Taiwan Insight

From Objects to Relationships: Indigenous Collaboration and the “Engagement Turn” in Taiwan’s Museums

12 June 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Tzu-Ning Li. Shifting from studying Indigenous peoples to actively collaborating with them, museums have initiated emotionally charged “objects returning home” projects. The author demonstrates that ancestral artefacts are not passive specimens but active extensions of kinship and spirit. Ultimately, collaboration is framed as a slow, relational practice that challenges institutional authority and transforms museums into spaces for dynamic dialogue and historical justice.

Collections of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples at the Ethnological Museum in Berlin

11 June 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Shao-Ji Yao. This article explores the provenance and 150-year history of Taiwan’s Indigenous ethnographic collections at the Ethnological Museum in Berlin. Shaped by director Adolf Bastian’s universal archival ambitions, these artefacts span the period from late nineteenth-century colonial encounters to post-WWII acquisitions. The author details ongoing collaborative efforts to bring these historic items back to Taipei for a landmark transnational exhibition at the National Taiwan Museum in 2027.

Threads in Entangled Worlds: Indigenous Knowledge and Weaving Heritage in Taiwan

10 June 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Ipiq Matay. This article explores the tension between embodied Indigenous knowledge and rigid institutional heritage frameworks in Taiwan. Through tminun (weaving), how cultural heritage is a lived, relational practice passed down through muscle memory, rhythm, and ancestral law (gaya), rather than static museum displays. The author calls on cultural institutions to look beyond simple representation and embrace dynamic Indigenous epistemologies on their own terms.

Orchids Across Realms: Transnational Museum Collaboration and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in Taiwan

9 June 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Yian Chen. This article describes the 2025 exhibition Formosa Orchids Blossom, a collaborative project between Taipei’s National Museum of History and the University of Tokyo. It explores how the orchid transcends its role as a simple flower to serve as a complex cultural lens in Taiwan. By weaving together Japanese botanical science, traditional Chinese literati art, and the sacred indigenous cosmology of the Tsou people, the interdisciplinary exhibition deconstructs rigid national narratives, modelling a decolonised, transnational approach to modern museum practice.

When Did Who Say What To Whom: Summit Meetings As Political Theatre

8 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Chieh-Ting Yeh. Amid the fanfare and signals from the Cheng-Xi and Trump-Xi summits, this article suggests that Taiwan should be proactive in its own path forward, instead of being bogged down in trying to rely on certain individuals’ delusions of grandeur to solve complex global conflicts, or interpreting signals coming out of these political skits called “summits.”

Peace, Memory and the Risks We Choose Not to See

5 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Ming-yeh T. Rawnsley (蔡明燁). Drawing on Behind The Scenes’ reflections on Taiwan’s democratic development and the Tangwai movement, this article explores contemporary debates over peace, security, and the costs associated with preserving freedom and democracy. At its core, it asks readers to reflect on the meaning of peace and the risks societies may choose to acknowledge – or ignore – in pursuing it.

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