About VCTS

Since its establishment in 2009, the Vienna Centre for Taiwan Studies (VCTS) has promoted research and teaching on Taiwan through a variety of initiatives. The Vienna Taiwan Lectures provide insights into recent research on Taiwan by scholars from Taiwan, Europe, and other parts of the world. The Vienna Taiwan Film Screenings open up new perspectives on Taiwanese society and culture, past and present. Lectures and films are aimed at academic and general audiences and also form part of courses and seminars on Taiwan-related topics taught in the bachelor’s and master’s programmes in Sinology and Sinophone Societies and Cultures.

The implementation of these and other initiatives have been made possible thanks to the manifold contributions of Prof. Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik (Director and Principal Investigator, 2009-2025), Dr. Astrid Lipinsky (Managing Director, 2009-2025, Senior Advisor since 2025), Prof. Agnes Schick-Chen (Deputy/Principal Investigator since 2024/25), and other scholars and students who have dedicated their time and efforts to VCTS.

Its financial and organizational foundations have been secured by a series of Memorandums of Understanding signed by the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Vienna on behalf of Taiwan‘s Ministry of Education and the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna since 2012. Conferences organized by VCTS have received support from the Austrian Science Fund, the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.