On Thursday, 11 May 2023, Dr. Jens Damm from the Institute of Sinology at Albrecht-Ludwigs-University Freiburg gave a well attended public talk in the Taiwan Colloquium titled 'Contested and Negotiated Discourses: LGBTQI Issues in Taiwan's Media'. 
This lecture showed - by employing a Critical Discourse Analysis based on written texts and the involved persons (journalists, activists, writers, lobbyists, politicians) - the almost revolutionary changes within Taiwanese politics and society regarding LGBTQI issues by contrasting two contested and negotiated media discourses: 1) the “AIDSphobia” narrative found in Taiwan’s mass media in the late 1980s. 2) The more recent narrative on marriage equality. During the 1980s, public discussions on topics concerning same-sex desire and non-mainstream gender started in the popular media, in literature and in a variety of academic journals. Most of these media reports were written by so-called experts, psychologists, medical doctors. With the AIDS crisis this narrative was challenged by the activist Chi Chia-wei, and during the accelerating democratisation of Taiwan, LGBTQI issues became widely discussed in feminist magazines (Awakening) and glossy magazines (G&L).
In contrast, more recent discussions in the main-stream and in the LGBTQI-media focused on how same-sex marriage could be introduced. The LGBTQI advocates and their allies, but also the opponents (supported by various Christian lobbyist groups) used the media to bring forward arguments in favour of or against same-sex marriage. While the opponents scored a victory in the 2018 referendum, the media representation shifted after same-sex marriage was introduced. Taiwanese media then were eager to promote Taiwan as the most open and liberal Asian society.
Thus, this talk,  also shed light on the question which standards mass media needs to meet in order to provide a general forum for democratic contestation and democratic legitimacy.

Visiting Scholar, Prof. Wu Ying-Chu 吳瑛珠 from the Department of Public Administration at Tamkang University gave a public talk on Monday, 23 January, putting into focus the "Umwandlung der verfassungsrechtlichen Stellung der politischen Parteien in Taiwan – vom Verfassungsentwurf in Jahr 1936 bis zur Verfassungsauslegung Nr. 793 im Jahr 2020 [Change of the constitutional position of political parties in Taiwan - from the constitutional draft of 1936 to the interpretation No. 793 in 2020]".

Dr. Tsai Hui-Ju 蔡蕙如, visiting fellow at the Mercator Institute of China Studies, Berlin, visited Tübingen to give a public lecture at the ERCCT on Thursday, January 31, 2019. Her topic was "An Anthropology of Taishang: Cross-Strait business, identity, and politics".

Prof. Yue-dian Hsu 許育典 from the Department of Law at Tainan's National Cheng Kung University has arrived in Tübingen on August 2, 2018, in order to work at the ERCCT for approximately four weeks until early September. The whole team of the ERCCT welcomes him warmly and wishes him a pleasant stay. 

We warmly welcome Prof. Lin Kuoming 林國明 from the Department of Sociology at National Taiwan University. Prof. Lin has arrived in Tübingen yestday, July 16, 2018, and will stay at the ERCCT as a visiting scholar until July 28, 2018. We look forward to his public lecture on July 23 and his presentation in the Taiwan Colloquium on July 27, and wish him a pleasant and fruitful stay!

We warmly welcome Prof. Emerson Niou 牛銘實 from Duke University, who has arrived in Tübingen today and will stay at the ERCCT as a visiting scholar until July 12, 2018. We look forward to his public lecture on July 28, his presentation in the Taiwan Colloquium and wish him a pleasant and fruitful stay!

On Friday, January 26, 2018, our Visiting Scholar, Prof. Chen Don-yun 陳敦源 from the Department of Public Administration, National Chengchi University, will present his research to ERCCT Fellows in a session of the Taiwan Colloquium. 

The research project he wil present is titled: "Who Wants and Who Can Become Public Servants in Taiwan? Empirical Observations from the Third Taiwan Government Bureaucrats Survey, TGBS III."

Prof. Chen Don-yun 陳敦源 from the Department of Public Administration, National Chengchi University, has arrived on Wednesday, January 17, 2018, as the first visiting scholar of this year. He will stay until January 31, and give a public lecture on Thursday, January 25, as well as a presentation in the Taiwan Colloquium on Friday, January 26. 

We wish him a pleasant stay in Tübingen! 

