Written by Wai Yan Phyo Naing. The latest Trump-Xi summit highlights the risks of treating Taiwan as a bargaining chip amid shifting US-China relations. This article argues that Taiwan should avoid romanticising Taiwan-US relations and assess commitments through concrete actions, strengthen asymmetric defence and societal resilience, and deepen cooperation with regional partners to preserve deterrence and regional stability.
Written by Jozef Huljak. This article discusses how Lithuania is resuming economic cooperation talks with Taiwan despite internal political pressure to reset relations with Beijing. This strategy aims to shift the relationship from symbolic solidarity to durable economic interest, testing Europe’s resolve against Chinese coercion while proving that a resilient, mutually beneficial partnership can withstand domestic political cycles.
Written by Cho-han Hsiung. This article looks at how China’s new Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law could reshape Taiwan’s intelligence strategy. As Beijing tightens its reach over Chinese citizens at home and abroad, Taiwan faces both new risks and opportunities. The article argues that stronger asylum protections and secure reporting channels are crucial for distinguishing state operatives from immigrants, dissidents, and others facing political pressure.
Written by Ting-Sian Liu. The author reflects on the annual ERCCT Taiwan-Europe Connectivity Workshop, exploring how Taiwan Studies favours high-politics and geopolitics over low-politics grassroots perspectives. She argues that bridging these competing epistemologies by integrating civil defence, minoritised communities, and feminist perspectives into mainstream security frameworks creates a vital site of productive tension for envisioning Taiwan’s future beyond Western-centric, state-level narratives.
Written by Hao-Hsiang Hsieh. This article examines Taiwan’s fisheries governance reforms through the lens of Taiwan–Europe connectivity. Challenging the assumption that EU market pressure alone drives regulatory change, he shows how normative power operates through institutional dialogue, supply chains, and civil society networks. Taiwan’s response to the EU’s IUU fishing framework reveals connectivity as a multi-layered process linking regulation, markets, and societal actors.
Written by Ai Ke. This article reflects on how questions of mobility, identity, and geopolitics travel across ethnographic and academic settings. Following younger Taiwanese professionals working in mainland China, she develops the idea of “contested proximity” to examine how geopolitical tensions permeate ordinary life. Her return to Tübingen shows how intellectual connectivity emerges through ideas that circulate, transform, and return through dialogue.
