Taiwan

Taiwan

Author: BBC Radio 4 September 12, 2024 Duration: 29:55

At the beginning of 2024 the president of the Chinese People's Republic, Xi Jinping, claimed people living on both sides of the Taiwan Straits should reunite "and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation". But is Taiwan really part of China, and could this question lead to war? Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde have been to the capital Taipei and Tainan City in the south to find out about this relationship with the Chinese mainland.

"I've obviously been following the situation in Ukraine, and it strikes me that before our eyes we're seeing the rapid development of a new Ukrainian consciousness and national identity. What's struck me about coming here to Taiwan is the same process is underway." Misha Glenny

Contributors include Amanda Hsiao senior analyst of the Crisis Group, Linda Jaivin the author of the Shortest History of China, and Chris Buckley, Chief China correspondent for the New York Times now relocated to Taipei. Plus you'll hear from long time resident Chris Taylor, author of the Lonely Planet Guide to Tibet. "All Xi Jinping understands is complete control .... he's given up on what the Taiwanese call the silver bullet, promises of great trade opportunities and get rich, join us. Nobody's buying that. So the only way he's going to get it is by force of some kind."

Taiwan is episode 57 of How to Invent a Country on BBC Sounds, the series that has previously travelled to Germany, Brazil, Turkey and Russia. Misha Glenny is a former Central Europe correspondent for the BBC and the author of McMafia. The producer for BBC Studios Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde.


We often take the world map for granted, but the lines that define nations are far from permanent. In How to Invent a Country, award-winning journalist Misha Glenny, presented by BBC Radio 4, digs into the fascinating and often turbulent processes that bring a nation into being. This isn't just a dry history lesson; it's an exploration of the powerful forces-political ambition, cultural narratives, and sheer accident-that draw borders and forge identities. Each episode takes you to a different corner of the globe, unpacking the specific moments when a place transformed from an idea or a territory into a country recognized by the world. You'll hear about the contested lands, the foundational myths, and the real people whose lives were shaped by these creations. This podcast reveals how the countries we know today were invented, showing that their stories are alive, contested, and continually being rewritten. Tune in for a compelling journey that changes how you see every line on the map.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 64

How to Invent a Country
Podcast Episodes
The birth and death of Yugoslavia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:24
Misha Glenny talks to contributors from Bosnia and Belgrade and Albania too about the history of Yugoslavia from 1918 via Tito until now. Recorded and produced by Miles Warde
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What are the Balkans? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Two World Wars, One Failed Revolution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:43
Misha Glenny asks how the losers of two world wars, which drastically reshaped Hungary's borders, tried to fight off Soviet tanks on Budapest's streets. Produced by Miles Warde
The Butcher And The Poet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:47
Misha Glenny and Miles Warde head to a rally in Budapest where Viktor Orban compares the EU to the Habsburgs, forgetting it was tsarist Russia that crushed the revolution of 1848
Hungary and Mohacs 500 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:26
McMafia author Misha Glenny and Miles Warde travel from Vienna to Budapest to find out how Hungarian hardman Viktor Orban uses history beginning with the battle of Mohacs of 1526
China: imperial collapse [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:52
The end of the Qing and the troubled birth of the republic under Dr Sun Yat-sen
China - to kowtow or not to kowtow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:47
Find out how the world's greatest civilisation found itself dragged into two opium wars
China - the first emperor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:20
Misha Glenny and Miles Warde head east to find out what is China and where it came from?