Defense analyst Bryce C. Barros tells Formosa Files about M.I.T. drones and their surprising connection to Taiwan's remote-controlled toy industry.

Before China became the "world's factory," Taiwanese companies emerged as major manufacturers of inexpensive toys and electronics during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, producing them for customers globally. The skills in the production of small motors, electronics, and plastics, as well as precision manufacturing, for remote-controlled toy planes, helicopters, boats, and cars would later lay the groundwork for Taiwan's early drone industry, providing the skills and supply chains.

But beginning in the 1990s, Taiwan lost ground as manufacturing moved across the Taiwan Strait and China invested heavily in research and development and in large-scale drone production. Chinese companies such as DJI, founded in Shenzhen in 2006, have emerged and now lead China's dominance in the global commercial drone market, holding a lead in military drones as well.

With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 demonstrating the growing importance of inexpensive and attritable unmanned systems to modern warfare, Taiwan has accelerated efforts to build a domestic drone industry, reduce reliance on Chinese components, and incorporate drones into its war plans -- with roots going back to those skills gained from producing remote-controlled toys decades ago.

NOTE: The opinions shared by Mr. Barros are his own and do not reflect existing or previous affiliations.

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Defense analyst Bryce C. Barros tells Formosa Files about M.I.T. drones and their surprising connection to Taiwan's remote-controlled toy industry.
Before China became the "world's factory," Taiwanese companies emerged as major manufacturers of inexpensive toys and electronics during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, producing them for customers globally. The skills in the production of small motors, electronics, and plastics, as well as precision manufacturing, for remote-controlled toy planes, helicopters, boats, and cars would later lay the groundwork for Taiwan's early drone industry, providing the skills and supply chains.
But beginning in the 1990s, Taiwan lost ground as manufacturing moved across the Taiwan Strait and China invested heavily in research and development and in large-scale drone production. Chinese companies such as DJI, founded in Shenzhen in 2006, have emerged and now lead China's dominance in the global commercial drone market, holding a lead in military drones as well.
With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 demonstrating the growing importance of inexpensive and attritable unmanned systems to modern warfare, Taiwan has accelerated efforts to build a domestic drone industry, reduce reliance on Chinese components, and incorporate drones into its war plans -- with roots going back to those skills gained from producing remote-controlled toys decades ago.
NOTE: The opinions shared by Mr. Barros are his own and do not reflect existing or previous affiliations.

John is joined by writer, artist and comics enthusiast Ray Hecht for a journey through Taiwan’s manga history. This story is sometimes reduced to Japanese comics and their Taiwanese spinoffs. Ray and John, however, get into the forgotten influence of Shanghai liánhuán túhuà – “linked-picture” storybooks – in the post-WWII years.

Also, central to today’s episode is the humble neighborhood rental bookstore, which put cheap popular reading into the hands of generations of Taiwanese. These books and shops were too popular at times for the government. Censorship and crackdowns were needed to protect the citizens. Enter the Comics Cleansing Movement. And listen and learn why the censors once objected to illustrations of talking animals.

We wrap up with a mention of Ray’s anthology Memories of Taiwan: 37 stories about life in Taiwan by 19 artists from around the world. It’s being released with support from a Kickstarter campaign. To learn more about Ray Hecht, visit his Linktree profile.

The main source for today was the excellent Taiwan Comics: History, Status, and Manga Influx 1930s-1990s by Lee I-Yun (translated by Timeea Cosobea).

We travel back to 1920s Taiwan, first in the company of Terry’s Guide to the Japanese Empire and then follow a Tokyo travel bureau itinerary for Japanese tourists to the island. Ride the rails with us as we visit Shinto shrines, sugar factories, former “savages,” and scenic spots (not just any scenic spots but the official “Eight Views of Taiwan”). And we look at perhaps the most interesting aspect of colonial sightseeing: free guided trips to Japan for Indigenous Taiwanese leaders. These propaganda trips were meant to demonstrate why resistance to the Empire was futile, but they were not always home runs.

We understand that APPLE Podcasts is not showing these videos. We will try to fix this issue, but in the meantime, they can be seen on YouTube. Here is the link for this one.

Created with Han Cheung from TAIWAN IN TIME.

John is joined by writer and historian Scott Crawford to recount the bloodiest episode in the history of Dutch Formosa. A revolt, led by Guo Huaiyi, resulted in the deaths of several thousand Chinese. We look at what drove farmers to rebellion and the tragic events of September 1652. This episode grew out of John and Scott’s special ten-part read-along of Dr. Chen Yao-Chang’s novel A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa, which follows Dutch, Chinese and Siraya characters in the mid-seventeenth century. You can follow that series on our sister podcast, Bookish Asia with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast and Book Links

Bookish Asia with Plum Rain Press - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/tw/podcast/bookish-asia-with-plum-rain-press/id1756322103

Bookish Asia with Plum Rain Press - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4f6I46PkxVv4VM6dqTGngX

A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa - E-book (Plum Rain Press): https://www.plumrainpress.com/product-page/a-tale-of-three-tribes-in-dutch-formosa-e-book

A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa - Paperback / Collector’s Edition (Plum Rain Press): https://www.plumrainpress.com/product-page/a-tale-of-three-tribes-in-dutch-formosa

This is a test video to see how it works on Spotify and Apple. These shorts can also be found on YouTube.

Created with Han Cheung from TAIWAN IN TIME.

We covered this story in a previous episode. But we recently made a video about it for the Chinese podcast, so we added an English voiceover and are offering it as a video extra. Enjoy.

Full story podcast episode link: Taiwan’s Motorcycle Daredevil: Lu Ch’ing-an (呂慶安)