EATS – Taiwan Insight

Reflections on the Twentieth Anniversary of the European Association of Taiwan Studies

7 September 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Dafydd Fell. It was a special moment to open the 2023 European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) Conference back at SOAS twenty years after we started planning the first conference. The venue for the opening in June 2023 was even the same as the first 2004 conference in the SOAS University of London’s Khalili Lecture Theatre. It was also wonderful to see many people at this year’s conference who had also been involved in the early history of the association. Reflecting back over the last twenty years, it is remarkable how European Taiwan Studies has developed, and EATS has played a critical role in this Taiwan Studies miracle.

Taiwan Studies in Europe in 20 years: Looking forward to another 20 years

12 July 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Isabelle Cockel and Chun-yi Lee. The 20th Annual Conference of the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) was held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, on 26th – 28th June 2023. More than 120 participants joined this intellectual festival. A fire drill flushing out all the participants from the SOAS Main Building on the second day added a memorable highlight to the otherwise smooth proceeding of a panel-packed conference. Taiwan Insight featured four conference papers from the 3rd to the 12th of July as part of the celebration. This postface reflected upon the steady growth of Taiwan Studies, as demonstrated by them, in the past twenty years in Europe and beyond.

The Development of Taiwan Studies at Roma Tre University

5 July 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Rosa Lombardi and Silvia Schiavi. Since 2012, Roma Tre University carried out a series of activities to promote the knowledge and dissemination of Taiwanese culture and literature, contributing to the development of Taiwan studies in Italy. Before that, there was very little or no space devoted to Taiwanese literature in Italian universities, and courses in modern and contemporary Chinese literature mainly still deal with Chinese mainland literary production. Given this scarcity of studies on Taiwan in Italy, Prof. Rosa Lombardi and Dr Silvia Schiavi have promoted and implemented a series of events to raise awareness about the island and foster a better understanding of the Sinophone world through the introduction of Taiwan’s rich culture, history and literature to the students and the general public.

Joshua Wen-Kwei Liao (1905 – 1952): A Founding Theorist of Taiwanese Independence

12 April 2021 Editor

Written by Kuan-Wei Wu 吳冠緯. Like his East-Asian contemporary intellectuals, Joshua was a product of both Western and Eastern traditions during those divided times. His reflection on statehood enfolds different trends of twentieth-century thought. This makes him a complex but intriguing thinker. When previous studies emphasise his political and nationalistic engagement, it should be noted that his way of thinking and philosophical methodology is also worthwhile to research.