Taiwan Insight

Orchids Across Realms: Transnational Museum Collaboration and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in Taiwan

9 June 2026 NGA Shi Yeu

Written by Yian Chen. This article describes the 2025 exhibition Formosa Orchids Blossom, a collaborative project between Taipei’s National Museum of History and the University of Tokyo. It explores how the orchid transcends its role as a simple flower to serve as a complex cultural lens in Taiwan. By weaving together Japanese botanical science, traditional Chinese literati art, and the sacred indigenous cosmology of the Tsou people, the interdisciplinary exhibition deconstructs rigid national narratives, modelling a decolonised, transnational approach to modern museum practice.

When Did Who Say What To Whom: Summit Meetings As Political Theatre

8 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Chieh-Ting Yeh. Amid the fanfare and signals from the Cheng-Xi and Trump-Xi summits, this article suggests that Taiwan should be proactive in its own path forward, instead of being bogged down in trying to rely on certain individuals’ delusions of grandeur to solve complex global conflicts, or interpreting signals coming out of these political skits called “summits.”

Peace, Memory and the Risks We Choose Not to See

5 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Ming-yeh T. Rawnsley (蔡明燁). Drawing on Behind The Scenes’ reflections on Taiwan’s democratic development and the Tangwai movement, this article explores contemporary debates over peace, security, and the costs associated with preserving freedom and democracy. At its core, it asks readers to reflect on the meaning of peace and the risks societies may choose to acknowledge – or ignore – in pursuing it.

Fearful Summitry: Xi Jinping’s Meeting with Donald Trump and Implications for Taiwan and Cross-Strait Relations

4 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Jacques deLisle. This article argues that though Taiwan avoided the worst imagined outcomes from the Trump-Xi summit, the uncertainty and, in turn, the fears yielded by the meeting reflect, and are likely to worsen, the challenges Taiwan faces in cross-Strait and international relations. For Taiwan, all of this means deepening challenges in evaluating risks and making difficult policy choices.

Against Independence?: Shifts in US Posture on Cross-Strait Relations As a Second-Order Effect of the Rise of Cheng Li-Wun

3 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Brian Hioe. This article suggests that the state of play for cross-strait relations has taken an unexpected turn in the past months. In a relatively short time, Cheng Li-wun was not only able to secure a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but indirectly caused US President Donald Trump to echo her language on cross-strait relations through Xi.

Between the Two Summits: Taiwan’s Quiet Marginalisation

2 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Meng Kit Tang. The piece examines how the recent Trump–Xi summit in Beijing reflected a broader shift in U.S.-China relations: Taiwan was increasingly treated as secondary to great-power stability. It argues that Beijing is combining diplomatic pressure, narrative shaping, and economic leverage to constrain Taiwan internationally, while Washington prioritises predictability and managed competition with China.

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