Abstracts
Taiwan as a Contact Zone: Connecting to the German-Speaking World
International Conference organized by Dr. Astrid Lipinsky, Vienna Center for Taiwan Studies, University of Vienna; co-organized by Prof. Dr. Ann Heylen, International Taiwan Studies Center, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan and Dr. Jens Damm, ERCCT, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Germany.
Date: January 3-4, 2025
Time: January 3, 9:00h – January 4, 17:30h
Location:
Universität Wien
Institut für Ostasienwissenschaften/Sinologie
Wiener Zentrum für Taiwanstudien
Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, Aufgang 2.3
1090 Wien
Austria
Website: https://vcts.univie.ac.at/abstracts
What is Taiwan and why should Europe care?
Gudrun Wacker, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Berlin)
The status of Taiwan has been one of the hotly debated issues not only in the Indo-Pacific, but also in the US and Europe. Taiwan, Formosa, the Republic of China, Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei) – all of these names are used for the same entity, which is now only officially recognized as a state by 12 countries, including the Vatican. While academic research on Taiwan in Europe has been pretty robust, political attention for the island has been fluctuating wildly, depending mainly on the level of tensions between the two sides of the Straits. Due to growing dissonances between China and the EU, the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the risk of armed conflict across the Strait, the last three to four years have seen an increase of public, media and political attention. However, knowledge of Taiwan is still very shallow, with a tendency to see Taiwan only through the lens of cross-strait relations or, more recently, to reduce it to its role as a supplier of advanced semiconductors. Contributing to a better understanding of Taiwan and rebutting Chinese efforts to monopolize the global discourse on Taiwan will remain a major challenge for Taiwan experts in Europe.
Narrating the Past to Create the Today: Institutionalised Memory-creation as
National Identity Building Efforts
Felix Brender 王哲謙
Ph.D., London School of Economics and Political Science LSE, UK
This paper examines the transitional justice (TJ) processes in Taiwan and Germany, focusing on their roles in reconstructing and reifying, respectively, national identity and addressing historical grievances stemming from authoritarian rule. Both nations experienced oppressive regimes— Taiwan under martial law and East Germany under communist dictatorship—prompting the need for societal healing and reconciliation. Through fieldwork conducted in both Taiwan and Germany in 2024, this research explores how TJ mechanisms, including truth commissions, memorialization, and material reparations, have facilitated public discourse and collective memory regarding past injustices. It argues that while Taiwan emphasizes the construction of a distinct Taiwanese identity apart from the “China lens”, Germany’s approach rather aimed to integrate and subsume diverse and at times competing narratives of victimhood in an extant identity narrative. By analysing the parallels and divergences in their TJ strategies, this study aims to identify lessons learnt from both cases for post-authoritarian societies. It highlights the significance of narrative building in fostering inclusive identities, ultimately contributing to the ongoing dialogue on the effectiveness of transitional justice in addressing historical injustices and its role in shaping contemporary national identities.
The Long Journey of Transitional Justice, zhuanxing zhengyi, and Vergangenheitsbewältigung: Exploring the Nexus Between Taiwanese and German Conceptions of Taiwan’s Coming to Terms with the Past
Tabea Mühlbach
Ph.D. Candidate, Freiburg University, GERMANY
The realisation of transitional justice was a core promise of DPP president Tsai Ing-wen’s two consecutive presidential terms (2016–2024). With the help of the Transitional Justice Commission (TJC) and other institutions, a ‘transitional justice with Taiwanese characteristics’ (as Tsai once called it) was discussed and established. What is less known is that Taiwan’s notion of ‘transitional justice’ has been equally shaped through the incorporation of international experiences. Beginning with Chen Shui-bian’s invitation of German party assets experts, through Ma Ying-jeou’s repeated mention of the German term Vergangenheitsbewältigung, and the TJC’s 2019 conference with representatives from various German commemorative institutions, Germany has been a role model and partner in this long process. At the same time, the central, originally English, term ‘transitional justice’ does not seem to be directly translatable into the German language, thus inviting questions about the different imaginations of one issue. This conference contribution will explore Taiwanese-German cooperations from a comparative and conceptual perspective: Comparatively, how have the cooperations during three different presidencies shaped the Taiwanese experience of dealing with the past? Conceptually, what exactly is/are the ‘transitional justice(s)’ that the different sides are talking about? This contribution will argue that Taiwan’s transitional justice was shaped and negotiated in international contexts but has nevertheless turned out to be greater than the sum of its manifold parts.
