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The Second Opium War (1856-1860) lead to the opening of Danshui, near Taipei, and Anping (Tainan) as treaty ports. Soon after, the Qing authorities opened Takao (Kaohsiung) and Keelung to foreign ships. First came the foreign traders, then the missionaries... one of the latter would become a household name on the island: George Leslie Mackay, a man who used his dentistry skills -- and a pair of pliers -- to help spread the word.
Cover image: A statue of Canadian medical missionary George Leslie Mackay 偕瑞理 or 馬偕 in Tamsui (Danshui), New Taipei City.
(Pic via mingwangx/Wikimedia Commons)
Below: Original building of the Oxford University College founded by Mackay in Danshui, northern Taiwan (now New Taipei City). Now named Aletheia University, the school administers a museum devoted to Mackay artifacts. (Via Wikimedia Commons)
More great info and old pics from Katyhuiwenhung.blogspot.com
Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became was famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
