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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

00:23:11

Bonus Episode 01 - What Were the Dutch Doing in...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/02/07

The Dutch were expelled from southwestern Taiwan by pirate warlord and Ming loyalist Koxinga in 1662. Their relatively brief stay of 38 years was marked by impressive achievements and lasting impacts. But why they were there in the first place? What did they want? Who did they trade with? How did they get along with the locals? Enjoy a mini "deep dive" in this bonus episode exploring Dutch Formosa.

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00:25:54

S1-E25 - From Russia With Love: ROC First Lady Faina...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/01/25

In 1933, on a winter’s night in the Russian town of Yekaterinburg, Faina Vakhreva -- then 17 years old -- was walking home and became the unwanted subject of attention of a Russian man who began harassing her. A 23-year-old Chinese man also walking home at the time, saw what was happening and chased away the harasser. The Chinese man was future Taiwan (ROC) president Chiang Ching-kuo. Faina and CCK would be a couple for 55 years.

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00:23:19

S1-E24 - Taiwan's Awesome National Health Insurance...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/01/16

In the mid-1990s Taiwanese politicians got together, and, after much wrangling, settled on anational health insurancesystem that today is the envy of many countries around the world.Here'sthe story of how we got to a single-payer, government-subsidized, mandatory program that provides more than decent care at incredibly decent rates. While not without faults, overall, it's pretty darn awesome.

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00:25:45

S1-E23 - Walls of Death

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2022/01/09

In the 1980s, Japan's, South Korea's, and Taiwan’s massive fishing fleets gained notoriety for their destructive driftnet fishing. The use of giant driftnets, sometimes tens of kilometers long, threatened to turn the oceans into deserts. In 1989 the United States launched a high-seas sting operation, which culminated in a US coastguardcutter chasing a Taiwanese fishing boat carrying illegally-caught salmon for 2,700 miles across the Pacific. This operation would help bring an end to these “walls of

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00:25:05

S1-E22 - The Cruel Sea

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/12/30

Despite the failed attempt to create a myth of a Pacific Ocean "Bermuda Triangle" near Taiwan, the seas around this island are indeed cruel... ships sometimes disappear without a trace. It's little wonder the majority of temples here are devoted to Mazu, Goddess of the Sea, who watches over fishermen. We tell of shipping and transport vessels encountering tragedy, but two of this episode's most surprising stories involve unlikely victims: a dashing French baron crossing the Taiwan Strait, and

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00:25:53

S1-E21 - The "Best" Hijacking in History?

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/12/23

The word "stalemate" defined relations between Taiwan and China in the 1970s and early 1980s. Neither side wanted to legitimize the other with "official" talks so ideas such as postal and travel links, as well as the most important - family reunions - went nowhere. But everything would changein 1986 when a former ROC Airforce U2 spy planepilotdid the unthinkable - hijacking his China Airlines cargo plane and flying it to Guangzhou.

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00:24:34

S1-E20 - The "Iron Man of Asia"

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/12/19

Maysang Kalimud, better known by his Chinese nameC.K. Yang(楊傳廣), is arguablythe greatest Taiwanese athlete of all time. In 1960, this native Taiwanese from the Amis tribe came within an inch of winning the Olympic decathloncompetitionheld in Rome. He took silver, but C.K. Yang's friendshipwith the man who won gold in that event in '60, AmericanRafer Johnson, is the stuff of sportsmanship legend. Here's the story of C.K. Yang (1933-2007) ... a Taiwanese athletelike no other.

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00:25:27

S1-E19 - The End of the Qing

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/12/16

War in northern Vietnam spills over into Taiwan, with French troops occupying several ports. This wake-up call for the Qing prompts an upgrading of their neglected frontier prefecture; Taiwan becomes a province, and the authorities finally start to develop and strengthen the island. It's too little too late, however, and Peking's weak commitment to Taiwan is shown in 1895, when it cedes Taiwan and the Pescadores "in perpetuity" to Japan. After 212 years, Qing rule over Taiwan comes to an end. But

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00:24:04

S1-E18 - Shipwreck Savagery and Clandestine Colonization

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/12/09

After native people in the far south of Formosa kill survivors from the wrecked US merchant vessel The Rover in 1867, the Americans send a punitive expedition. A few years later, the survivors of a Japanese (Ryukyuan) shipwreck are also killed, near Pingtung's Mudan. The Qing authorities' weak response to the incidents will sow the seeds for Japanese colonization of the island.