Last night, Prof. Lee Chia-Wen 李佳玟 from the Department of Law at Tübingen University's Taiwanese partner university, National Cheng Kung University in Tainan arrived in Tübingen, in order to stay at the ERCCT for one month as visiting scholar. The ERCCT team warmly welcomes Prof. Lee and wishes here a pleasant stay!

The ERCCT team warmly welcomes Prof. Chen Lu-Huei 陳陸輝 from the Department of Political Science at National Chengchi University to Tübingen. Prof. Chen joins us under the ERCCT Visiting Scholar Programme and will stay until July 29, 2017. We wish him a pleasant and productive stay at our center! 

On Thursday, June 22, 2017,Prof. Yang Wan-Ying 楊婉瑩 from the Department of Political Science, National Chengchi Univversity, Taipei, gave a public lecture on "When Identity Clashes with Interest: the China Complex in Taiwan" at the ERCCT. Prof. Yang is currently staying in Tübingen as a Visiting Scholar. She will also present her research in a session of the Taiwan Colloquium on Friday, June 30, which ERCCT Fellows are already looking forward to. 

The ERCCT Team warmly welcomes Prof. Yang Wan-Ying 楊婉瑩 from the Department of Political Science of National Chengchi University (Taipei)! Prof. Yang has arrived in Tübingen on Saturday, July 10, and will stay here under the framework of the ERCCT Visiting Scholars Programme until July 9. We wish her a pleasant stay in Tübingen!

Prof. Wang Hong-zen 王宏仁 from the Department of Sociology at National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, who is currently staying at the ERCCT as a visiting scholar, will hold a public lecture on Thursday, November 3rd, 2016 at room no. 004, Keplerstraße 2, 72074 Tübingen. 

The talk is entitled "Global Production Chains and Labour Control: Taiwanese capital in Vietnam"

The ERCCT warmly welcomes Prof. Dr. Wang Hong-zen 王宏仁 from the Department of Sociology at National Sun Yat-Sen Universtiy, Kaohsiung. Prof. Wang arrived Thursday, October 20, 2016, and will stay until November 15. He will give a public lecture and present his current research to ERCCT Fellows in the Taiwan Colloquium, to be announced here in more detail soon. 

We extend our warmest welcome to Prof. Shen Cen-Chu 沈玄池 from the Graduate Institute of National Policy and Public Affairs, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung. Prof. Shen stays at the ERCCT as a Visiting Scholar from July 1 to August 31. 

Dr. Yu Yi-wen, School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiaotong University 
Public Talk: “Political Economy of Cross-Strait Relations: “Political Economy of Cross-Strait Relations: is Beijing’s patronage policy on Taiwanese business sustainable?”

On December 12 and 13, the European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan hosted an international workshop titled "Assessing the Presidency of Ma Ying-jeou", an event co-organised with the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham.

Over the two days, renowned scholars from Taiwan and Europe discussed the developments of the past eight years from a variety of angles. The papers and discussions covered the political, economic and social changes and challenges that marked the Ma era since the Presidential elections in 2008.

The paper presentations incited intensive debates. Central themes included Taiwan's relation to the People's Republic of China, transformations of Taiwan's political spectrum and civil society, and an outlook on the upcoming presidential and legislative elections in January 2016.

Prof. Chen Te-sheng 陳德昇 Institute of International relations, National Chengchi University, Taiwan Institutional Innovation and Economic Cooperation: A case study of Cross-strait Economic Development Dec. 10th, 6 p.m., Room 135, Keplerstr. 2, 72074 Tübingen

On Tuesday, December 8, 2015, Dr. Paul R. Katz gave a public talk at the ERCCT, titled "Religious Life in Western Hunan during the Modern Era: Some Preliminary Observations". Dr. Katz presented facts and photos from his fieldwork in China and also shared insights on methodological issues.

On Friday, December 4, 2015, Dr. Paul R. Katz gave a public talk at the ERCCT, titled "State and Local Society in Colonial Taiwan: The Ta-pa-ni Incident of 1915". The interesting talk covered the social, political and religious dimensions that contributed to the revolt against the Japanese Colonial power by a coalition of ethnic Han and aboriginal Taiwanese. Dr. Katz also shared a detailed look into his methodology, providing unique insights into his archival research on recruitment patterns and mortality rates related to the incident.

