Taiwan Insight

A Taiwan School of Music? Rethinking Identity, Politics, and Aesthetics

13 October 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Min-Erh Wang. This article examines the conceptualisation of a “Taiwan School of Music” within contemporary musicology. Exploring the intersection of music, postcolonial agency, and identity, the author critiques state-driven cultural hegemony while advocating for a bottom-up, pluralistic framework. Using strategic essentialism, the project offers an open acoustic space to express Taiwan’s distinct democratic identity.

From compassion to liberation: Animal advocacy, veganism, and sustainability in Taiwan

12 October 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Gina Song Lopez. This article explores the rise of Taiwan’s modern vegan movement, examining its transition from traditional religious vegetarianism to a youth-driven advocacy centered on animal ethics, climate action, and identity. Through NGOs, digital platforms, and policy engagement, local advocates are redefining meatless diets while shaping Taiwan’s dynamic plant-based foodscape and advancing national sustainability goals on the global stage.

How to Explain Cross-strait Relations

9 October 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Frédéric Krumbein. This article introduces a five-theory framework to analyse cross-strait relations. By evaluating historical decisions, economic integration, identity shifts, and security dynamics, the author provides a comprehensive analytical toolkit to map future trajectories for Taiwan-China relations across varying degrees of political salience.

From ‘Compatriots’ to Coercion: How Cross-Strait Relations Have Changed

8 October 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Simona A. Grano. The author explores the shifting dynamics of cross-Strait relations, tracing Beijing’s strategy from historical “letters to compatriots” to modern grey-zone coercion. She highlights how China’s unification rhetoric increasingly clashes with Taiwan’s democratic identity, creating an environment where political messaging, military posture, and strategic coercion closely align.

Legal Indigeneities: Identity, Authenticity, and Power in Taiwan’s Indigenous Courts

7 October 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by J. Christopher Upton. The author explores Taiwan’s specialised Indigenous court units, established in 2013 to bridge cultural differences within the national judiciary. Examining ethnographic courtroom observations, he details how Indigenous litigants actively perform identity through language, attire, legal knowledge, and advocacy. These “boundary institutions” reveal how Indigenous communities creatively navigate, contest, and reshape state legal spaces.

Introduction: From Award-Winning Research to New Conversations in Taiwan Studies

6 October 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Ming-yeh T. Rawnsley. This special issue of Taiwan Insight highlights five award-winning scholars recognised by the International Journal of Taiwan Studies Research Article Competition. Spanning Indigenous justice, vegan activism, cross-Strait relations, political communication, and music history, their essays showcase how Taiwan-focused research transcends a single discipline. Together, they demonstrate how studying Taiwan enriches global academic and public debates.

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