Talking Taiwan: Hsin-Tai Wu: From Cardiovascular Surgeon to Joining the Taiwan State Building Party

My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Hsin-Tai Wu (吳欣岱), a member of the Taiwan Statebuilding party. We talked about how and why she went from being a cardiovascular surgeon to joining the Taiwan Statebuilding party and becoming a politician, the background and goals of the Taiwan Statebuilding party, and how the party was instrumental in the recall of Han Kuo-yu as the mayor of Kaohsiung, after he ran as the Kuomintang presidential candidate in Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election.

[LISTEN to the Complete Episode HERE on APPLE PODCASTS or SPOTIFY]

Hsin-Tai Wu is running for Taiwan’s legislature on January 13th, the same day as Taiwan’s presidential election, so we talked about the issues she cares about and her thoughts on the presidential hopefuls.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

• Hsin-Tai’s background and upbringing

• How Hsin-Tai went from being a cardiovascular surgeon to a politician

• The impeachment of Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu

• How Hsin-Tai became a member of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party

• The anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong in 2019

• Han Kuo-yu was the Kuomintang presidential candidate in Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election

• The background of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and how it was founded

• Taiwan’s attempt to enter the WHO in 2003

• When Hsin-Tai Wu joined the Taiwan Statebuilding Party

• What happened in Kaohsiung after Han Kuo-yu became the mayor

• Why Han Kuo-yu was recalled as the mayor of Kaohsiung

• How Han Kuo-yu as the mayor of Kaohsiung said he wouldn’t run for president but then after serving three months as mayor he was nominated and later became the KMT candidate for Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election

• Han Kuo-yu’s proposals

• The outcome of Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election

• The procedure to recall a mayor

• The outcome of the recall vote

• What it’s been like for Hsin-Tai Wu switching from being a cardiovascular surgeon to a politician and member of the Taiwan Statebuilding party

• The goals and principles of the Taiwan Statebuilding party

• Problems with the Kuomintang

• The Brazilian egg issue that led the Minster of Agriculture in Taiwan to resign

• The problem with Taiwan’s state system, the Republic of China

• How China is using UN Resolution to say that Taiwan is a part of China

• The confusion caused by Taiwan’s official name the Republic of China

• Bills drafted by the Taiwan Statebuilding party

• Issues that Hsin-tai cares about

• China’s interference in Taiwan’s presidential election

• how a possible opposition alliance in between the Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party in Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election would have used polls to determine who would be the presidential candidate- the Kuomintang’s (KMT) candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) or the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲)

• Hsin-Tai’s thoughts on the 2024 presidential hopefuls Terry Guo, Ko Wen-je, Hou Yu-ih, Lai Ching-te

• Challenges faced by the Taiwan Statebuilding party

Related Links:

Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s website: https://www.statebuilding.tw

Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Statebuilding.tw

Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statebuilding.tw

Hsin-Tai Wu’s (吳欣岱) Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TSPDrShe

Hsin-Tai Wu’s (吳欣岱) YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TSPDrShe

Extradition bill in Hong Kong 2019: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Hong_Kong_extradition_bill

Hong Kong’s 2019 protests explained (From Amnesty International):

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/hong-kong-protests-explained/

Han Kuo-yu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Kuo-yu

Taiwan presidential favorite says peace talks with China ‘inevitable’ (and article from Nikkei Asia): https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Taiwan-presidential-favorite-says-peace-talks-with-China-inevitable

The Rise and Rapid Fall of Han Kuo-yu (an article from The Diplomat): https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/the-rise-and-rapid-fall-of-han-kuo-yu/

Han Kuo-yu Recall: More Than Just About China

https://globaltaiwan.org/2020/06/han-kuo-yu-recall-more-than-just-about-china/

Taipei aims for WHO referendum- May 21, 2003 (CNN article): https://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/05/21/taiwan.sars.who/index.html

Taiwan Cites SARS in Bid to Join WHO (an article from the Washington Post): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/05/10/taiwan-cites-sars-in-bid-to-join-who/d9840ee5-19d9-41e4-9eb5-b4748bc25f71/

WHO (World Health Organization): https://www.who.int/

Ma Ying-jeou: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Ying-jeou

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Taipei

Sunflower Movement: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement

Kuomintang (KMT): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party

President Tsai Ing-wen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsai_Ing-wen

