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.
Written by Jordan Laramore. This article explores how Taiwan Beer reflects the island’s turbulent political and economic history. Originating under Japanese colonial rule in 1919 and later shaped by ROC government agricultural policies, most notably incorporating local Ponlai rice, the brand evolved into a cultural icon. Today, Taiwan Beer faces market liberalisation, foreign competition, and cross-strait trade tensions, transforming from a state-managed monopoly into a powerful symbol of Taiwanese identity and resilience against economic coercion.
Written by Hong Jiang. Taiwan’s renowned Alishan high-mountain tea sector faces critical environmental and market challenges after nearly five decades of growth. This article explores how local farmers are actively cultivating a sustainable future. By embracing nature-based farming, prioritizing quality over quantity, and integrating tea art with tourism, these producers are building a vibrant “cultural economy” of nature, culture, and care to safeguard their livelihoods and heritage.
Written by Junhong Ma. This article follows the journey of Jinxuan, Taiwan’s celebrated tea cultivar, tracing how it acquires new names, meanings, and sensory identities across Taiwan and beyond. Combining ethnographic fieldwork with historical inquiry, it shows how cultivars circulate through agricultural science, markets, translation, and taste, revealing tea as a living assemblage shaped by plants, people, technologies, and transnational cultural exchanges.
Written by Pauline Harlay. Drawing on ethnographic research in Taiwan’s tea industry, this article examines how the concept of terroir (風土) has been reinterpreted as both a commercial strategy and a political project. It argues that defining the distinctive tastes of Taiwanese tea is not merely about marketing quality or origin, but also about asserting national identity, territorial distinctiveness, and economic resilience amid intensifying cross-Strait geopolitical tensions.
Written by Thiago Braga. This article explores Taiwanese Tea Art, challenging its view as a static or “invented” tradition. Instead, the author frames it as a dynamic, evolving practice deeply intertwined with Taiwan’s modern history, from geopolitical shifts and economic miracles to democratisation and identity reclamation. Tea art serves as a sensory canvas reflecting Taiwan’s ongoing sociocultural and political transformations.
