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.
Written by I-Lin Liu. This article provides a critical analysis of the Oscar-nominated short documentary Island in Between, asking who the film is for and what lies beyond the representations. The author traces the history of when and how nonfiction films became a medium for intercultural communication, which resonates with the director’s experiences and goals for the film. Despite the film’s deliberate distance from forms of government-produced propaganda, connections can still be seen, particularly that government-sponsored or produced films, in fact, dwindled from the Best Documentary Short Film category decades after its establishment. In addition, the depiction of Kinmanese in the film, in conversation with national identities and boundaries, remains contested through the director’s lens.
Written by Chee-Hann Wu. Taiwanese horror (taishi kongbu) is a rising genre that has claimed an important space in Taiwanese popular culture, particularly in the video game industry since the debut of Detention in 2017. These video games often incorporate elements of Taiwan’s local religions, ritual practices, and mythologies, especially the ones associated with ghosts and other supernatural beings. Although mostly implicit, many Taiwanese horror games contain hints of historical references to the 228 Incident and the White Terror under Martial Law. Malevolent monsters and ghosts become physical incarnations of state-sanctioned violence by perpetrators and accomplices and the suffering of those who were arrested, executed, or silenced.
Written by Yi-Ping Wu. Staying at home, not going to the beach, or climbing mountains, and not even opening an umbrella indoors are just a few taboos everyone must remember when Ghost Month 鬼月 arrives. Although the origin of the concept of Ghost Month is uncertain, the Taiwanese still emphasize the rituals that must be practised and the taboos that must be prohibited during this period. What attracts our attention most is the colossal amount of money that the Taiwanese pay for the rituals, offerings, and joss paper (paper money) to honour their ancestors because their past loved ones could return to the world of living since the gate of the underworld would open on the first day of July on the lunar calendar. The huge income that the cultural concept of Ghost Month contributes reminds us of an interesting question to think about thoroughly: How much money the “ghosts” could make?
Written by Chiaoning Su and Wei-Ping Li. From sophisticated disinformation campaigns to patriotic trolling and clickbait, the flood of mis/disinformation has become a global phenomenon. Studies have shown that Taiwan’s young democracy ranks as one of the countries most exposed to misleading viewpoints or false information from foreign forces, especially China. These campaigns often seek to demonise high-profile Taiwanese politicians and divide Taiwanese society. They also aim to steer Taiwan away from anti-China policies or international alliances, notably with the United States.
Written by Hsin-Chin Evelyn Hsieh. The award for the best documentary feature at the 59th Golden Horse Awards held in November 2022 in Taipei, Taiwan, went to And Miles to Go Before I Sleep (2022), directed by Tsung-Lung Tsai. At the ceremony, film producer Kim Hong Nguyen, dressed in the Vietnamese traditional garment áo dài, read out a message from Quoc Phi Nguyen’s family expressing their grief and hopes. It was the first time a documentary on migrant workers was presented with the Golden Horse Award, thereby creating a platform for voiceless migrants and drawing attention to the related issues in mainstream society.