Eggs crack Taiwan’s cabinet (an article from Taiwan News): https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/5007777

The Distortion of UN Resolution 2758 and Limits on Taiwan’s Access to the United Nations: https://www.gmfus.org/news/distortion-un-resolution-2758-and-limits-taiwans-access-united-nations

China Is Using a UN Resolution to Further Its Claim Over Taiwan: https://thediplomat.com/2022/08/china-is-using-a-un-resolution-to-further-its-claim-over-taiwan/

FARA Foreign Agents Registration Act: https://www.justice.gov/nsd-fara

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_People%27s_Party

Pan-Green Coalition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Green_Coalition

Pan-Blue Coalition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Blue_Coalition

Hou You-yi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hou_Yu-ih

Ko Wen-je: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Wen-je

Taiwan’s health care system: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3960712/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Taiwan

Cross-Strait Relations: Ma Ying-jeou’s Visit to China: https://thediplomat.com/2023/04/cross-strait-relations-ma-ying-jeous-visit-to-china/

How Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit Has Set a New Status Quo for U.S-China Tensions : https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/08/17/how-pelosi-s-taiwan-visit-has-set-new-status-quo-for-u.s-china-tensions-pub-87696

Unification promotion party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Unification_Promotion_Party

Terry Guo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Gou

Lai Ching-te: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lai_Ching-te

General Yu (于北辰) and Hsin-Tai Wu (吳欣岱) – Full Talk – New York Taiwan Center 7.6.23: 

Courtney Donovan Smith’s Analysis: How the KMT-TPP Presidential Deal Fell Apart | TaiwanPlus News: https://youtu.be/_bgYmFLHwwM?si=u2B-dXqVLEmNXiDO

Taiwan Presidential Election of 2020: A Discussion with Chieh-Ting Yeh (Episode 61): https://talkingtaiwan.com/taiwan-presidential-election-2020-discussion-chieh-ting-yeh/

Outcome of the 2020 Taiwan Presidential Election: Perspectives by Gerrit van der Wees (Ep 62): https://talkingtaiwan.com/perspectives-on-the-2020-taiwan-presidential-election-ep-62/

Understanding the History of Taiwan through Dr. Jerome Keating (Episode 97): https://talkingtaiwan.com/understanding-the-history-of-taiwan-through-dr-jerome-keating-ep-97/

Stan from Poland: YouTuber Covers Political Commentary, Interviews, and News of Taiwan (Episode 248): https://talkingtaiwan.com/stan-from-poland-youtuber-covers-political-commentary-interviews-and-news-of-taiwan-ep-248/

General Yu (于北辰): Former 4-Star General of Taiwan Army Shifts from KMT to Independent (Episode 256): https://talkingtaiwan.com/general-yu-%e4%ba%8e%e5%8c%97%e8%be%b0-former-4-star-general-of-taiwan-army-shifts-from-kmt-to-independent-ep-256/

David Kilgour Author and Human Rights Advocate: Why 2022 is the China Genocide Olympics (Episode 170): https://talkingtaiwan.com/david-kilgour-author-and-human-rightd-advocate-why-2022-is-the-china-genocide-olympics-ep-170/

Tony Chang on the Sunflower Movement (Episode 44): https://talkingtaiwan.com/tt044-tony-chang-3/

Sunflower Movement: Reflecting Back from the Civil Unrest of 2020 (Episode 78): https://talkingtaiwan.com/sunflower-movement-reflecting-back-from-the-civil-unrest-of-2020-ep-78/

Eric Chang on the Occupation of the Executive Yuan During the Sunflower Movement (Episode 121): https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-occupation-of-the-executive-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-121/

Reliving the Sunflower Movement from Ground Zero: Jiho Chang Tells the Inside Story (Episode 174): https://talkingtaiwan.com/reliving-the-sunflower-movement-from-ground-zero-jiho-chang-tells-the-inside-story-ep-174/

Eric Chang: On the Unfolding Situation at the Legislative Yuan during the Sunflower Movement (Episode 231): https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-unfolding-situation-at-the-legislative-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-231/

LISTEN to Episode 264: Hsin-Tai Wu: From Cardiovascular Surgeon to Joining the Taiwan State Building Party HERE

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