The online magazine of the Taiwan Research Hub
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Written by Ming-hui Tang. This article analyses how Beijing combines maritime patrols, AI-generated propaganda, and legal framing to create an illusion of administrative control around Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines. To counter this strategy of jurisdictional enclosure, it argues that Taiwan must leverage its strategic position to build a public regional evidence network with its neighbours.…
Written by Chengyu Yang. This essay examines how Kinmen’s surge in cross-strait transit passengers strains local livelihoods and infrastructure without delivering proportional economic benefits. As a passage between Taiwan proper and mainland China, Kinmen acts as a "breathing infrastructure", a delicate sea-air system easily desynchronised by weather disruptions. Consequently, high passenger…
Written by Shao-Yun Chang, Vanny El Rahman, and Beatrice Zani. This article (part 2) continues to illustrate how the US-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) and its mandatory "zero-fee" recruitment policies impact Taiwan’s fishing industry. While designed to protect foreign migrant workers from predatory debt bondage, the policy places heavy financial strain on small-scale vessel owners…
Written by Shao-Yun Chang, Vanny El Rahman, and Beatrice Zani. This article (part 1) examines how the US-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) and its mandatory "zero-fee" recruitment policies impact Taiwan’s fishing industry. While designed to protect foreign migrant workers from predatory debt bondage, the policy places heavy financial strain on small-scale vessel owners already facing…
Written by Romain Blachier. This article explores Taiwan’s twenty-year presence at the Festival Off d’Avignon, arguing that international cultural exchange is shaped by language, institutional practices, and artistic selection. It highlights how these factors influence what Taiwanese artists can communicate abroad and emphasises the value of sustained cross-cultural collaboration. Continue reading
Written by Tom Wilson. Urban resilience drills in Taiwan have been promoted as a cornerstone of President Lai's whole-of-society approach to preparing for contingencies and crises. How do they look in practice? Drawing on observations of the urban resilience exercise in Douliu, this article explores how everyday state-society relationships can shape and complicate efforts to build resilience.…
Written by Dr Madhukar Shyam and Manya Singhal. This article argues that Taiwan's foreign policy towards the Indo-Pacific should be analysed within the framework of the New Southbound Policy and President Lai's NSP+. The FOIP strategy is perceived by Taiwan as an approach that will ensure its sovereignty. Beyond condemning China's expansionism, Taiwan should adopt the "porcupine strategy", invest…
Written by Drake Long. This article explores the opportunities and challenges facing Taiwan's dual-use defence industry. Although Taiwan's industry is ambitious to become a manufacturing hub for drones and other dual-use technologies, its success depends on sustained government investment and access to foreign markets, with the EU as an ideal target for deepening ties. Continue reading
Written by Lucy Best. This article argues that issues of everyday governance, such as budgets, industrial development, and energy availability, that underpin Taiwan's strategic success have become increasingly important for Taiwan's partners to understand. Taiwan's resilience is a question of whether its democratic institutions can continue to manage disagreement, produce effective policy and…
Written by Noah Metheny. This article argues that the China lens and the silicon shield each capture part of Taiwan's strategic importance, but neither explains its growing international influence. Moving beyond both narratives requires recognising that Taiwan increasingly derives influence from credibility rather than legitimacy, earned through decades of institutional development and democratic…
