Supreme Court judges, bus conductors, chemists, even radio stars — in this episode, we look at how women were making their mark in 1960s Taiwan. Our source is a 1963 issue of the Free China Review, published in the peak “Free China” years, when most of the so‑called “Taiwanese” women featured were actually from China. Still, even in this repressive period, you could argue women here had more chances to lead, earn, and succeed than many of their peers in the West.

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This Bits and Pieces episode blows from here to there—just like Typhoon Danas, which recently battered John’s beloved Chiayi. It’s a little chaotic, a little wild.

We jump from Belgium to Yemen to 1950s Taipei, where we meet Pierre Ryckmans, a young scholar who arrived in Taiwan on a cargo ship and ended up learning brushwork from the cousin of China’s last emperor—a famously tedious teacher who refused to leave his studio to tutor Madame Chiang Kai-shek after she took up painting at 53.

We wrap things up with the Generalissimo himself, who, despite a full-hour audience, somehow managed to leave absolutely no impression on Ryckmans, a man who would become a giant in the world of sinology.

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In this episode, a young American missionary family boards a cargo ship for Taiwan in 1955. What could go wrong? Four weeks, a typhoon, and a customs nightmare later, they arrive in a land where whole-wheat flour is exotic, and blonde kids conjure crowds. Taipei in the 1950s was “fragrant,” with open sewers and “honey buckets” filled with human waste used as fertilizer. This week on Formosa Files, we bring you a missionary tale of faith, grit…and refrigerator duties.

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Taiwanese pilots flew combat jets in Saudi uniforms over Arabian skies? Yes. This week, learn about what may seem like an unusual friendship: the close ties between Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. Bonded by oil, anti-Communism, technical exchanges, interest-free loans, and even seedless watermelons, Saudi Arabia was the only nation in the Middle East to vote “NO” on letting Red China into the UN, and they only swapped from Taipei to Beijing in 1990. This week’s episode is an oasis for those thirsting to learn more about the ROC and 沙特阿拉伯 (Shātè Ā lā bó).

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Han Cheung, the man behind Taiwan in Time, the long-running history column in the Taipei Times, returns to tell the story of Taiwan’s first pop star. Liu Ching-hsiang 劉清香 was singing Taiwanese opera in the late 1920s. A few years later, under the stage name Chun-Chun 純純, she became Japanese Formosa’s first recording star — the voice behind dozens of hits and the breakout anthem “Longing for the Spring Breeze.” Hear how Columbia Records and a savvy movie tie-in made her a household name, and learn more about the 1930s, which, when it comes to music, was perhaps the most “progressive” decade of the 50 years of colonial rule.

Pics links, and info at formosafiles.com

Bo Yang 柏楊 (1920-2008) was a Chinese historian, author, dissident, provocateur, and one of Taiwan’s most controversial commentators. After arriving in Taiwan in 1949 with the fleeing KMT, he almost immediately got into trouble with the island’s new one-party regime for everything from listening to the wrong radio station to critiquing Chinese culture. His most famous work was the incendiary book, “The Ugly Chinaman.” However, surprisingly, the crime for which he was sentenced to nine years in prison on Green Island was translating a “Popeye” cartoon strip!

More info, pics, and links are on our WEBSITE.

Fellow “Asian tigers” South Korea and Taiwan share strikingly similar modern histories: Chinese influence, Japanese colonization, Cold War struggles, rule by military strongmen, economic miracles, and transitions to democracy. But there are also plenty of differences, too, especially when it comes to the fate of ex-presidents! Chris Tharp, author of the newly-released Plum Rain Press novel, “The Cuttlefish,” has spent over 20 years in Korea. He and John have a fun and wide-ranging discussion about these two dynamic nations.

Read reviews of “The Cuttlefish” HERE and HERE.

It has now been 30 years since the passing of Teresa Teng 鄧麗君, the legendary Taiwanese singer who transformed Asian pop music, and even influenced regional politics. But three decades have not dimmed her star. Teng remains beloved by millions across Asia and around the world. Now, to the delight of her fans, there is news of one final encore from the “Eternal Queen of Asian Pop”: a previously undiscovered Japanese-language recording has been found. The new song is reportedly set for release on June 25, 2025. To mark the occasion, we’re re-releasing this classic 2022 Formosa Files episode celebrating her extraordinary life and legacy. Enjoy!