From Frontier to Factory: German Camphor Traders and Imperial Competition
in 19th Century Taiwan.
Patrick Stein
Ph.D. Candidate, UCLA, USA
This paper examines how the horizons of German merchants’ involvement in the Taiwanese camphor trade from 1860 to 1898 were conditioned by wider geopolitical and economic developments. Following the opening of Taiwan’s treaty ports to Europeans, German traders initially focused on the trade of tea and sugar, before finding their niche in camphor, which had become a crucial input for Germany’s burgeoning celluloid industry. The firms of Butler & Co. and Julius Mannich mediated between German industry and mountain-dwelling producers, and became the most important go-betweens for German involvement in Taiwan in general. German camphor interests persisted through Qing administrators’ assertions of monopoly rights over camphor, as well as through frequent violence in the highland camphor districts. It was only the 1898 establishment of a Japanese state monopoly, intended to supply Japan’s own plastics industry, which forced the German firms to exit Taiwan. This study thus integrates the story of rural commodity production in interior Taiwan with that of global imperial and industrial competition, contributing to the often neglected history of German involvement in 19th century East Asian trade networks.
The investigation on German education by the Government-General of Taiwan
(1895–1914): Background, focus and impact
Fabienne Uji-Hofer
Ph.D., Research Associate, Osaka University, JAPAN
Japanese colonial administration in Taiwan (1895–1945) is widely perceived as a compromise of the British model of home rule and the French model of assimilation. Although historians such as Mark Peattie have pointed out the importance of the German colonial policy for Japanese rule in Taiwan as early as the 1980’s, this topic has not yet been thoroughly studied. This presentation examines for the first time the German-Japanese knowledge transfer on education in Taiwan at the beginning of Japanese colonial rule (1895–1914). Based on the analysis of Japanese requests for school investigations in Germany I will show that in contrast to scholars from mainland Japan, the Government-General of Taiwan focused on the language education in the German multiethnic peripheries, namely Prussia’s East provinces and Alsace-Lorraine. Besides the examination of the Taiwan Kyôkai Zasshi showed that in the 1910’s education policy in the German concession of Kiautschou came to the fore. In this presentation I will demonstrate the background, focus and impact of the Government- General’s interest in German education in Prussia’s East provinces, Alsace-Lorraine and Kiautschou, the so-called “laboratory of the modern”.
Formosan Insel in the Low Countries News Corpora:
The German-Language Colonial Press
Ann Heylen 賀安娟
Professor, NTNU, TAIWAN
This presentation is part of a broader research project concerned with the discursive representation of Formosa and its historical narration in newspaper corpora from the low countries, more specifically the Luxemburg and German-speaking part of Belgium. It traces the ideological meaning-making of the term ‘isle’ (Insel) associated with the geographical location Taiwan (Formose/a) in the German language newspapers. It covers an inquiry into when, the context in which, and by what naming did Taiwan come in the news. In identifying ‘Insel’ as a dominant idea in the public discourse about Taiwan, it elucidates how to construct a contextualized bottom-up dictionary of keywords relevant to historical press representations of Taiwan. In view of the recent events and the way in which world politics, international relations and the climate are making a change, this topic is timely and has led to increased international news coverage of Taiwan. However, the general image of Taiwan is not free from certain stereotypically negative media presentations, and also echo historical international press portrayals of Taiwan. The outline consists of three parts. The first section introduces the source material and the processes of data collection. This will be followed by a section that singles out samples from comparative media narratives, employing mixed method and CAQDAS (computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software). The purpose is to illustrate sensitivities in lexical choice-making, vague language and formulaic expression as well as indications of alternative versions of the European ‘colonial’ interests in the Far East and how they may have contributed to a Taiwan-discourse. The final section will provide some preliminary findings and methodological suggestions that link up with the broader objective of the study, namely the selection of terms for the creation of a dictionary building process resulting in a Formosa references category.
