The Taiwan Take

Happy lunar new year from all of us at Ghost Island Media! At time of this new years greetings recording, we didn't know yet of the mass shooting in Monterey Park in California that took the lives of 10 people on new years eve, Saturday, January 21, 2023. Our deepest condolences to families affected by the horrific tragedy. Our hearts are with our Asian American community.We have new shows waiting to announce this spring. Meanwhile, our newest partner is AmCham, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, do check out the podcast we're helping to produce. "Executive Sweet":Search "Executive Sweet" right here where you're listening, or use this link: https://topics.amcham.com.tw/listen/ Happy new year of the rabbit. Hop hop! Other shows we mentioned in the announcement: Waste Not Why Not: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/waste-not-why-not/The Taiwan Take: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/taiwan-take/Metalhead Politics: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/metalhead-politics/In French and Mandarin:Balades Culturelles Franco-Taïwanaises: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/france-taiwan/In Mandarin:Z Green Party: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/green-party/In the Weeds 大麻煩不煩: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/in-the-weeds/Dos Salidas: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/dos-salidas/Five Star Nation: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/5-star-nation/Support the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Mao (毛加恩) is a former basketball player on Taiwan’s national team. Today, he's general manager of the New Taipei Kings. His roster includes Joseph Lin (brother of Jeremy Lin) and Quincy Davis, a L.A. native who’s now a Taiwanese citizen. For the last 20 years, a fully professional basketball league simply didn’t exist in Taiwan. And as of 2022, there are now two professional leagues at play: The P. League+ (6 teams) and the T-1 League (6 teams).“There's no reason why Taiwan basketball can't be as good as Japan or Korea or China, but it comes down to a lot of people investing a lot of time and energy and also resources to help these players improve,” says James Mao.See New Taipei Kings website for season schedule: https://www.newtaipeikings.com/Today’s host is JR Wu, a former journalist with two decades of media experience in the US and Asia. She has led news bureaus for Reuters and Dow Jones.Support the show by donating on patreon.com/taiwanEPISODE CREDITHost / JR WuProducer / Emily Y. Wu @emilyywuResearch & Editing / Gerald WilliamsA Ghost Island Media production / @ghostislandmewww.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yu-Jie CHEN (陳玉潔) is a key legal expert on international law and diplomacy in the context of China-Taiwan relations. As democratic support for Taiwan increases, so has Beijing’s message to the world about its “One China principle” and the myth of a global consensus regarding the sovereignty of Taiwan. The truth is, every country - including Taiwan - has its own “One China policy”. And that policy (according to each country) is not the same as the principle (according to the PRC).It can be confusing. In a fight about international discourse on Taiwan, Beijing’s diplomats and ambassadors are proactively trying to confuse the world. And this confusion is increasingly challenging for Taiwan’s participation in global affairs and organizations. It’s also challenging for different countries’ own One China policy. Beijing insists that its “principle” should be adhered to by every country in the world. The end goal is for the world to confuse Beijing’s’ “principle” with an actual international law. The PRC would later use international law to say: exactly, this is our internal affairs and we can do whatever we want to do. No such international law exists. The UN resolution 2758 doesn’t say that Taiwan is a part of China (despite what China says in its recent white paper.) The One China principle is PRC’s principle only - not international law. And each country has (and should) clarify their own positions on Taiwan's sovereignty. China’s “trying to say to the international society, to create a confusion that Taiwan belongs to China. So when China either sends out military aircrafts or flight jets around Taiwan, it's China's international affairs that other countries should not interfere with,” says Dr. Chen Yu-Jie. Dr. CHEN offers a solution. It’s very important that all countries, including Taiwan, that don't agree with the One China principle to speak up, says Dr. Chen. “It's important that countries should voice out their different opinions, because international law depends on international practice. So if countries don't object to something that's being said, in the long run when it becomes a practice it might become a norm.” Dr. CHEN has a JSD from the New York University School of Law. She is an assistant research professor at Taiwan's prestigious Academia Sinica. In addition to publishing and academic journals in the US, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the UK, CHEN also writes op-eds and takes part in public facing discussions. Articles mentioned in this episode include:  “I'm Taiwanese and I Want to Thank Nancy Pelosi”, op-ed by Yu-Jie CHEN (New York Times, August 5, 2022): https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/opinion/taiwan-china-pelosi-democracy.html““One China” Contention in China–Taiwan Relations: Law, Politics and Identity”, scholarly paper by Yu-Jie CHEN (China Quarterly, September 27, 2022): https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/china-quarterly/article/abs/one-china-contention-in-chinataiwan-relations-law-politics-and-identity/3D4369ACBC0E9062F2FB9462D8961763#“China Is Using a UN Resolution to Further Its Claim Over Taiwan” by Madoka Fukuda (The Diplomat, August 26. 