Written by Aaron Su. This article discusses the crucial role of photography in consolidating a liberal multicultural order in Taiwan by obscuring dissent through visual depictions of harmonious Indigenous life. Drawing on fieldwork at Taiwan’s Cultural Health Stations, the author shows how photography portrays Indigenous satisfaction with current health policies, leaving little room for the everyday pressures, demands, and disputes.
Written by Paulina G. Karim. This special issue, co-produced by Taiwan’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency and the Taiwan Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative, presents a “3-in-1” people-centred conservation strategy combining the Taiwan Ecological Network, Community Forestry, and Satoyama approaches. It shows how Indigenous and local communities steward the island’s bio-cultural landscapes.
Written by Janelle Umana-Limon. This article examines the rise of Indigenous resistance movements in Taiwan through the voices of Liglav Awu and Ayah Demaladas. It highlights how colonial powers, especially the Christian Church, have shaped and suppressed Indigenous cultures and women’s autonomy.
Written by Brian Hioe. Siraya civil society groups oppose a KMT proposal to create a “Pingpu Indigenous” category, arguing it undermines their full legal recognition mandated by a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling. The debate reflects ongoing struggles over identity, resources, and recognition amid shifting political dynamics and the KMT’s efforts to defund Indigenous institutions.
Written by Dr Carla Figueira. This article reflects on the 2024 IJTS Open Access Award-winning paper, “Indigenous Peoples as Non-State Diplomatic Actors in the Public/Cultural Diplomacy of Taiwan: A Case Study of Dispossessions: Performative Encounter(s) of Taiwanese Indigenous Contemporary Art.” It highlights the value of engaging with the personal and social contexts shaping research outputs. It celebrates the growing academic focus on Indigenous Peoples and cultural diplomacy, foregrounding Taiwan’s unique position.
Written by Scott E. Simon. This article introduces and reflects on the author’s two IJTS Open Access Award-winning papers. Drawing on decades of fieldwork and writing, the author contributes to Taiwan Studies by addressing how indigeneity integrates Indigenous peoples into the state project of post-martial law in Taiwan while emphasizing the need to recognize both Taiwan and its Indigenous peoples as having distinct ontological existence of their own. He calls for an ontological commitment to self-determination amid growing geopolitical precarity.
