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PODCAST

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files

John Ross and Eryk Michael Smith

Formosa Files is the world"s biggest and highest-rated Taiwan history podcast. We use an engaging storytelling format and are non-chronological, meaning every week is a new adventure - and, you can just find a topic that interests you and check out that episode...skip stuff that isn"t your thing. The hosts are John Ross, an author and publisher of works on Taiwan and China, and Eryk Michael Smith, a journalist for local and global media outlets. Both Ross and Smith have lived in Taiwan for over two

history

All Episodes

00:28:47

S2-E33 - Taiwan's Musical Garbage Trucks - And the...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/11/10

Many new arrivals to Taiwan are perplexed to hear music from an "ice cream" truck playing almost every day, until they discover that those tunes mean it's time to take out your trash. Today, we've got the history of musicalgarbage trucks... and lots of reminiscing about the sounds of Taiwan in the 1990s.

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00:23:45

S2-E32 - “Defectors from the PRC to Taiwan,...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/11/03

Picking up on last week's conversation between the University of SouthernCalifornia East Asian StudiesCenter'sLi-ping Chen and author Andrew D. Morris -- a very special collaborativedouble episode with Formosa Files -- we learn more about how North/South Korean Cold War tensionsaffected air force defections from the PRC. As flying from northern China to Taiwan was almost impossible, most defectors taking off from the north headed to South Korea. The pair also give us more details on the rewards

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00:20:01

S2-E31 - “Defectors from the PRC to Taiwan,...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/10/27

Formosa Files is delighted to announce a very special episodein collaboration with theUniversity of Southern California’sEast Asian Studies Center andthe New Books Network!The USC’s Li-ping Chen recently interviewed Andrew D. Morris, the author of a 2022 book (of the same name as this episode’s title) on thedefectorpilots who risked it all to fly their planes (mostly military jets, but one famous case was a commercial airliner) to Taiwan from China. Each case is fascinating; some are even shocking

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00:27:27

S2-E30 - The Mysterious Death in Taipei of India's...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/10/20

Unlike Mahatma Gandhi, fellow Indian pro-independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose advocated taking up arms against the British. WWII presented a golden opportunity for this, and in an "enemy of my enemy" move Bose escaped from arrest in India and headed for Nazi Germany. But despairing of a German invasion of India that would overthrow the British, Bose turned to the Japanese. This controversial Indian revolutionary died in Taipei in 1945, leading to decades of speculation and conspiracy theories

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00:26:26

S2-E29 - The "Most Powerful Witness" to Modern...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/10/13

Sadly, the bloodshed and sorrow that began on February 28, 1947 (228) is the foundational story of post-Japanese Taiwan. Wu Zhou-liu (吳濁流), an ethnically-Hakkapoet, writer, and journalist, was born in 1900 and died in 1976, his life effectively spanning the tumultuous birth of the nation. He experienced and documented colonial rule, WWII, the Japanese departure, and the hopeful first days of a "New China" which turned so quickly to violent tragedy. Wu's writings are today considered some of the most

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00:19:30

Bonus Episode: A Look Back and a Peek Forward

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/10/06

As Formosa Files gets ready to end Season2 and move into Season3 (fingers crossed), John and Erykpick season highlights, answer listener questions, talk about topics for upcoming episodes, and discuss those less-than-tidy "footnotes of history."

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00:26:04

S2-E28 - "Happy" Holidays!

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/09/29

Eryk said to John, "All the traditionalfestivalscelebrated in Taiwan have sad -- or even horrific -- backstories!" John said, "Really? Hmm... I doubt that." And so we recorded this episode, in which we tell the tales behind traditionalfestivals from Moon Festival to Tomb-Sweeping Day... and we'll let you be the judge, but it seems like Eryk won the debate. Plus: John quizzes Eryk on forgotten or lost holidays that were once part of the ROC calendar

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00:25:40

S2-E27 - Ghost Planes and the Japanese Fighter Pilot...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/09/22

John loves aviationstories and in this episode we've got two: the first raisessome serious questions about an oft-told "ghost plane" tale, while the second features a heroic young Japanese Zero fighter pilot who perished in Tainan in the last year of WWII...and then became a deityin that southern Taiwanese city! Photos and additional info atFormosafiles.com

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00:24:11

S2-E26 - Taiwan's First Civilian Martyr: Teacher Lin...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/09/15

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 and two otheradults.In 1999Lin became the first "civilian martyr" inducted into the Taipei Martyr's Shrine. Hear her story, as well as more info and history on martyrs and martyrs' shrines in Taiwan. Visit

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00:24:51

S2-E25 - Searching for Black Gold in Taiwan

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/09/08

Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s two expeditions of 1852–1854 pried open Japan. Less well known is that one of the American ships visited Keelung in northeastern Taiwan to investigate the harbor and its coal resources. And completely forgotten is another American project, the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition of 1853 to 1856, which saw two visits to Taiwan. At that time, the United States was one of several Western powers which had an eye on establishing a foothold on Formosa’s wild East

