Election Day (and a new show) 台灣總統大選
Plus updates from the network（鬼島第15檔節目，全新英語節目報導台灣）
Ghost Island Media in quick bites
Ｗe launched Dispatch from Taiwan, a 5-episode special on Taiwan current affairs and pressing challenges. Produced in collaboration with U.S. Institute of Peace. This is our 15th program.
My interview with Gena Pan on her work promoting girls in sports is the 3rd most-watched video on TaiwanPlus in the year 2023.
We celebrated the 100th episode of In the Weeds, our show on cannabis.
Nate Maynard (Waste Not Why Not) has moved to the U.K. He reported from COP28 last month.
In Other News
I was interviewed by Pod Save the World, ARD (GER), France 24 on the election. More to come this weekend, maybe?
Z Green Party - on feminism and gender - was nominated for the International Women’s Podcast Awards in London.
新節目發布：全球在密切關注台灣的 2024 大選結果將如何影響區域情勢，台灣也正檢視近年對兩岸影響深遠的數項政策。鬼島之音在地製播英語節目，精選了五大對區域政策至關重要的討論：兵役與軍備、經濟依賴或脫鉤、等，梳理出個別議題的關鍵現況及未來挑戰。《Dispatch from Taiwan》由鬼島之音與美國和平研究所 U.S. Institute of Peace 合作製作。這是鬼島之音的第十五檔節目。
Dear all,
At 8am on Saturday, January 13, voting booths will open for the 2024 Presidential and Legislative Election. Earlier today, I saw crowds holding signs for Taiwan People’s Party; I sat in traffic next to a bus with colorful advertisements for the DPP; and I was handed a pack of tissue paper from a volunteer with the KMT.
Every election here has been the most important election, but for different reasons. (Think 1996, 2000, 2008, and 2016.) But in 2024, geopolitics have changed so much that the regional and global impact of Taiwan election will perhaps be the most significant yet.
You might have read in news coverage that relations with China is the divisive issue; then in others that China isn’t really a factor - that it’s about the wages, housing costs, and labor. They’re both right. And that’s exactly what makes this democracy so special (and necessary) - that each person can have vastly different priorities, and yet we continue to function as a peaceful society that strives for a better future for the nation, and for the world.
Polling stations will close at 4pm tomorrow. By 8pm, legislative results in most districts should be out. And by 10pm, we could have a new president-elect.
Ben Rhodes asked me on Pod Save the World this week if I had a prediction of who would win. I didn’t have an answer for him. I’m generally a hopeful person, but a part of me always prepares for the worst. But if on Sunday morning we wake up to a slew of new challenges ahead, you can be sure that the civil society here will continue to step up, push on, and do good wherever it can.
《大麻煩不煩》破第100集！
《Z色派對》被提名位於英國的國際女性PODCAST獎、主持人李菁琪及張竹芩都是2024綠黨不分區立委候選人
跟美國在台協會合作的《The AIT Podcast》出英文逐字稿了，推薦學生們可以邊讀邊練英文
在TaiwanPlus播出的鬼島電視節目《Game Changers with Emily Y. Wu》訪問30位有世界影響力的新生代，其中，我跟 Double Pump 女子籃球誌 創辦人潘郡瑤的訪談是 TaiwanPlus 年度第三名流量最高的影片。恭喜潘郡瑤！
7月我陪同「滯留島舞蹈劇場」首度去美國公演，將《冰河時期》帶到美國兩大舞蹈節。在台灣還沒看過滯留島的朋友們，我非常推薦
這週，我受訪幾個國外媒體，聊台灣大選：美國獨立媒體 Pod Save the World, 德國電視台 ARD, 法國電視台 France 24
It’s a big year ahead for Ghost Island Media as we approach our five-year anniversary.
This week we released our 15th podcast program:
Dispatch from Taiwan - a 5-episode series that delves into policy debates within Taiwan that could have implications for the region and beyond. Each episode features Taiwanese local experts and voices weighing in on social, economic and defense issues and discusses how Taiwanese society is responding to these challenges. This project is a collaboration with the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. (Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, or your favorite podcast app.)
Z Green Party - this (Mandarin) show on feminism continues to push for equal access for those whose rights to start families are barred by Taiwan’s conservative family law. Co-hosts Rita Jhang and Zoe Lee are both party-list candidates for legislature. In fall 2023 this show was nominated for the International Women’s Podcast Awards in London.
More good news from 2023 I want to share with you before I sign off:
Over the summer I accompanied Resident Island Dance Theatre on their U.S. debut to New York City and the American Dance Festival at Durham, NC. This was a part of the cultural exchange program, Center Stage, from the U.S. Department of State. RIDT is extraordinary if you have the chance to see them in Taiwan.
The AIT Podcast - our series on food and culture is now complete with transcripts. This is great for English-learners who want to read along and practice English. Guests include Chai Lee, GM of UberEats in Taiwan, who gives great tips for international students surviving in the U.S.; and Kevin Lin, co-founder of Twitch, who talks frankly about growing up in New Orleans and the rebuilding of the city after Hurricane Katrina.
In December I became a Asia 21 Next Generation Fellow at Asia Society.
If you’re looking to engage young leaders in Taiwan, check out our TV show Game Changers with Emily Y. Wu for a short-list of 30 inspiring individuals who are doing extraordinary things in the world. Episode 1 on women in sports is the 3rd most-watched video on TaiwanPlus in the year 2023.
Finally, our partner AmCham Taiwan celebrated the one-year anniversary of Executive Sweet, their podcast on leadership that we help record and edit.
Thank you beautiful people for reading. As a reward for staying with me till the end, here’s a beautiful photo from Taipei today - taken from the UBER office in Xinyi District.
Follow my Instagram for more pretty images like that. Or on Twitter and Facebook.
Support Ghost Island Media by donating on Patreon.com/Taiwan or by telling your network about us and our shows.
Have a great election weekend if you are in Taiwan!
祝大家大選日愉快
Yours,
Emily Y. Wu 吳怡慈
Ghost Island Media 鬼島之音
January 12, 2024