Indigenous History Episodes

1944年10月12日，臺灣沖航空戰首日，一位年輕的日本海軍飛行員被擊墜，喪生在臺南海尾寮附近。但在戰後，這位飛行員卻被在地居民建祠崇奉，也被當地大廟的神明收為徒弟，受賜「飛虎將軍」的名號。究竟這位飛行員是誰，又為什麼在地居民要奉祀祂呢？就由Formosa Files的兩位主持人來為您說分曉。

臺灣，或說中華民國史上的第一夫人（以及想成為第一夫人的人），大多都是新聞報導關注的焦點，甚至如蔣宋美齡般成為世界知名的人物。然而在第一夫人的行列中，卻有一位稍顯黯淡無聲的夫人－蔣方良女士，即前總統蔣經國先生的夫人。且這名身居高位卻低調沉默的第一夫人，甚至不是中國人，而是來自「敵方」的俄國人……

1973年（民國62年）9月3日早上，在高雄港發生了一起嚴重的沉船事故。總共有25位乘客罹難，而且這25位乘客全部都是13至30歲的未婚女性。究竟為什麼會有這麼多的年輕女性罹難？事件的後續又如何呢？

Nancy Chen Baldwin's early life – when she was sold by her parents to a bargirl for US$100 – might sound like something out of a novel set in the Middle Ages. But the old practices of selling, “lending,” giving, and unofficial adoption of children persisted in Taiwan until relatively recent times. …

In the 1960s and 1970s, many tens of thousands of Taiwanese went into self-exile; most of them headed to the United States. The people who became Taiwanese-Americans did so for a variety of reasons, but it's probably fair to say most were seeking opportunities more readily available in a democratic…

A generation of Taiwanese left (or you might say “fled”) Taiwan in the 1960s and 70s, with most going to the United States. Some went to school there and stayed, while others emigrated as they saw no future for themselves and their families in the then one-party ROC state. This Taiwanese diaspora w…

The last Japanese "holdout" of World War II was an Indigenous Amis Taiwanese named Attun Palalin, but in Japanese Formosa, he was Nakamura Teruo (中村 輝夫). Palalin was one of a group of Indigenous Taiwanese who served in the Japanese military as part of the Takasago Volunteer Unit 高砂義勇隊. The Takasago…

Decathlete athletes are special. The sport is TEN events: sprint 100 meters, then 400 meters, then race 1500 meters; then comes 110 meters with hurdles you have to jump, then it's on to the long jump, the high jump, pole vaulting, discus throwing, javelin throwing, and finally, shotput. It's exhaus…

At the turn of the 20th century, Japan was on a roll. After taking Formosa and Penghu from Qing China in 1895, Japan beat mighty Russia in 1905. Eager to show the world its newfound economic strength – and to highlight the successful development of its new colony – the Japanese parliament voted vas…

This week we have another snippet from the audiobook of John's 2020 book, Taiwan in 100 Books. This extract tells the tale of Janet Montgomery McGovern, a feisty anthropologist who managed to cut through the red tape and official disapproval from Japanese colonial authorities in Formosa during her…

We travel back to 1920s Taiwan, first in the company of Terry’s Guide to the Japanese Empire and then follow a Tokyo travel bureau itinerary for Japanese tourists to the island. Ride the rails with us as we visit Shinto shrines, sugar factories, former “savages,” and scenic spots (not just any scen…

The Saisiyat Indigenous people in Hsinchu and Miaoli counties have a famous story about magical “little people” or “dwarfs” called the Koko’ ta’ay. The legend goes that tensions between the tribe and the “dwarfs” led to an incident that killed off the little people, and which called down a curse on…

Preschool teacher Lin ran back into a burning bus six times, saving as many kids as she could, before succumbing to the flames on her seventh rescue attempt. Lin's body was found with her arms around four children...four of 20 preschoolers who sadly died that day in 1992 -- along with Teacher Lin a…

In 1622 and then again in 1631, crew members (including foraging parties and shipwreck survivors) from Dutch ships were killed by the aboriginal people on Lamey Island, what is today’s Pingtung County’s Xiao Liuqiu (小琉球). The Dutch East India Company’s regional headquarters in Batavia (Jakarta) sen…

When did people first get to Taiwan? Was there a land bridge? Plus... a few interesting legends. A short phone call that's a fun intro to Taiwan’s prehistory.

He was the last Pacific WWII holdout and a native Taiwanese from the Amis tribe... here's the remarkable story of a Japanese colonial soldier who didn't get home until the mid-1970s!