Fistfights between lawmakers in the legislature. Protests in the streets. Chinese military exercises in the seas around Taiwan. Not to mention a new president. If you’ve been watching news about Taiwan in the last week, that’s probably what you’ve been seeing and hearing. But with so much going on, it can be quite confusing to follow the plot of wh…

Today I have another topic that mostly concerns life in Asia, and especially in Taiwan: the ownership and use of motorcycles. By some metrics Taiwan has the highest level of motorcycle ownership in the world. It’s definitely something you notice when living here in Taiwan, as motorcycles not only cover the roads, but also the sidewalks. But, is it …

Hello and welcome to the NEW Strait Up Podcast, a show about international affairs with a focus on East Asia and of course Taiwan. And, if you’re listening to this that means you’ve found the show’s new home on the new podcast feed, so thanks so much for following me here. I For my very first guest on Strait Up 2.0, I have none other than Lin Fei-f…

This is my last show for Rti, but I am keeping the show going on a new feed! If you want to keep listening to the show, you can find it at https://shows.acast.com/the-strait-up-podcast Today on the show I have a very special guest, Mike Chinoy. Mike was the first head of CNN's Beijing Bureau which opened in 1987, and led the coverage of important e…

If you’re hearing this message, that means you’ve found the new RSS feed for this show! So, if you’re an old listener, thanks so much for taking the time to follow me here. If you’re a new listener, welcome to the show! This is a show where I interview experts, lawmakers, and others about topics related to international affairs, especially those re…

Most people are probably aware that Taiwan has an aging population. In fact, Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. According to the National Development Council, Taiwan’s fertility rate in 2022 was 0.87. That makes it either the lowest or nearly lowest in the entire world, with similar rates to South Korea, Hong Kong, and Puerto Ri…

Today we tackle an issue that is unavoidable if one lives in Taiwan, which is road safety. And I don’t just mean road safety for drivers on the road, but also for pedestrians on the sidewalk. However as you will discover in this episode, Taiwan often lacks sidewalks on many roads. Roads in Taiwan thus must share their narrow spaces among pedestrian…

Today, I am very honored to have on the show Alicia Kearns, Chairperson of the U.K. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. Alicia’s committee released a report a few weeks back which contained some very strong language regarding Taiwan’s sovereignty and how the U.K. government should handle the Taiwan issue moving forward. We talk about that a…

Today I bring you another episode focusing on what is, on its face at least, a domestic issue in Taiwan, but I bring it to you with a comparative international perspective. That issue is Taiwan’s minimum wage, and why is it so low compared to other developed countries? My guest today is Roy Ngerng, a researcher and writer who has worked on issues s…

Hello and welcome to the Strait Up Podcast, a show about international affairs with a focus on East Asia and of course Taiwan. That focus on Taiwan will be much tighter in the next several episodes including today, as I take a look at several issues that affect Taiwan, but which have an international component. And today, that topic is Taiwan’s upc…

Today I bring you a conversation with Ian Chong, associate professor at the National University of Singapore and Nonresident Scholar at Carnegie China, which is part of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC. Ian’s research has focused on topics such as the international relations of Northeast and Southeast Asia, and import…

In the 2022 U.S. National Security Strategy, the U.S. refers to China as “America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge.” Certainly, the confrontation between the two sides has played out on numerous fronts, most notably regarding Taiwan. But is America taking its diplomatic rhetoric and policy changes too far in attempting to address the cha…

Hello, welcome to the Strait Up Podcast, the show where we talk about international affairs with a focus on East Asia and of course Taiwan. I’m your host Chris Gorin, coming to you from Taipei, Taiwan. Obviously, there are now and always have been significant political tensions between China and Taiwan. But what about people-to-people relations and…

Well, today we have a very special guest indeed. My guest is none other than Richard Bush. Bush has had a long and storied career. Bush served as the chairman and managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the unofficial US embassy in Taiwan, from 1997-2002. He is currently a nonresident senior fellow in the Center for East Asia P…

