Written by Carlotta Rose Busetto. This article examines Tsai Ing-wen’s fashion in her two successful presidential campaigns and how posting certain outfits online increased her electability. It finds that clothes matter in Taiwan and Tsai was not free to wear what she wanted. Moreover, clothes matter more than gender because Tsai also utilised them to promote her own political agenda.
Written by Annabel Simpson. Over the summer of 2022, reports of people being trafficked from overseas and being forced to work scamming others in Southeast Asia began to make their way into Western media. This article explores how Taiwan’s lack of international recognition impacts the assistance it can provide to Taiwanese victims trapped in these scam compounds.
Written by Ana Paloma Martínez Gómez. This article explores how Indigenous identity is portrayed on screen and how film supports cultural revitalisation and self-representation through a decolonial and gendered lens. As a new Taiwanese national identity emerges, the gap between official recognition and ongoing cultural marginalisation reveals the complex space Indigenous communities occupy.
Written by Renee Te-Jung Chen. This article looks beyond the numbers of Taiwan’s Small-Amount Remittance Services for Foreign Migrant Workers from a gender perspective. It argues that the milestone of becoming the primary remittance channel obscures the gendered patterns in adopting the new platform. It suggests that the collection of sex-aggregated data is necessary.
Written by Nils Peterson. This article analyses the domestic challenge for the Lai administration’s foreign policy under a KMT-aligned Legislative Yuan. The divided government poses two potential hurdles: the risk of domestic gridlock and fights over defence appropriation funding. These challenges will require some degree of compromise between the KMT and the DPP, reinforced by the recent recall campaigns.
Written by Alexandra Whitehead. This article assesses the importance of Taiwan in the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) published in June 2025. It argues that the SDR recognises Taiwan’s global significance in the context of countering China, both in security and economic terms. However, it lacks explicit contingency planning to support Taiwan and remains ambiguous towards China.
Written by Meng Kit Tang. This article explores a different kind of diplomacy in Taiwan-China relations. When people-to-people contact is grounded in transparency and democratic safeguards, it becomes strategic. This article argues that Taiwan should shape engagement to build trust, defuse propaganda and complement hard deterrence with soft resilience.
Written by Yenting Lin. This article examines the misinterpretation and misuse of UN Resolution 2758, which defines China’s representation in the UN but not the status of Taiwan. But it has been used by Beijing to endorse the “One China Policy”. Pushback against China’s interpretation has begun to emerge in recent years as Taiwan’s contributions to international society are recognised.
Written by Bonnie, Yushih Liao. This article argues that Taiwan’s democracy must be stress-tested. While the ultimate results may not have shifted parliamentary power: the campaign’s institutional impact, social effects, and geopolitical implications highlight a crucial inflexion point in Taiwan’s ongoing democratic development.
Written by Dr Chieh-chi HSIEH. This article analyses the winners and losers of the great recall election in Taiwan. It argues that while the two opposition parties (KMT and TPP) neither gained nor lost and the DPP is undoubtedly the main loser, the main winner is the Taiwanese society. The self-motivated attempts to recall their respective legislators, albeit unsuccessful, consolidate Taiwan’s democracy.
Written by Meng Kit Tang. Taiwan’s 2025 mass recall movement mobilised unprecedented civic energy but failed to unseat a single lawmaker. This commentary explores how a campaign born of democratic hope left behind deeper polarisation, institutional strain, and little collective pride. The way forward will require not only better laws or more elections, but also maturity, dialogue, reform and healing.
Written by Tzu-chiao Su. This article suggests that the mass recall movement briefly opened a political Pandora’s box in Taiwan. Fortunately, the results of the vote managed to close it again. The recalls showcased Taiwan’s vibrant democratic energy and its strong democratic resilience, but the recall mechanism must be critically reassessed.
Taiwan Insight 