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The Taiwan Take

The Taiwan Take

By: Ghost Island Media 鬼島之音
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A current affairs podcast on Taiwan and the world. Every episode, we invite a journalist to a conversation with an expert to get the big picture context of what we need to know. These are global issues, and this is The Taiwan Take.

Nominated for Best News Podcast at 2020 Excellent Journalism Award in Taiwan. Produced by Ghost Island Media in Taipei, Taiwan.

2020年台灣卓越新聞獎 Podcast 新聞獎入圍者．這是一個專門討論臺灣時事的訪談性英文節目， 以「縱觀世界議題，以臺灣觀點論述」為主軸，由記者採訪跨領域專家、名人與來賓等，第一手將臺灣的故事推向國際．

鬼島之音製作播出．

2026 鬼島傳播有限公司 Ghost Island Media Limited Co 958665 Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • 61. Starting June 30, 2026: Disability Care Eligibility for Taiwan’s Foreign Professionals (permanent residents and dependents)

    61. Starting June 30, 2026: Disability Care Eligibility for Taiwan’s Foreign Professionals (permanent residents and dependents)
    Jun 29 2026
    On June 30, 2026, legal amendments come into effect in Taiwan that will open disability certification to permanent residents (APRC holders) with 10+ years of total residency in Taiwan as foreign professionals. The changes will allow disabled individuals from this group to opt into disability benefits and care. Our guest is David Chang, Founder and Secretary-General of Crossroads, a non-profit that advocates for foreigners residing in Taiwan. We discuss the implications of the disability amendment, its 10-year residency requirement as eligibility, additional limitations to access, why Taiwan’s expansion of disability rights is overdue, and why some permanent residents are still barred from certain benefits. The amendments were made as part of updates to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) in September 2025. (Articles 28, 29). While the amendments are made for ‘foreign professionals’ as defined by ROC (Taiwan) law, citizens from the following countries who are permanent residents to Taiwan (APRC) are eligible for disability certificates in Taiwan under the reciprocity agreements with their birth countries: Japan, U.S., U.K., Canada, Singapore, France, Germany, Australia, Colombia, Ireland, and Israel. An April 2023 petition by Crossroads is archived on the National Development Council (NDC)’s public policy participation platform: “Disability Inclusion: Calling for the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Officially Recognize Immigrants with Physical or Mental Disabilities and Provide Equal Access to Public Assistance, Relief, and Care”. (April 14, 2023) Chang offers potential steps forward and ongoing Crossroads projects designed to tackle the persisting limitations of legal productions faced by foreign residents of Taiwan, such as a proposed parallel household registration system or a naturalization process of children born to permanent residents of Taiwan. Some numbers to consider: 5.4% of Taiwan’s population (1,252,116 persons) receives disability certifications (MOWH, 2026 Q1).16% of the world’s population (1.3 billion people) are estimated to be living with significant disability (WHO)1 in 3 people over 60 years of age are living with a disability (United Nations)*83% of the immigrant population in Taiwan are migrant workers.1,065,367 is Taiwan’s total population of foreign residents (National Immigration Agency, April 2026)48,343 is Taiwan’s population of permanent residents on APRC (Alien Permanent Residency Card) (National Immigration Agency, April 2026) Episode clarifications: While the specific set of amendments that come into effect on June 30 does not cover permanent residents who obtained their APRC through marriage, these foreign spouses are eligible for disability certifications if their country of citizenship falls under the Ministry of Interior’s March 23, 1987 reciprocity document:「台 (88) 內社字第8717934號」. As of now, reciprocity agreements include those from Japan, U.S., U.K., Canada, Singapore, France, Germany, Australia, Colombia, Ireland, and Israel.The pathway Chang refers to for migrant workers is the Long-term Retention of Skilled Foreign Workers Program. This allows employers to apply for migrant workers to transition into ‘foreign technical personnel’ after six (6) years of employment. After another five (5) years, the individual can then apply for their permanent residency. If migrant workers do not enter into this program, they are permitted to remain and work in Taiwan for up to 12 years.Approximately 83% of the immigrant population in Taiwan is migrant workers. (National Immigration Agency/Ministry of Labor, May 2026) Support us by donating on Patreon http://patreon.com/taiwan Follow and tag us on social media:Ghost Island Media | Instagram | Facebook | TwitterEmily Y. Wu | Twitter @emilyywuA Ghost Island Media production: www.ghostisland.mediaSupport the show: https://patreon.com/TaiwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    41 mins
  • 60. Journalist Tim Culpan on Computex and what’s next for Taiwan’s A.I. boom (Culpium)

    60. Journalist Tim Culpan on Computex and what’s next for Taiwan’s A.I. boom (Culpium)
    Jun 4 2026

    90% of the world’s AI hardware is manufactured in Taiwan; 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips (they power AI) is made in Taiwan. This gives us a sense of why AI is an industrial priority for Taiwan.

