Culture and society – Page 21

Excavating Ancient Knowledge: Climate Action and the Practice of Sustainability

7 April 2023 Yi Yu Lai

Written by Chung-chun Wang. Since museums are highly and closely related to society and the public with their transformation, the new definition demonstrates that accessibility, inclusiveness, diversity and sustainability are the key aspects that echo the contemporary trends. Therefore, museums usually aim to include these notions in their plans, research, and exhibitions. For example, the emphasis on “environmental education” is widely seen in museums, as it is directly linked with sustainability associated with the current energy and food crises. In this regard, how does archaeology, a discipline considered an old, ancient, and mysterious field with studying prehistories and peoples, respond to the vision of sustainability?

A Possible Blind Spot on Decolonisation in Taiwan’s Museums

6 April 2023 Yi Yu Lai

Written by Pin-Hua Chou. When it comes to the Universal Exposition held in Paris in 1931, there are many criticisms of imperialism and colonialism appearing in all kinds of articles, both academic and non-academic. But, interestingly, speaking of the Taiwan exposition in commemoration of the first forty years of colonial rule in 1935, all the information in Mandarin that we can find at first glance seems to have a tendency to praise the Japanese government of the time by describing how valuable and grandiose achievements were made in this specific exposition under the rule of the Japanese empire and to belittle the ROC government at the same time.

Japanese Colonial/Occupational Histories in the National Museums: A Comparison Between Taiwan and Singapore

5 April 2023 Yi Yu Lai

Written by Pin-Yi Li. In the postcolonial Asian context, national museums reflect the countries’ colonial histories and their transformation, offering the country’s incumbent political elites the opportunity to reinvent or adjust the initial museum discourses framed by the colonisers. For example, respectively built by the Japanese and British colonial governments, both the National Taiwan Museum and the National Museum of Singapore are the oldest public museums in each country.

Displaying Indigenous People’s “Heirlooms” in Museums? Lessons from the Heirloom Exhibition of Pingtung Indigenous Peoples Museum

4 April 2023 Yi Yu Lai

Written by Drangadrang Kaljuvucing. “The Family Heirlooms of Slop-Dwelling Peoples” exhibition was the fruit of a competition to discover Indigenous heirlooms that still exist in Indigenous communities. It was the Pingtung Indigenous Peoples Museum (PIM) partnering with four other Indigenous museums in Pingtung County, including Wutai Pavilion, Sandimen Pavilion, Laiyi Pavilion, and Shizi Pavilion, to conduct exhibition collection, field surveys, and promotion as part of a project with the Ministry of Culture in Taiwan. The thirteen heirlooms for the exhibition, which included clothing, accessories, paintings, weaves, wood carvings, clay pots, and other living implements, originated from seven Indigenous towns in Pingtung County, except for Chunri Township. While the exhibited pieces were grouped into three categories: “Living Etiquette,” “Decorating Life,” and “Cultural Heritage,” the exhibition highlighted the diversity and uniqueness of the heirlooms revealed by their owners through interview processes.

Three Musketeers against Mis/disinformation: Assessing Citizen-led Fact-checking Practices in Taiwan

31 March 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

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.

Who are the Allies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)? Neologisms, Netizens, and Nationalisms

29 March 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Hsin-I Sydney Yueh. Recently, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense rejected a Japanese news report suggesting a widespread tendency among retired Taiwanese military officials to “sell out” their country. Wu Sz-Huai, a retired lieutenant general and incumbent opposition KMT party legislator, was among those who denounced this allegation.

“Are we Chinese spies (共諜)?” Wu angrily asked this rhetorical question during a session of the National Defense Committee at Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan on March 2, 2023. While Wu denied being a Chinese spy, Taiwanese netizens teased him by sharing a photo of Wu and other retired Taiwanese military officials attending a CCP-hosted event, where they had sat attentively and listened respectfully to China’s leader Xi Jinping in 2016. Wu’s use of the term “Chinese spies” reminds us of another similar expression in Mandarin Chinese: “allies of the CCP” (中共同路人). This expression has recently gone viral in Taiwan’s online communities, used for self-mockery and as an attacking label.

