Taiwan Insight

Mei’s Original Sin (美之原罪): Settler Colonialism, “Beautiful Country,” White Beauty

16 October 2026 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Sheng-mei Ma. This article focuses on self-alienation and the pursuit of Eurocentric beauty standards. It examines how Chinese linguistic biases and the prevalence of cosmetic surgery among celebrities reflect a subconscious, self-inflicted whitewashing that parallels historical settler colonialism and racial hierarchies.

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LIBERTY SQUARE REVISITED: THE WILD LILY MOVEMENT AND TAIWAN’S DEMOCRATIC CRISIS

15 October 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Vasja Hafner. This article argues that the Wild Lily Movement not only created repertoires that have been repeatedly reused in subsequent movements, using occupation of public space as the primary way to articulate democratic legitimacy, but also helped create a structural gap in the constitutional architecture. The same protest repertoire is now being used to contest the institutional order.

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Beyond Exclusion: Countering Taiwan’s Identity Subordination in Non-State Institutions

14 October 2026 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Nilufer Mistry Sheasby. This article examines how non-state institutions undermine Taiwan’s identity by mandating subordinating terminology in ostensibly apolitical settings. It argues that traditional diplomatic responses are insufficient and proposes a multi-faceted playbook: coordinating government and private actors to challenge naming decisions, mobilising stakeholder pressure, and mitigating harm when reversal remains impossible.

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Lithuania’s Taiwan Balancing Act Tests Europe’s Resolve

2 October 2026 Chee-Hann Wu

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.

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Tsai’s second year: The emergence of non-partisans in Taiwan

23 May 2018

Written by Austin Horng-En Wang and Yeh-Lih Wang. In the past two years, one of the most important phenomena in Taiwan politics is the emergence

The decay of Taiwan’s democracy?

22 May 2018

Written by Kai-Ping Huang. After four months’ inquiry and clarification, the Ministry of Education (MOE) officially annulled the selection of the president of the National Taiwan

Educational approaches to promote successful aging in rural Taiwan

21 May 2018

Written by Stephanie Yu-Ching Chen. Taiwan has an ageing population. The total proportion of elderly people exceeded 14% in March 2018. Among Taiwan’s 25 counties and