Help Guangfu Recover: The town was devastated, and families need support. Please donate or share the GoFundMe here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-guangfu-township-after-typhoon-ragasa

In this episode of Strait Talk, we examine the "ROC" territorial map—a symbol that frequently surfaces in online debates about Taiwan. Both pro- and anti-China voices invoke it for different purposes. Anti-China netizens highlight how the PRC lost territories far larger than Taiwan, while pro-China commentators point to the map as evidence that Taipei still harbors ambitions of reclaiming the Chinese mainland. In reality, the DPP administration today would prefer to abandon these territorial claims entirely, as the map and the "ROC" framework under which it exists function as structural safeguards against "Taiwan independence." This is precisely why Beijing, unlike "pro-China" westerners, does not comment on the map at all.

We then trace the long and complex history of Mongolia: how it became part of China, why it remained integrated for centuries, and how China ultimately lost it due to national weakness and foreign interference.

For anyone seeking to understand the hard lessons the Chinese people have learned about national strength, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, this episode provides essential historical context.

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Help Guangfu Recover: The town was devastated, and families need support. Please donate or share the GoFundMe here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-guangfu-township-after-typhoon-ragasa

In this episode of Strait Talk with Xiangyu, I sit down with Angelica, who joined me in disaster relief efforts in Taiwan's Guangfu Township, Hualien County after Typhoon Ragasa. We share firsthand accounts of the widespread destruction, and discuss how government inaction and neglected infrastructure worsened the crisis.

We cover:

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In this episode of Strait Talk with Xiangyu, I sit down with Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠 Wang Bingzhong), one of Taiwan's most outspoken voices for Chinese identity and cross-strait reunification. Together, we break down U.S. foreign policy toward Taiwan under Trump and Biden, shifting public opinion on Washington's role, the opportunism of the DPP, and Wang's personal journey as a defender of Chinese identity in Taiwan.

We also discuss in detail how separatist forces in Taiwan systematically altered the education system to breed identity confusion, deliberately undermining Chinese consciousness to make reunification more difficult — even while knowing that "independence" is impossible. This erosion of Chinese identity, as we examine, serves the interests of U.S. hegemony at the direct expense of the people on Taiwan, who are left more divided, more vulnerable, and less able to pursue real long-term prosperity.

Topics discussed include:

- U.S. shifting attitudes toward Taiwan under Trump and Biden

- Why Taiwan is treated more like Ukraine than Israel

- Growing skepticism of the U.S. among the people of Taiwn (疑美論)

- The DPP's propaganda, opportunism, and power motives

- How the de-Sinicization curriculum reshaped identity in Taiwan

- Wang Bingzhong's personal political development and fight for Chinese identity

If you want to understand Taiwan's politics beyond Western headlines, and how identity itself has been weaponized, this is an STXY episode you won't want to miss.

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Support my upcoming on-location documentaries and vlogs about Taiwan and the Chinese mainland: https://gofund.me/990ab390

With the exception of hardline Taiwan separatists, most would not argue that the culture in Taiwan is Chinese at its core. But if that's the case, why has Chinese identity in Taiwan seemed so fragile in recent decades?

In this episode, I trace how Taiwan's identity has been shaped and reshaped: from its early feudal Chinese consciousness, through Japanese colonization, the KMT's project of promoting Chinese patriotism, the rise of a Taiwan-centered consciousness, and finally the DPP'’s curriculum reforms and "desinicization" campaigns. We'll explore how history and politics together have contributed to Taiwan's ongoing identity confusion.

If you've ever wondered how Taiwan’s identity struggles became what they are today, this episode connects the history, the politics, and the narratives that continue to shape the island.

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We sit down with Angelica Oung to discuss Taiwan's changing political landscape, her personal journey from DPP supporter to advocating for the status quo, being a born-again Chinese, and what recent events—from mass recalls to legislative drama—reveal about public sentiment. We explore phony grassroots movements, government corruption, and the evolving conversation around identity and reconciliation with the Chinese mainland.

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Scott was born in Taiwan and raised in a pro-DPP household before moving to the U.S. at age 10. Over Taiwan Beer, we trace his political journey from identifying with Taiwan separatism to supporting Chinese reunification and questioning liberal democracy itself. We talk about what triggered his shift in perspective, how his views evolved over time, and how his experience relates with broader political trends in Taiwan today.

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The First Sino-Japanese War is often overlooked, but in many ways, it mirrors the Korean War that would erupt 56 years later. A declining regional power clashed with a rising empire over Korea, setting off events that would reshape East Asia. In this first episode of the series, we examine the mistakes of China's Qing Government, the crises shaking Korea, and Japan's growing ambitions—all of which set the stage for a war that ended in China's humiliating defeat, which included the cession of Taiwan Province to Japan.

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Why is Japanese colonial rule remembered so differently in Taiwan than in Korea? In this episode, we dive deep into the Japanese colonization of Taiwan to unpack that question. From addressing the land question and carrying out irrigation projects to strategic co-optation of local elites and the brutal Kominka assimilation campaign, we explore how Japan engineered long-term compliance—and how the KMT's postwar repression inadvertently helped to erase anti-Japanese resistance from public memory. With colonization came modernization in Taiwan, but who paid for it? This is the story of exploitation disguised as development, and how selective memory shapes public opinion to this day.

The content of this episode is also available in article form

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What happens when someone raised at the heart of the Taiwan separatist movement walks away from it all?

In this episode, we sit down with the son of a well-known longtime activist — someone who grew up steeped in the rhetoric of FAPA, WUFI, and various Taiwan separatist organizations back when a sizeable portion of the movement operated from exile. Once surrounded by ideological fervor, he now views Taiwan separatism as a political dead end and instead advocates for cross-strait reconciliation — doing business on the mainland and even self-identifying as a fellow traveler of the CPC!

We talk about the class and demographic makeup of the Taiwan lobby in America, how many of its early members came from benshengren PMC families, and why the movement rarely included working-class or waishengren voices. We trace how the Taiwan separatist movement was deeply shaped by the New Left in America, how groups like WUFI once plotted assassinations and terrorist attacks, and how the KMT responded with its own dark alliances — including targeted killings in coordination with organized crime.

From the rise of the DPP to the weaponization of wokeness, we explore how Taiwan's politics are entangled with American ideological currents. And we ask hard questions: Why do second-gen ABCs so often get recruited into causes they barely understand? What happens when identity politics becomes a tool of empire? And how do we move forward — honestly, pragmatically, and with historical clarity?

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How has the Communist Party of China’s approach to the Taiwan question evolved over time? In this episode, we trace the historical arc of the CPC’s Taiwan strategy—from its revolutionary roots to the pragmatic framework that defines cross-strait relations today. We break down key turning points from 1949 to the present to understand how and why the CPC’s approach to the Taiwan question has evolved—from an early emphasis on military liberation, to a pragmatic shift toward peaceful reunification, to the quasi-normalization of cross-strait engagement beginning in the late 1980s, and finally to the firm red lines outlined in the 2005 Anti-Secession Law.

This is essential listening for anyone who wants to cut through the noise and understand the deeper context behind Beijing’s current posture toward Taipei.

The content of this episode can also be read in article form

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