    Computex (June 2-5) is Taiwan’s flagship industry trade show. (Begun in 1986, it’s one of the world's oldest and largest computer trade shows.)

    Our guest today is technology columnist Tim Culpan. Culpan is the writer of “Culpium”, and a former writer at Bloomberg News where he spent 18 years - first as a technology reporter, then as a tech columnist. He's lived in Taiwan for 25 years and has launched his podcast “Supply Chained”. We discuss the latest developments in Taiwan’s A.I. industry, where Trump and China factor into all of this, and what you can expect to see at this year’s COMPUTEX.

    Today’s episode is hosted by Albert Chang-Yoo.

    • Tim Culpan tracks the Taiwanese AI supply chain through his index CASCI (Culpium AI Supply Chain Index). Categories include capacity (construction, manufacturing, e.g. Chroma ATE), upstream (semiconductor production, e.g. TSMC, MediaTek), midstream (power supply systems, modules, e.g. Gigabyte, Delta Electronics), and downstream (assembling servers, e.g. Quanta, Foxconn).
    • Taiwan faces a looming energy crisis spurred by A.I. demands. As of 2025, 81.3% of Taiwan’s energy supply is produced from fossil fuels, 12.7% from renewables, and 1.2% from nuclear. (In May 2025, the last operating nuclear plant was decommissioned.) Taiwan also relies on imports for almost 98% of its energy.
    • “Jensanity”: Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang broke ground on its new 4-hectare headquarters in Taipei last week. He aims for the 4,000-person campus to be functional by 2030.
    • Also last week, AMD’s Lisa Su announced a US$10 billion co-investment into the Taiwanese supply chain.

    You can follow Tim Culpan’s work on Culpium, or by listening to his podcast “Supply Chained”.

    EPISODE CREDIT | Producer, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Host, Albert Chang-Yoo | Audio Editing, Wayne Tsai | Research, Zach Chiang, Albert Chang-Yoo

    Support us by donating on patreon.com/Taiwan

    A Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

    Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    50 mins
  • 59. Asia Pacific is one of the most dangerous regions for journalists: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

    59. Asia Pacific is one of the most dangerous regions for journalists: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
    May 26 2026

    World Press Freedom Index is an annual report released by the international non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on the status of press freedom in 180 countries. Its 2026 report, released on April 30, found that press freedom around the world is at a 25-year low.

    Our guest today is Aleksandra Bielakowska, Advocacy Manager of RSF’s Asia-Pacific bureau and President of the RSF Taiwan Chapter. In this episode, we walk through the latest global findings, the reasons behind the decrease of press freedom in Asia, China’s growing media influence abroad, and the current threats to Taiwan’s media landscape. Key points:

    • World Press Freedom is at the lowest since RSF began tracking in 2002. This year, 94 countries (52.2%) are in a “difficult” or “very serious” situation
    • Across Asia, authoritarianism and repressive policies from democratic countries have fueled the declines of press freedom in places like Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.
    • China has increased its state-media presence across the world, and targeted foreign press agencies in countries like Denmark and the Philippines with harassment campaigns.
    • Although Taiwan’s press freedom remains highly-ranked (28th), its score dropped by four places (from 24th), due to deepening political polarization, economic troubles, and ongoing Chinese disinformation

    Learn more about Reporters Without Borders and explore their work on global press freedom, including their disinformation tracking initiative, “The Propaganda Monitor”.

    RSF’s photojournalist exhibition, “Shooting the World of Tomorrow”, is currently on display at the Alliance Française de Taïwan (台灣法國文化協會) until June 30. Address: 2F, No. 107, Section 4, Roosevelt Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City.

    EPISODE CREDIT | Producer, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Host, Zack Chiang | Audio Editing, Wayne Tsai | Research, Albert Chang-Yoo | Production Assistance, Teagan Wangaard

    Support us by donating on patreon.com/Taiwan

    Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme

    A Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

    Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    47 mins
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