Keywords: language, Insel, historiography, media narrative, DH, news corpora
A New Era for Taiwanese Literature in German Translation: Self-Confidence and Collective Action to Promote Taiwan
Astrid Lipinsky 李雅瑞
University of Vienna, Managing Director VCTS, AUSTRIA
Since the 1980s, driven by German scholars, few Taiwanese literary works have been available in German translation. This paper examines recent shifts stemming from increased Taiwanese self-confidence. Taiwanese stakeholders now collectively and democratically select works for translation through expert roundtables. A Taiwanese editor, Annie Hsu, a professor at National Chengchi University, commissions translations (primarily by German translators), chooses the publisher (Projekt Verlag), and cultivates a dedicated series of Taiwanese literature in German. This study analyzes the portrayal of Taiwan in two recent anthologies, Von Wahrsagern und Technofrauen and Von Berglern und Geheimagenten – Zeitgenössische Erzählungen aus Taiwan, highlighting the German debut of author Ping Lu. Finally, the paper explores the politically motivated financial support driving this initiative to raise Taiwan’s profile in Germany and globally.
Novels from Taiwan vice versa Movies about Taiwan
Translations / novel translations / dubbing / subtitles: Chiu Miaojin in German translations
Martina Hasse
Certified Translator, GERMANY
My career as a translator of Taiwanese literature began in my student years when I translated a children’s book by Huang Chunming. That was well over thirty years ago. I started translating scripts for films when I was 26. Working with Monika Treut, I translated four films from Chinese/Taiwanese, or rather I translated everything, all the VHS tapes, audio tapes… so that the films could be made. Then I translated the films for the subtitles, the final edited version, working with the editor Angela Christlieb, so that subtitles could be created under the final edited version. When planning the Tiger Women movie, I suggested Li Ang as one of the main protagonists. I then also translated her recently published novel The Visible Spirits, which was first published by Horlemann and has now been reissued by PRONG-PRESS with new, beautiful illustrations. The collaboration with Evans Chan from Hong Kong/New York came about when I accepted a commission from DTV to translate Qiu Miaojin’s Crocodiles, although I changed publishers… the book was published by Ulrike Helmer, but this also resulted in the collaboration with Evans Chan. Now MSB has reissued it. I also translated her suicide letters for MSB. Evans Chan made a movie about Qiu Miaojin in memory of his late husband. For the film, which had its world premiere at the lesbian-gay film festival in Hamburg at Johannes Post, I translated, subtitled and also translated the dialog book for the dubbed version, etc. Qiu Miaojin is an extremely colorful personality who is very true to life and full of emotion in her books. She was very well-read, a student of Helene Cixous, very interested in movies, but also in music, in classical Western and modern Western pop music. Her books are full of film quotes, music quotes and literary quotes. She is an icon of the queer way of life. Evans Chan’s film was released just in time for the new law in Taiwan, which now allows trans couples to marry. Ivan Chan’s film about her contains many quotes, including verbatim ones, from her books. His film is “novelistic” in parts when he tells her life story.
Diversifying “multiculturalism”:
Sorbian studies in Germany and Hakka studies in Taiwan since 1990s
Fen-fang Tsai 蔡芬芳
Professor, National Central University, TAIWAN
Multiculturalism has been claimed and embraced as national policy in Taiwan since the late 1990s. The promotion of Taiwan as a multicultural nation and society has been greatly influenced by academic research. Particularly, scholars in Hakka studies have been actively researching relevant themes, drawing inspiration from English-speaking Western countries to shed light on issues related to multiculturalism and multiethnic structures. Notably, research on Germany has also started to gain traction in Taiwan. Despite Germany not officially recognizing itself as a multicultural country and having reservations about multiculturalism, academic research on ethnic minorities in Germany has captured the attention of scholars in Taiwan. Taiwan has been particularly interested in learning from the experiences of the Sorbian minority in Eastern Germany, who have managed to preserve their culture and language despite being the smallest ethnic group in Europe. It is important to acknowledge that the Sorbs and the Hakka cannot be directly compared due to differences in their histories, social contexts, and ethnic policies. However, both groups underwent significant political and social transformations in the 1990s in their respective countries. While the Sorbs experienced the reunification of Germany, the Hakka witnessed the democratization of Taiwan. Studying both the Sorbs and the Hakka allows for an exploration of how academic research, the status of ethnic minorities, and politics intersect. This approach is considered a crucial step towards building a multicultural society. Consequently, this study raises the following questions for both the Sorbs and the Hakka: 1. How are ethnic groups classified in research studies? 2. What are the main research subjects, and how do they reflect the status of the ethnic group being studied? 3. Have there been any significant shifts in the research paradigms concerning ethnic minorities?
