VIDEO: Should Taiwan Change its Time Zone? A Chat with Sasha B. Chhabra – S6-E13 episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 4, 2026 · 25 MIN

VIDEO: Should Taiwan Change its Time Zone? A Chat with Sasha B. Chhabra – S6-E13

from The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files · host John Ross and Eryk Michael Smith

Who owns Taiwan’s time? Taipei-based political commentator and author of Formosa Review substack Sasha B. Chhabra helps us wind back the history of Taiwan’s clocks, from local rhythms before what we now call “standard time,” to Japanese colonial rule, wartime Tokyo time, and ROC “Central Plains Time.” Then we move forward to more recent debates over sovereignty and identity. “What time is it?” seems like a simple question, but this episode delightfully complicates it with stories of daylight, empire, modernization, authoritarianism, and Taiwan’s right to define its own place in the world.

Who owns Taiwan’s time? Taipei-based political commentator and author of Formosa Review substack Sasha B. Chhabra helps us wind back the history of Taiwan’s clocks, from local rhythms before what we now call “standard time,” to Japanese colonial rule, wartime Tokyo time, and ROC “Central Plains Time.” Then we move forward to more recent debates over sovereignty and identity. “What time is it?” seems like a simple question, but this episode delightfully complicates it with stories of daylight, empire, modernization, authoritarianism, and Taiwan’s right to define its own place in the world.

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VIDEO: Should Taiwan Change its Time Zone? A Chat with Sasha B. Chhabra – S6-E13

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This episode was published on June 4, 2026.

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Who owns Taiwan’s time? Taipei-based political commentator and author of Formosa Review substack Sasha B. Chhabra helps us wind back the history of Taiwan’s clocks, from local rhythms before what we now call “standard time,” to Japanese colonial...

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