Talking Taiwan is on an Election Tour and we traveled down to Kaohsiung where I cast my vote in Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election. Voting booths opened at 8am on January 13th and we spoke with Sean Su, midday on election day. He was also in Kaohsiung to cast his vote. Sean shared some of his observations and we talked about the alarming text message alert many in Taiwan received on January 9th. I remember reading the text about a missile flyover on my phone just as Kaju and I arrived in Kaohsiung on the high-speed rail. Sean is Co-Producer of Taiwan Report. Known for jump starting Keep Taiwan Free. He is also a frequent guest on ICRT.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Sean’s observations on election day in Kaohsiung
- How if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te wins it would be the first time in history that an incumbent party after eight years in office is re-elected
- Courtney Donovan Smith’s recent article about Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election, which mentions that Ko Wen-je’s YouTube subscribers have surpassed one million
- The DPP’s rally that was held at Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei on January 11
- Ma Ying-jeou’s comments that Taiwan has no choice but to trust Chinese leader Xi Jinping
- The text message alert from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense on January 9th that stated in English that there was a missile flyover Taiwan airspace
- Bilingual 2030
- The case of the two Michaels from Canada that were kidnapped by China
- How China conducted a series of missile tests in the waters surrounding Taiwan, including the Taiwan Strait in 1995 in response to President Lee Teng-hui’s visit to Cornell University and in 1996 before Taiwan’s first direct presidential election
- What China would need to do in order to successfully invade Taiwan
Related Links:
Sean Su: https://twitter.com/seansu
https://mastodon.social/@seansu
https://www.threads.net/@seansusu
Taiwan Report: https://report.tw/
Weiwuying: https://www.npac-weiwuying.org/?lang=en
Pan-Green Coalition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Green_Coalition
Pan-Blue Coalition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Blue_Coalition
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party
Kuomintang (KMT): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang
Hou You-yi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hou_Yu-ih
Jaw Shau-kong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaw_Shaw-kong
Ko Wen-je: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Wen-je
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_People%27s_Party
Taiwan bans opinion polls during final 10 days of election campaign: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/5060134
Could there be a shock upset on Taiwan’s election day?: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/5075781
New Power Party (NPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Power_Party
ELECTION 2024/DPP stages its second-to-last campaign rally before elections: https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202401120001
Ma Ying-jeou: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Ying-jeou
Taiwan’s ex-President Ma: ‘You can never win’ war with China: https://www.dw.com/en/taiwans-ex-president-ma-you-can-never-win-war-with-china/video-67962324
ELECTION 2024/Ma’s ‘trust’ comment about Xi draws rebuke from DPP: https://focustaiwan.tw/cross-strait/202401100020
Screenshot of the text message alert received on Felicia’s phone from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense on January 9th that stated in English that there was a missile flyover Taiwan airspace:
Bilingual 2030: https://www.ndc.gov.tw/en/Content_List.aspx?n=BF21AB4041BB5255
Kinder egg: https://www.kinder.com/uk/en/kinder-surprise
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Surprise
Tainan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tainan
Taidong (aka Taitung): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taitung_City
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages
National Development Council (of Taiwan): https://www.ndc.gov.tw/en/
Taiwan: Nancy Pelosi meets President Tsai to Beijing’s fury (an article from the BBC): https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62398029
Two Michaels case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detention_of_Michael_Spavor_and_Michael_Kovrig
Xi Jinping: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping
The 1995-1996 missile crisis in Taiwan aka the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis
Taiwan’s first direct presidential election (1996): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Taiwanese_presidential_election
Lee Teng-hui: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Teng-hui
Q&A/Taiwan’s 2024 presidential and legislative elections: https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202401090007
Eric Chang on China’s Breach of Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone: Threat or Bluff? (Episode 127): https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-chinas-breach-of-taiwans-air-defense-identification-zone-threat-or-bluff-ep-127/
Eric Chang on China’s Breach of Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone: Threat or Bluff? Ep 127
Background of Taiwan Presidential Candidates 2024: Political Analyst Courtney Donovan Smith’s Rundown for Upcoming Election (Episode 271): https://talkingtaiwan.com/background-of-taiwan-presidential-candidates-2024-political-analyst-courtney-donovan-smiths-rundown-for-upcoming-election-ep-271/
Taiwan Presidential Debate 2024: Political Analyst Courtney Donovan Smith’s Insights on the Upcoming Election (Episode 270): https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-presidential-debate-2024-political-analyst-courtney-donovan-smiths-insights-on-the-upcoming-election-ep-270/
Taiwan FactCheck Center: Discussing the Disinformation Related to Taiwan’s 2024 Presidential Election (Episode 268):
Hsin-Tai Wu: From Cardiovascular Surgeon to Joining the Taiwan State Building Party (Episode 264): https://talkingtaiwan.com/hsin-tai-wu-from-cardiovascular-surgeon-to-joining-the-taiwan-state-building-party-ep-264/
Hsin-Tai Wu: From Cardiovascular Surgeon to Joining the Taiwan State Building Party Ep 264