Keywords: multiculturalism, Sorbian Studies in Germany, Hakka Studies in Taiwan
Taiwan Studies and Research in Germany
Jens Damm
Associate Fellow, ERCCT, GERMANY
My paper examines Taiwan studies and research in Germany from a historical perspective, while also considering the current situation. The first question addressed is how these issues can be explained without anachronistically projecting current understandings of Taiwan onto the past, an error that occurs too often in presentations from both Western and Taiwanese perspectives. Given that Taiwan, or the Republic of China on Taiwan, is a de facto independent state not internationally recognized due to the dominance of the “One-China Policy,” I note that a significant portion of contemporary Taiwan research, especially in political science and general social sciences, deals with the island-state’s unique situation. This includes research on the complex relationship between Taiwan and China. The main focus is on the post-1990 period, when Taiwan became an interesting subject of academic inquiry. Taiwan’s relationship with China remains hotly debated, with some arguing that Taiwan research should move away from a Sinocentric perspective, while others see Taiwan as a model offering an intriguing alternative path to the People’s Republic of China.
Connections Between the Germanophone World and Music Faculty in Taiwan: The Case of the Music Faculty at National Taiwan Normal University
Yu-hsiu Lu 呂鈺秀
Professor, NTNU, TAIWAN
Countries in the Germanosphere have produced a great number of outstanding musicians, including figures such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Handel, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Richard Wagner, and Gustav Mahler. Thus, both the individual works of these composers and their influence on Western music theory have become familiar to Taiwanese people. As a result of said familiarity, many Taiwanese people in pursuit of furthering their musical education have chosen to go to Germanophone countries. In addition, musicians from Germanophone countries have made great contributions to the music profession in Taiwan, and many collaborative musical projects between Germanophone countries and Taiwan have taken place throughout history. This includes various recent performance series featuring works by Germanophone composers from the occurring over the last few years, which have received much attention from the music world in Taiwan. This paper focuses on the College of Music at National Taiwan Normal University, which today houses the Department of Music (including undergraduate and graduate programs), the Graduate Institute of Ethnomusicology, and the Graduate Institute of Performing Arts. More specifically, it will discuss and analyze the various collaborations between the College of Music and various Germanophone countries throughout the course of its historical development.
The experience of law in the German speaking world and the formation of Taiwanese
jurists’ identities
Agnes Schick-Chen
Professor, University of Vienna, AUSTRIA
Whereas German legal doctrine and institutions were indirect transplants in the sense that they were originally transferred to Taiwan via a third place, a direct encounter with the German speaking legal world did take place through Taiwanese overseas students in the second half of the 20th century. Studying and living in Germany, Austria (and Switzerland) they did not only immerse themselves in the legislative specifications and developments of their respective fields of expertise, but also learned about social, political and economic implications of their practical implementation. Drawing on the memories of Taiwanese legal scholars and practitioners published in (auto-)biographicalwriting and (oral history) interviews, the paper aims at tracing their experience of tudying and doing research abroad and the impact which their encounters with the respective legal systems and cultures had on the formative processes of becoming ‘faxuejia’ and/or ‘falüren’ in times of martial law and democratization.
The Encounter of German and Eastern Criminal Law Culture in Taiwan
Yu-An Hsu 徐育安
Professor, National Taipei University, TAIWAN
Although Japan had already compiled its criminal code in 1880 with the help of French scholars, it was the old Japanese criminal code that came into effect in 1882. However, as Germany became increasingly powerful after its victory over France, Japan turned to Germany as a model for learning. The current criminal law enacted by Japan in 1907 was revised with reference to the German criminal law. Since the late Qing Dynasty, China has been interested in learning modern Western law in view of Japan’s many war victories after the reform. It invited Japanese scholars with a background of studying in Germany to help formulate the 1910 Qing Dynasty criminal law. Although this law has not yet been implemented, It died with the fall of the Qing Dynasty. However, due to the urgent need for laws to establish the legal order of the Republic of China society, it was partially revised and became a temporary new criminal law, laying the foundation for the rule of law in the Republic of China. Since then, Taiwan has become a place where Eastern and Western criminal law cultures meet. On the one hand, Taiwan has been directly influenced by Chinese culture and has learned its criminal law ideas through the influence of various literatures and customs. On the other hand, Taiwan has directly and indirectly inherited the criminal law norms and theories from German culture, and continues to localize the inherited legal provisions through judicial practice. In this way, two very different criminal law cultures converged and merged in Taiwan. The purpose of this article is not only to describe the development history of this period, but also to illustrate through some specific examples that this integration not only formed a unique legal culture, but also its special value.
