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Abstract
The mountain hawk-eagle has a special status among the indigenous Paiwan people of Taiwan. This article examines the historical evolution of the use of this eagle’s feathers amid social transformations within Paiwan culture. It also addresses the bird’s endangered status and proposed conservation strategies to protect it. Wildlife management collaborations between indigenous communities and conservationists have sparked conflicts in values and worldviews that are challenging to reconcile. While the Paiwan wish to continue using the eagle’s feathers in important cultural rituals, this increased demand exacerbates hunting pressures on the species. This article seeks to find a better balance between preserving cultural practices and ensuring species survival. Drawing on four years of fieldwork among the Paiwan, it demonstrates the complexities of navigating entangled human–animal relationships in the context of species endangerment.
Abstract
This report maps out the evolution of the European Association of Taiwan Studies over the last 20 years. Collaboratively authored by two former secretaries-general and the current office holder, the authors trace the Association’s short history and express their gratitude to all colleagues and friends who have contributed to its work. Furthermore, they reflect on how the Association has enriched and expanded the scope of Taiwan studies across Europe.
Abstract
Using data collected in the seventh wave of the World Values Survey, this article examines how traditional and new media consumption have had very different effects on attitudes towards homosexuality in Taiwan and China. It further explores how such differences reflect each society’s media democracy. A historical analysis of the democratic movements and their relations to media freedom in Taiwan and China is presented, which provides the research background and theoretical foundation for our assumptions as part of the literature review. The ensuing statistical analysis verifies these assumptions in depth. Our findings show that the effect of new media is generally positive in both societies, whereas that of traditional media varies: it is very negative in China yet statistically insignificant in Taiwan. Based on these results, we argue that the more democratised the media space, the more likely it is to promote tolerance of homosexuality.
Abstract
The covid-19 pandemic required swift responses from governments at all levels. Government agencies were faced with the immense task of mitigating the health, social, and economic effects of covid-19. These actions and responses included developing mobile phone location tracking systems and ‘electronic fences’ alongside the use of big data analytics. Whether intentionally or not, this led to questions about the rise of the ‘biosurveillance state’. In this paper, we examine the extent to which digital democracy has emerged as a contested concept in Taiwan. Furthermore, we ask: to what extent is the use of digital surveillance for disease control and prevention justifiable, and to what extent can personal privacy be sacrificed when adopting digital surveillance measures with the aim of securing collective safety? We compare Taiwanese citizens’ concerns about personal privacy with those in other democracies, such as the UK, and those in the EU and North America.
Abstract
This article examines how Han Taiwanese myths and urban legends have been associated with the environment and native fauna in the best-selling popular non-fiction publication Monstrous Taiwan and the hit horror film The Tag-Along. This article also looks at how these works can be considered within the framework of settler colonial studies in East Asia. Both works are interested in intervening in popular culture and genre cinema while reframing the horror or supernatural genre as particularly Taiwanese, drawing on urban legends and traditional folk tales. However, the creators of these works persistently characterise Han Taiwanese legends as interchangeable with the native fauna of Taiwan. This move positions Han Taiwanese as inheritors of the natural environment of Taiwan while minimising or, in some cases, tokenising the presence of indigenous Taiwanese people.
Abstract
This article applies a three-level framework based on the logic of ontological security to the case of party interactions between Hong Kong and Taiwan in the post-handover years. Rather than through domestication and subversion, as the literature suggests, this article argues that liminal actors enhance their ontological security through interacting with like-minded partners. Establishing the case of liminality for Hong Kong and Taiwan, this article also finds that both conventional and movement parties in the two political units interacted to strengthen their stable sense of self. However, their practices differed based on their political positions within the political systems and their available resources. This article provides the first empirical mapping of the conventional party interactions between Hong Kong and Taiwan. It seeks to contribute a theoretical framework explaining the close links between political units and their movements.