22.11.2023

Research Project of Jun.-Prof. Tseng funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research

The Project "Intimacy-Mobility-State Nexus in the Context of Democratic and Authoritarian States: A Case Study of China and Taiwan" has been awarded 0.3 million EUR by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

A research project, titled 'Intimacy-Mobility-State Nexus in the Context of Democratic and Authoritarian States: A Case Study of China and Taiwan,' has been awarded over 0.3 million EUR for a 36-month duration, commencing in January 2024. The project is led by Jun.-Prof. Yu-chin Tseng, with Prof. Gunter Schubert serving as a co-investigator. This initiative extends Tseng's prior research into the realms of contentious intimacies and the reproduction experiences of guest workers, unmarried heterosexual women, and individuals from the LGBTQ+ community in both China and Taiwan. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments.

The research team, based in Germany, France, UK, and Taiwan, aims to address the complexities of the intimacy-mobility-state nexus that has not received sufficient academic and public attention, particularly in East Asia. By exploring contentious issues in contemporary Chinese and Taiwanese societies—such as digital relationships, access to reproductive rights, dependence on migrants for the care of elders or children, informal networks of migrant workers, relocation for children’s education, and the adoption of alternative education practices as a consequence of migration—this project intends to demonstrate how intimacy and mobility mutually shape and reshape each other within two distinct socio-political contexts: authoritarian neoliberalism (China) and developmental state (Taiwan), respectively.