Reflection on connectivity between high politics and low politics of Taiwan Studies in Europe

Written by Ting-Sian Liu. The author reflects on the annual ERCCT Taiwan-Europe Connectivity Workshop, exploring how Taiwan Studies favours high-politics and geopolitics over low-politics grassroots perspectives. She argues that bridging these competing epistemologies by integrating civil defence, minoritised communities, and feminist perspectives into mainstream security frameworks creates a vital site of productive tension for envisioning Taiwan’s future beyond Western-centric, state-level narratives.

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Beyond the Normative Surface: The Role of Connectivity in Taiwan’s Fishery Governance Reforms

Written by Hao-Hsiang Hsieh. This article examines Taiwan’s fisheries governance reforms through the lens of Taiwan–Europe connectivity. Challenging the assumption that EU market pressure alone drives regulatory change, he shows how normative power operates through institutional dialogue, supply chains, and civil society networks. Taiwan’s response to the EU’s IUU fishing framework reveals connectivity as a multi-layered process linking regulation, markets, and societal actors.

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When Questions Travel: Lived Geopolitics, Intellectual Circulation, and Return

Written by Ai Ke. This article reflects on how questions of mobility, identity, and geopolitics travel across ethnographic and academic settings. Following younger Taiwanese professionals working in mainland China, she develops the idea of “contested proximity” to examine how geopolitical tensions permeate ordinary life. Her return to Tübingen shows how intellectual connectivity emerges through ideas that circulate, transform, and return through dialogue.

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One Week of Connectivity: Reflections from a Vietnamese PhD Student in Taiwan Studies

Written by Vo Thanh Hien. In this reflective essay, a Vietnamese doctoral student based in Taiwan shares how attending a week-long workshop in Tübingen, Germany, redefined their understanding of “connectivity.” Moving beyond formal International Relations theory, he describes how shared logistics, interdisciplinary feedback, and spontaneous moments transformed a room of researchers into a supportive academic community.

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Taiwan Beer: Tradition, Trade, and Lager

Written by Jordan Laramore. This article explores how Taiwan Beer reflects the island’s turbulent political and economic history. Originating under Japanese colonial rule in 1919 and later shaped by ROC government agricultural policies, most notably incorporating local Ponlai rice, the brand evolved into a cultural icon. Today, Taiwan Beer faces market liberalisation, foreign competition, and cross-strait trade tensions, transforming from a state-managed monopoly into a powerful symbol of Taiwanese identity and resilience against economic coercion.

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Data is not a decision: Taiwan’s whole-of-society resilience and the procurement gap

Written by Al Vigier. Taiwan’s resilience exercises in August reveal a critical gap: Taiwan is rapidly acquiring sensors, drones and communications infrastructure but lacks a trusted decision layer for crises when networks fail. This article argues that Taiwan should procure explainable, auditable, and human-controlled decision-support systems, thereby transforming AI principles into enforceable procurement requirements.

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