TAIWAN HISTORY - Formosa Files Episodes

Need a break from typhoons (Taiwan)? Need to escape the non-stop election-related noise (USA)? Or maybe you simply would like to hear John and Eryk babble about a couple of strange out-of-print books with a Taiwan connection (everyone)?  This week we meander, go off on tangents, tell virtually unkn…

說到臺灣人早期學習英文的機會，ICRT大概是其中一個大家最熟悉的媒介。ICRT這個廣播電台的歷史從1957年的美軍電台開始，到1979年因為中美斷交而將設備象徵性的「賣」給中華民國政府，並在同年催生了「ICRT」，台北國際社區廣播電台（International Community Radio Taipei）至今，已經用ICRT這個名字在臺灣播送了45年。由於是臺灣歷史上唯一的英語廣播電台，又容易收聽，自然成為臺灣人學習英文與接觸外國文化的重要來源。這回的 Formosa Files 中文版 Podcast，就由主持人 Eryk Michael Smith 來專訪ICRT的總經理 Tim B…

She loved opium, handsome pirates, and spoke English... plus she allegedly (it's almost certainly not true) sometimes went into battle topless! He was a pirate warlord who, at one point, had hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of men under his control.  Meet the Tsais (Cais): 蔡牽 and 蔡牽媽 a crazy…

國府在1949年播遷來臺的當下，美國發表聲明不再介入國共內戰，中華民國幾乎真的可說是風中殘燭。然而1950年的韓戰隨即改變了這一切，也改變了許多在韓戰中被俘的中共「志願軍」軍人的命運。究竟中華民國與韓戰還有什麼關係，又為什麼會有「一二三自由日」呢？這集 Formosa Files 中文版 Podcast 就由兩位主持人來跟大家聊聊一二三自由日的故事。

Taiwan in 1946. How will post-war Formosa turn out? Will the KMT be successful in managing the local economy? Will there be strife between the new Chinese rulers and – until very recently – Japanized Taiwanese people?  Who knows? Well, we do... now.  The Formosa Files team is pleased to bring yo…

中國東南沿海、臺灣海峽一帶自從明朝實施海禁政策以來，就成為了海盜橫行的海域，一直到清朝年間都還有海盜出沒，甚至還有許多名震四海的女性海盜。在1790年代，就誕生了一對海盜夫妻：蔡牽與蔡牽媽，堪稱是當時最強盛也最特別的海盜。這集 Formosa Files 中文版 Podcast 就由兩位主持人來跟大家聊聊，大海盜蔡牽媽與蔡牽的故事。

Did you know? Joseph Stalin saved Chinese characters. (um… sort of) In Qing-era Taiwan, two men sometimes SHARED a wife! John has done 10 episodes of our other podcast, “Bookish Asia.” Plum Rain Press, the new publishing arm of Formosa Files, is about to release an epic historical novel by Dr. C…

攀登世界第一高峰聖母峰（珠穆朗瑪峰、Mount Everest）是全世界登山家的夢想。臺灣自1990年代起，也開始陸續有登山家成功登上這座高峰。然而1996年在聖母峰發生了一場悲劇性的山難，當時台灣隊的高銘和也被捲入其中，卻奇蹟似的存活下來。這集 Formosa Files 中文版 Podcast 就由兩位主持人來跟大家聊聊這位臺灣登山家的故事。

In the first few decades after retreating from the mainland, the Republic of China on Taiwan needed to shine as brightly as possible in foreign spotlights to keep alive the idea (or some might say fantasy) that the government on Taiwan really did represent all of China, the most populous nation on …

自從國民政府遷臺後，政府急需資金填補預算的黑洞；此外，臺灣自1970、1980年代經濟起飛後，人民財富迅速累積，一些人就開始追求「一擲千金」的刺激感，或是追尋一夜致富的手段。再加上或許臺灣人有種「賭性堅強」的性格，造就了臺灣歷史長久的賭博文化。這集 Formosa Files 中文版 Podcast 就由兩位主持人來跟大家聊聊，彩券與賭博在臺灣的故事。

To celebrate Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (李安) being named the winner for theater/film of the 2024 Praemium Imperiale, a global arts prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association, we thought we'd reprise our Ang Lee bio episode from Formosa Files Season 2. Enjoy!

What does AI have to do with footbinding in Taiwan? Well, it's a 13-min mini episode, so you're just gonna have to listen and find out. Check the show notes for more info.