2022): https://thediplomat.com/2022/08/china-is-using-a-un-resolution-to-further-its-claim-over-taiwan/China white paper on Taiwan: https://english.news.cn/20220810/df9d3b8702154b34bbf1d451b99bf64a/c.htmlToday’s host is JR Wu, a former journalist with two decades of media experience in the US and Asia. She has led news bureaus for Reuters and Dow Jones.Support the show by donating on patreon.com/taiwanEPISODE CREDITProducer, Host / Emily Y. Wu @emilyywuResearch / Min Chao @wordsfromtaiwanProduction Assistant / Gerald WilliamsA Ghost Island Media production / @ghostislandmewww.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steve Chen was born in Taiwan in 1978 and moved to the U.S. at age eight. After working at PayPal, he co-founded YouTube in 2005 and sold it to Google next year. Steve moved back to Taiwan in 2019 and lives here now with his wife and two sons.  Today’s conversation was a part of the 2022 Taiwanese American Scholarship Fund (TASF) ceremony, a scholarship fund for Taiwanese American students from low-income families. If you are a student in need, please apply: https://tascholarshipfund.org/ Steve Chen was this year's recipient of the Visionary Leadership Award - a recognition of a Taiwanese American with extraordinary achievements. Previous recipients included Patrick Lee, co-founder of Rotten Tomatoes, Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable, California Congressman Ted W. Lieu, and philanthropist Joseph Fan. We caught up with Steve Chen over video. We talked about fitting in, quitting school, and setting up YouTube as dating service. We asked him about leadership and teamwork, and what it means to him now to be reconnecting with Taiwan.  Support "The Taiwan Take" by donating on patreon.com/Taiwan EPISODE CREDIT Producer, Host / Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu Production Assistant / Gerald WilliamsIntern / Sophia Zuo A Ghost Island Media production / @ghostislandmewww.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alice and Catherine are two anthropologists whose “jobs” is to write about other people-types… but they can’t stop obsessing over their own sociocultural categories - working-class or elite, Chinese American or Taiwanese American - and whether or not you can hear it in the way(s) they talk. Alice was an intern on The Taiwan Take and Metalhead Politics. This episode was originally aired as a part of “In Training 小鬼登島” - our program for and by emerging creators / interns: https://ghostisland.media/#intern.  Writing by: Alice YehProduction Coordinator: Trevor LiuSupervising Producers: Ghost Island MediaHappy Lunar New Year from all of us at Ghost Island Media!!Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taiwanFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ghostislandmeA Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PTT is one of the most open social media platforms in the Chinese language. Though it’s not more populous than Facebook, it’s arguably more impactful than Facebook here in Taiwan. It’s a reflection of Taiwan's spirited democracy, and it’s used heavily as a source for local journalists. We speak with two INDSR researchers on a year-long project, “A Pilot Study on PTT in the Context of Influence Operations” (批踢踢影響力作戰前導研究）which attempts to identify CCP state actors on the platfor. The researchers are Oddis J.F. Tsai (Policy Analyst at the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources) and Dr. Jui-Ming Hung (Assistant Research Fellow at the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources). The paper lays out mechanics and - through quantitative analysis - identifies types of suspect behavior on the world’s largest non-commercial, forum-based, open-source online bulletin board system in the Chinese language. This interview was recorded in January 2021 after the paper was published by INDSR. The paper is available here: https://indsr.org.tw/en/News_detail/2181/A-Year-of-Influence-en Today’s host is J.R. Wu - a non-resident advisor at INDSR (Institute for National Defense and Security Research) in Taiwan. Wu is a former journalist with nearly two decades of media experience in the US and Asia. She has led news bureaus for Reuters and Dow Jones. Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taiwan Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ghostislandmeEPISODE CREDIT | Producer & Editing, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Host, JR Wu | Research, Alice YehA Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is Dr. Puma Shen (沈伯洋), chairman of Doublethink Lab (台灣民主實驗室) and an assistant professor at National Taipei University.