(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/Taiwan

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EPISODE 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.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

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Digital Minister and self-taught coding whiz Audrey Tang (唐鳳) shares her unconventional life story – from gender identity to hacktivism, why she chose the name “Audrey” and what conservative anarchism means to her. 

Having come of age together with Taiwanese democracy and the Internet, Tang relates how she took her education online after dropping out of junior high. Since then, Tang has striven to make knowledge as accessible, transparent, and collaborative as possible. She explains how open data initiatives (e.g. vTaiwan, g0v) can help citizens build consensus, participate in the legislative process, and ultimately, govern themselves.

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.

Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme

EPISODE CREDIT | Producer, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Host, JR Wu | Researchers, Sam Robbins @helloitisSam, Alice Yeh, Yu-Chen Lai @aGuavaEmoji

A Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

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The first Taiwanese to receive a Michelin star, Chef Andre (江振誠) closed his 2-star restaurant in Singapore in 2018 to come home. He is the subject of the documentary “Andre and His Olive Tree” on his art, life, and what he calls “original intention”. 

Chef Andre left Taiwan to learn culinary arts at age 13. A citizen of the world, he was inspired while in Japan, trained in France, and made a name for himself in Singapore. Today, he talks to us about finding perfection and letting go; how he stays connected to home during his 30 years abroad; and his creative philosophy. The documentary is now available worldwide on Netflix.

Today’s episode is hosted by Emily Y. Wu - producer of The Taiwan Take. Video of this interview was broadcasted on Dec 12 at Taiwan Fest. Special thanks to Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL) for organizing the interview in collaboration with TAP (Taiwanese American Professionals) chapters Atlanta, Austin, LA, New York, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC. 

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EPISODE CREDIT | Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu, Host/Producer | Claudia Sheng @flaskprodx, Production Assistant | Video by Gazing Element | Special thanks to Blossom Cafe Taipei | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

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Documentary “Help Is On The Way” (助守在異鄉) won Best Feature at the 39th Indonesian Film Festival (FFI). It premiered in Taiwan on Public Television Service in 2020.

Nearly 40% of the 700,000 migrant workers in Taiwan are from Indonesia. We speak to Nick Calpakdjian, producer of the feature-length documentary from Indonesia that explores the nuances of being domestic caregivers workers in Taiwan. Stories of these migrant workers begin at a nanny school in West Java.

International labor migration is a global issue, and this is The Taiwan Take. Guest-host today is Katherine Wei, a Taiwan-based journalist with The Strait Times. She is on Twitter @Katherinewei508.

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EPISODE CREDIT | Host, Katherine Wei | Producer, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Editing, Eli Morimoto, Emily Y. Wu | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

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We talk to PhD candidate Lev Nachman about the world of Taiwan Studies in academia. He discusses his entry into the field and provides practical advice for students around the world who are interested in studying Taiwan.

Lev Nachman is a PhD candidate in the political science department at UC-Irvine studying social movements and political parties in Taiwan and Hong Kong. He is also a Fulbright scholar and is currently based in Taiwan. He tweets (a lot!) at https://twitter.com/lnachman32

Today’s episode is hosted by Sam Robbins - a masters student at the department of sociology at National Taiwan University where he researches international data activism. He is also editor at Taiwan Insight, the online magazine from the University of Nottingham. This was Sam’s final episode as a researcher on the Taiwan Take.

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EPISODE CREDIT | Host/Producer - Sam Robbins | Editor - Claudia Shen, Sam Robbins, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gwhyneth Chen (陳毓襄) is a world-renowned classical pianist who's set to open the 2020/21 season for the NTSO (National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra) on August 29 and 30. Born in Taiwan and trained in the U.S., Ms. Chen is a Pride of Taiwan 台灣之光. Ms. Chen recounts performing for the late President Lee Teng-Hui and chats about the value of music, the importance of practice and staying humble, and what she calls “piano kungfu”.

Ms. Chen's album - a recording of a 75-minute mission-impossible of “Etudes d’execution transcendante” by Franz Liszt - has just been nominated for a Golden Melody for Traditional Arts and Music. We feature three numbers from this album: No. 10, No. 1, and No. 8. More on Ms. Chen on her website: http://www.gwhynethchen.net

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.

Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme

EPISODE CREDIT | J.R. Wu, Host | Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu, Producer, Editor | Sam Robbins @helloitissam, Research | Thomas Lee, Brand Design | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Metalhead Politics is a new show from Ghost Island Media that’s on music, politics, and Taiwan. Co-hosted by GIM’s own Emily Y. Wu and Freddy Lim, the most famous rockstar politician in Asia. He’s lead vocalist of the metal band CHTHONIC and a member of the parliament in Taiwan. Check out Metalhead Politics now wherever you get your podcasts. 

🔌 Apple：bit.ly/metalhead-politics-apple

🔌 Spotify：bit.ly/metalhead-politics-spot

🔌 Google：bit.ly/metalhead-politics-goog

🔌 Links to more apps：https://bit.ly/gim-mp

Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme. A Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

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May 24th marked one-year since Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. We talk to life-long LGBT activist, Jennifer Lu, about the development of the LGBT rights movement over the last 30 years in Taiwan. Jennifer is the chief coordinator of Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan, and has been championing LGBT rights both in Taiwan and internationally for over 15 years.

This interview was recorded in the beginning of January, 2020. Today’s episode is hosted by William Yang, a correspondent for Deutsche Welle based in Taipei, and a regular contributor to The Guardian, Quartz, and The Independent.

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EPISODE CREDIT | William Yang @williamyang120, Host | Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu, Producer | Yu-Chen Lai @aGuavaEmoji | Sam Robbins @helloitissam, Assistance | Thomas Lee, Brand Design | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is seriously reshaping security considerations for governments around the world. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Che-chuan Lee (李哲全) and Dr. Yi-suo Tzeng (曾怡碩) about Taiwan’s national security in an uncertain time when the global world order continues to shift.   Dr. Lee is chief of the Division of National Security and Decision-Making at INDSR. Dr. Tzeng is chief of the Division of Cyber Warfare and Information Security at INDSR.

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.

Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme

EPISODE CREDIT | J.R. Wu, Host | Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu, Producer, Editor | Sam Robbins @helloitissam, Research | Thomas Lee, Brand Design | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On April 12, Taiwan's CPBL (confusingly named, the “Chinese Professional Baseball League” 中華職棒大聯盟) became the first pro baseball league in the world to start its 2020 season. In this episode, we catch up with journalists Jacky Lee and Adam Wang on the innings and outs of the CPBL and on the history of Taiwan baseball.   Jacky is a contributor to Fox Sports Taiwan and Eleven Sports. Adam, for the past three years, worked in the U.S. writing about Taiwanese players in the American Major League Baseball. Together, they host “Hito大聯盟”, a Mandarin-language podcast dedicated to the MLB.

Here’s how to watch Taiwan baseball in English | Eleven Sports Taiwan | CPBLstats.com - (an excellent fan site). This interview was recorded on April 15, 2020.

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.

Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme

EPISODE CREDIT | J.R. Wu, Host | Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu, Producer, Editor | Sam Robbins @helloitissam, Research | Thomas Lee, Brand Design | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.