Strategically located near the mouth of the Tamsui (Danshui) River, the port town of Tamsui has a long, rich history. The Spanish built a fort here in the 1600s, as did the Dutch, and numerous European traders came here in t…
Formosa Files and Taipei-based lawyer Ross Feingold very much hope you never get arrested in Taiwan, or anywhere else for that matter. But should this unfortunate event occur, what are your rights? Does Taiwan require search…
Among the too many killings committed in the lawless year of 1997 was the execution of 21-year-old Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶), a soldier convicted of a horrific crime after a forced confession. Chiang went to his death maintaini…
It's the Fourth of July! Happy 247th Birthday, America! It's estimated that around 80,000 U.S. nationals live and work in Taiwan; most, however, do so in the north. But the U.S. State Department has never forgotten southern …
John and Eryk have been commissioned to tell the tale of Weiwuying as this new Kaohsiung landmark turns five: in part two, we've got challenges galore to overcome, disputes to settle, and finally, a glorious ending as, more …
As this already-iconic structure and performance center turns five, John and Eryk have been commissioned to tell its tale: it's a 40-year saga of a century-old military base becoming a park and home to, more than arguably, o…
Now that we're well into Formosa Files season three, your co-hosts add some background to stories we've told, try to clear up misconceptions about the ROC’s exit from the United Nations, make some “controversial” comments on…
Author of The Final Struggle, Ian Easton, sits down for a long chat with Eryk about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It's remarkable how close to extinction the CPP came, not once, but thrice. This is a story of spies and …
Have you been to the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, 衛武營國家藝術文化中心, more commonly called Weiwuying? If not, you really should as it totally lives up to the hype, and is now the best such venue in Taiwan. You may have h…
The Taiwan News recently did a feature on Formosa Files (link below), and in the article, this episode from 2021 is mentioned. We thought we'd re-release it for any new "Formosa Filers" who missed it the first time around. T…
You'll see the "Blue Sky, White Sun, and Red Earth" flag everywhere across Taiwan, and each year, streets are lined with this banner to celebrate Double Ten Day on October 10th. But is it really the flag of Taiwan? Who desig…
Ever daydreamed about traveling to East Asia and studying under the great martial arts masters? American Chris Bates did just this, first coming to Taiwan in 1976 to study Mandarin and train in martial arts. Follow Chris’ jo…
The SS President Hoover was a ship ahead of its time, with innovative engine designs, air conditioning in all cabins, and space for almost a thousand passengers. But just seven years after being commissioned, the ship ran ag…
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 vau…
"The Sand Pebbles," which tells the story of the USS San Pablo, a US Navy gunboat operating in China in the 1920s, was shot in northern Taiwan over the winter of '65-'66. The movie was directed by Robert Wise, of "The Sound …
Joyce Bergvelt's book Lord of Formosa is a novel, but she's an author who has extensively studied the Dutch colonial period and the main characters involved. Lord of Formosa, therefore, might be closer to a history book than…
Join us as we try to answer some questions we've gotten, such as "What is Whisby and... just why?" You'll also discover Eryk's shameful secret (he loves betel nuts!), and hear John's opinion on re-introducing the extinct clo…
Long hailed as a “historic diplomatic breakthrough,” the reality is that US president Richard Nixon's 1972 trip to China has been rather oversold. Yes, the brief Mao-Nixon meeting did start a thaw in relations, but Nixon may…
Some of the earliest photos we have of Taiwan were taken by a British photographer who visited the southwest of the island in 1871. Taking pics back then was far from “point and shoot.” It was “get inside portable darkroom, …
Arguably the single most important event in Taiwan’s history – and certainly the most dramatic story – was the arrival in 1661 of warlord and Ming loyalist Koxinga (鄭成功 Zheng Chenggong). After a fierce struggle, Koxinga evic…
Eight happinesses? If you’ve heard of or seen the famous movie about the remarkable British missionary Gladys Aylward, you'll know that the film (which was originally set to be shot in Taiwan) was called “The Inn of the Sixt…
All languages borrow words from other languages. These “loanwords” often come with fascinating historical backstories, their adoption the result of encounters by traders, scholars, and adventurers; and the result of colonial…
Today, the district of Madou (麻豆區) in Tainan City is home to about 43,000 people. It has a pleasant small-town feel, an economy mainly based on agriculture, in particular, a citrus fruit called the pomelo ( 柚子). Back in the …
Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was a highly controversial two-term ROC president (2000–2008). How “A-Bian” studied and fought his way out of rural poverty to the highest office, thus bringing 55 years of continuous KMT rule to an end,…
![[Encore] Mao's Taiwanese Spymaster](https://images.podpage.com/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fredwood-labs%2Fshowpage%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2F0c6eada1-a20e-467f-a918-716a24d0318b.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=100&s=11e907124fc8e50d7791921813c14638 "[Encore] Mao's Taiwanese Spymaster")
![[Encore] Taiwan’s “Iron Man of Asia” - The Amazing CK Yang (楊傳廣)](https://images.podpage.com/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fredwood-labs%2Fshowpage%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2F621ee169-6cbc-4381-b6e4-8abd4406b270.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=100&s=d94e63ec27697c4a723c53a04af996f0 "[Encore] Taiwan’s “Iron Man of Asia” - The Amazing CK Yang (楊傳廣)")