“Governing by Memes”: COVID-19, Conspiracy, and Digital Democracy in Taiwan

27 March 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Wen Liu and Hsin-I Sydney Yueh. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly rearranged our social relations and affective connections. Amid disinformation and virus-origin conspiracy theories circulating across the social landscape, governmental responses to the pandemic have included various public health measures, such as lockdowns and mask mandates, and political measures, such as escalating geopolitical conflicts between the United States and China. Around the world, fear has been one of the most prominent affective responses to the pandemic, as driven by disinformation practices, intensified geopolitics, and our raw psychic fear about the unknown.

Judicial Reform in Taiwan in the context of the Citizen Judges Act

22 March 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by John Burn. In her inauguration speech in 2016, it was claimed that Tsai Ing-Wen received her most rapturous applause for her pledges to institute reform of the judiciary and criminal law proceedings. In a climate of widespread public mistrust in a perceived detachment of judges’ interpretations of the law and public morality, Tsai embarked upon her stage of the long and slow relay of reform. So far, her administration’s most significant stride in this direction has been the Citizen Judges Act, which came into effect on the 1st of January this year. Yet this measure is only the latest legislative development in the long, complicated course of Taiwanese judicial reform.

Taiwanese Theatre’s Struggle: The 228 Incident and White Terror Era

21 March 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Yin-Chen Kang. This year marks the 76th anniversary of the February 28 Incident, also known as the 228 Incident. Occurring 76 years ago, this event was sparked at the end of February, leading to the KMT military’s brutal campaign in March against those they considered dissidents, resulting in the slaughter of numerous civilians. This marked the beginning of an extended period of White Terror. While the incident profoundly impacted Taiwanese society, many people may not be aware of the significant consequences of the 228 Incident and the ensuing White Terror on the development of modern Taiwanese theatre.

Transformation of Women’s Status in Taiwan, 1920-2020

17 March 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Doris T. Chang. Among all the gains made by Taiwanese women in the past century, achieving leadership roles in the political arena is perhaps Taiwanese women’s greatest achievement. During the Japanese colonial era, women had no right to vote. However, after lifting martial law in 1987, Taiwan emerged as a vibrant democracy. Due to political parties’ commitment to nominating more qualified women candidates for elections in the late 1990s and after that, the percentage of women elected to Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan reached 42 per cent in 2020 — the highest in Asia. This is equivalent to the percentage of women legislators in most Scandinavian countries. But Taiwanese women’s achievement in the political arena would not have been possible without making significant progress in their educational attainment throughout the twentieth century.

Hybrid Taiwanese Opera: The Vitality of “Opeila”

15 March 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Jasmine Yu-Hsing Chen. In Taiwan, outdoor Taiwanese opera performances next to temples have been essential to Taiwanese religious traditions for decades. Most troupes adhere to the etiquette of performing “classical plays for matinees and opeilas for evening performances.” Unlike performances in the afternoon, which are mostly classical repertoires based on books and legends, evening performances are always energetic. With the accompaniment of an electronic piano and jazz drums, the actors on stage sing pop songs and dress in shining sequin robes, fancy suits, or colourful Japanese costumes. This hybrid performance style has been called “opeila” (oo-phiat-a), which is phonetically adapted from the Japanese pronunciation of “opera” (o-pe-ra オペラ) in Taiwanese. This unique subgenre of Taiwanese opera has livened memories in numerous Taiwanese people and is one of the most concrete testimonies of vital Taiwanese culture.

Why Does Taiwan’s Development in the Past Century Matter?

13 March 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Peter C.Y. Chow. By the end of the 20th century, most former colonies had become independent though few qualify as modern states. Taiwan is an exceptional case in modern development history. Although still a Japanese colony until WWII, Taiwan became a modernised country with remarkable achievements in socio-political and economic developments by the end of the 20th century. Its unique development trajectory is worthy of in-depth analysis such that other developing countries can share its experience in the struggle for modernisation.

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