Author: Eryk Michael Smith

Eryk Michael Smith is a journalist with over a decade of experience working for local and international outlets. He is also the co-host of The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files, and co-founder of Plum Rain Press. The Kaohsiung Times is Smith's latest project, and aims to provide more southern Taiwan-centric news in English.

By Eryk Michael Smith / Staff Fengshan (Fongshan 鳳山) is Kaohsiung’s most populous district (approx. 360,000 residents, with an estimated population density of about 13,320 people per square kilometer). However, Fengshan has historically seen fewer major development projects than northern Kaohsiung or the Asia New Bay Area. That balance, reports UDN, is beginning to shift. Several transportation and commercial projects now underway could reshape mobility, commerce, and neighborhood identity in the district. The new Caojin Road (曹謹路) south of Fengshan Station opened at the end of October, addressing long-standing congestion issues around drop-off and taxi circulation. The project adds designated…

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This episode is different from the significantly edited on available on the official Formosa Files podcast, where we try to adhere to the mostly non-political stances. This video, however, has no restrictions and is the full one-hour, almost unedited version of Eryk Michael Smith’s chat with Ben Sando.

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By Pai Pei-hwa (白佩華) | Special to The Kaohsiung Times Oct. 27, 2025Image source: Ministry of the Environment website TAIWAN — For years, Taiwan treated food waste largely as pig feed or compost material. But with the threat of African swine fever (ASF) and rising urban complaints over odors, the frailties of those conventional disposal routes have been exposed. According to Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture (COA), starting in October 2021, small-scale pig farms (fewer than 200 heads) were banned from using general food waste, animal by-products, and slaughterhouse waste as feed. Farms with 200 heads or more may continue if…

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