Written by Huynh Tam Sang. This article reviews President Lai address’ focus on peace and democracy amidst multiple challenges facing the new president. In particular, the lack of majority in the Legislative Yuan could proved to be a barrier to unity in terms of domestic reforms and foreign policy. His experience and statecraft is demanded to navigate the early days of the administration.
Written by Brian Hioe. This article analyses the continuities of President Lai’s inaugural address both in terms of cross-Strait relations and domestic policies. The status quo, however, could potentially challenged by the uncertainties ahead, including the US presidential election in November and the growing political storm domestically.
Written by Ian Murphy. This article introduces TAIDE, the Trustworthy AI Dialogue Engine. TAIDE is Taiwan’s domestic project to build a large language model. It examines how, by investing in AI technology, Taiwan is not only aiming to reduce its reliance on external sources but also to protect itself from potential threats, particularly from China.
Written by Donna Wang Su. In this article, the author connects to the book Island X through her own journey as a second-generation Taiwanese American whose family lived through the era explored in the book. This article shares a personal story and invites conversation and participation in building a stronger community.
Written by Alex Yong Kang Chow. This article offers insights into the anti-imperial struggles of the Taiwanese and Hong Kong diasporas through the book Island X. This article contextualises the diaspora experiences historically through Cold War geopolitics and left-leaning activism since the 1970s.
Written by Wen Liu. This article highlights three major contributions of Wendy Cheng’s historically grounded book Island X, including the understanding of Taiwan through the US-China-Taiwan stance, the need for Asian American studies to incorporate geopolitical analysis and situating Taiwan in Asian American studies.
Written by Leona Chen. This article is republished from Taiwaneseamerican.org. It explores how Island X brings important conversation to different generations of Taiwanese Americans, and the meaning of the book as an opening and invitation for people to rethink about the diaspora community’s history and lived experiences.
Written by Wendy Cheng. This article introduces Cheng’s 2023 book Island X: Taiwanese Student Migrants, Campus Spies, and Cold War Activism. The book tells the political history of a generation of Taiwanese who migrated to the US as students from the 1960s to the 1980s during the late Cold War and KMT martial law, and who became politically active in struggles for democracy, human rights, and Taiwan independence.
Written by Malte Philipp Kaeding. This article argues for the important identity-formation process of the Umbrella movement and beyond in Hong Kong, asking the question of what is Hong Kong and what does it mean to be a Hongkonger. This process was inspired by the Sunflower Movement and the Taiwanese success in building a unique identity vis-a-vis China.
Written by Brian Hioe. The geopolitical fates diverged significantly in the past decade since the Sunflower and Umbrella Movements broke out ten years ago. Nevertheless, this article analyses the political interactions between Hong Kong and Taiwan in terms of movement activists and electoral politics. The author argues that these exchanges are expected to continue.
Written by Adrian Chiu. This special issue presents a brilliant line-up of scholars and observers of the two movements which provides insights and perspectives to analyse and reflect on the tenth anniversary of the Sunflower and Umbrella Movements. This introductory piece briefly sets the scene for their excellent analysis by reviewing some of the significant political changes both internationally and domestically.
Written by Russell Sherrard-Smith. This article compares Taiwan’s DPP with the Liberal Party of the Philippines, focusing on party institutionalisation and how it contributes to our understanding of the quality of democracy. The author looks at the two parties’ systemness, centralisation, leadership stability and other factors that significantly influence the countries’ democratic development.
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