James Lin, assistant professor of international studies at the University of Washington, takes us through the story of Taiwan from its pre-Han era through today.
Episode 1
Covers the first part of the twentieth century until 1949, including the Communist (CCP) and Nationalist (KMT) parties’ respective ideologies and relationship, Chiang Kai-shek, the political economy of China at the time, and more.
Episode 2
Covers the indigenous peoples who originally inhabited Taiwan, the co-colonization of the Dutch and Han Chinese during the Ming Dynasty, the House of Koxinga, the island under Qing rule, the Japanese occupation, and more leading up to the February 28th Incident in 1947.
Episode 3
Picks up at the end of WWII and the Second Sino-Japanese War, assessing the effect of the war on Taiwan, the February 28th incident of 1947, the implementation of martial law, the rise of the PRC, Kuomintang (KMT) party rule, Kinmen, the effect of the Korean War on Taiwan, US-Taiwan relations through the 1960s, and more.
Episode 4
Picks up in the 1970s with Chiang Kai-shek’s death, democratization, the Tangwai movement, Lee Teng-hui, the Taiwan-PRC relationship in the aughts, Taiwan’s tech sector, and more.