The CCKF-ERCCT warmly welcomes Dr Chen Te-sheng from the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University, Taipei. Dr Chen arrived in Tübingen today and will stay here as ERCCT Visiting Scholar until December 15th. 

During his stay, Dr Chen will present his research project in a session of the Taiwan Colloquium under the headline of "Institutional Innovation and Economic Cooperation: A case study of Cross-strait Economic Development" on Thursday, December 10, 2015. 

Dr Paul R. Katz, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Modern History at Academia Sinica, Taipei, is going to arrive in Tübingen on Thursday, December 3, to visit the ERCCT until December 9, 2015. During his stay at the center, Dr Katz will give two public lectures.

On Friday, December 4, 10:15 a.m. he will talk about "State and Local Society in Colonial Taiwan: The Ta-pa-ni Incident of 1915" at Wilhelmstraße 26, room no. 111 

and on Tuesday, December 8, 6:15 p.m. he will speak about "Religious Life in Western Hunan during the Modern Era: Some Preliminary Observations" at Keplerstraße 2, room no. 038.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Maté Szabó as a Visiting Scholar at the CCKF-ERCCT. Prof. Szabó from the Department of Political Science at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, will stay from November 16 to 20. During his stay, Prof. Szabó, will give a public lecture titled Sunflower Movement under Western Eyes: from the Perspective of Social Movement Research on November 17, and another titled Transition to Democracy: Taiwan/South East Asia – Hungary/Eastern Europe: A Comparison on November 19.

Dr. Linda Arrigo will visit the ERCCT from 2 to 7 November and give to lectures to ERCCT Fellows and the interested public.

On Tuesday, 3 November, 6 p.m., Dr. Arrigo will talk about Taiwan Women in Long-Term Perspective: From 1950's 'Adopting a Daughter to Marry a Son (as Household Slave)' to 2000's Refusal of Marriage and Childbearing at room 30 of the Department of Chinese and Korean Studies, Wilhelmstr. 133, 72074 Tübingen  (view abstract)

and on 

Thursday, 5 November, 6 p.m., she will talk about The Taiwan Independence Movement in Long-Term Perspective: Will the Sunflower Student Movement Make Any Impact on US Indifference and Chinese Bullying? at seminar room 38 of Keplerstraße 2, 72074 Tübingen. (view abstract)

We are looking forward to welcoming her in Tübingen and wish her a pleasant stay.

On Friday, July 10th, Prof. Dr. Hsu Tzong-li (College of Law, NTU) held a Taiwan Colloquium during which he talked to ERCCT Fellows about the organisation and function of Taiwan's Constitutional Court and the role it played during the period of transitional democracy in the 1990s.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Hsu Tzong-Li as Visiting Scholar at the CCKF-ERCCT! Prof. Hsu from the College of Law at National Taiwan University, will stay from June 29th to July 26th. 

During his stay, Prof. Hsu, who also speaks excellent german, will hold a public talk entitled: "The Legal Relationship between the Two Sides of the Taiwan Strait - From the Perspective of Taiwan's Constitution" on Tuesday, July 7th, and a Taiwan Colloquium (Friday, July 10th) about his research on  the organisation and function of the Constitutional Court and the role it played during the period of transitional democracy in the 1990s.

On Thursday, June 11, 2015, Prof. Sun Mine-Ping from the School of Journalism at the College of Communication at National Cheng Chi University, held a public lecture at the CCKF-ERCCT. The topic "Citizen Journalism: Local voices and social actions in Taiwan" attracted a huge audience of interested students and inspired a lively Q&A.

We are delighted to announce the arrival of our visiting scholar Prof. Sun Mine-ping who will stay at the CCKF-ERCCT until June 15th, 2015. Prof. Sun is affiliated to the School of Journalism at the College of Communication,National Cheng Chi University. 

During her stay Prof. Sun will hold a public lecture on "Citizen Journalism: Local voices and social actions in Taiwan" on Thursday, June 11th and she will also present a research project of her's in the Taiwan Colloquium (June 9th). 

We warmly welcome Prof. Sun and wish her a nice and productive stay in Tübingen.

We warmly welcome Prof. Lee Zong-Rong, Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, as the first visiting scholar of the summer semester 2015. Prof. Lee is arriving from Leiden today, where he spends a semester as visiting scholar as well. During his stay (May 18th to 24th) he will give a public talk and also present his current research in the Taiwan Colloquium. 

