Taiwan Insight

River and Sea · Plateau · Resonance: The Possibility of Peace in a Turbulent World

Written by Kefei Cao. The author traces her personal and historical journey across the Taiwan Strait, moving from lived encounters to reflections on war, memory, and coexistence. Drawing on Lung Ying-tai and Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, she proposes theatre as a space for reimagining peace beyond binary divisions, where vulnerability, dialogue, and shared humanity become the grounds for fragile yet enduring connection.

Taiwanese Peace as a crucial engagement to advance decolonisation for Japan

Written by Yoshitaka Ota. This article argues that the first step toward contributing to Taiwanese peace is to stop creating a common enemy between Taiwan and Japan and to start taking Taiwanese agency seriously. Japan should also exercise its agency to recognise and depart from the permanence of coloniality, which continues to create China as a common enemy, rather than looking at itself as the enemy once.

Peace and Democracy: A Symbiotic Relationship

Written by Wu Yu-Shan. This article argues that Taiwan urgently needs to establish a public body of knowledge surrounding “peace research”. Peace research concerns not only the safety of life but also the survival of democracy and freedom. Nascent democracies under the shadow of war, like Taiwan, face external threats, security dilemmas, and cultural deficits. Therefore, to protect democracy, we must first protect peace.

Chinese Identity with KMT Characteristics

29 May 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Meng Kit Tang. This article argues that Cheng Li-wun promotes a distinct formulation, Chinese identity with Kuomintang characteristics, anchored in the ROC constitution and civilizational heritage, while rejecting the sovereignty of the Chinese Communist Party. Such reclamation may reinforce the very trend it seeks to counter, and the reactions to the Cheng-Xi summit reflect this paradox.

CPC-KMT and the Politics of Strategic Timing?

28 May 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Sadia Rahman. This article argues that the strategic timing of Cheng’s visit to China will bear fruit only if the changes appear in the terms under which cross-Strait engagement is understood by Taiwanese voters. Given the public opinion, especially the younger generation, the KMT-CPC’s substantial visibility can backfire.

After the Xi–Cheng Meeting: Taiwan’s Democratic Subjectivity and the Politics of Peace

27 May 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Percy Yixuanchen Yu. This article argues that the real question following the Cheng-Xi meeting and its repercussions is whether Taiwan can convert its own democratic pluralism into strategic agency under simultaneous external pressure. This democratic subjectivity has three dimensions: institutional legitimacy, societal authorisation, and external credibility.

What Taiwan’s Resilience Planning is Missing

26 May 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Tom Wilson. As Taiwan prepares for the 2026 urban resilience exercises, this article examines a key challenge in the current approach: a mismatch between how resilience is formally defined and measured, and how it operates in practice in Taiwan crisis settings, where informal, trust-based community networks often play a central role.

Thailand and Taiwan: A Chance for Enhancing Relations

25 May 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Jordan Laramore. This article analyses the past and present of Thai-Taiwan relations. Despite the challenges posed by China’s growing ties with Thailand, this article argues that Thailand and Taiwan can build on their strong historical ties and have many opportunities for cooperation, including expanding health cooperation and soft-power exchanges between civil societies.

Beyond the Hype: a holistic view of Taiwan’s national passion – Baseball, is our system healthy?

22 May 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Yenting Lin. Amid baseball’s rise to national prominence in Taiwan, this article assesses whether the baseball system is truly healthy. While the system can produce popularity and results, the issue is structural – fragmented governance, weak development systems, and shallow industry. This article argues that Taiwan should improve its long-term investment and development.

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