Written by Anthony H. F. Li. A stable electricity supply is vital for national security, economic development as well as the everyday lives of citizens in Taiwan. Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pursued an ambitious policy to decarbonise the electricity sector with renewable energies and to phase out nuclear energy by 2025, the discussion on whether Taiwan is facing a shortage of electricity amidst the process of energy transition emerges on the social agenda from time to time.
Written by Wasiq Silan. Is going green hurting Indigenous communities? Not necessarily. However, exclusionary conservation measures create a lose-lose outcome for non-Indigenous and Indigenous communities. Indeed, Indigenous peoples’ full and substantial participation is a prerequisite to achieving a sustainable future and halting the rapid loss of global biodiversity. This is true for the Indigenous communities in Taiwan, such as in the case of the solar panel controversy on the Katratripulr Pinuyumayan (Beinan in Mandarin Chinese) people’s traditional territory. Drawing from the experience of the Sámi, my recent participation in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) may shed light on this issue.
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.
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?
Written by Niki Alsford. To conclude, Taiwan Studies exists as an academic discipline because those who engage with it—whether in the continental or oceanic stories—care deeply about it. Debates surrounding its positionality will continue in an almost cyclical context because the anxieties academics have about the future of the field are shaped by the very concerns that we are all facing in a continued onslaught on languages, humanities, and social sciences at academic institutes across the globe. The future-proofing of the discipline rests in encouraging our students to engage with and think about Taiwan. After all, it is a brilliant island to study.
Written by Ysanne Chen, Ilin Tsai, and Shih-Hao Huang. In “Pondering the Pacific,” we conceptualise the Pacific as an oceanic highway or a contact zone. The vast ocean connects Pacific Islands. We travel from the island of Taiwan (we are reluctant to call it main(is)land) to Pongso no Tao to recover and explore this connection. When on the island, we further learn about Tao people’s connectedness to other Pacific Islanders. Upon our return, we wrote these poems to celebrate the Pacific. Along with other Pacific Islanders writers and poets, we praise the Pacific for its abundance and ability to connect people. We also join Pacific Islanders in voicing out against nuclear contamination and all forms of environmental injustice.
