Chee-Hann Wu

Touring Indigenous music from Taiwan in Canada—the lessons of Kanatal

12 June 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Charlie Smith. Last September, when the band Kanatal walked onto the stage in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, it marked a milestone. This was the culmination of the first Canadian tour by a group of Indigenous musicians from Taiwan. After performing in several Canadian cities, the four members—guitarist Masaw Ali, keyboard player Suana Emuy Cilangasay, singer Abus Tanapima, and drummer Vangacu Kalevuwan—were eager to impress a crowd that had gathered for the signature event of TAIWANfest Vancouver.

A Dialogue between Taiwan and Canada

9 June 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Chee-Hann Wu. The world is filled with diverse cultures and histories, each with its unique narratives and connections. This special issue explores Taiwan and Canada’s fascinating cultural and historical ties. Despite their geographical distance, these two nations share surprising parallels that have shaped their identities and fostered mutual understanding. From immigration patterns to artistic influences, this special issue demonstrates how the cultural and historical connection between Taiwan and Canada is a testament to the power of shared experiences and the ability of diverse nations to forge meaningful bonds.

Wave Makers on Netflix: A Vision of Taiwanese Politics Not ‘Amid Tensions’

10 May 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Chieh-Ting Yeh. “Wave Makers” (2023; 人選之人-造浪者) is a new drama on Netflix about political staffers trying to win a presidential election in the last few months of the campaign. This may sound like the premise of many television shows in the political intrigue genre, but it is the first of its kind from Taiwan to be available to a worldwide audience. The drama addresses various political issues relevant to contemporary Taiwan, including environmental concerns, energy policies, and workplace sexual harassment, reflecting the ongoing public debates on these topics. But it is glaring in what it is missing: Taiwan-China relations.

The Limits of “Ecological Development”: Making Existing Lifeworlds Visible on Taipei’s Shezidao

5 May 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Aaron Su. In March 2023, yet another round of protests broke out in response to development plans on Taipei’s Shezidao, a flood-prone peninsula on the outer edges of the city home to over 11,000 residents. Spanning multiple mayoral regimes, the Taipei government’s plans to construct on the currently development-restricted Shezidao has been met with dissatisfaction time and again from its residents, who worry about how seemingly optimistic promises of uplift and revitalization spell evictions and other drastic changes to their existing economies, social networks, and modes of life.

Queering the Intergenerational Remembrance of the White Terror

4 May 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Linshan Jiang. In 2020 and 2021, the National Human Rights Museum and Spring Hill Publishing released two literary collections on the White Terror in Taiwan (1947–1987): a four-volume novel collection entitled Making the Past in the Moment (2020) and a five-volume essay collection, entitled Soul and Ash (2021), co-edited by two Taiwanese writers, Hu Shuwen (1970– ) and Tong Weiger (1977– ). “White Terror” refers to the 50-year oppressive rule by the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT) in Taiwan after the Republic of China took over Taiwan from Japan in 1945. Then the KMT lost the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949) and was exiled to Taiwan in 1949. As a result, it is officially known as the martial law period. Although it should be admitted that the concept of “white terror” may not encompass every aspect of the martial law period, my focus is on the continuing oppression of the people due to KMT’s authoritarian rule, and I will mainly use White Terror to refer to this period in this article.

Understanding Taiwanese Literature Beyond Borders

3 May 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Jenna Tang. Literature from Taiwan is considerably underrepresented in the English-speaking world. Several literary themes are specific to the place, its languages, cultures, and history that haven’t been fully explored over time. As a Taiwanese writer and translator myself, I am often questioned: “How do these books from Taiwan travel across borders?”

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