Hello and welcome to the Strait Up Podcast, the show about international affairs with a focus on East Asia and of course Taiwan. Tensions between the United States and China have been at historic highs recently. Taiwan is of course at the center of much of the tension. But how do other countries who have relations with both China and the United Sta…

This week, I bring you the last of my interviews conducted during a recent trip to Washington DC. This time we have the President of FAPA (Formosan Association for Public Affairs) Minze Chien (簡明子). FAPA is a DC-based organization whose mission is to educate US policymakers about Taiwan, with the goal of establishing official diplomatic relations b…

This week, we have another interview recorded during a recent trip to Washington DC. This time, we have Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Global Taiwan Institute, a DC-based think tank focusing exclusively on Taiwan related issues and research. Russell is also a senior fellow at The Jamestown Foundation, and adjunct fellow at Pacific Forum. …

This weekend, the G7 meeting will be held in Hiroshima, Japan. In light of that, in this episode of the podcast I bring you another interview with a top expert in Japanese security policy, this time we have Yuki Tatsumi of the Stimson Center in Washington DC. This is another in this podcast's DC series of interviews conducted in person during a rec…

As tensions have heated up in the Taiwan Strait the past several years, public conversations about Taiwan, its defense and the various scenarios arising from a military conflict remain focused on the militaries of China, the US, and Taiwan. However, one topic which is of great interest to me is how other neighboring countries would get involved. Ja…

In our premiere episode, host Chris Gorin has a conversation with Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house of the Czech parliament) Markéta Pekarová Adamová. This conversation was recorded just after her return from her trip to Taiwan where she led a delegation of more than 150 people from government, academia, and business. She discusses wh…

Food journalist Clarissa Wei shares what makes Taiwanese unique and different than Chinese cuisine.

President Tsai Ing-wen will transit in the US and meet with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California. Natalie Tso speaks to Tamkang University Professor Alexander Huang about how China may react to the plan to meet in California and whether these high profile meetings benefit Taiwan.

The US has approved US$619 million worth of arms sales to Taiwan including missiles for its F16 fighter jets, and will be sending more troops towards Taiwan. Natalie Tso speaks with military strategist Tamkang University Professor Alexander Huang about the significance of these packages.

Natalie Tso speaks with Belize Ambassador Candace Pitts and Taiwan's ambassador to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim about their work and their insights for women today.

Oriana Skylar Mastro, Center Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, believes that Japan can help avert a war in the Taiwan Strait. Join Natalie Tso as she speaks with Mastro about why she think Japan should do more to deter China from attacking Taiwan.

Japan should help avert a war in the Taiwan Strait. That's what Oriana Skylar Mastro, Center Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, thinks. Natalie Tso speaks with Mastro about how Japan can help deter China from attacking Taiwan.

In the wake of recent mass shootings in Asian American communites, Natalie Tso speaks with Grace Huang, Director of Policy at the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence about the prevalence of domestic violence against Asian women and its relevance to mass shootings.

Alliance of Democracies Foundation Executive Director Jonas Perello-Plesner talks about his two months in Taiwan and how democracies can work together to defend Taiwan.

The Executive Director of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation Jonas Perello-Plesner shares how he thinks Europe should help defend Taiwan from an attack by China.

Dave Adelman, Managing Director of Siltronic AG in Taiwan, talks about how microchips are made and upcoming trends in the chip industry.

Chip industry insider Dave Adelman, Managing Director of Siltronic AG in Taiwan, talks about Taiwan's role in the global chip industry.

A look back at the biggest news and events impacting Taiwan in 2022 with commentary by Bonnie Glaser, Asia Program Director of the German Marshall Fund, Stanford University Political Scientist Kharis Templeman, Democratic Progressive Party Deputy Secretary General Lin Fei Fan, National Chengchi University Political Scientist Lev Nachman and the peo…

The Taiwan Policy Centre, a new UK think tank that focuses on Taiwan policy, believes that the UK should recalibrate its policy towards Taiwan. Its recent report Taiwan Respected offers many specific ideas. Natalie Tso speaks with the centre's Director of Communications Ben Goren about their suggestions for UK's Taiwan policy, the recent UK parliam…

Tiananmen protests leader Wu'er Kaixi gives his take on the recent protests in China. He says it's not just about COVID.

