Taiwan Insight

Who Gets to Move? Activating Tayal Ethics in International Collaboration from Taiwan

25 June 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Wasiq Silan. This article invites us to rethink individualistic academic mobility and advocates for a decolonial approach to international collaboration. Drawing on journeys to New York and Panama with Taiwan’s Millet Ark team, the author introduces Indigenous methodologies such as lmuhuw (singing map/weaving) and qutux niqan (kinship bonds). The author argues that meaningful collaboration requires moving collectively with Elders and youth, transforming travel from knowledge extraction into relational accountability.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN TAIWAN: ABUSE, ASSAULT, RAPE, AND TRAFFICKING IN THE ISLAND’S PAST AND PRESENT

24 June 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Charles R. Charrington. This article examines the pervasive reality of sexual violence in Taiwan, highlighting its deep historical roots, systemic failures, and modern digital complexities. It analyses how structural vulnerabilities, cultural stigma, and institutional gaps protect perpetrators while silencing survivors. The author underscores the urgent need for robust education, systemic accountability, and targeted reforms to dismantle entrenched rape myths and protect potential victims.

Taiwan the Ghost I(sle): Trans Songstress in Splendid Float (2004)

23 June 2026 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Sheng-mei Ma. This article reads Splendid Float (2004) as an allegory for Taiwan’s uncertain political and cultural identity. Through the dual life of a drag queen and Taoist priest, the film links gender fluidity, folk funeral rituals, and queer performance to Taiwan’s status as a marginalised “ghost island,” and explores themes of belonging, loss, alterity, and national ambiguity.

Left-Handed Girl (2025) and Taiwan Subculture

22 June 2026 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Sheng-mei Ma. This article argues that the film Left-Handed Girl (2025) uses Taiwan’s night markets, betel nut culture, and the stigma surrounding left-handedness to critique patriarchal power. Through a multigenerational family drama centred on women’s resilience, the film exposes how oppression is perpetuated by both men and women while imagining a restored matrilineal bond that challenges inherited social hierarchies and cultural prejudices.

Stealing the Show: How Cheerleaders Became the CPBL’s Most Powerful Demand Shifter

19 June 2026 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Fang-Chang Kuo. The article examines how the CPBL transformed from a sport-centred league into an entertainment-driven spectacle, fuelled by celebrity cheerleaders like Lee Da-Hye. It argues that entertainment talent can rival superstar athletes in driving attendance, while highlighting how branding, social media, and novelty increasingly shape modern sports economics and fan culture.

Batting for the Nation(s): Baseball and the Conditional Rise of Competing Identities in Taiwan

18 June 2026 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Daniel Yu-Kuei Sun, Jou Fei Huang and Thung-Hong Lin. The article examines how international baseball success influences national identity in Taiwan. Using polling data from the 2024 Premier12 tournament, the authors argue that key victories strengthened exclusive Taiwanese identity while reducing dual Taiwanese-Chinese identification. However, identity shifts varied by opponent and political affiliation, revealing the contingent, emotional, and contested nature of Taiwanese nationhood.

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