Podcast: Current Affairs Taiwan 台灣時事 #35 (03-09-2020)
Michael Turton (麥哲恩) and co-host Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) dig into the results and impact of the KMT chair race, and what it means for the future of the party–and how problems are appearing right out of the gate, including the PRC snubbing the new chair and what that might mean. A recent poll suggests […]
Video: Current Affairs Taiwan 台灣時事 #34 (03-02-2020) 228 Gaffes and the King of Hualien
Michael Turton (麥哲恩) and co-host Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) discuss the ongoing Fu Kun-chi (“King of Hualien”) saga, the KMT chair byelection goes into the final stretch, the interesting lack of endorsements in the KMT chair race, who might run in May 2021, could China Airlines change its name, the coronavirus outbreak and Han Kuo-yu’s […]
Podcast: Current Affairs Taiwan 台灣時事 #34 (03-02-2020) 228 Gaffes and the King of Hualien
Michael Turton (麥哲恩) and co-host Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) discuss the ongoing Fu Kun-chi (“King of Hualien”) saga, the KMT chair byelection goes into the final stretch, the interesting lack of endorsements in the KMT chair race, who might run in May 2021, could China Airlines change its name, the coronavirus outbreak and Han Kuo-yu’s […]
Video: Current Affairs Taiwan 台灣時事 #33 (02-24-2020) That Thing Bernie Sanders Said
Michael Turton (麥哲恩) and co-host Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) cover a lot of ground, starting with a community service announcement on drugs. Will the Mazu pilgrimage go forward with coronavirus fears, or will Mazu intervene as Yen Ching-piao asserts. The KMT chair race takes some interesting turns. Bernie Sanders, currently Democratic frontrunner to be their […]
American Citizens for Taiwan: Be Vigilant: China Will Pit The Local Against The Center
… The deals with Kaohsiung were only part of Beijing’s efforts — it also wooed Nantou and Hualien, local governments run by non-ruling party politicians. The purpose of these policies, generally trade and tourism sweeteners, is to build support for Beijing in local areas, and to create centers of resistance and evasion towards Taiwan’s central […]
Current Affairs Taiwan 台灣時事 #32 02-10-2020 PRC infiltration, Han recall, Coronavirus, Mike Pompeo…
Michael Turton (麥哲恩) is back from vacation, and he and co-host Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) bring a wide-ranging show. The government responds well to the Wuhan coronavirus, a few comments on the KMT chair race and the Han recall campaign looks like it will have enough signatures to trigger a recall election by Feb 16. […]
A Fifth of Column: A few comments on the 2020 Taiwan Election
The dominant narrative of Tsai’s comeback makes great copy but it is the wrong framing. We all know the story. A popular challenger comes out of nowhere to challenge the President, who is down in the polls. The KMT candidate, persistently down in the polls, takes action to suppress and distort embarrassing poll data, which […]
Video: Current Affairs Taiwan (CAT) 台灣時事 01-20-2020 Episode 29
Hosts Michael Turton (麥哲恩) and Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) tackle the KMT chair race and the many calls for reform of the party, many of which are quite sensible–such as scrapping the 1992 consensus and bringing the party’s China policies in line with mainstream public opinion–but will the party enact them. Only two candidates for […]
Current Affairs Taiwan (CAT) 台灣時事 01-12-2020 Episode 28 (Post Election Special)
The election results are in and hosts Michael Turton (麥哲恩) and Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) break down what it all means! President Tsai has been re-elected with a record margin, but Han Kuo-yu also crushed the results of Eric Chu in the last election. Han also unified the pan-blue camp, marginalizing the PFP. So, what […]
Current Affairs Taiwan (CAT) 台灣時事 01-06-2020 Episode 27
On this episode, hosts Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) and Michael Turton (麥哲恩) kick off with more amusing and odd gaffes coming from KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu, and allegations of his buying a house for–and is confirmed to have travelled abroad with–a woman who isn’t his wife. Han reiterates pledge to reform the KMT, and […]
