Donovan’s Quick Take: Hou You-yi relents and rallies with Han Kuo-yu
Until now, New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the KMT has been openly dismissive of presidential candidate Daniel Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) run for the presidency, stating he was too busy to attend Han’s campaign rallied or take up the post of campaign manager for New Taipei City because he claimed he was too busy […]
Donovan’s Quick Take: Han saying that Thais “look down on us” plays on old fears
Daniel Han Kuo-yu is playing on familiar but dated fears: From the Taipei Times: … The Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei in a statement on Monday last week said that the new rule also applies to British, Chinese and French passport holders, and would be extended to more nations. “They look down on […]
Reports: Ballot numbers picked for Taiwan Presidential tickets
This morning the Central Election Commission (CEC) held the drawing of lots for the numbers on the ballot for the presidential tickets. Scoring number one on the ballot was the People’s First Party (PFP) ticket of James Soong (宋楚瑜) and VP candidate Yu Hsiang-deng (余湘等). Number two on the ballot will be the Chinese Nationalist […]
Taiwan’s KMT taking out loans to pay salaries (Donovan’s quick take)
The KMT’s woes are continuing to mount on pretty much all fronts, largely due to an institutional culture and product of that culture and current party Chairman Wu Den-yih. The KMT brought massive wealth to Taiwan from China in the late 1940s, seized many assets that belonged to Japanese colonial government after their surrender, and […]
Video: Current Affairs Taiwan (CAT) 台灣時事 12.02.2019 Episode 23
Be sure to check out our new site, Report.tw! It is integrated with the show, allowing you to see what we’re following and commenting on in the news, with the articles that will allow you to go deeper into the topics we discuss. This week, hosts Michael Turton (麥哲恩) and Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) tackle […]
Podcast: Current Affairs Taiwan (CAT) 台灣時事 12.02.2019 Episode 23
This week, hosts Michael Turton (麥哲恩) and Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) tackle the latest in election news, and it’s all KMT candidate Daniel Han Kuo-yu’s campaign sinking in the polls. Among the topics are Han’s coming out in support of marriage equality, allegations of influence peddling when he was a legislator to help his father-in-law’s […]
Donovan’s Quick Take: Han comes out in favor of marriage equality
From Focus Taiwan: “At a campaign event in Taipei on Saturday, a young supporter noted the issue’s importance to the younger generation, and asked if Han would support efforts by some KMT lawmakers to repeal the legislation. Han responded that in life — from our family relationships at home, to our friendships at school, to […]
Current Affairs Taiwan (CAT) 台灣時事 11.25.2019 Episode 22
Hosts Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) and Michael Turton (麥哲恩) are back after the heartbreaking loss of the file of last week’s show. KMT Presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu is having trouble getting KMT bigwigs to appear on stage with him, including party chair Wu Den-yih, who is crying a river over his poor lot, none of […]
Interview with Scott Ellinger
While Scott was visiting I did an interview with him, structured on ICRT”s Taiwan Talk–but did it on video in case they didn’t want to use it. They didn’t, too much Hong Kong stuff, but it’s an interesting interview. Scott has been studying in Hong Kong for the better part of the last year, and […]
Current Affairs Taiwan (CAT) 台灣時事 11.11.2019 Episode 21
Hosts Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) and Michael Turton (麥哲恩) cover a lot of ground in this episode. KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu chose his VP candidate, word came out about his previously having purchased an expensive Taipei apartment and he claims that the DPP is preparing “five nuclear bombs” to drop on him in the […]
