The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files

Latest Episodes:

A Formosa Files INTERVIEW: The Team that Gave Kaohsiung the Magnificent Weiwuying Performing Arts Center 衛武營國家藝術文化中心 Jun 08, 2023

Show notes

Have you been to the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, 衛武營國家藝術文化中心, more commonly called Weiwuying? If not, you really should as it totally lives up to the hype, and is now the best such venue in Taiwan. You may have heard stories or seen TV programs about how hard it was to build "the largest ship on land," or "the largest performance center under one roof," but you can't beat hearing about it directly from one of the people who helped lead the team: Dutch architect Friso van der Steen. Trust us: it's a marvelous tale.

Visit www.npac-weiwuying.org for more info on Weiwuying in both English and Chinese.

[Encore] Mao's Taiwanese Spymaster Jun 06, 2023

Show notes

The Taiwan News recently did a feature on Formosa Files (link below), and in the article, this episode from 2021 is mentioned. We thought we'd re-release it for any new "Formosa Filers" who missed it the first time around.

This is a fascinating tale of a Taiwanese man (Japanese Formosan, to be exact), who survived the Long March with Mao Zedong, and was then sent back to Taiwan to build a spy network and prepare for a communist invasion.

Many thanks to the Taiwan News for their detailed feature on Formosa Files.

For more pics, links, maps, images, etc., visit www.formosafiles.com

The Flag of Taiwan (?) – S3-E13 Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

You'll see the "Blue Sky, White Sun, and Red Earth" flag everywhere across Taiwan, and each year, streets are lined with this banner to celebrate Double Ten Day on October 10th. But is it really the flag of Taiwan? Who designed it? Today's episode is all about the ROC flag: an engrossing tale involving Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a martyr, warlords, and more. Learn about the various flags which contended for the honor to represent the Republic of China. Had fate gone differently, there might have been a five-striped banner flying from Taiwan’s flagpoles, or a really strange one which looks like (well, it has to be seen to be believed, so best pay a quick visit to the Formosa Files website to see the flags we’re talking about).

Visit www.formosafiles.com for pics, links, maps, and flags

Bonus Episode: Way of the Warrior - Martial Arts Master Chris Bates May 25, 2023

Show notes

Ever daydreamed about traveling to East Asia and studying under the great martial arts masters? American Chris Bates did just this, first coming to Taiwan in 1976 to study Mandarin and train in martial arts. Follow Chris’ journey, from meeting the eccentric Liao Wuchang (the Monkey Boxer), training under the retired general and Shaolin master Kao Fanghsien, to getting a wife. John and Chris also discuss other notable figures, including Donn Draeger and Robert Smith, two Americans who helped bring East Asian martial arts to the West.

Chris would gravitate toward the internal Chinese martial arts (xingyiquan in particular), training since the early 1980s under the acclaimed Hong Yixiang and his sons. In fact, Chris has just translated Blurred Boundaries, a magnificent biography of the late Master Hong. Chris wraps things up talking about his latest book, the timely novel Rise of the Water Margin.

Visit www.formosafiles.com for pics, maps, links and more.

American Luxury Cruise Ship Runs into Green Island (1937) - S3-E12 May 18, 2023

Show notes

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 aground just off Green Island, which in 1937 was a part of the Japanese Empire. Listen to this week's story for a riveting adventure involving a possibly intentional bombing, a journey along the unfamiliar East Coast of Formosa in the dark, a shipwreck, drunken sailors, and some heartwarming pre-WWII kindness between Japan and America.

[Encore] Taiwan’s “Iron Man of Asia” - The Amazing CK Yang May 11, 2023

Show notes

Decathlete athletes are special. The sport is TEN events: sprint 100 meters, then 400 meters, then race 1500 meters; then comes 110 meters with hurdles you have to jump, then it's on to the long jump, the high jump, pole vaulting, discus throwing, javelin throwing, and finally, shotput. It's exhausting just reading that list, let alone doing it.

But Maysang Kalimud, from the Amis Indigenous group in Taitung, won silver in the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Competing against his friend, American Rafer Johnson, Maysang Kalimud, better known by his Chinese name, CK Yang (楊傳廣 1933-2007), lost the gold medal by a hair's breadth, and became the first Olympic medalist from Taiwan.

The man the international press called “The Iron Man of Asia,” may have been the greatest all-round athlete to ever compete for Taiwan. We love this story, so we're re-releasing it this week – enjoy!

Visit www.formosafiles.com for links, pics, maps, images, info, and more.

Steve McQueen and “The Sand Pebbles” (1966) – S3-E11 May 04, 2023

Show notes

The Sand Pebbles, which tells the story of the USS San Pablo, a US Navy gunboat operating in China in the 1920s, was shot in northern Taiwan over the winter of '65-'66. The movie was directed by Robert Wise, of The Sound of Music fame, and starred "the King of Cool" Steve McQueen.

The film was the 4th highest-grossing movie of 1966 but the shoot was a less-than-inspiring experience for much of the cast and crew (to put it mildly). "Bad Boy" McQueen exhibited plenty of the behavior he was known for and – of course – the weather in northern Taiwan in the winter wasn't friendly to the moviemakers. Listen to this week's Formosa Files episode for the whole story. Visit www.formosafiles.com for pictures, maps, images, info, and much more.

Lord of Formosa - Part Two: Coyett VS. Koxinga - S3-E10 Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

Joyce Bergvelt's book Lord of Formosa is a novel, but she's an author who has extensively studied the Dutch colonial period and the main characters involved. Lord of Formosa, therefore, might be closer to a history book than fiction. Listen to John speak with Joyce as they discuss the complicated, brash, and violent personality of Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong 鄭成功) and hear the details of how this pirate-warlord Ming loyalist clashed with Frederick Coyett, the Dutch governor of Formosa (who was actually Swedish).

Visit www.formosafiles.com for images, maps, book recommendations, and more!

Bonus Episode: Answering the Mail Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

Join us as we try to answer some questions we've gotten, such as "What is Whisby and... just why?" You'll also discover Eryk's shameful secret (he loves betel nuts!), and hear John's opinion on re-introducing the extinct clouded leopard.

Nixon and Kissinger Grovel in Beijing, and Taiwan’s “China” Days are Numbered – S3-E9 Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Long hailed as a “historic diplomatic breakthrough,” the reality is that US president Richard Nixon's 1972 trip to China has been rather oversold. Yes, the brief Mao-Nixon meeting did start a thaw in relations, but Nixon may have given more than he got. Here’s a gripping tale of geopolitical strategy, grand ambition, secret trips, betrayal and blunders. As well as covering the famous summit which would give rise to the expression, “like Nixon going to China,” we also touch on Chiang Kai-shek’s own plans for “going to China” via Vietnam and the Soviet Union.

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