We travel back to 1920s Taiwan, first in the company of Terry’s Guide to the Japanese Empire and then follow a Tokyo travel bureau itinerary for Japanese tourists to the island. Ride the rails with us as we visit Shinto shrines, sugar factories, former “savages,” and scenic spots (not just any scenic spots but the official “Eight Views of Taiwan”). And we look at perhaps the most interesting aspect of colonial sightseeing: free guided trips to Japan for Indigenous Taiwanese leaders. These propaganda trips were meant to demonstrate why resistance to the Empire was futile, but they were not always home runs.

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Defense analyst Bryce C. Barros tells Formosa Files about M.I.T. drones and their surprising connection to Taiwan's remote-controlled toy industry.
Before China became the "world's factory," Taiwanese companies emerged as major manufacturers of inexpensive toys and electronics during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, producing them for customers globally. The skills in the production of small motors, electronics, and plastics, as well as precision manufacturing, for remote-controlled toy planes, helicopters, boats, and cars would later lay the groundwork for Taiwan's early drone industry, providing the skills and supply chains.
But beginning in the 1990s, Taiwan lost ground as manufacturing moved across the Taiwan Strait and China invested heavily in research and development and in large-scale drone production. Chinese companies such as DJI, founded in Shenzhen in 2006, have emerged and now lead China's dominance in the global commercial drone market, holding a lead in military drones as well.
With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 demonstrating the growing importance of inexpensive and attritable unmanned systems to modern warfare, Taiwan has accelerated efforts to build a domestic drone industry, reduce reliance on Chinese components, and incorporate drones into its war plans -- with roots going back to those skills gained from producing remote-controlled toys decades ago. 
NOTE: The opinions shared by Mr. Barros are his own and do not reflect existing or previous affiliations. 

Defense analyst Bryce C. Barros tells Formosa Files about M.I.T. drones and their surprising connection to Taiwan's remote-controlled toy industry.

Before China became the "world's factory," Taiwanese companies emerged as major manufacturers of inexpensive toys and electronics during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, producing them for customers globally. The skills in the production of small motors, electronics, and plastics, as well as precision manufacturing, for remote-controlled toy planes, helicopters, boats, and cars would later lay the groundwork for Taiwan's early drone industry, providing the skills and supply chains.

But beginning in the 1990s, Taiwan lost ground as manufacturing moved across the Taiwan Strait and China invested heavily in research and development and in large-scale drone production. Chinese companies such as DJI, founded in Shenzhen in 2006, have emerged and now lead China's dominance in the global commercial drone market, holding a lead in military drones as well.

With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 demonstrating the growing importance of inexpensive and attritable unmanned systems to modern warfare, Taiwan has accelerated efforts to build a domestic drone industry, reduce reliance on Chinese components, and incorporate drones into its war plans -- with roots going back to those skills gained from producing remote-controlled toys decades ago. 

NOTE: The opinions shared by Mr. Barros are his own and do not reflect existing or previous affiliations. 

We understand that APPLE Podcasts is not showing these videos. We will try to fix this issue, but in the meantime, they can be seen on YouTube. Here is the link for this one.

Created with Han Cheung from TAIWAN IN TIME.

John is joined by writer and historian Scott Crawford to recount the bloodiest episode in the history of Dutch Formosa. A revolt, led by Guo Huaiyi, resulted in the deaths of several thousand Chinese. We look at what drove farmers to rebellion and the tragic events of September 1652. This episode grew out of John and Scott’s special ten-part read-along of Dr. Chen Yao-Chang’s novel A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa, which follows Dutch, Chinese and Siraya characters in the mid-seventeenth century. You can follow that series on our sister podcast, Bookish Asia with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast and Book Links

Bookish Asia with Plum Rain Press - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/tw/podcast/bookish-asia-with-plum-rain-press/id1756322103

Bookish Asia with Plum Rain Press - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4f6I46PkxVv4VM6dqTGngX

A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa - E-book (Plum Rain Press): https://www.plumrainpress.com/product-page/a-tale-of-three-tribes-in-dutch-formosa-e-book

A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa - Paperback / Collector’s Edition (Plum Rain Press): https://www.plumrainpress.com/product-page/a-tale-of-three-tribes-in-dutch-formosa

This is a test video to see how it works on Spotify and Apple. These shorts can also be found on YouTube.

