It’s hard to tell when people started to become so critical of Taiwan, their anger and complaints generating a glut of negativism and controversies. Yet is that the real Taiwan?

For its 35th anniversary edition, CommonWealth Magazine decided to use the stories of 18 Taiwanese who have fought to make things better to present a different side of the country. Leveraging their passion for environmental conservation, architectural design, art and culture, and democracy through their communities, companies and blogs, these battlers have opened doors and gained the world’s attention, generating recognition for Taiwan.
 
They are stars whose passion burns bright into the night, undaunted by the prevailing darkness around them. They are all fighting for Taiwan, and there is no reason we cannot do the same.

Here are the stories of all 18 in Chinese and nine of them in English:

Fighting for Taiwan: Architect Borden Tseng

Turning Heads with Public Projects

Fighting for Taiwan: Ming-yang Yu

Sowing the Seeds of Dreams

Fighting for Taiwan: Calligraphist Tong Yang-tze

Reviving the Joy of ‘Characters’

Fighting for Taiwan:  Chen Yu-chin

Above Any Label – A New Kind of Taiwanese

Fighting for Taiwan: Architect Hsieh Ying-chun

Bringing Affordable Shelter to the World

Fighting for Taiwan: Designer Johnason Lo

Taking Local Design International

Fighting for Taiwan: Leslie Koo

Forging the World’s No. 1 Species Platform

Fighting for Taiwan: Chang Shu-mei

Empowering Female Entrepreneurs

Fighting for Taiwan: Tsai Sheng-da

Revitalizing Indigenous Villages