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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/lnachman32Today’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.Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandmeEPISODE CREDIT | Host/Producer - Sam Robbins | Editor - Claudia Shen, Sam Robbins, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee 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.netToday’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 @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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/TaiwanSee 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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee 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 @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee 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 @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On March 19, 2017, Taiwanese pro-democracy activist Lee Ming-Che (李明哲) disappeared in China. Ten days later, China admitted to having taken him. Mr. Lee is now serving a five-year sentence for the “subversion of state” in Hunan, China. Evidence against him included social media activities on QQ, WeChat, and Facebook, both when he was physically inside and outside Chinese borders.   Today’s guest is E-ling Chiu（邱伊翎）Executive Director of Amnesty International in Taiwan, and former Secretary General of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights. Ms. Chiu has been working closely with Lee’s wife, lobbying for international support and leading the coalition of civic society called “the Lee Ming-Che Rescue Team."   Hosted by William Yang, a correspondent for Deutsche Welle based in Taipei. Yang is a regular contributor to The Guardian, Quartz, and The Independent.   Here is video from Mr. Lee's trial on Sept 11, 2017.   Letters to Lee Ming-Che can be posted to:   赤山監獄 ｜ 413104 中華人民共和國湖南省益陽市沅江市南嘴鎮赤山監獄 | 收件人：獄政管理科 轉 李明哲 先生To get in touch and support NGO’s helping the case:  Amnesty International, Taiwan | Covenants Watch | Taiwan Association for Human Rights | The Letter-Writing Campaign (Mandarin)   Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandmeEPISODE CREDIT | Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu, Producer, Editor | Sam Robbins @helloitissam, Research | Thomas Lee, Brand Design | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s two more months until the second inauguration of Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen. This episode, we chat with journalist Chris Horton to recap the general election on January 11 and the race for national legislators. (This interview was recorded in late January, 2020.)  Chris Horton is a freelance journalist based in Taipei. He is a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Nikkei Asian Review, and The Atlantic.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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although many countries have begun to reconsider how to balance what they get in return for trading with China, this question has always been existential in Taiwan. Trade policies have oscillated inconsistently between opening up and restricting access to the Chinese economy. The challenges of doing trade with China is a global issue. And this is The Taiwan take. Our guest is political scientist, Syaru Shirley Lin (林夏如), author of the book “Taiwan’s China Dilemma” (2016) and the forthcoming sequel “High Income Trap in East Asia.”Today, Lin maps out the economic ties between Taiwan and China and what drives policymaking in that area. Lin retired as a partner at Goldman Sachs before becoming an academic. She now teaches world politics at the University of Virginia and global political economy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.*This interview was recorded before the Jan. 11 general election. 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 @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kent Feng (馮世寬) is a top-gun and twice-appointed Taiwan cabinet minister. He was the Minister of National Defense from 2016-2018 and is currently the Minister of the Veterans Affairs Council. In this holiday special, Feng shares stories of his life and his times. It offers rare insights, in English, from this retired three-star general of the ROC Air Force.  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 @ghostislandmeEPISODE CREDIT | J.R. Wu, Host | Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu, Producer, Editor | Sam Robbins @helloitissam and Yu-Chen Lai @aGuavaEmoji, Research | Thomas Lee, Brand Design | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to US and China trade disputes, perhaps no country is feeling the effects quite as acutely as Taiwan. Amidst the uncertainty, how can players trapped in the middle make the most out of the situation they now find themselves in? These are global issues. And this is The Taiwan Take.  Our guest is Rupert Hammond-Chambers - president of the US-Taiwan Business Council. We discuss the on-going trade war and its effect on Taiwan. We walk talk high tech, which makes up a large part of the Taiwanese economy, and the difficult decisions this sector is making to adapt to the new business landscape.  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 @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sylvia Feng (馮賢賢) is the producer of a new political TV drama, “Island Nation 國際橋牌社" - which looks at Taiwan from 1990-94 during its transition to democracy. Sylvia and J.R. discuss the media industry in Taiwan and the challenges media and creative professionals face today. Feng has had over three decades of experience in broadcast journalism, including a long career in Taiwan’s public television network, of which she helped to build and later came a president.  The challenge of balancing politics, profit, and creative freedom in an ever-changing, increasingly competitive market is a global issue, and this is The Taiwan Take.  Trailers and Facebook to “Island Nation".   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 @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we look at Chinese influence and infiltration. Our guest is Dr. Jeremy Hung - a researcher at INDSR (Institute for National Defense and Security Research). We discuss the role of proxy agents (ie. intermediaries) and how they may be helping China to influence media, impact politics, and strengthen its control over Taiwan.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 @ghostislandmeEPISODE CREDIT | J.R. Wu, Host | Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu, Producer, Editor | Sam Robbins @helloitissam, Research | Thomas Lee, Brand Design | Music license MB01ZAK7RWFCG4W | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the first episode. Today, we discuss the changing landscape of Asia-Pacific security, its implications on Taiwan, and the role that partners like the U.S. plays.  Today's guest is Dr. Kharis Templeman - a political scientist and an advisor on the Taiwan Democracy and Security Project at Stanford University. 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. At INDSR, Wu advises the institute’s leadership, handles international outreach with external stakeholders, and supports project management.  Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandmeEPISODE 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.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.