For those of you who want more specific info, here is the entire conversation John Ross enjoyed with Dr. Jimmy Lee on the remarkable life of Dr. Takagi Tomoe, one of colonial Taiwan’s most influential figures.

In 1902, Dr. Takagi Tomoe arrived in newly-colonized Japanese Formosa as a seasoned Japanese medical expert sent here to battle bubonic plague – one of the many tropical sicknesses that killed thousands of local people each year. Takagi had a rare sense of empathy. Unlike many of his peers, he encouraged local students to attend his medical school (even letting them speak Taiwanese). This brilliant Japanese and German-trained doctor helped create Taiwan’s medical system – and also, in an unexpected twist, Takagi was tasked with managing the company that’s today known as Taipower. In this largely forgotten story, Taipei physician Dr. Jimmy Lee joins John Ross to tell the story of how Dr. Takagi became one of colonial Taiwan’s most influential figures.

PLEASE NOTE: Formosa Files 中文版 has a new, separate feed. Hear it HERE, or on our website. Thanks!

This week, Formosa Files digs into two wild and almost totally forgotten killings from Taiwan’s Cold War years. First up: a soldier named Li Wei, a former POW, sets his army barracks on fire in the middle of the night and opens fire on his fellow soldiers. The whole thing gets swept under the rug. No local news coverage. It’s been basically erased from memory.

Then there’s Taiwan’s deadliest school shooting: the Lixing High School Massacre. A fired sports coach shows up at school with a pistol and a grudge. He kills the principal, teachers, and even goes after the principal’s family. This one made the headlines at the time, but somehow, almost nobody talks about it today.

Both happened in 1962, when Taiwan was still under martial law and the government kept a very tight lid on the media. With help from researcher and Formosa Files Chinese version co-host Eric Hsu, we dug through old court records and tracked down as much truth as we could find.