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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 insightful, and they now serve as wonderful “time capsules.” So, join us as we peek back at the late 1990s, and discover what’s changed - as well as what hasn't.
Cover image shows the first four editions of the Lonely Planet travel guidebook for Taiwan, written by the late Robert Storey (1954-2017).
READ: The passing of a Lonely Planet pioneer, by David Fraizer
Notable events that happened in Taiwan in 1997:
28 March: The opening of Tamsui Line and Xinbeitou Branch Line of the Taipei Metro.
20 April: The Murder of Pai Hsiao-yen.
11 June: The establishment of FTV News, and the first broadcast of Formosa Television.
Notable events that happened in Taiwan in 1998:
16 February: The crash of China Airlines Flight 676 in now-Taoyuan City.
1 July: The establishment of Public Television Service.
25 October: The opening of Kaohsiung Museum of History in Kaohsiung City.
5 December: The 1998 Republic of China legislative election.
24 December: The opening of Zhonghe Line of the Taipei Metro.
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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 famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
