Written by Nancy Guy. Garbage, or rather, thoughts of garbage, are part of daily life in Taiwan. This is illustrated in the practices of individuals and households as they manage the material byproducts of everyday living. It is also reflected in all manner of creative practice. This post introduces the music of garbage trucks, the ‘Maiden’s Prayer’, not only on the music, but to social context with the music and Taiwan’s ‘throwing garbage’ culture.
Written by Laila Chin-Hui Fan. Taiwan joined the global initiative “Listening to Quiet,” reaffirming its leadership in soundscape conservation. From misty wetlands to the celebrated Quiet Trail, citizens practised deep listening as an ecological and philosophical act. These quiet walks are rooted in years of civic advocacy and reveal an emergent environmental ethic in Taiwan, where attentive listening becomes a form of humility, coexistence, and more-than-human care.
Written by Kuo Ta-Hsin. This piece introduces the Vietnamese presence in Taiwan, through different sonic performances, to link Vietnamese students and/or migrants closer to their home. It is just for instance, In the karaoke rooms and Vietnamese eateries of Taichung, memory meets reality. Voices turn into acts of belonging, and to sing is to remain Vietnamese, even far from home.
Written by Junbin Tan. This article traces the Lin family’s multigenerational migration from wartime Kinmen Island to Southeast Asia and beyond. Anchored in an ethnographic encounter with Grandma Lin and her family, the author follows the Lins’ migratory trajectories of departure, separation and eventual return, revealing how Kinmenese mobility was shaped by political restriction, economic necessity, and the moral economies of kinship.
Written by Annabel Simpson. Over the summer of 2022, reports of people being trafficked from overseas and being forced to work scamming others in Southeast Asia began to make their way into Western media. This article explores how Taiwan’s lack of international recognition impacts the assistance it can provide to Taiwanese victims trapped in these scam compounds.
Written by Mei-chuan Wei. This article examines the recent India-Pakistan conflict’s implications for Taiwan, highlighting the importance of developing advanced defence systems like data links and integrated air defence. It underscores the critical need for Taiwan to bolster public awareness of security threats and cultivate an unwavering will to resist potential Chinese aggression, viewing these as crucial for national defence.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has diverged since 1949: mainland China standardized it into a state-controlled system for nationalist purposes, while Taiwan developed a more diverse, pluralistic approach that preserves multiple interpretive traditions. Both claim authentic Chinese heritage, but represent fundamentally different visions of how tradition should function in modern society.
Written by Jiun-Ru Chiang. This article examines the geopolitical constraints of Taiwan’s space development, exploring how China use political and economic power to shape broader geopolitical restraints in order to obstruct Taiwan’s space development. While struggling in space development and international cooperation, Taiwan must pursue a more calculated and diversified approach.
Written by Ping-Yang Chao. This article examines China’s Grey Zone Conflict strategy employed since the Tsai Ing-wen’s presidency. These incursions became more frequent and intensive particularly after the visit of former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi. China is attempting to establish a “new normal” and intimidate Taiwan without triggering war and international intervention.
It is a privilege to present this insightful piece ‘For Molecular Archipelagic Thinking’ from Professor Chun-Mei Chuang, a respected figure in the field of Sociology from Soochow University, Taipei. Professor Chuang’s work is marked by her interests in feminist theories, postcolonial discourse, ecology, and animal studies. In this contribution, she graciously shares her experiences and reflections on teaching sociology in Taiwan, providing a rare glimpse into her unique approach and the broader sociological landscape in Taiwan.Chun-Mei Chuang is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at Soochow University in Taipei, Taiwan. Her research interests include feminist theories, postcolonial discourse, ecology and animal studies.
From a Lacanian perspective, Hsiang-Yuan Yu writes about the possibility of breaking through the market orientated, sedimented, evidence based pedagogy In Taiwanese psychological practice to allow space for the subject to emerge.
Tensions surrounding Taiwan have risen significantly. How will the situation develop in 2022? China has upped the ante by sending almost 1,000 aircraft into Taiwan’s ADIZ zone in the past year and by objecting to any moves by Taiwan to enhance its international relations. Furthermore, just the past weekend, China sent 39 aircraft into Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in one day, Sunday, January 23rd, followed by 13 aircraft on Monday.
Taiwan Insight 