Taiwan Insight

At Different Stages, the Same Roots: How Kew Gardens Shaped Our Path in Plant Science

19 November 2025 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Ni-Chen Lin and Chih-Wei Hsieh. Two NTU students, Ni-Chen and Chih-Wei, joined Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank through the NTU Overseas Internship Programme. Their experiences, studying seed survival and tree seed diversity, broadened their global perspectives on conservation. Returning to Taiwan, both apply Kew’s collaborative, research-driven values in academic and governmental roles.

Connecting Science and Society: Reflections from the Placement Based on a Citizen Science Initiative at Kew

18 November 2025 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Ssu-Han (Evelyn) Chiu. This article recounts the author’s 2024 internship at Kew Gardens. Working with Kew’s Science Education Team, the author explored citizen science initiatives, attended the International Botanical Congress, and co-organised a workshop on public engagement, which reshaped the author’s understanding of collaboration, communication, and innovation in global plant science.

Supporting the Next Generation of Taiwanese Biodiversity Experts

17 November 2025 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Richard Gianfrancesco. This article introduces the collaboration between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the National Taiwan University (NTU) to train future biodiversity experts. Beginning in 2022, the partnership has provided NTU students with research placements in Kew’s collections and laboratories.

Taiwan-India University Cooperation: Emerging Corridors of Academic Exchange and Technological Diplomacy

14 November 2025 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Neeraj Mehra. This article examines the growing educational partnership between Taiwan and India as a strategic soft power tool. Nearly 1,500 Indian students now study in Taiwan, primarily in engineering and technology fields, facilitated by a 2010 MOU and Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy. This collaboration offers complementary benefits: Taiwan’s semiconductor expertise paired with India’s demographic dividend and emerging tech sector. While recent high-level delegations signal strong governmental commitment, challenges remain in administrative barriers, visa processes, and funding stability. The author argues that with proper institutional mechanisms, this partnership could become a major Indo-Pacific academic alliance serving both knowledge diplomacy and technological self-reliance.

Concerning the Origin Myths of Austronesian Taiwan

13 November 2025 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Valdis Gauss. This article introduces a published book which traces shared motifs, cross-cultural resonances, and divergent ancestral origin theories, providing an authoritative, researched contribution to understanding Taiwan’s deep-time aboriginal histories and cosmologies.

Eighty Years After the Battle of Okinawa, Thousands of Taiwan’s World War II Dead are Still Missing

12 November 2025 Adrian Chiu

Written by Bryn Thomas. This article interviews one of the thousands of Taiwanese who fought for Japan in the Battle of Okinawa. With at least 1000 Taiwanese troops took part and suffered a casualty rate of over 90% during the battle, the Okinawa Peace Memorial only listed 34 names of Taiwan’s war dead. The postwar political situation in Taiwan made it complex to honour these fallen soldiers.

Taiwan’s Forgotten War: WWII Survivors Remember US Bombing Raid On Taipei

11 November 2025 Adrian Chiu

Written by Bryn Thomas. This article remembers the survivors of the US bombing of Taipei in May 1945. Although the day was one of the deadliest in Taipei’s history, there are no public memorials to the Taipei Air Raid. In the 80 years since the war, a combination of political realities and dominant narratives has left it largely forgotten, except by those who lived through it.

“From Empire to Republic”: Taiwan, WWII, and Making a History Docuseries

10 November 2025 Adrian Chiu

Written by Bryn Thomas. This article takes us behind the scenes in the creation of the From Empire to Republic docuseries of TaiwanPlus News and this special issue. Taiwan’s World War II history made it to the headlines time and again in 2025, including President Lai Ching-te marking the 80th VE day in May to Lai drawing parallels between current Taiwan and the 1930s’ democracies when commemorating the VJ day.

When Secrets Collapse: Implications of the China Spy Scandal on UK-Taiwan Relations

7 November 2025 Adrian Chiu

Written by Alexandra Whitehead. This article asks what the China spy scandal in the UK means for Taiwan and analyses both its opportunities and risks, including the need to reassess its relations with Beijing and to clarify its legal framework to match its political rhetoric. Putting them together, the case is unlikely to drastically change the course of UK-Taiwan relations.

Water Nexus: Can Semiconductors and Sustainability Coexist in Taiwan?

5 November 2025 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Alexis Huang. This article examines Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)’s water–energy nexus, tracing its ecological costs, sustainability efforts, and infrastructural challenges. Despite advances in wastewater recycling and renewable integration, TSMC’s growth remains constrained by environmental limits, showing that long-term leadership depends on systemic reform, not technological fixes.

Redefining Super Aged: Taiwan’s Path in an Ageing Era

3 November 2025 Adrian Chiu

Written by Gita T. This article examines Taiwan’s demographic transition and explores community-based strategies that could delay dementia onset and strengthen resilience, drawing on cultural practices as a preventive policy. It suggests three policy shifts that could build on Taiwan’s cultural strengths without requiring new billion-dollar infrastructure.

Inside the Story of Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Volunteering in Hualien

31 October 2025 Adrian Chiu

Written by Vanny El Rahman. This article describes the volunteer work of Indonesian migrant workers in Hualien in the aftermath of Typhoon Ragasa. It illustrates the collaboration and organisation of these workers from all over Taiwan, inspired and mobilised by social media. They showed that they can become a reliable partner for the government and local communities.

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