CCKF-ERCCT Visiting Scholar Dr. Astrid Lipinsky's edited volume entitled Immigration Societies: Taiwan and Beyond has been published just this month with LIT Wien:

The book addresses immigration within and towards Taiwan from the perspectives of the state, immigrant organizations, the Taiwanese NGO movement and youth literature, among others. Contributions are both based on empirical research and interviews and on the application of international theoretical frameworks to the case of Taiwan, while highlighting the specific Taiwanese example and experience. Papers include a comparative perspective. 

CCKF-ERCCT Associate Fellow Lara Momesso and is also among the authors with her chapter "Between Official and Concealed: Reconsidering the Status of Mainland Spouses in Contemporary Taiwan". 

Further information can be found on the advertisement flyer (download).

Astrid Lipinsky (Ed.)

Immigration Societies

Taiwan and Beyond 

Reihe: Vienna Taiwan Studies Series

Bd. 1, 2015, 232 S., 34.90 EUR, 55.90 CHF, br., ISBN 978-3-643-90618-2

We are delighted to announce the arrival of our visiting scholar Dr. Astrid Lipinsky. Dr. Lipinsky, who will stay at the CCKF-ERCCT until February 12th, 2015, is affiliated to the Department of East Asian Studies/Sinology at the University of Vienna, where she also runs the Vienna Center for Taiwan Studies. 

During her stay Dr. Lipinsky will hold a public lecture on the topic of "Taiwan’s Women’s Movement in China: The role of cross-strait exchanges" on Thursday, February 5th and she will also present a research project of her's in the Taiwan Colloquium (February 9th). 

We warmly welcome Dr. Lipinsky and wish her a nice and productive stay in Tübingen.

Prof. Wang Jenn-Hwan 王振寰
Professor, Institute of International Relations, National Cheng-Chi University, Taiwan

Public Lecture: The Paradox of Small Hydropower: Local Government and Environmental Governance in China
Nov. 27th, 8:00 p.m. Room 28, WilhelmStrasse 133, 72074 Tübingen

On Nov. 13th Prof. Hsu Yue-Dian 許育典 who is currently staying at the ERCCT as a visiting scholar held a lecture on the topic "Die Religionsfreiheit und die staaltiche Neutralität in Taiwan" (Freedom of Religion and State Neutrality). In his talk Prof. Hsu described the laws in Taiwan regarding religious freedom and demonstrated their implementation with a few cases. The talk was followed by a lively discussion with the audience.

We warmly welcome Prof. Hsu Yue-Dian from our partner institution, the Department of Law and the Graduate Institute of Law in Science and Technology at National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, as Visiting Scholar at the ERCCT. Prof. Hsu, who has gotten a research fellowship of the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, will stay here from August 2014 until mid January 2015, certainly contributing a lot to academic and social life at the centre. 

Prof. Wu Te-Mei 吳德美 
Professor, Department of Public Administration, National Cheng-Chi University, Taiwan

Taiwan Colloquium: Marketization of the Urban Water Sector in China: An Embedded Neoliberal Perspective

July 16th, 10:00 a.m. Room 28, WilhelmStrasse 133, 72074 Tübingen

We are glad to announce that Prof. Shih Chih-Yu 石之瑜  from the Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, will stay at our facility from June 25th to June 28th. We welcome him and wish him a pleasant time in Tübingen.

Prof. Shih will give a public talk entitled

"The Will of the Weak to Confront the Strong: Theoretical Implications from a Taiwan Poll"

on June 25th, 6 p.m. in the Department of Chinese and Korean Studies, Room 62. The talk will be followed by a discussion with the audience.

We very much look forward to the lecture.

The ERCCT-Team warmly welcomes Prof. Yen Liang-Kung 顏良恭 from the Faculty of Public Administration, National Cheng-Chi University Taiwan, and Prof. Wu Te-Mei 吳德美 also from the National Cheng-Chi University. Both will stay in Tübingen from June 24th to July 23th. We wish them a pleasant and fruitful stay at our facility.

We welcome our visiting scholar Prof. Alex Tan. He is Professor of Political Science at the University of Canterbury and will stay at Tübingen from June 13th to June 29th.

We wish him a pleasant stay and hope he enjoys the time at the ERCCT.