說到臺灣的「國球」，雖然也有人自嘲是「贏球」，但大部分的人應該都會說是棒球。臺灣的棒球從日治時期開始發展至今，已是相對成熟的運動，從少棒開始為臺灣培養了許許多多的運動人才，也有選手去到國外發光發熱。然而臺灣棒球雖然有輝煌的一面，卻也有黑暗的一刻。這集 Formosa Files 中文版 Podcast 就由兩位主持人來跟大家聊聊棒球在臺灣的故事。

Did you know that when the United Nations voted to admit “Red China” in 1971, then-California Governor Ronald Reagan called up President Richard Nixon and suggested that the United States quit the UN and become an “observer” in protest?  To some, Reagan was and is controversial, but when it come…

臺灣是個與全球接軌的島嶼，從過去到現在，都有許多「外國人」來到這個地方。有些人就只是短暫的過客，但也有許多人就此留在臺灣生活，融入臺灣的社會。然而這些甚至可能比你我都還臺灣的「外國人」，又真的成為「臺灣人」了嗎？就讓 Formosa Files 中文版的兩位主持人來與大家聊聊。

This forgotten father of Taiwan democracy sacrificed his comfortable life (he came from a rich family and had a PhD from the US in Chemical Engineering) to fight for Taiwanese independence in the post-WW2 decades. In 1956 he was elected president of the Japan-based Republic of Taiwan Provisional…

臺灣的珍珠奶茶國際知名，但臺灣的手搖飲文化其實起源意外的早。自日治時期、美援時期為臺灣引入調酒用的雪克杯之後，泡沫紅茶店開始興起，逐漸發展成專門外帶的茶飲店，如今臺灣的手搖茶飲店家數甚至比便利商店還多。臺灣的手搖飲文化以及茶飲文化，又有些什麼故事在裡面呢？就讓 Formosa Files 中文版的兩位主持人來跟大家聊聊。

Lonely Planet travel guidebooks provided some of best info on a new destination in the pre-internet era, and the late Robert Storey (1954-2017) wrote quite a few of them... including the first four editions for Taiwan. Robert Storey’s Lonely Planet Taiwan editions are funny, sarcastic, and insightf…

網路上討論最熱烈的臺灣夜市特色食物，大概莫過於「臭豆腐」。雖然贊否兩論，但外國人來臺灣時，只要問臺灣人「推薦吃什麼」，大概都會被推薦去夜市吃臭豆腐。這集Formosa Files 的中文版 podcast，就由兩位主持人來聊聊臭豆腐、夜市與一些特色食物。

Lai Dongjin 賴東進 was born into a “beggar family.” His dad is blind, his mom has a mental illness. He has 11 siblings! Many born into such a disadvantaged position would throw up their hands, blame fate, and quit the fight for life. But Lai refused to surrender – no matter how high the odds. His 2000…

臺灣雖然只是個小島，但是機車密度卻是世界第一，幾乎到了平均每個成年人都擁有一部機車的程度。對很多人來說，機車也似乎就像是從青少年「登大人」的象徵，有了第一部機車，就像是可以開始脫離家裡的掌控一樣。這個與臺灣人有許多因緣的交通工具，究竟有些什麼歷史故事呢？這集的 Formosa Files 中文版 podcast 中，就讓兩位主持人來跟大家聊聊。

Did you know that all the water buffalo in Taiwan are the descendants of a group of these bovines from Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies)? These poor water buffalo were put on a sailing ship by the Dutch in 1648 and sent to Taiwan! Who knew? Well, former Dutch diplomat and current George M…

提到臺灣的野生動物園，大家都會想到六福村。一部分聽眾朋友可能還會有記憶，以前甚至可以直接開車入園，直接在車上看動物。雖然六福村在1990年代起就逐漸不再允許開車入園，但2024年又重新少量開放，蔚為一波話題。這集的 Formosa Files 中文版 Podcast，就讓兩位主持人來跟大家聊聊印象中的六福村與其它臺灣的動物園。

The incredible story of Amis Taiwanese Olympic decathlete Maysang Kalimud, better known as CK Yang (楊傳廣), was one of the first stories featured in the first season of Formosa Files (December 2021). At that time, John and Eryk bemoaned how little-known this amazing Indigenous Taiwanese athlete is…