“Democracy is a failure” - that’s the narrative the Chinese Communist Party has been trying to plant over the past year and hopes to take root in international discourse and in the minds of its 1.4 billion citizens. This disinformation has heavy implications for democracy in Taiwan, and it’s never been as serious as it is now. CCP disinformation methods are detailed in a report issued late last year titled “Deafening Whispers” by Doublethink Lab, a Taiwanese organization whose mission is to strengthen democracy through digital defense. The report has just been made available in English. This interview was recorded in January 2021 when the Chinese-version of the report was first published. Online disinformation and influence operations affect offline real-world defense and security. Fake news is a global issue and this is The Taiwan Take. Today’s episode is hosted by J.R. Wu - Chief of the Secretariat for INDSR (Institute for National Defense and Security Research) in Taiwan. Wu is a former journalist with nearly two decades of media experience in the US and Asia. She has led news bureaus for Reuters and Dow Jones. Support us by donating on patreon.com/Taiwan Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme EPISODE CREDIT | Producer, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Host, JR Wu | Editing & Research, Alice Yeh A Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taiwan’s next referendum will soon vote on activating the nation’s fourth nuclear plant, as well as constructing a natural gas plant on an algal reef that's critical for Taiwan’s biodiversity. These decisions come as governments around the world are scrambling to meet the demands of the Paris Agreement, and as environmental activists fight for a more sustainable planet.  Green Parties propose an alternative voice in politics to tackle our environmental ruin. All over the world, there are 91 Green Parties that believe in committing our governments to environmental stewardship, through electing green movement leaders into office. In Asia, Taiwan is home to the region’s oldest Green Party, which won a National Assembly seat in 1996 - their very first election campaign.  Our guest today is Professor Dafydd Fell, a political scientist at SOAS University of London, and Director of the Centre of Taiwan Studies. Dafydd Fell is author of the new book: “Taiwan’s Green Parties: Alternative Politics in Taiwan”, published in March 2021 by Routledge. Today’s episode is hosted by Nate Maynard - Senior Consultant at Reset Carbon, and host of Waste Not Why Not. You can check out his show for more insights on the world’s ocean, energy, and waste issues.  Support us by donating on patron.com/Taiwan Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme EPISODE CREDIT | Executive Producer, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Producer, Yu-Chen Lai @aguavaemoji | Host, Nate Maynard @N8MAY | Assistance from Elise Chan.  A Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The state of cannabis in Taiwan with the country’s only lawyer who only takes on cannabis-related cases. In 2020, Zoe LEE (李菁琪) ran for a seat in the parliament on the platform of legalizing medical marijuana. She’s currently deputy secretary general of the Green Party in Taiwan. In March 2021, Ms. LEE won “Best Show Host” at the inaugural KKBOX Podcasts Awards for her podcast on cannabis, “In The Weeds with Lawyer Zoe Lee #大麻煩不煩,” produced by Ghost Island Media. Marijuana remains a taboo in Taiwan. It’s a Class-2 narcotics. That’s the same class as meth. Possession over 20 grams can get you 5 years to life time in jail. There is a movement for legalization here in Taiwan, and Ms. Zoe is a key person leading this movement. The global legal marijuana market, by one estimate, is predicted to be at 65 Billion USD by 2027. Cannabis is a global trend, and this is The Taiwan Take.Today’s episode is hosted by Emily Y. Wu, co-founder of Ghost Island Media and producer of The Taiwan Take.Support us by donating on patreon.com/TaiwanFollow us on Twitter @ghostislandmeEPISODE CREDIT | Producer/Host, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Researcher, Alice Yeh | Assistance from Elise Chan. A Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

(This interview was recorded in November 2020.) In 2019, according to the Pentagon, China launched more ballistic missiles for testing and training than the rest of the world combined. It did it through its newly minted rocket force, the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force - acronym P-L-A-R-F. PLARF is a critical component of China's nuclear deterrence strategy to deter and counter third-party intervention in regional conflicts. China's current defense minister, General Wei Fenghe, knows missiles. He was previously the commander of the predecessor of PLARF before PLARF was reorganized and given its new name.Mark Stokes is our guest today. He is executive director of the Project 2049 Institute, a think tank based in Washington, DC. Mr. Stokes is a 20-year United States Air Force veteran who served in intelligence planning and policy roles.Today’s episode is hosted by J.R. Wu - Chief of the Secretariat for INDSR (Institute for National Defense and Security Research) in Taiwan. Wu is a former journalist with nearly two decades of media experience in the US and Asia. She has led news bureaus for Reuters and Dow Jones.Support us by donating on patreon.com/TaiwanFollow us on Twitter @ghostislandmeEPISODE CREDIT | Producer, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Host, JR Wu | Researchers, Alice Yeh | Editing, Alice Yeh, Emily Y. Wu | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.