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00:25:32

S1-E17 - Missionaries Pull Teeth in Treaty Ports

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/12/05

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.

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00:26:43

S1-E16 - Japanese Formosa Catches Spy Fever

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/12/01

As the Empire secretly prepared for a coming war with the aim of dominating Asia, visitors to and foreign residents on Japanese Formosa fell under suspicion. Spies lurked everywhere in the1930s!! --in the fevered imaginations of the localauthorities, that is.

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00:27:24

S1-E15 - Japan Puts on a Show

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/11/25

Determined to prove that they were just as fit to be imperialists as the great Western powers, the Japanese were keen to show off the "model colony" of Taiwan. The most ambitious attempt to do this was at the Japan-British Exhibition, held in London in 1910, which included a small Formosan village with real native Taiwanese on display! Here's a lesser-known story of a small group of Paiwanese aborigines from Pingtungwho traveled across the world and back as a kind of "zoo" exhibit... but that didn't

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00:31:10

S1-E14 - Buddhism "In Action" – Taiwan's Remarkable...

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/11/18

Tzu Chi is unique in relying on mostly laypersons instead of clergy, focusing on real-world problems instead of only the spiritual, and having an extremely open-minded attitude towards other faiths – this Buddhist group built Catholic and Protestant churches for native Taiwanese people who lost their villages in Typhoon Morakot! The story begins with a remarkable woman – then called Jun Yun – who would become Master Cheng Yen, the founder of the largest charity group in Taiwan.

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00:24:38

S1-E13 - The Orangutan Craze

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/11/11

As one of the four "Asian Tigers," Taiwan's economyroared in the 1980s, but free-flowingmoney came with downsides such as the exploitation of wild animals, includingtigers.

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00:27:27

S1-E12 - The "Made in Taiwan" Miracle

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/11/03

U.S. economic aid to Taiwan ceased in 1965. Mostly agrarian Taiwan needed to come up with new ways to make money... and it did! From manufacturing Barbie dolls to computers, here’s the story of what many call the island’s “economicmiracle.”

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00:25:15

S1-E11 - All Hail the Duck King!

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/10/27

Uprisings were exceptionally common over the 212 years of Qing Dynastyrule on Taiwan... but only one rebellion actually took the capital(Tainan) and led to officials fleeing for Penghu. Here's the story of Zhu Yi-gui, a duck farmer, who in 1721, became the self-declared ruler of Taiwan. His reign was short-lived but he would earn himself immortality in popular memory as the Duck King.

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00:28:30

S1-E10 - The Qing Empire Doesn't Really Want Taiwan

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/10/21

After the heirs of Koxinga surrender to the Qing, the imperial court isn't sure what to do with the island -- but a wily admiral convinces Emperor Kangxi to keep it. Plus: the story of the person who arguably wrote the very first Taiwan travelogue.

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00:27:16

S1-E9 - The Empire's Last Soldier

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/10/14

He was the last Pacific WWII holdout and a native Taiwanese from the Amis tribe... here's the remarkable story of a Japanese colonial soldierwho didn't get home until the mid-1970s!

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00:27:47

S1-E8 - POWs, Bombing Raids, and Kamikazes

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/10/08

Initially relatively spared, as WWII in the Pacific reaches a climax, Taiwan is hit hard by advancing Allied forces. POWs in camps across the island await liberation and in modern-day Tainan, a Japanese commander assembles the first kamikaze unit on Formosa.

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00:28:09

S1-E7 - Luzon or Formosa? - Taiwan Dodges WWII Invasion

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files ·

2021/09/30

World War II in the Pacific is coming to a close... American military top brass meet with the President to pick the island from which to launch the final attack on Japan. Taiwan -- in particular, southern Taiwan -- is a strong candidate. Hear some interesting war stories and...oh, the tale of the "Holy Bamboo" of Pingtung.

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