Ten Thousand Things
Multicultural Webfinds, by Jean Miyake Downey

"Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.

Alternative Media Spaces & Ordinary Transnational "Messengers of Peace"

Morley Robertson has published his first English-language interview by podcast from Taipei with Kuang-Chung (Julian) Yu, a Mandarin-pop music composer, and Henry Lu. Both are popular bloggers and podcasters in Taiwan who contribute to the lively bilingual blog, "What's Up in Taiwan."

Fascinating discussion about comparative consumer choices in Korea, Taiwan, and Japan – the future of podcasting and iTunes in Taiwan and Japan – why they broadcast in English rather than in Mandarin (because they'd be blocked by the mainland netpolice) –the "unsolved problems" between Taiwan and China – Do Henry and Julian model themselves on the Dalai Lama as "messengers of peace," in how they negotiate with mainland China? No, they see themselves as "ordinary guys" – China's morph from a "communist" country into a "capitalist autocracy" – Taiwanese mainstream media's use of non-original content in podcasting –Why Japanese radio stations cannot rebroadcast content and haven't gobbled up podcasting and why big media in Taiwan is gobbling up podcasting – The lack of news on Taiwan in the mainstream media – The role of podcasts in Taiwan's alternative media – The upsurge in blogging: "MSN is huge in Taiwan" – Skype is growing in Japan and might become equal to podcasting – How bloggers are becoming established news critics, thus sharpening the media in general – Will blogs heat up political discussions in Taiwan? – Do the blogs tilt right or left in Taiwan? – In Japan, very loud right-wing blogs are propping up and pushing for rearmament. They don't have a large following but do have a noisy following – How the word "Chinese," is tricky in Taiwan – Why are so many Taiwanese musicians going to Beijing? – Do Japan and Taiwan have the exact same prices? -- Why do so many stupid things sell in a globalized market? – Using podcasting to promote culture that can't be represented in the mainstream media –Language teaching podcasts are doing very well in China – Have Henry and Julian thought of podcasting to global Chinese outside of Taiwan and China? – Much of the Chinese-American media is owned by the Beijing government – How radical can alternative media get in Japan, the importance of good reporting accompanying outspoken opinions, the importance of unpredictable opinions to avoid being viewed as a predictable style of rant – What is Taiwan? a Prefecture of China or a foreign country? – Censorship and self-censorship in Japan and Taiwan –

Robertson says he will be expanding on this English-language format, podcasting conference calls, hoping to help start a current of trans-national discussions, received by a broad transnational alternative audience.

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