The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files

In October 1976, three innocent-looking dictionaries were mailed to senior officials in Taiwan. Hidden inside each was a homemade bomb. Two exploded, and one of the targets, Taiwan Provincial Governor Hsieh Tung-min, was badly injured. 

Hsieh (1908–2001) was a Taichung native who had left Japanese-ruled Taiwan as a teenager to study in China. He joined the KMT in 1930 and was one of the Taiwanese returnees who became important intermediaries in Taiwan's postwar years.

The bomber was Wang Sing-nan, born in Tainan in 1941. After moving to the United States for business, he became involved in radical pro-independence politics. Convinced that peaceful opposition to the KMT regime was futile, he hatched a drastic plan for action. 

What happened to both men after the bombings is surprising, so make sure to follow this episode to the very end.

In October 1976, three innocent-looking dictionaries were mailed to senior officials in Taiwan. Hidden inside each was a homemade bomb. Two exploded, and one of the targets, Taiwan Provincial Governor Hsieh Tung-min, was badly injured. 

Hsieh (1908–2001) was a Taichung native who had left Japanese-ruled Taiwan as a teenager to study in China. He joined the KMT in 1930 and was one of the Taiwanese returnees who became important intermediaries in Taiwan's postwar years.

The bomber was Wang Sing-nan, born in Tainan in 1941. After moving to the United States for business, he became involved in radical pro-independence politics. Convinced that peaceful opposition to the KMT regime was futile, he hatched a drastic plan for action. 

What happened to both men after the bombings is surprising, so make sure to follow this episode to the very end.

VIDEO version available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.

AI images used are illustrations and most are not historically accurate.

In July 1683, more than 400 warships clashed around the Penghu Islands in one of the greatest naval battles in Chinese history. Qing admiral Shi Lang had come to destroy the last major stronghold of Ming loyalist resistance: the Zheng regime on Taiwan. The naval campaign would decide Taiwan’s fate.

More than three centuries later, the Battle of Penghu is politically explosive once again. A Chinese blockbuster about Shi Lang’s victory was due to open in late July 2026, complete with the message that “the unification of Taiwan is unstoppable.” Then, just before its release, the movie mysteriously disappeared from cinemas.

John and Eryk tell the story of the battle that brought Taiwan under Qing rule, and ask why Beijing got cold feet with their propaganda piece. 

Note: this episode is also available as a slightly shorter audio only version (on Spotify, Apple and other podcast platforms) Oh, and apologies for the er… creative madness of Eryk’s movie trailer – blame it on the summer heat.

In July 1683, more than 400 warships clashed around the Penghu Islands in one of the greatest naval battles in Chinese history. Qing admiral Shi Lang had come to destroy the last major stronghold of Ming loyalist resistance: the Zheng regime on Taiwan. The naval campaign would decide Taiwan’s fate.

More than three centuries later, the Battle of Penghu is politically explosive once again. A Chinese blockbuster about Shi Lang’s victory was due to open in late July 2026, complete with the message that “the unification of Taiwan is unstoppable.” Then, just before its release, the movie mysteriously disappeared from cinemas.

John and Eryk tell the story of the battle that brought Taiwan under Qing rule, and ask why Beijing got cold feet with their propaganda piece. 

Note: this episode is also available as a video (on Spotify and YouTube). Oh, and apologies for the er… creative madness of Eryk’s movie trailer – blame it on the summer heat.

Long before social media, Taiwan had an unlikely food influencer: Chiang Ching-kuo (CCK), son of President Chiang Kai-shek. During his frequent inspection tours around the island in the 1970s and 1980s (as premier and later president), CCK cultivated an everyman image by chatting with workers and farmers and stopping to sample ordinary local foods. Sometimes, a visit from CCK was enough to transform an obscure dish or shop into a national tourist attraction. Eryk and John hit the road to follow in his culinary footsteps: from taro ice in Dali, Taichung, to daikon radishes high in the forests of Taipingshan, and finally to Wanluan pork knuckles in Pingtung.

45 min video version also available.