Altars and Outlaws: Ben Sando on Taiwan’s Underworld – Gangs, Temples, and Political Influence – S5-E35
We’ll let Benjamin Sando, research fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute, and our guest for this week’s episode, describe the topic:
“From the early days of Han Taiwanese society, through the period of Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) martial law and on to the era of democratization, the influence of Taiwan’s gangs has evolved. The activity of some gangs (but not all) has spread beyond extracting profit from local territory – through extortion, prostitution, and gambling – to international transactions involving drugs, arms, and human trafficking. This has sown connections between certain Taiwanese gangs and foreign actors, such as Chinese triads and government officials engaging in united front work for the People’s Republic of China (PRC). As elections become more competitive in Taiwan, gangs have leveraged their control of prominent Taiwanese temples to influence politicians seeking support from religious communities. Such deep-rooted connections between gangs and local communities obstruct democratic development based on transparency and open debate, especially in Taiwan’s rural areas.”
NOTE: This episode has been significantly edited to attempt to adhere to the mostly non-political official stance of the Formosa Files podcast. To hear/watch the full one-hour, almost unedited version, visit Kaohsiung Times → “Long-Form” → “Formosa Files.”
Cover via Liberty Times and shows the famous Yen Ching-piao, and his son, with former ROC President Tsai and other govt officials.
Ben Sando bio:
Sando is a research fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute, where he investigates PRC united front influence operations and hosts the GTI Insights podcast. He previously worked at the Doublethink Lab NGO in Taipei, Taiwan, studying PRC united front strategy for the China Index project. Sando holds an M.A. in Asian Studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He completed his B.A. at Stanford University, where he majored in International Relations and minored in Mechanical Engineering.
Sando has lived in Seoul, South Korea, as a researcher at the ROK National Assembly Research Service and the Yonsei University Institute for Sinology. Fluent in Mandarin and Korean, his writing has been published by the Global Taiwan Brief, Council on Foreign Relations, East Asia Forum, The Diplomat, NK News, and others.
Benjamin Sando, research fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute, is the author of the papers discussed in this episode: Taiwan’s Underworld, Part 1: Gangs, Temples, and Political Influence, and Taiwan’s Underworld, Part 2: The Chinese Communist Party and United Front Work.
NOTE: This episode has been significantly edited to attempt to adhere to the mostly non-political official stance of the Formosa Files podcast. To hear/watch the full one-hour, almost unedited version, visit Kaohsiung Times → “Long-Form” → “Formosa Files.”
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