Ireland's General Election will take place on Friday November 29th, 2024. Overall, 685 candidates are running across 43 constituencies for 174 seats in the next Dail or Parliament. Much of the focus and discussion so far has been on what the mainstream media have dubbed 'Auction Politics' as politicians and their parties try to better each other with promises of various benefits if elected. Examples include, free university fees, child care benefits, dropping the USC charge, reducing the VAT rat...
Nov 27, 2024•19 min
Earlier in August, we reported on China's Maritime Aggression against the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea and also on how China's aggression was uniting nations in the region. In the intervening months, this aggression has increased in frequency and severity and expanded further afield to include Vietnam and Japan. In late October, I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Powell (@GordianKnotRay) who is the Director of SeaLight, a project of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovati...
Nov 20, 2024•31 min
Earlier in May and June of this year, we reported from Taipei on the massive street protests which became known as the Bluebird Movement. These protests were the largest Taiwan had seen in the decade since the 2014 Sunflower Movement. The protests voiced the public’s concern with new amendments to the Law governing the Legislative Yuan or parliament's power and in particular, new investigative powers including the power to subject public officials to fines or jail time if they refused to attend ...
Nov 15, 2024•36 min
In today's digital age, data centers have become the backbone of our interconnected world. From streaming our favorite shows to conducting complex financial transactions, these high-powered facilities are the engines driving our digital revolution. But as our reliance on technology grows, so does the energy consumption of these data centers. This increasing energy consumption is driving data center operators and tech entrepreneurs to explore new ways to power these energy-hungry facilities more ...
Nov 06, 2024•38 min
It's an exciting time for data centers not only because of the new technology developments in AI and ML, but also because of the parallel advancements in sustainability in the drive to net zero emissions. In this episode, we report from this year's Open Compute Global Summit in San Jose, California. The Open Compute Project (OCP) was initiated in 2011 and its mission is to apply the benefits of open source and open collaboration to data center technology and to support the growing demands on com...
Oct 30, 2024•24 min
Regular listeners to Perspectives with Neilo will be aware that China and the behavior of its government, the Chinese Communist Party or CCP, have been the subject of many of our past episodes, from their aggression against Taiwan and its neighbors in the South China Sea, to their questionable trade practices and the many dubious tactics they employ in their quest for global influence. In this episode, we dig a little deeper into the background and hear the perspectives of Dr. Niall Duggan, a Se...
Sep 12, 2024•46 min
In this episode, we talk with award-winning filmmaker Vanessa Hope who shines an urgent spotlight on Taiwan as it fights for autonomy and freedom from fear in the gripping new documentary, Invisible Nation. It tells the story of how Taiwan’s first female President, Tsai Ing-wen delicately balanced on the tightrope between the hopes and dreams of her nation and the colossal geopolitical forces of the US and China. The movie interweaves highlights from her time in office with Taiwan’s history and ...
Aug 29, 2024•23 min
Following on from our previous episode, we review some of the key events since late July that appear to be contributing to increased tensions in the South China Sea. These include China's ongoing military exercises in the region as well as joint patrols carried out between the Philippines, its allies and its neighbors. These tensions reached a dangerous peak during an encounter between China's PLAAF fighter jets and a Philippines Air Force patrol plane on August 8th in the skies over Bajo De Mas...
Aug 19, 2024•18 min
The Chinese state officially known as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and often likes to portray itself as a peaceful superpower - but there's also a saying that 'self praise is no praise'. In past episodes we’ve covered China’s ongoing aggression against Taiwan which the PRC claims as its territory. In this episode we look beyond Taiwan to China’s other neighbors, particularly the Philippines. We talk to Dr Charmaine Willoughby from De La Salle ...
Aug 07, 2024•21 min
Perspectives with Neilo podcast brings you news and analysis on politics, sport, culture and technology from an Irish perspective. #Podcast, #Defenddemocracy, #Taiwan, #Ireland Music from TELL YOUR STORY music by ikson™ Voices: ElevenLabs.io, Neilo
Jul 31, 2024•3 min
In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, I chat with Fr. Sean O'Leary who is originally from Togher in Cork City but has been a missionary priest in Taiwan for the past 19 years. I visited him in his parish of Dongshih (東勢) near the city of Taichung and spoke to him about living in Taiwan, the similarities with Ireland, Taiwanese identity, the church in China and why he spoke out about Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's statement on Taiwan during the Chinese Premier's visit to Ireland back in January (...