Created with Han Cheung from TAIWAN IN TIME.

We covered this story in a previous episode. But we recently made a video about it for the Chinese podcast, so we added an English voiceover and are offering it as a video extra. Enjoy.

Full story podcast episode link: Taiwan’s Motorcycle Daredevil: Lu Ch’ing-an (呂慶安)

The 1683 Battle of Penghu is over, but there’s plenty more to say after our last episode. Eryk reads some victory poetry by the Kangxi Emperor. John is not a fan. We then turn to changing ideas of patriotism. Why have some Han Chinese nationalists objected to a new film celebrating Shi Lang’s conquest of Taiwan? And does Chiang Kai-shek look rather different if we view him principally as a Chinese nationalist – especially when compared with the Chinese Communist Party’s relationship with Stalin and the Soviet Union?

But all that is a modest preamble to two big announcements. First, there are some non-Formosa Files podcasts you should know about, including Eryk and John discussing Yang Shuang-zi’s Taiwan Travelogue on the Books on Asia podcast. John also chatted on that podcast with Tyrel Eskelson about his Taiwan 22: Travels in Paradox.

And John has another similarly named podcast, Bookish Asia with Plum Rain Press. He tells us about a new ten-part Bookish Asia series devoted to Dr. Chen Yao-chang’s historical novel A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa.

CORRECTION: This episode originally said Wang Sing-nan was currently serving as a legislator. This was an error. Wang retired in 2012. We regret the mistake and we appreciate Steven Crook for pointing it out.

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In October 1976, three innocent-looking dictionaries were mailed to senior officials in Taiwan. Hidden inside each was a homemade bomb. Two exploded, and one of the targets, Taiwan Provincial Governor Hsieh Tung-min, was badly injured. 

Hsieh (1908–2001) was a Taichung native who had left Japanese-ruled Taiwan as a teenager to study in China. He joined the KMT in 1930 and was one of the Taiwanese returnees who became important intermediaries in Taiwan's postwar years.

The bomber was Wang Sing-nan, born in Tainan in 1941. After moving to the United States for business, he became involved in radical pro-independence politics. Convinced that peaceful opposition to the KMT regime was futile, he hatched a drastic plan for action. 

What happened to both men after the bombings is surprising, so make sure to follow this episode to the very end.

CORRECTION: This episode originally said Wang Sing-nan was currently serving as a legislator. This was an error. Wang retired in 2012. We regret the mistake and we appreciate Steven Crook for pointing it out.

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In October 1976, three innocent-looking dictionaries were mailed to senior officials in Taiwan. Hidden inside each was a homemade bomb. Two exploded, and one of the targets, Taiwan Provincial Governor Hsieh Tung-min, was badly injured. 

Hsieh (1908–2001) was a Taichung native who had left Japanese-ruled Taiwan as a teenager to study in China. He joined the KMT in 1930 and was one of the Taiwanese returnees who became important intermediaries in Taiwan's postwar years.

The bomber was Wang Sing-nan, born in Tainan in 1941. After moving to the United States for business, he became involved in radical pro-independence politics. Convinced that peaceful opposition to the KMT regime was futile, he hatched a drastic plan for action. 

What happened to both men after the bombings is surprising, so make sure to follow this episode to the very end.

VIDEO version available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.

AI images used are illustrations and most are not historically accurate.

In July 1683, more than 400 warships clashed around the Penghu Islands in one of the greatest naval battles in Chinese history. Qing admiral Shi Lang had come to destroy the last major stronghold of Ming loyalist resistance: the Zheng regime on Taiwan. The naval campaign would decide Taiwan’s fate.

More than three centuries later, the Battle of Penghu is politically explosive once again. A Chinese blockbuster about Shi Lang’s victory was due to open in late July 2026, complete with the message that “the unification of Taiwan is unstoppable.” Then, just before its release, the movie mysteriously disappeared from cinemas.

John and Eryk tell the story of the battle that brought Taiwan under Qing rule, and ask why Beijing got cold feet with their propaganda piece. 

Note: this episode is also available as a slightly shorter audio only version (on Spotify, Apple and other podcast platforms) Oh, and apologies for the er… creative madness of Eryk’s movie trailer – blame it on the summer heat.