Taiwanese Science And Technology Episodes

In the previous episode, we told you how these three rather stunning neo-classical Chinese buildings came to exist. This week, we’re looking at them through a “culture and society” lens. The massive statue of Chiang Kai-shek remains on its pedestal at the CKS Memorial Hall. A place built to venerate a dictator, however, became the site of the Wild Lily protests demanding a democratic Taiwan in 1990, the year after tanks answered calls for freedom in a square in Beijing. We’ll look at what the National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH) offers visitors, and finally, how do you bring a “traditional Chinese” theater and concert hall (both inspired by buildings in China’s medieval Forbidden City) into the 21st century?

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) PhD candidate Angel B. Menéndez came to Taiwan from his native Guatemala on a full scholarship provided by the Taiwan government. For Taiwan, this was a wise financial choice as Menéndez first studied mechanical engineering, then Mandarin, and then became involved in the historic achievement of a Taiwanese space program; not with the official Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), but with a team of researchers at Tainan's NCKU. In 2017, they put a “nanosatellite” into orbit, a model of which is now on public display. They've since put up a few more and, due to Covid, Menéndez has recently been the only expat on the team. Hear Eryk chat with Angel about these remarkable achievements and the team’s plans for the future of Taiwan in space.

Frank C. Chen was the mayor of Kaohsiung from 1960 to 1968. The foundation that bears his name is the reason we have Formosa Files. Paul Chen is one of Frank Chen's sons (b. 1944), and in 1979, he established the Kaohsiung Wild Bird Society. Why? Well, he and his dad were once avid hunters, and Paul Chen kept noticing there were fewer and fewer birds, and set out to do something about it. Today, Mr. Lin Kun-hai 林昆海 is the society's General Secretary, and in this bonus episode, we hear from both the founder and the person still leading the charge to SAVE THE BIRDS!