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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文

@donovan-smith.bsky.social
409 followers 337 following 267 posts

Staff Columnist, Taipei Times Co-publisher, Compass Magazine Co-founder, Taiwan Report Central Taiwan correspondent, ICRT Former Chair, Taichung AmCham

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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The best analysis I have read about the Taipei race by a wide margin (including my own half column or so on it, though planning another one soon). Another Frozen Garlic home run by Nathan Batto frozengarlic.wordpress.com/2026/09/27/o...
frozengarlic.wordpress.com
Ocean current hits Taipei mayoral race
It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult. Chiang was supposed to coast to an easy reelection victory. He is young, good looking, likable, And, most importantly, he hasn’t had a major scandal in his …
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"Many have written on a cross-strait war and occupation. Few have considered the environment and clean-up. History shows it will be long." Michael Turton is probably the first to tackle this in a Taiwan context: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: The environmental cost of a war over Taiwan - Taipei Times
Off the coast of Taichung lies the well known Gaomei Wetlands (高美濕地), a popular nature preserve. On weekends, especially in the evenings, the site’s walkways are crowded with sunset watchers, its mudf...
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Reposted by Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文
Roy Ngerng 鄞義林 @royngerng.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I am on Radio Taiwan Intl's podcast to talk about the low wage situation in Taiwan causing the economic imbalances, and how it is necessary to adopt a new mindset to raise wages faster in order to rebalance Taiwan's economy — together with @donovan-smith.bsky.social ! www.rti.org.tw/en/programne...
rti.org.tw
Ep. 44 - Economic inequality in Taiwan, a perspective on the Falklands, and more - Rti
In this episode: - Roy Ngern and Courtney Donovan Smith on inequal economic development in T...
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I can't say enough just how thrilled I am Nathan Batto has revived Frozen Garlic; it's such a joy to read. If you read my columns on the 3 parties' national congresses, his influence is obvious. An election w/o Frozen Garlic is like Christmas without Santa frozengarlic.wordpress.com/2026/09/25/c...
frozengarlic.wordpress.com
Campaign trail: opening events in New Taipei City
The first big events of the 2026 campaign cycle happened a couple of weeks ago when the two candidates in New Taipei City officially opened their campaign offices. Through the magic of YouTube, I w…
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Michael Turton has a gift for covering a lot of ground, yet somehow tying it up nicely into solid conclusions: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: Who gets to decide Taiwan’s future? - Taipei Times
The tussle between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and its pro-People’s Republic of China (PRC) allies and fellow travelers, and the pro-Taiwan side in politics is in part a struggle over defining...
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I'm a daily reader! www.kaohsiungtimes.com/one-year-of-...
kaohsiungtimes.com
One year of Kaohsiung Times - Kaohsiung Times
One year in, the Kaohsiung Times' purpose remains reporting stories about Southern Taiwan in English. We have not done everything perfectly, and one year is far too early to declare victory. But we ha...
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Great stuff by Michael Turton www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: Immigration: are we on the cusp? - Taipei Times
Apetition on the Web site of the National Development Council (NDC) arguing that non-citizens receiving National Health Insurance (NHI) should make up payments from their birth to their current age ha...
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
My latest on the Changhua race, which is the wildest in this election cycle: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: The Changhua race gets stranger: Wang, Cheng and the mystery of Wei - Taipei Times
The Changhua County commissioner race is the most exciting and dramatic in this election cycle, with surprises within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) popping up every week or two. Most recently, C...
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
A few weeks ago I was all over the news, including all the major papers and TV news channels, and it was a complete non-story that never should have been covered. Here is what happened: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: How and why a nonstory blew up in the news media - Taipei Times
Per capita, Taiwan has a surprisingly high number of news outlets, which creates a highly competitive market. The pressure to drive viewership, clicks and ad revenue means that at times the press will...
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
With all the geopolitical stress, looking in on the local elections is a bit of relief: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Beyond Taipei, Taiwan’s local races get weird - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Typically I focus more on analysis than advocating for any particular point, but this is an exception: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...,
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Memo to the US: don’t be fooled by Cheng’s ‘peace’ pitch - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
054
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Mike and I had fun doing a joint interview on RTI: www.rti.org.tw/en/programne...
rti.org.tw
Ep. 25 - Ko Wen-je's arrest, military exercises by Japan, Philippines and Australia, and more - Rti
In this episode: - Courtney Donovan Smith and Michael Turton on the rise and fall of Ko Wen-...
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: ‘Make a deal’ is just surrender by another name - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
062
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
This is a superb, must-read piece: laorencha.substack.com/p/stop-denig...
laorencha.substack.com
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.
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
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...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: KMT heavyweights clash in Taichung - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
021
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
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...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: When rational governance incinerates resistance - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Tomorrow's column is on this subject, but some of the points are hit on in this TaiwanPlus report: www.facebook.com/reel/1091779...
facebook.com
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.
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
What Taiwan needs, but will it get it? Michael Turton takes an insightful look: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
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
020
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
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...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: New Taipei City mayoral race heats up - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
133
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
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
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: Subsidies today, solvency tomorrow? - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Jenna nailed this one: laorencha.substack.com/p/when-it-co...
laorencha.substack.com
When it comes to Taiwan, read a damn poll before you opine