Taiwan and its Relation to German Law
Georg Gesk 葛祥林
Professor, Universität Osnabrück, GERMANY
When reflecting upon the interaction of Taiwanese and German Law, we can often see a double influence – coming as much from the Chinese mainland as from the former colonial power Japan. When the Republic of China “moved” from the Chinese Mainland to Taiwan, it brought with it an administration that was deeply influenced by German law. However, it was only in the second half of the 1950s that Taiwanese scholars went to Germany in order to continue a direct personal and academic dialogue between both judicial systems. Since then, this dialogue was very influential in further advancing the Taiwanese legal system, in a normative sense as well as in a practical sense. This contribution shows in the realms of administrative, constitutional, criminal, and private law, how the interaction of legal scholarship and legislative action constantly improved norms and their application within Taiwan.
The Adaption and Transformation of German Social Law Theories in Taiwan
Nai-Yi Sun 孫迺翊
Professor, National Taiwan University, TAIWAN
In the 1950s, the social insurance schemes for servicepersons, civil servants and teachers of public schools and labors were successively established in Taiwan. Before the lifting of the martial law, the social insurance systems were structured along occupational classifications with very limited coverage; the whole welfare system was extremely residual. After the democratization, in response to the needs in the society rising from the industrialization and changing of family structure, the legislator began to enact a large number of social welfare legislations and thereby shaped gradually a comprehensive social security system. Since the mid-1980s, legal scholars returning from overseas studies opened the way for legal research of social law. They introduced the perspectives of the German social law system which provided a systematic academic discussion path allowing for a clear identification of the characteristics of various social legislations, and further focusing on the legal issues analysis. This article reviews the important developmental context of Taiwan’s social law over the past thirty years, and explores the contributions of adapting the German social law theories for the construction of our own legal system. This article aims further to analyze if the German theories can encompass the social law development in Taiwan, and what features of Taiwan’s social law differ from those of German social law. Through this interim review of the legal adaption, it is right time to discuss and debate to what extent the German social law system would be modified or even transformed under the local context for the next stage of social law development in Taiwan.
本文期待，藉此德國社會法學理在地轉化之中間回顧，能夠作為台灣下一階段社會法學理發展的基礎。
German Influence on Taiwanese Literature: New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit) in Taiwan and its Expression in Taiwanese Modern Poetry
Thomas Fliß
Research Associate, Trier University, GERMANY
In Taiwan’s post-war period of the 1950s to 70s, the Nationalist government mainly supported literature from Mainlanders for Mainlanders, i.e., anti-communist and nostalgic literature. At the same time, Mainland and Taiwanese writers still absorbed and integrated different Western writing styles and techniques, with varying clubs of poetry and their journals as their representatives, e.g., Modernism in the Modernist (現代詩社) and Blue Star poetry societies (藍星詩社), Surrealism in the Epoch poetry society (創世紀詩社), and New Objectivism in the Li poetry society (笠詩社). New Objectivism (Neue Sachlichkeit) was introduced from Japan and Germany and was quite influential in the nativist literature of Li. Naturally, Germany’s New Objectivism had a different development background than Taiwan’s nativist literature, so from the perspective of an intercultural integration process, there is a need to understand better how this writing style was integrated into Taiwan’s literature. Therefore, this paper is conducting a comparison between the literary features and characteristics of the original New Objectivism in Germany and its Taiwanese form by analyzing and comparing examples of both German and Taiwanese representative writers, e.g., Kurt Tucholsky (1890–1935), Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), Erich Kästner (1899–1974), Chen Qianwu (陳千武, 1922–2012), Du Guoqing (杜國清, 1941–), and Li Kuixian (李魁賢, 1937–). To keep the comparison of this paper in a controllable scope, it focuses on Modern Poetry.
Keywords: Taiwanese Literature, New Objectivity/Neue Sachlichkeit, Modern Poetry, poetry society
Taiwan and East Asia in the Historiography of Ludwig Riess
Chih-Hung Chen 陳致宏
Assistant Professor, NCCU, TAIWAN
The German-Jewish historian Ludwig Riess (1861-1928) is one of founders of modern historical study in Japan. As an Oyatoi Gaikokujin (hired foreigners) of the Meiji era, he taught at the Imperial University of Tokyo between 1887 and 1902 and introduced modern historical methodology to his Japanese students. Riess was deeply influenced by the tradition of 19th-century German historicism and initially dedicated himself to researching British history. After his arrival in Japan, he became increasingly interested in East Asian history and published scholarly articles on Japanese history in academic journals in Japan and Europe. When Taiwan became Japanes colony in 1895, he quickly reacted to this event with a lecture “Zur Geschichte Formosa’s” for German expats in Tokyo in the same year. In 1897, he published “Geschichte der Insel Formosa,” which is considered the first comprehensive work on Taiwanese history written by a professional historian. Additionally, he regularly wrote reports and commentaries on East Asia in German newspapers and was regarded as an expert on East Asia in Germany. This article attempts to present Riess’ view of Taiwan and East Asia and analyze its political and academic backgrounds.
Power, Taiwanese Conductors, and the Renewal of Austro-German Music Culture
Lap Kwan Kam 金立群
Emeritus, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, TAIWAN
Since about 2010, Taiwan’s semiconductors have literally been powering the world (while consuming almost a quarter of the total domestic power output). Taiwanese conductors—individuals who lead ensembles in the performance and interpretation of musical works—tell a different story. Notwithstanding Elias Canetti’s view that “there is no more vivid expression of power than the activity of the conductor,” this paper argues that conductors who experienced the transition from authoritarianism to democracy in Taiwan generally abstained from the tyrannical conductor model and sublimated the desire for power. In line with Foucault’s theory that all social relations are systems of power that, although impersonal, shape individuals in their self-definition and character formation, this paper further argues that the humane power style of this generation of Taiwanese conductors, on top of their musical competence and personal charisma, has proven to be an invaluable winning edge for them, even as foreigners, to secure notable engagements in Germany and Austria, and in turn has contributed to the ongoing renewal of Austro-German music culture. For music’s coming of age with the rise of aesthetics in the late 18th century was achieved through its emancipation from traditional liturgical and representational functions; it is the idea of freedom associated with the Viennese “classics” that designated music as “the most romantic of all arts.” However, the development of the conducting profession coincided with the corruption of the musical art by the pursuit of power since the 19th century. After examining these historical processes, this paper concludes with a brief comparative analysis of the careers of selected Vienna- or Berlin-trained conductors from Taiwan and their colleagues from neighboring Japan, South Korea and China, in order to explore the question of whether mutual enrichment in music and beyond can best be cultivated on the soil of freedom.
Day Care for the Elderly in Taiwan and Germany
Sascha Klotzbücher, Associate Professor, Comenius University, Bratislava
Much R&D in the medical sector is trying to improve “ageing in place” or at home, with ambient assisted living systems, robotics or ICT (information and communications technologies) as a new and expensive home care space. However, they do not solve the social isolation of the “patient-in-place” and their caregivers within the household.
I will discuss two case studies in Taiwan that I have examined in a long-term study between 2017 and 2024. Both cases are located in the Taipei metropolitan area in northern Taiwan: The first is the “House of Wisdom瑞智互助家庭”, Taipei City, which is managed by the Taiwan Alzheimer Association as a daycare centre until 2020 and its follow-up, an assisted coffee shop run by people with dementia in Da’an District, Taipei City. The second case study is the day care activities at the community hall in Sanshi District, Taoyuan City 桃園市大園區三石社區發展協會. I will contrast these Taiwanese cases with my experience as the son of a mother with dementia and the day care facilities in Steinheim, a small town in southern Germany in the year 2024. Here in a setting with a long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung), institutionalised day care by professional providers is the ultimo ratio for prolonging the stay of older people before they enter a nursing home. This study uses ethnographic observations, interviews with members and family members and staff, and an autoethnographic approach.