How much is the threat of China affecting local elections? On Taiwan Today, Natalie Tso speaks with Taiwan News Political Columnist Courtney Donovon Smith about the impact of Saturday's elections on Taiwan and its next presidential elections.

What impact will local elections have on Taiwan and the upcoming presidential elections? Tune into Taiwan Today as Natalie Tso speaks with National Chengchi University Political Scientist Lev Nachman about the key races, the new Taiwan People's Party and recent scandals.

How do you thrive in cross-cultural environments? Natalie Tso speaks with Jessica Stone, the author of Crossing the Divide: 20 Lessons to Help You Thrive in Cross-cultural Environments. Stone was speaking on behalf of Voice of America. She is currently a VOA correspondent based in Washingtong D.C. Stone was also the president of the White House For…

Natalie Tso speaks with Voice of America Correspondent in Washington D.C. Jessica Stone about how the US midterm elections could affect policy towards Taiwan and China.

Natalie Tso speaks with National Endowment for Democracy (NED) President Damon Wilson about the biggest threats to democracy around the world and how people can fight back.

What are Xi Jinping's intentions for Taiwan? Natalie Tso speaks with Michael Schuman, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub and the author of Superpower Interrupted: The Chinese History of the World about Xi's speech at the 20th Party Congress and the challenges China is facing.

DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan talks about why the world's democracies need to support Taiwan to deter China from attacking Taiwan. Lin was a prominent leader of the 2014 Sunflower Movement which occupied the legislature in protest of a trade pact with China. He was recently boycotted by Beijing.…

The United Nations released a human rights report on August 31 confirming credible evidence of torture and other human rights abuses by China against the Uyghurs. Natalie Tso speaks with prominent Uyghur American activist Nury Turkel about the UN report, the two acts he helped pass in the US Congress on behalf of the Uyghurs, and what nations can d…

The UN just confirmed torture and other human rights abuses at Uyghur concentration camps in an official human rights report. Prominent Uyghur activist Nury Turkel shares how China is redefining genocide in its treatment of the Uyghurs.

Human trafficking rings in Cambodia have been forcing victims from Taiwan to engage in online scams to trick people around the world of their money. Tune into Taiwan Today as Natalie Tso speak with Mina Chiang, the founder and senior consultant at Humanity Research Consultancy, a social enterprise which helps governments, NGOs and organizations cra…

Taiwansese have become victims of huge human trafficking rings operating in Vietnam, Myanmar and South Asia. Natalie Tso speaks with Mina Chiang, the founder of the Humanity Research Consultancy, a social enterprise which is bringing awareness of modern slavery. Chiang explains why these human trafficking rings are unprecedented and how they lure a…

Tune into Taiwan Today as Natalie Tso speaks with Asuntha Charles, the national director of World Vision Afghanistan, about the challenges women and girls face in Afghanistan as they mark the one-year anniversary of the Taliban's rule. Charles also shares how World Vision Taiwan has been supporting their work in Afghanistan.…

Natalie Tso speaks with prominent China watcher Bonnie Glaser, the director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund in the US, about the possible long-term impact of China's recent military drills near Taiwan. You'll also hear what military-age men in Taiwan think of China's recent wargames.

Tune into Taiwan Today as Natalie Tso speaks with prominent China watcher Bonnie Glaser, the director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the US, about China's recent military drills and how they may impact the future status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

Tune in to see how Taiwan is on alert as China conducts unprecendented live-fire military exercises near Taiwan's waters. Natalie Tso also talks to participants of civil defense classes, a new trend in Taiwan, and George Mason University Professor Michael Hunzeker about how the people of Taiwan can help defend their nation.…

Australian Broadcasting Corporation East Asia Correspondent Bill Birtles, the author of The Truth About China, shares about moving from China to Taiwan as a foreign correspondent.