Coming soon! The first major book from our new publishing venture Plum Rain Press (English translation): "Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa" by Dr. Chen Yao-chang 陳耀昌.

TAIWAN HISTORY - Formosa Files Episodes

June 6, 2024

S4-E13 - China Airlines Survives Three Major Tragedies

Three devastating crashes over an eight-year span, 1994 to 2002, with a combined 685 fatalities; a record that could easily bankrupt an airline. However, China Airlines (Taiwan's flag carrier) not only survived these horrifi…
April 11, 2024

S4-E7 - Travel and Tremors – the 1906 Meishan Earthquake 梅山地震

Drawing on an account never before told in English, we visit Taiwan in the company of French war correspondent Reginald Kann. Upon his arrival in Taihoku (Taipei), he hurries down to the city of Chiayi to investigate the aft…
April 3, 2024

S4 - Special Episode - Remembering 921 in the Wake of 403

Taiwan is in mourning for those lost or injured by the huge earthquake that happened on the morning of April 3rd, 2024. In this short special episode, we hear John Ross' feelings about the earthquake which this latest one is…
Feb. 22, 2024

S4-E3 - The 1973 Qijin Ferry Tragedy - 旗津渡輪

Twenty-five young women and girls drowned after a severely overloaded ferry capsized in 1973. The deaths spurred changes in public transport safety in Kaohsiung, and the victims became part of a social debate over women's ri…
May 18, 2023

S3-E12 - American Luxury Cruise Ship Runs into Green Island 綠島 (1937)

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…
Feb. 16, 2023

S3-E1 - Storm Stories: Tales of Typhoons in Taiwan

With their fearsome winds and dramatic downpours, typhoons have long been a part of Taiwan's history. Join Formosa Files for a look at a few notable typhoons that have hit Taiwan in more recent times, as well as some interes…
Sept. 15, 2022

S2-E26 - Taiwan's First Civilian Martyr: Teacher Lin Ching-chuan (林靖娟)

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 …
April 21, 2022

S2-E8 - Makalu Gao 高銘和 : The Taiwanese Climber Who Survived a Night on Mt. Everest

The high number of deaths during the 1996 Mt. Everest climbing season supplied a tragic plotline for books, movies, and documentaries. Taiwanese climbers did not come out of these accounts looking competent -- to say the lea…
April 7, 2022

S2-E5 - Tragedy on Taiwan's Majestic Mountains

Two-thirds of this island is mountainous, and climbing the mountains -- or even just driving across them -- is an awesome experience. But, woe be to those that are unprepared... or, sadly, just unlucky. With many peaks over …
March 24, 2022

S2-E3 - The Lamey Island Massacre

In 1622 and then again in 1631, crew members (including foraging parties and shipwreck survivors) from Dutch ships were killed by the aboriginal people on Lamey Island, what is today’s Pingtung County’s Xiao Liuqiu (小琉球). Th…
Dec. 30, 2021

S1-E22 - The Cruel Sea

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 tem…
Nov. 18, 2021

S1-E14 - Buddhism "In Action" – Taiwan's Remarkable Tzu Chi 慈濟 Charity Group

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 buil…