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00:26:55

S2-E24 - Cats Big and Small

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/09/01

Virtually everyone on this island knows the famous feline folktale: "The Tiger Aunt." In this episode, we tell that tale -- relying for source material on Taiwanese folktale translator and collector Fred Lobb's wonderful book -- as well as a few other stories related to cats, large or small, real or imaginary. And don't worry, dog lovers, your preferredanimalwill get its day soon when we delveinto native Taiwanese dogs and their fascinatinghistory. But for now, sit back and enjoy some wild and weird

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00:28:10

S2-E23 - Separated Sisters

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/08/25

Imagine this: It's 1949. You and your familylive in Fujian, China. A friendinvites you to the island of Kinmen for a short vacation. You hop on a ferry and, a 10-kilometer ride later, you're on Kinmen. While there, your hometown falls to PLA troops, the People’s Republic of China is founded, and the ROC retreats to Taiwan (and off-shore islands like Kinmen). You're stuck on one side while your sister and familyare on the other. Each of the million-plus refugees who fled to Taiwan hassome type of

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00:15:15

A Formosa Files INTERVIEW: Manuel Tsao Talks to Eryk...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/08/21

The Jhuzimen Hydro Power Plant (竹仔門發電廠) was built by the colonial Japanese authorities in 1908 -- in what's now Meinung District (美濃區), Kaohsiung City. Manuel Tsao is a German national in the renewable energy business who has lived in Taiwan for over 15 years. But before coming here, he spent time in Japan -- and speaks Japanese fluently. And, while in Japan, Manuel became somewhat of an expert on the Jhuzimen Hydro Power Plant -- now called the Jhumen Unit of Kaohsiung/Ping-tung Power Plant of

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00:19:26

Bonus Episode: "Taiwan in 100 Books" -- A Priest on...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/08/18

In this special episode, we thank listeners and talk briefly about season two (We are now being listened to in 90 countries/regions!!), and share an excerpt from the audiobook of John Ross' 2020 "Taiwan in 100 Books" relatedto Father Barry Martinson and the famous globetrotting Taiwanese author Sanmao(三毛).

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00:27:36

S2-E22 - USS Tang: The Most Successful US Submarine...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/08/11

War is not glorious, and shouldn’t be glorified. But war does provide the chance to be brave, and bravery can be glorious. Such was the case of Commander Richard O’Kane and the crew of the USS Tang. In 1944 the American submarine was on its fifth and most dangerous patrol yet, in the vital shipping lane of the Formosa (Taiwan) Strait. After their final torpedo was fired and the men already talking of home, a freak accident would leave the crew fighting for their lives, some on the surface and others

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00:30:17

Special CURRENT EVENTS Episode: Why hasn’t the PRC...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/08/04

We've gottenso many questions from Formosa Files listeners about the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan that we thoughtwe'd do a round-up of previous attempts, fill in some history from 1949 to 2014 or so, and tell you why invading Taiwan isn't an easy mission... for the PLA of China, or any military, for that matter

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00:24:32

S2-E21 - Taiwan's Global Shipping Empire - EVERGREEN

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/07/28

Go virtually anywhere in the world and you'll see them: green shipping containerswith large white lettersreading "EVERGREEN." The company is one of the biggest and best in the shipping world, while also having a hand in air travel and a dozen other ventures. The man who started it all was one of those rare "self-made" billionaires. Overcoming poverty and personal tragedy, he worked his way up from the “banana boats” to build his own company, starting with one small vessel in the 1960s. Today,

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00:16:34

Bonus Episode: "Taiwan in 100 Books" - A Martial Arts...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/07/20

In this specialepisode, we talk about where the inspirationfor the Formosa Files podcastcame from, and sharean excerptfromthe podcast's origin source: John Ross' 2020 book "Taiwan in 100 Books." After our quick chat, enjoy a segment from chapter one of the audiobook of "Taiwan in 100 Books" read by Eryk

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00:28:27

S2-E20 - Mr. and Mrs. Giles - *Wade-Giles Chinese...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/07/14

Why is "Kaohsiung" spelled so strangely? Shouldn'tit be closer to "Gao-Shung"?(Or we could just use Hanyu Pinyin, "Gāoxióng"). Well, many names in Taiwan are spelled with the Latin alphabet, using a romanization system popularized by Mr. Herbert Giles, a British consul who spent 25 years in the treaty ports of China and Taiwan. The -- for some -- infamousWade-Giles system renders "Pingdong" as "P’ing-tung," and "Taidong" as "T’ai-tung." It’s big on hyphens and apostrophes, too – T’ai-pei, T’ai-wan,

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00:24:51

S2-E19 - Golf in Taiwan: A Surprisingly Long History

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/07/07

Some might think golf came with U.S. troops after WWII, but the origins of this sport in Taiwan actually go much further back. Listen to this episode for stories of Japanese colonial officials discovering golf as the "new cool thing for elites" -- and ordering a course built in just a few hours! Plus, the story of Lu Liang-huan (呂良煥), a man from a poor family who worked his way up from being a caddy to an impressive 2nd place win at the 1971 British Open.

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