Written by Jordan Laramore. This article analyses the past and present of Thai-Taiwan relations. Despite the challenges posed by China’s growing ties with Thailand, this article argues that Thailand and Taiwan can build on their strong historical ties and have many opportunities for cooperation, including expanding health cooperation and soft-power exchanges between civil societies.
Written by Yu-Han Huang. Reflecting on formative undergraduate experiences, the author traces how studying Japanese colonial Taiwan and reading Leo Ching’s Becoming “Japanese” shaped his academic path. Ching’s analysis of colonial identity formation, despite criticisms, offered a framework to understand Taiwan’s complex identity and revealed how colonial legacies continue to influence Taiwanese self-consciousness.
Written by Catherine Tsai. This article examines Chou Wan-yao’s study of kōminka policies in colonial Taiwan. The author argues that Chou’s work on the relationships between assimilation, identity formation, and wartime mobilisation has served as foundational to Taiwan-centred historiography in both Sinophone and Anglophone contexts.
Written by Yoshitaka Ota. This article argues that the first step toward contributing to Taiwanese peace is to stop creating a common enemy between Taiwan and Japan and to start taking Taiwanese agency seriously. Japan should also exercise its agency to recognise and depart from the permanence of coloniality, which continues to create China as a common enemy, rather than looking at itself as the enemy once.
Written by Aleksandrs Gross. This article analyses recent Taiwan-Japan solidarity amid tensions between Japan and China. It captures how widespread and deep mutual support is at the grassroots, people-to-people level in both countries. The current tense political climate has only deepened the friendship between the two peoples. This benefits Taiwan and puts China in a tricky position.
Written by Aleksandrs Gross. This article explores a unique phenomenon that occurred during the recalls – small businesses explicitly voiced their stance on the recalls. This mirrors similar patterns of Hong Kong during the pro-democracy movement in 2019. The author interviewed three pro-recall businesses to understand their stance and how they encourage constructive discussion without alienating opponents.