Jul 24, 2024•30 min
Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, is situated in the West Pacific between Japan and the Philippines. It's a country about half the size of Ireland, but with a population of over 23 million. Taiwan has a history of strong earthquakes as the island is located within a complex zone of convergence between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. On April 3rd, 2024, a 7.2 (ML) magnitude quake struck close to Taiwan’s east coast city of Hualien. In this episode of Perspectives with ...
Jul 16, 2024•29 min
Earlier in June, following months of investigation, the European Commission announced new tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles in response to massive state subsidies in the forms of research and development grants, sales tax exemptions and supply chain support being provided to Chinese EV makers by Beijing. Although countries such as the US and Turkey have already introduced tariffs on Chinese EVs, support among EU states for this move has been divided. The EU's provisional duties (which have be...
Jul 02, 2024•31 min
Previously in May, we reported on the large pro-democracy street protests in Taipei, Taiwan in opposition to new legislative reform bills being hastily pushed through the Legislative Yuan or parliament by the China-friendly Kuomintang Party or KMT and their smaller ally the Taiwan People’s Party or TPP. The KMT-TPP combined majority was enough to carry the bills through parliament in May and onto the next step of review by the Executive Yuan or Cabinet. On the week of June 17th, the Executive Yu...
Jun 23, 2024•18 min
Computex Taipei is often where new semiconductor chips and hardware devices are revealed to the world. This year was no exception, with keynotes from tech industry Titans like NVIDIA, Intel, ARM and Qualcomm and product announcements from Original Equipment Manufacturers (or OEMs ) like ASUS, Quanta, Inventec and many more. In all, there were over 4500 booths showcasing the latest breakthroughs and innovation from the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Communications and EV Technology, ...
Jun 15, 2024•51 min
On June 4th 1989, student-led demonstrations which had been brewing across China for a few months were violently crushed in Beijing by the Chinese Communist Party or CCP under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping in what became widely known as the Tiananmen Square massacre. From the outset, the Chinese government downplayed the significance of the event and suppressed any discussion of it inside China. Commemorations however, still take place every year in multiple cities around the world and in this...
Jun 09, 2024•32 min
In this episode we’re once again reporting from Taipei, on the growing protests against congressional reform legislation being pushed through Taiwan’s parliament or Legislative Yuan by the China-friendly KMT or Kuomintang and the smaller Taiwan People’s party or TPP. In the previous episode of this podcast, we reported from the protests on Tuesday May 21st when an estimated 10 to 15 thousand protesters showed up to demonstrate about the disregard for procedural due process and the content of a n...
May 27, 2024•42 min
After Taiwan's election in January, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party or DPP won the presidential vote, but failed to secure a majority in Taiwan’s Legislature or Parliament ending up with 51 seats. The main opposition party - the KMT won 52 seats and the smaller TPP who they have begun to partner with, won 8 seats. In addition there were 2 independent seats which aligned with the KMT - all in all giving the KMT the majority and enabling them to secure the position of Speaker of the house....
May 22, 2024•31 min
May 20th 2024 marks the inauguration of the 16th-term president and vice president of the Republic of China, Taiwan. In the January election, Lai Ching-te (賴清德) also known as William Lai of the Democratic Progressive Party and his vice presidential running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) won the popular vote. Their appointment to the presidential office means a third consecutive term for the DPP as Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, (蔡英文) Taiwan’s first female president, concludes her two terms in offic...
May 17, 2024•26 min
European Parliament elections take place across the EU in early June. These will be the tenth direct parliamentary elections since 1979. About 400 million voters are eligible to vote across 27 EU member states. At stake is the make-up of the next European Parliament, the direct link between Europeans and the EU's institutions and it will shape the direction of the EU over the next 5 years on issues like climate, migration, trade and defense. My guest in this episode is Billy Kelleher of Fianna F...
