personalized Access categories. Together, we refer to them as the REFEDS Access Entity Categories.
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