Browsing: Formosa Files podcast

From “Muddy Ditch” in Chiayi County, Lu Ch’ing-an (1944–2011) rose to national fame as Taiwan’s Father of Motorcycle Stunts. The story starts with an apprenticeship at a local scooter repair shop, where the mechanically gifted boy fell in love with motorbikes.

The story of a little-known CIA effort to build a “Third Force” – a democratic alternative to both Mao’s Communists and Chiang’s Nationalists.

2018年，台灣通過《國家語言發展法》，正式將台灣手語 (Taiwan Sign Language, TSL)納入國家語言之一。臺灣聾教育，以及臺灣手語的發展，都是從日治時期開始。而在臺灣聾教育的歷史中，有一位相當重要的人士：林文勝先生。他是創立於日治時期，現今臺北市立啟聰學校的第二任校長，同時也是位聾人。究竟臺灣聾教育與這位林校長有些什麼關係呢？這次的FORMOSA FILES中文版在2025年12月時來到臺南，訪問兩位臺灣手語教育的先驅：史文漢（Wayne H. Smith）老師以及丁立芬老師，由他們來與我們一起聊聊，臺灣聾教育與這位「三個第一」的林文勝林校長。

The Kaohsiung Times continues its serialization of John Ross’s Taiwan in 100 Books with the second half of Chapter Two, which examines the end of Dutch rule on Formosa.

When Japan took control of Taiwan in 1895, it inherited a financial mess: a chaotic mix of chopped silver, copper cash, and foreign coins. The new colony also cost far more to subdue and administer than it brought in. Yet during that demanding first decade, able administrators such as Gotō Shinpei turned things around, bringing monetary order and eventual profitability.

The first emperor of China dispatched expeditions to the world’s far corners with a life-and-death task: find and bring back the elixir of immortality. Most famous among these explorers was a Taoist priest named Xu Fu, who sailed into the Eastern Seas. Xu Fu and his fleet vanished. Some legends say he settled in Japan. In Tim McGirk’s novel, Xu Fu goes beyond Japan, traversing the Pacific Ocean and landing upon the shores of the land of the May

Next week we will continue the Psalmanazar story, covering how his Formosan claims were challenged and how he defended himself. Our French conman had some very cunning explanations to rebut his challengers, and also the confidence that came from an increasing intake of drugs.

Today, the Kaohsiung Times gratefully begins running John Ross’ Taiwan in 100 Books (2020). It tells the story of Taiwan through the prism of some of the most important and/or most interesting English-language works on the country. Unfortunately, due to some dark publisher drama, the title is not currently available for sale; so, John is making it available here. In the coming months, we will, in weekly installments, be serializing the entire book.