Image credit: The Neckarmauer, Tübingen town. Photo by Stefan Braig.
This special issue grows directly out of the Taiwan–Europe Connectivity Workshop hosted at the European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan (ERCCT) at Tübingen University from 4 to 10 July 2026. Generously supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with particular thanks to ERCCT’s managing director Mr Stefan Braig, this workshop brought together scholars from across institutions and disciplines to interrogate what “connectivity” means in practice, methodology, and personal voices.
Across the four essays collected here, authors move beyond standard institutional definitions to offer grounded reflections on the workshop itself: the intellectual momentum sparked in discussion rooms, the casual exchanges that reshaped ongoing projects, and the physical journeys that brought each participant to Tübingen. Together, these pieces trace how Taiwan–Europe exchanges unfold not just through abstract policy or overarching theory, but through shared dialogue, field experiences, and the collaborative spaces that sustain their pursuit of Taiwan studies.
One Week of Connectivity: Reflections from a Vietnamese PhD Student in Taiwan Studies Written by Vo Thanh Hien.
When Questions Travel: Lived Geopolitics, Intellectual Circulation, and Return Written by Ai Ke.
Beyond the Normative Surface: The Role of Connectivity in Taiwan’s Fishery Governance Reforms Written by Hao-Hsiang Hsieh.
Reflection on connectivity between high politics and low politics of Taiwan Studies in Europe Written by Ting-Sian Liu