Assignment Desk

TaiwanPlus News

How does a TV newsroom decide what leads the show? At the Assignment Desk, we take you behind the scenes for a closer look at the day’s top stories and how our team is covering them. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, our assignment editors share the careful decisions and considerations that shape fair and balanced coverage of Taiwan for a global audience. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Play

Open in

20 episodes
Avg 16 min
English

Episodes 20

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

August 28 · 16 min
Reporting from Palau, Taiwan’s Singles Crisis, and What’s Ahead
Reporter Tiffany Wong is in Palau, where she sat down with President Surangel Whipps Jr. and is covering the Pacific Islands Forum. Assignment Editor Chia Chang walks us through the historical significance of Taiwan’s participation and why it matters for the region. We also look at why young Taiwanese are increasingly choosing to stay single and how that could pose a national security risk. Then, we look ahead to the stories our team plans to pursue through the end of the year. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
August 21 · 15 min
Budget Battles and AI Choices
Stacy Yang takes the assignment editor’s chair this week for the penultimate episode of Assignment Desk, unpacking the political wrangling behind next year’s government spending plans. Plus: cash handouts fueled by a booming tech sector, how AI is reshaping the choices students make about their futures, and a look at TaiwanPlus’s two new correspondents reporting from London and Sydney. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
August 14 · 14 min
Farewell to Han Kuang, Hello to Friday
Yvonne Yang joins Charlie Storrar to look back on a week and a half’s coverage of the Han Kuang military exercises with a shout-out to our hardworking defense desk reporters. Taiwan’s digital affairs ministry responds to reports of a cyberattack in July by hackers using a publicly available AI model. A new US tariffs on drone imports spell bad news for Taiwan – or do they? And St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Godwin Friday is in Taiwan to celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
August 7 · 15 min
Han Kuang Exercise 2026 Gets Underway
Assignment editor Stacy Hsu joins Charlie Storrar to talk about the main focus of TaiwanPlus news coverage this week, the arrival of this year’s Han Kuang Exercise, Taiwan’s largest annual military drills. While this year’s drills have been touted as largely unscripted in order to better prepare the country’s armed forces for more realistic battle scenarios, Stacy discusses the challenges of sending out reporters to cover simulations that are only announced to the media the evening before. Plus, US congressman Michael McCaul, former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and long-term supporter of Taiwan, gives an exclusive interview to TaiwanPlus while in Taipei for this year’s Ketagalan Forum. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
July 31 · 14 min
No More LNG From PNG
Yvonne Yang is back as this week’s assignment editor, with a look at how Taiwan has fared on the diplomatic rollercoaster this week; well, in terms of relations with Lithuania; with Papua New Guinea and Morocco…not so much. Plus, Taiwan gears up for this year’s edition of the Han Kuang military exercise, and could it be the end of the line for the pro-Beijing Chinese Unification Promotion Party? -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
July 24 · 15 min
Tensions at Sea, New Tariffs Hit
Assignment editor Stacy Hsu talks Charlie Storrar through the main happenings of the week, from tensions at the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting following another clash between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea to the latest in Taiwan’s efforts to promote civil defense and reservist training. Plus the newest chapter in the long-running and often confusing US tariffs saga. And could a cooking oil scandal prove slippery for Taiwan’s ruling party in local elections later this year? -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
July 17 · 14 min
Diplomatic Setbacks and a Market Correction
Stacy Hsu joins Andrew and Charlie on the Assignment Desk in what’s been a tricky week for Taiwan on the diplomatic front, with the new Lithuanian prime minister saying the 2021 decision to allow a Taiwanese trade office in Vilnius using the name Taiwan was “maybe too brave” and Papua New Guinea making a surprise announcement ordering the closure of Taiwan’s representative office there. Friday also saw Taiwan’s main stock index experience its largest single-day drop, of over 6%, on fears of overvaluation in the booming AI sector. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
July 10 · 15 min
How TaiwanPlus Covers Typhoons
When a typhoon approaches Taiwan, how does a newsroom prepare? Assignment editor Yvonne Yang takes you behind the scenes of TaiwanPlus' coverage, from deciding where to deploy reporter Irene Lin for live reports to balancing the need to tell the story with keeping crews safe. Plus, a look at how people across Taiwan prepare before the storm arrives. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
July 3 · 17 min
A Big Day of Changes in Taiwan
From China's new ethnic unity law and Taiwan's new workplace anti-bullying protections to contactless metro payments, July 1 brought several significant changes. It also marked the 20th anniversary of the Taiwan Broadcasting System, of which TaiwanPlus is a part. Assignment editor Stacy Hsu joins us to explain how our newsroom covered these stories and why they matter. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
June 26 · 15 min
Sweltering Summer, Red-Hot Market
Assignment Editor Chia Chang takes us through coverage of the RIMPAC exercise now underway off Hawaii and Taiwan’s five-day combat readiness drills closer to home. Meanwhile, another kind of drill is being planned to help the public prepare for potentially deadly summer heat waves. And speaking of hot, Taiwan’s stock market continues to hit record highs, prompting concerns from regulators about the growing level of borrowing by investors eager to get a piece of the action. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