May 09, 2024•33 min
In mid-January, China's Premier Li Qiang paid a two-day state visit to Ireland meeting with President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and while Irish officials were keen to emphasize the 45th anniversary of Ireland-China diplomatic relations, little was said publicly about China's human rights abuses and ongoing aggression in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. And although Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin previously echoed support for the EU's decision...
Feb 13, 2024•35 min
Many of our recent episodes have been about Taiwan and as it's the time of year when many of us think about our travel plans, we decided to visit the Holiday World Show which took place at the RDS in Dublin recently to find out more about traveling to Taiwan. Taiwan is an amazing gateway to Asia, whether you want to take an exciting vacation or spend some time learning Mandarin Chinese. In this episode we speak with Taiwan's Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Pierre Yang as well as the Direct...
Jan 31, 2024•21 min
台灣選舉2024-結果 On Saturday January 13th, Taiwan went to the polls to vote in their 8th direct presidential election - an election that received unprecedented international attention and has been called the most consequential election in the country’s history. While the presidential election grabbed the spotlight, citizens also voted in the legislature elections. In this Perspectives with Neilo Taiwan 2024 Election Results Special we present a short update on the election outcome, the acceptance spe...
Jan 15, 2024•25 min
In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, I'm chatting with Bethany Allen, award-winning China reporter for Axios and author of the book Beijing Rules - China's Quest for Global Influence. I met up with Bethany in Taipei last November to talk about some of the many important topics covered in her book including; how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) exerts control over Chinese companies, as well as the CCP's propaganda reach and online disinformation operations. We also talked about how China ...
Jan 09, 2024•53 min
With Taiwan's presidential election taking place in early January, the island's future relation with the neighboring People's Republic of China (PRC) occupies pole position on the ballot. The PRC who claim Taiwan as their sovereign territory despite having never occupied or controlled it, have historically launched extensive disinformation campaigns to dissuade voters from supporting the ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). According to a 2022 report by the Digital Society...
Dec 27, 2023•46 min
On January 13th next, Taiwan goes to the polls to vote in what is likely to be the most consequential election yet in the island’s history. Here on Perspectives with Neilo, we’ve talked to local analysts and the leading political party’s representatives about what’s at stake - their policies, their polling, and their positions on China. Check out our 3 part mini-series NOW at pwneilo.com OR by searching for Perspectives with Neilo on your favorite podcast app. -----------------------------------...
Dec 15, 2023•34 sec
In this episode we bring you part 3 in our mini-series on Taiwan's 2024 presidential election and we focus on the Guomindang or KMT Party and their Presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜). All of our past episodes on Taiwan’s election are available on our blog site at pwneilo.com or by searching for Perspectives with Neilo on your favorite Podcast App. As we mentioned previously - this election outcome will likely have profound implications for Taiwan as it will set the tone for how authoritarian...
Dec 13, 2023•27 min
In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, we bring you Part 2 in our mini series on Taiwan's 2024 Presidential Election and we focus on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (民進黨) and their candidate, William Lai or Lai Ching-te (賴清德) The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) were founded in 1986 a year before the end of martial law. They are one of the two major political parties in Taiwan, the other being the Kuomintang (KMT). We will focus on the KMT's presidential candidate in the next epis...
Dec 05, 2023•30 min
Taiwan's 2024 Presidential Election is likely to have profound implications for Taiwan itself and the entire world. It's a race between the China-skeptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) versus the China-friendly opposition parties of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP). The election outcome will likely set the frame of reference for how authoritarian China, who claim Taiwan as their sovereign territory, will advance their expansionist agenda in the future. As the world's 16th...
Nov 27, 2023•47 min
In the early 1990's, Dutch business interests sought permission to build submarines at the Cork Dockyard in Rushbrooke, County Cork, Ireland. However, state files released in December of 2022 show that the then Minister for Foreign Affairs David Andrews, feared that the export of military components from Ireland to Taiwan may invite the wrath of Beijing and he blocked the project to avoid any potential retaliation from the Chinese Communist Party. Ireland wasn't the only country to fear economic...
Nov 12, 2023•30 min
