Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 (@donovan-smith) Bsky

Stop Denigrating Taiwan's Will To Fight Polls suggest most Taiwanese would resist China no matter what. That means something. And no, they shouldn't act more scared than they are.

This is a superb, must-read piece:

laorencha.substack.com/p/stop-denig...

1 month ago 4 3 0 0

Donovan’s Deep Dives: KMT heavyweights clash in Taichung - Taipei Times Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

I found this fascinating, but then I am super nerdy and Taichung is home (incidentally, Yang is my district's lawmaker, but never met her -- but I have met Chiang several times).

www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

1 month ago 2 1 0 1

Notes from Central Taiwan: When rational governance incinerates resistance - Taipei Times Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

I've been covering this story for ICRT, and it is a mess. Lol, Michael Turton is right about the MRT, extending Taichung's MRT to Nantou comes up every four years during election season, despite being a ridiculous plan:

www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

13 reactions · 18 shares | What does a joint KMT-TPP policy platform mean for Taiwan's upcoming local elections and political landscape? TaiwanPlus speaks with political analyst Courtney Donovan Smith... What does a joint KMT-TPP policy platform mean for Taiwan's upcoming local elections and political landscape? TaiwanPlus speaks with political analyst Courtney Donovan Smith to find out.

Tomorrow's column is on this subject, but some of the points are hit on in this TaiwanPlus report:

www.facebook.com/reel/1091779...

1 month ago 2 1 0 0

Taipei has a lot of people who simply hate the DPP, but will happily elect someone with a strong pro-independence, left-wing platform as long as they aren't branded "DPP." Think Freddy Lim and a bunch of NPP (later independent) city councillors.

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Yeah, I was thinking the same!

1 month ago 1 0 0 0

She sure is, and she could enthuse the rest of the party, which aside from her, is struggling to gain traction or even nominate candidates in key cities! Su Tseng-chang is amazing, what a powerful campaigner and all-round charismatic guy!

1 month ago 1 0 1 1

Notes from Central Taiwan: The defense budget Taiwan needs — and the one the KMT killed - Taipei Times Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

What Taiwan needs, but will it get it? Michael Turton takes an insightful look:

www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

1 month ago 2 0 0 0

Donovan’s Deep Dives: New Taipei City mayoral race heats up - Taipei Times Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

Hammer Lee took his time joining the race, and it cost him -- he's now neck-and-neck with Su after being 10-15% ahead not long ago:

www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

1 month ago 3 3 1 2

The thought has crossed my mind of eventually writing a book, I'll have tons of material to source from.

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Notes from Central Taiwan: Subsidies today, solvency tomorrow? - Taipei Times Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

Lin Chia-lung narrowed the gap slightly and got punished in the polls because homeowners were upset, and renters (including me) saw rents go up as a result.

www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

1 month ago 3 0 0 0

Notes from Central Taiwan: Subsidies today, solvency tomorrow? - Taipei Times Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

I can expand on the property taxes, they are handled by local govts, but the property value estimations they use to calculate taxes are waaayyy below actual market values. In Taichung, 1/2

1 month ago 4 1 1 0

I must admit I've never sure which of my columns will resonate and which will flop, I'm frequently surprised--but it also seems to depend on the audience, some like these politics deep dives...others complain about them.

1 month ago 0 0 1 0