June 19 · 17 min
June Dispatches: A Busy Month in the Field
From COMPUTEX and Jensen Huang's Taiwan tour to flood-hit communities in eastern Taiwan and political reporting in Washington and New York, TaiwanPlus reporters have had a busy month. Laurel Stewart takes us behind the scenes of recent assignments, explaining the planning, logistics and challenges involved in covering stories across Taiwan and around the world. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
March 27 · 16 min
A Divisive Verdict and a Return to Nuclear?
Assignment editor Laurel Stewart walks us through the top stories of the week in Taiwan, including the 17-year prison sentence handed down to Taiwan People’s Party founder and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je for corruption and embezzlement, the response to which has underscored the polarized nature of Taiwan’s politics. And with Taiwan’s surging demand for electricity to power its tech industry, coupled with uncertainty over energy supplies from the Middle East, the government is signaling its openness to a return to nuclear power less than a year after Taiwan’s last working reactor was decommissioned. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
March 20 · 15 min
Jensen Huang Backs Taiwan and 2027 Invasion Fears May Be Off
In this week’s Assignment Desk, Jeremy Olivier talks us through the takeaways for Taiwan from Nvidia’s annual AI conference in California. Plus, a new US intelligence report concludes China does not plan to invade Taiwan in 2027, as has been feared in some quarters. And an Australian woman who was trafficked from Taiwan as an infant is back in the land of her birth fighting for her right to citizenship. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
March 13 · 17 min
Another Day, Another US Tariff Threat
Taiwan thought it had negotiated a solution to US tariffs in the form of its trade deal with Washington. But this week the country finds itself the target of a Section 301 investigation over alleged failure to prevent forced labor. The legislature manages to approve a stopgap measure to keep the purchase of US weapons systems moving along despite a wider deadlock over defense spending. And the escalating conflict over Iran with its resulting spike in oil prices sees Taiwan staring down the (US$100) barrel when it comes to securing the energy supply that powers the nation’s industries. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
March 6 · 15 min
Covering the World Baseball Classic Without Footage
How do you cover the World Baseball Classic when you don’t have the broadcast rights? Get creative. For this Assignment Desk, we talk with assignment editor Chia Chang, who walks us through how we sent one reporter to Japan to interview Taiwan’s players competing in the tournament and another to join fans at watch parties in Taiwan to capture the excitement on the ground. We also look at the fan tradition of “eating your rival’s luck,” including pizza inspired by Taiwan’s opponents in the tournament. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
February 13 · 19 min
A Long-Awaited Trade Deal and an Ominous Sentencing
Assignment editor Chia Chang talks us through the newsroom’s coverage of two of the week’s biggest stories: the signing of a long-awaited trade deal with the US and the 20-year prison sentence that a Hong Kong court handed to Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai for offenses under the territory’s national security law, a development Lai’s long-time business partner told TaiwanPlus should be seen as a “canary in the coal mine” for Taipei’s future dealings with Beijing. Watch an excerpt of TaiwanPlus’ exclusive interview with Jimmy Lai’s former aide Mark Simon -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
February 6 · 15 min
First Lawmaker With PRC Citizenship Takes Office in Taiwan
A newly seated lawmaker is putting Taiwan’s citizenship rules under the spotlight. On today’s Assignment Desk, we look at the first legislator known to still hold PRC citizenship — and the questions her case is raising about identity, legal status and political trust. Also: a new round of interaction between Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party at a cross-strait forum, and the latest Trump–Xi phone call — which included a mention of Taiwan. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
January 30 · 18 min
Spring Drills and Fruitful Talks
Chia Chang picks over the events of the week with Charlie Storrar, including TaiwanPlus News’s field coverage of the military’s spring drills, an opposition counterproposal on defense spending and talks with the US bearing fruit. Plus, Nvidia boss Jensen Huang is back in Taiwan in a week when the company’s dealings with China have been the subject of rumor and scrutiny. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
January 23 · 20 min
High Pressure in Davos, Low Pressure in Taiwan
Assignment editor Laurel Stewart joins Andrew and Charlie for a look back on the week’s events. Taiwan’s recently announced trade deal with the US and its prospects for ratification have taken center stage domestically, with the government pressing the agreement as a strategic tech partnership amid opposition concerns of a “hollowing out” of the country’s chip sector. Meanwhile, a week of drama as world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum and Taiwan endures days of a wintry cold spell that has prompted concerns for vulnerable and elderly people. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn
January 16 · 18 min
A US Trade Deal and TSMC Upbeat
After weeks of rumors, a long-teased trade deal finally materialized on Thursday, bringing Taiwan’s tariff rate down to 15% in return for US$500 billion in investment. Chip giant TSMC looks set to double its existing investment in Arizona, the company appearing bullish of the AI boom continuing at its first-quarter earnings meeting. Taiwan’s stock market seemed to agree, setting new record highs. Meanwhile, the standoff over President Lai Ching-te's special defense budget continued and the government warned of China’s increasing disinformation aimed at sowing confusion and division among Taiwan’s public. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes