Thu, Feb 12th, 2026 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM PST (13.02.2026 00:30 CET) Online
Event Details
In Ghost Nation: the Story of Taiwan and its Struggle for Survival, Chris Horton compares Beijing’s claim that Taiwan has been Chinese territory “since time immemorial” with Taiwan’s actual history. Several different groups have controlled some or all of Taiwan over the last 400 years — the Dutch, Spanish, Tungning, Manchu, Japanese, Chinese, and now, Taiwanese. By looking at those who have ruled Taiwan, Horton also tells the story of the Taiwanese people, highlighting their intergenerational quest for self-determination — and the existential threat posed by an expansionist Chinese Communist Party.
Chris Horton is a freelance journalist and author who has been based in Taipei, Taiwan for the past decade. He previously spent 13 years in China and two in Hong Kong. He has written extensively for The New York Times, Bloomberg News, Nikkei Asia, The Atlantic and elsewhere, covering Taiwan’s national security, diplomacy, economy, culture and more. His new book, Ghost Nation: The Story of Taiwan and its Struggle for Survival (Macmillan) examines how four centuries of serial colonization shaped the people who fought for what is now Asia’s freest – and most threatened – democratic country.
This event is sponsored by the UW Taiwan Studies Program and made possible by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation.
For those joining us online, please follow this link to the livestream once the event begins: https://www.youtube.com/@UWTaiwanStudies/streams