What About Trans Rights? Taiwan’s Ongoing Struggle for Self-ID

Written by Ricarda Rodenas. This article describes Taiwan’s ongoing struggle over legal gender recognition, focusing on the continued requirement of sex-reassignment surgery to change one’s legal gender. It traces how pro-trans advocacy groups pursue litigation, public mobilisation, and international engagement, while facing an increasingly organised gender-critical countermovement and shifting populist currents. Despite Taiwan’s global reputation for marriage equality, the 2024 election reveals that trans rights remain politically marginal, with symbolic support outweighing substantive reform.

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Taiwan’s Diplomatic Bridge: Taiwan-Somaliland-Israel vs China in the Horn of Africa

Written by Faisal Abdirashid Adam. This article demonstrates that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, grounded in five years of Taiwan–Somaliland cooperation, marks a significant geopolitical shift in the Horn of Africa. It argues that sustained collaboration in maritime security, agriculture, healthcare, and governance transformed diplomatic isolation into strategic credibility, enabling formal recognition. At the same time, the move has intensified regional and global tensions, particularly with China and neighbouring states wary of sovereignty disputes and shifting power balances.

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From Martial Law to Open Skies: The Politics Embedded in Taoyuan Airport’s Architecture, and now shaped by a British Vision 

Written by Gahon Chiang. The northern concourse of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 opened on 25 December 2025, signifying progress from martial law to democracy. This terminal’s design emphasises openness and passenger mobility, contrasting the enclosed layouts of earlier terminals. The evolution of the airport reflects Taiwan’s broader democratic transformation, reshaping citizen-state relations.

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Mapping Taiwan, Mentoring Generations: Remembering Professor Murray Rubinstein 

Written by Professor Niki J.P. Alsford. Professor Murray Rubinstein significantly advanced Taiwan Studies, advocating for the island’s recognition as a distinct field of study. He resisted easy binaries. Instead, he traced the layered textures of Taiwanese society, showing how they intertwined in ways that demanded careful, nuanced attention. Professor Rubinstein’s legacy endures through his contributions, guidance, and the academic community he nurtured, emphasising the importance of thoughtful scholarship.

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TAP as Ecosystem: Research, Exchange, and Editorial Work – Two personal perspectives on engaging Taiwan through scholarship 

Written by Written by Felix Brender and Julian Vetterlein. The article reflects on TAP’s role in building a Taiwan Studies research ecosystem through travel grants, student engagement and interdisciplinary exchange. Through the perspectives of two research assistants, it shows how TAP supported full research cycles, international collaboration, policy dialogue and sustained academic interest in Taiwan beyond traditional funding structures.

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Digital Connected Societies: Petitions about Children under surveillance in Taiwan – Insights from TAP’s cross-perspective collaboration

Written by Dr Josie-Marie Perkuhn and Assistant Professor Dr Amélie Keyser-Verreault. The article examines growing CCTV surveillance of children in Taiwan’s childcare settings, analysing public petitions on the Join platform alongside nationwide survey data. While most respondents support intensive monitoring for safety, significant privacy concerns persist. The study highlights digitalisation’s role in reshaping childcare, democratic participation and emerging ethical tensions.

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Taiwan as a Pioneer (TAP): Local Innovation in the Dynamics of Global Megatrends — a project review

Written by Dr Josie-Marie Perkuhn & Professor Dr Christian Soffel. This article introduces Taiwan as a Pioneer (TAP), a four-year interdisciplinary postdoctoral project strengthening Taiwan Studies in Europe through research, workshops, teaching initiatives, digital infrastructure, and fieldwork. Treating Taiwan’s innovations as analytical lenses on global change, TAP built lasting scholarly networks and resources beyond a single funding cycle.

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Rethinking Chinese Media in a Digital Decade: Reflections on the Routledge Handbook of Chinese Media, 2nd Edition (2025)

Written by Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley. This article shares insights from the new edition of The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Media (2025), which documents a radically transformed, digitalised media ecology across the Chinese-speaking world. Comparing Taiwan, the PRC, Hong Kong and Macao, it foregrounds platform governance, power, participation and cultural negotiation, positioning Taiwan as a key lens for rethinking Chinese media studies in the digital age.

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Beyond Volume: Designing Slower Tourism in Taiwan

Written by Gita T. As Taiwan’s tourism sector continues to recover, questions about how the island should grow as a destination are beginning to resurface. This article advocates a slower model of heritage preservation, which allows a single site or landscape to open outward through observation, conversation, and carefully timed context. Taiwan does not start from zero as much preservation work is already underway.

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Beyond Politics: The Economic Logic Behind Taiwan’s Defence Budget

Written by Domingo I-Kwei Yang and Chan-Hsi Wang. This article argues that a new trend is emerging in Taiwan’s debate over defence spending, elevating the economic logic behind defence investment. It identifies the shift from fiscal burden to strategic investment, from buyer to co-production partner with the US and “peace through strength” as an economic strategy that fuses military readiness with an economic agenda.

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