Taiwan's film importation from China: a political economy analysis of changes and implications
For 40 years, Taiwan observed a strict `closed door' policy with China, concerning not only political and economic relations but also cultural relations. This study examines the changes in Taiwan's importation of China's media and cultural products from 1987, when the two societies resumed contact, to 1997, when both governments announced the most significant policy change. This article reviews the evolution of changes in Taiwan's policies on film importation from China, discusses the motivations for the policy changes and analyzes the implications of these changes. The purpose of this study is to explore relationships between the two Chinese societies' cultural relations and political and socioeconomic relations.
Go With Your Feelings: Hong Kong and Taiwan Popular Culture in Greater China
Trying to puzzle out the Communist leadership's reaction to the massive demonstrations then under way during the spring of 1989, some Chinese wits turned to “Go With Your Feelings,” a well-known song recorded by the Taiwan pop singer Su Rui. This not only indicated the critical role of one often unpredictable octogenarian, it also revealed the pervasiveness of popular culture from “peripheral China” on the mainland core: an allusion to a pop song from Taiwan could be used (and understood) to sum up an extremely volatile situation. As the economies of the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan move toward increased integration, with Hong Kong and Taiwan supplying the dynamism and the mainland the market, a comparable trend is emerging in the cultural realm: popular culture from Hong Kong and Taiwan is claiming a substantial share of the market and loyalties of mainland consumers. Furthermore, it is redefining the essence of what it means to be a “modern” Chinese at the end of the 20th century, and popularizing a new language for expressing individual sentiments.
Ultrathin Wafer Pre-Assembly and Assembly Process Technologies: A Review
Ultrathin silicon wafer technology is reviewed in terms of the semiconductor applications, critical challenges, and wafer pre-assembly and assembly process technologies and their underlying mechanisms. Mechanical backgrinding has been the standard process for wafer thinning in the semiconductor industry owing to its low cost and productivity. As the thickness requirement of wafers is reduced to below 100 μm, many challenges are being faced due to wafer/die bow, mechanical strength, wafer handling, total thickness variation (TTV), dicing, and packaging assembly. Various ultrathin wafer processing and assembly technologies have been developed to address these challenges. These include wafer carrier systems to handle ultrathin wafers; backgrinding subsurface damage and surface roughness reduction, and post-grinding treatment to increase wafer/die strength; improved wafer carrier flatness and backgrinding auto-TTV control to improve TTV; wafer dicing technologies to reduce die sidewall damage to increase die strength; and assembly methods for die pick-up, die transfer, die attachment, and wire bonding. Where applicable, current process issues and limitations, and future work needed are highlighted.