Date: Thursday, December 15, 2022

Time: 05:00 PM

Location: Online

Taiwan, or the Republic of China (R.O.C.), is one of Asia’s most essential and powerful democracies. Taiwan’s democracy and the country’s successful transition from an authoritarian one-man regime to a democracy are shown by many as examples. However, some of the problems that continue to this day from the one-man rule in Taiwan are black spots in the strong Taiwanese democracy. One of the most significant obstacles is organized crime groups and their relations with politics. These organized crime groups operate in various areas, such as politics and the economy in Taiwan. They have become one of the sides in the pro-independence and pro-unification issue that explains Taiwan’s political life in recent years. These criminal organizations are being manipulated and used by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for pro-unification purposes today. In this introductory talk, the relationship of organized crime groups with politics in Taiwan and the relationship of these organizations with the People’s Republic of China will be explained with the example of the Bamboo Union. In addition to this relationship, to understand the main reason behind the relationship between PRC-organized crime groups and Taiwan’s politics, the distinction between identity or pro-unification and pro-independence that creates Taiwan’s politics will also be explained.

Ahmet Yiğitalp Tulga is a Dr. of Political Science at Ankara University. He earned his M.A. at Ankara University, Turkey, and his Ph.D. at National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan. He has written and published several articles and book chapters in Turkish and English. His research focuses on social media-terrorism relations, Islamic movements in the Middle East and North Africa, politics, and organized crime in Taiwan.