Listen to the broadcast Friday September 9th, during the 8 o’clock hour on ICRT FM 100, or stream the broadcast here. The show begins about 15 minutes after the hour.

Or, stream the extended podcast show on the ICRT website, on iTunes, or DOWNLOAD IT HERE.

We discuss last weekend’s massive protest opposing proposals to scale back pension payments to public sector retirees (5:30), the pre-protest calling attention to the ailing tourism industry (17:40), new proposals that flesh out the Tsai administration’s Southbound Policy aimed at diversifying Taiwan’s trade relations (26:30), and the complexities raised by a recent meeting between NPP lawmaker Freddy Lim and the Dalai Lama (34:50).

We also feature a conversation with Taiwan based contract reporter Ralph Jennings (42:00) about a recent blog post he authored that provoked sharp criticism in the blogosphere. Don’t expect a grilling here; we just ask Ralph to provide his perspective on the controversy.

And we end the show talking about a new bounty put on the heads of some invasive lizards that have invaded Chiayi County (53:50). Sorry to the lizard lovers out there … we get a little glib with this one.

Pension Reform Protest

Hosts:

Keith Menconi and Gavin Phipps of ICRT News 

Guests:

Brian Hioe, the founding editor of New Bloom Magazine

Tom Hsieh, Executive Editor of The China Post

Taiwan This Week is ICRT’s weekly roundup of the top news stories from around Taiwan. Tune in every Friday during the 8 o’clock hour as ICRT news is joined by expert commentators to break down the week’s biggest stories in Taiwan. Find past episodes online here.

Photo courtesy of 中國國民黨 KMT Facebook page