Nicholas Kristof's NYT piece reads like something not just out of another year, but another generation.
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: Time for US to act on Taiwan defense budget - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Michael Turton shedding light on key systemic issues: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: Semiconductors and security - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Michael Turton has been doing some great historically relevent pieces recently: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: Resistance as tradition - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Snuck in a Hitchhiker's Guide reference in this one: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: The era of anxiety - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
032
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Kill the myth of the ‘silicon shield’ - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Taiwan’s patience left panicked Japanese and Koreans in the dust in US trade talks - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Here is a thread of election-related columns I've done so far this year. Good for getting up to speed on the subject: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: The stakes in this year’s nine-in-one elections - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
So I moved the time of day I check my social media from early in the day, to the end of the day, so it doesn't get in the way of getting work done. Result: I'm tired at the end of the day and don't want to deal with it, so I haven't been posting much the last few months...
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Taiwan's demographic crunch is going to start to really bite this year, and only accelerate from there. Also touch on foreign employees and tech, and how they fit into this picture. www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Taiwan’s basic services could begin to crumble this year - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
041
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: What to watch in Taiwan domestic politics in 2026 - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Michael Turton at his jaw-droppingly awesome best: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: PRC drills, theater and reality - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
0125
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
laorencha.substack.com/p/book-revie...
laorencha.substack.com
Book Review: Making Punches Count
Batto and Beaulieu take sordid tales of legislators punching, pushing and shoving and turn it into data to explore the who, why, where and a bit of how legislative brawls happen
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
frozengarlic.wordpress.com/2025/12/24/t...
frozengarlic.wordpress.com
The Constitutional Court awakens
Remember when we all assumed the Constitutional Court was frozen? Well, apparently they didn’t agree. On Friday, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling that the amendments to the Constitutional C…
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: The KMT’s budget blackmail - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
054
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
I've been busy and scaled back my social media posting dramatically in the last 6 weeks, including nothing on my personal pages. It was relaxing, but probably not a good idea. Here is a long thread of my recent columns: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Two glimmers of hope for solving the constitutional crises - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
The CCP isn't a political party; it is a voracious Leviathan. www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: The Chinese Communist Party’s relationship with all-encompassing power - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
041
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
I keep expecting some sort of realignment, but like a rubber band an equilibrium keeps restoring itself, which it may again soon if the DPP's polling follows on its current trend. www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Taiwan’s political equilibrium shaken, but not stirred - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
This has been going on in one form or another for a very, very long time, as Michael Turton explores: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: Disaster reconstruction, disaster colonialism - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
If someone told me I would be quoted in TIME and that the president likely read it, I would assume that would be good...but no, my quote was used to make the exact opposite point as I had intended: time.com/7304818/us-c...
time.com
The U.S. Must Beware of Taiwan's Reckless Leader
William Lai is lurching toward formal independence, which could trigger a catastrophic U.S.-China war, writes Lyle Goldstein.
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Some interesting details when one looks deeper into the race: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: The KMT is less unified than it appears - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
031
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
I swear we do not coordinate our columns! Lol, once again Michael Turton and I wrote pieces that are nicely complementary: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: The KMT’s retro revival - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
It just keeps getting worse: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: Taiwan’s intergenerational conflict - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
032
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
A "current state of play" piece. Correction: they are not necessarily "dying their hair pink" but they are coloring their hair one way or another for social media posts. Still funny, though. www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Parties grappling with uncertainty in the runup to next year’s elections - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Sigh... www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: Institutional barriers to renewable success - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
This is very important, and must be watched carefully: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Notes from Central Taiwan: PRC narratives and AI discourse - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
042
Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
If Cheng wins but Hau does well, it's possible he will challenge the result: www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Alleged CCP interference in KMT chair race ignites debate - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Jaw's presser on Sat turned Hau's post from a vague conspiracy to a major discussion topic, which I've already submitted a column on. www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Fears of being ‘dumped’ and foreign conspiracies in the KMT chair race homestretch - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Never a dull moment. Mirror Media is alleging nefarious behaviour by Huang. Of course, Huang is not guilty of anything in any court of law and we don't live under trial by Mirror Media, but if is true my analysis is...why hasn't this happened before? www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: Huang Kuo-chang’s alleged “puppy squad” hustle - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 @donovan-smith.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Cheng leads in the polls, Hau leads in big endorsements, Lo is nipping at Hau's heels, Chang is leading a blunt campaign to shape the debate and call out BS, Cho has some...ahem...interesting ideas and Tsai seems like a nice grandpa. www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
taipeitimes.com
Donovan’s Deep Dives: A look at the KMT chair candidates - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
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