These two case studies in Taiwan explore the social spaces of inter-family care. Without completely replacing family care, older people do not come alone, but family members must accompany them. However, the setting of family care is moved from an exclusive to a public or semi-public space.
In contrast to the German case, the questions are What practices and things make these spaces sustainable in Taiwan? First, their success is based on the originally unintended bringing together of private caregivers in a common space and with new group tasks. Inter-family care helps caregivers to diversify their social roles beyond the role of caregiver.
Secondly, preparing meals is a private or family activity that helps family members to diversify their social roles. What can Germany and Taiwan learn from each other?
My study contributes to a better understanding of care settings, the crucial role and psychological needs of caregivers for the sustainability of care settings, and the cultural background of the family as a network.
Collaborative Documentary Practices in the Performing Arts
Mirjam Tröster
Assistant Professor, Goethe University Frankfurt, GERMANY
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Schaubühne – these are but four prominent performing arts groups which have toured Germany and Taiwan, respectively. In addition to guest performances, theatre groups and artists from Taiwan and Germany have been engaged in collaborative projects and exchanges. This paper looks into collaborations in the field of the performing arts through the lens of documentary theatre practices. Starting from the linkages between the two (theatre) scenes more generally, it focuses on the projects of the interdisciplinary performance platform Polymer DMT, founded by Lo Fang Yun and based in Essen, Dresden and Taichung. An analysis of the production Home Away from Home in its different versions presented in Taiwan and Germany constitutes the core of the paper. It shows that the production goes beyond using documentary tools to explore local specifics. It visualizes links between Taiwan and Germany by delving into the history and experiences of immigrants from Vietnam in both societies. In other words, the production(s) strive(s) to enable the exploration of translocality in a broader sense, while contributing to the emergence of a translocal arts community.
Taiwan’s Policy Framework towards a Cooperation-Driven Green Energy Transition
Josie-Marie Perkhun
Project leader/ Postdoc, Trier University, GERMANY
Over the past few decades, Taiwan has emerged as a trailblazer in creating an integrated industrial society, showcasing its pioneering role on regional and global fronts. Since the 1990s, Taiwan, often referred to as the ‘Asian tiger’, has increasingly asserted itself in the Pacific region, solidifying its position as a political, social, and economic pioneer. The socio- cultural melting pot has created a trait of facing global challenges with key features, such as inclusion, participation, and new technologies. By doing so, Taiwanese institutions and companies strengthened their international interconnectedness. While the diversity of ties to US institutions and companies is quite prominent in economic regard, comparatively little is known about the continuously effort and impact of European and German Companies, such as Siemens Gamesa RE, to contribute to Taiwan’s Green Energy Transition. Being interested in Taiwan’s responses regarding the 21st century’s megatrends, this paper unpacks the impact of international and German companies in particular in the field of Green Energy Transition to further the progress due to cooperative projects. This contribution traces the steps of exchanges made that facilitated the sharing of knowledge and implementation of innovative technologies and ultimately led to secure investments in Taiwan’s future.
Reflections from Taiwan (1988-1990) and Perspectives on Contemporary Taiwanese Poetry
Martin Winter, translator, Vienna, AUSTRIA
This presentation examines the vibrant interplay between Taiwanese and German-speaking literary cultures, drawing from my experiences in Taiwan from 1988 to 1990. During this transformative period, I collaborated with 廖瑞銘 (Liao Sui-Beng), a prominent literary figure whose insights into the arts and socio-political shifts deepened my understanding. The end of martial law in 1987 sparked a cultural renaissance, enhancing international literary connections, as seen through Liao’s leadership in the PEN-Club.
My work as a poet and translator has been profoundly shaped by Taiwanese poetry, notably through partnerships with poets like 鴻鴻 (Hung Hung). These collaborations have fostered a sustained cultural dialogue, bridging European and East Asian literary traditions. My translations have brought Taiwanese poetry to European audiences, reflecting the evolving literary landscape over the past 35 years.
With a background in German philology and Sinology, I have taught literature internationally and worked as a translator in China. Now residing in Vienna, I continue to write and translate in German, English, and Chinese. This talk will explore the evolution of Taiwanese poetry and the cultural networks that have influenced my journey as a poet and translator.