Centre of Taiwan Studies

The European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) was established at SOAS in 2004 with the objective of developing Taiwan studies not only in the UK, but also in other European countries.

By holding regular conferences, we aim to increase the interaction between European based researchers working in Taiwan studies and to raise the profile of Taiwan Studies in Europe. The EATS Conference is held at a different European country each year and has now become the largest Taiwan Studies academic event in Europe.

Conferences have been held in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Spain. EATS is now an independent legally registered association managed by an international committee. The Association has been instrumental in the rapid development of Taiwan Studies research, teaching and publication over the last decade.

For the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the European Association of Taiwan Studies
(EATS), the 2023 EATS conference comes back to its ‘birthplace’ – SOAS, University of London
– to celebrate, examine, reflect and encourage the development of Taiwan Studies as a
growing academic field.

The European Association of Taiwan Studies has been supported by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation. For up to date information about the European Association of Taiwan Studies and its annual conferences from 2011, please see its new website at eats-taiwan.eu.

In the scholarship on contemporary Taiwan studies, topics such as national identity, cross-Strait relations, and democratisation have long received extensive academic attention. However, the study of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples remains an area that has often been underrepresented. 

To address this gap, the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies conducted a research and teaching project funded by the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines, with the aim of developing a Taiwan Indigenous Teaching Programme and producing an English-language textbook to introduce Taiwan’s indigenous peoples to a wider international audience. 

Contemporary Taiwan Indigenous Studies Series

As part of this initiative, CTS organised a series of lectures in 2018 and 2019 on Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples. The series brought together renowned scholars and emerging researchers from around the world to share their latest findings on a wide range of topics, including political representation, cultural expression, and social movements. All events were free and open to the public. Since the completion of the first series of events in 2019, we continue to run regular events examining issues related to Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples.  

2021 Book: Taiwan's Contemporary Indigenous Peoples

In 2021 the book Taiwan’s Contemporary Indigenous Peoples was officially published and was co-edited by Huang Chia-yuan, Daniel Davies and Dafydd Fell. The book was based on revised versions of the papers given at the Contemporary Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Lecture Series.  

The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines

Founded in 1994, the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines is a specialist museum dedicated to the preservation and display of artefacts and knowledge relating to Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples. Established by Safe C. F. Lin, the Museum has grown into an important institution for research, education, and the celebration of Taiwan’s Indigenous cultures. 

The Taiwan Resource Centre for Chinese Studies (TRCCS) at the SOAS Library was inaugurated through a collaboration between Taiwan’s National Central Library, the SOAS Library, and the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies (CTS) in 2013. The cooperation agreement was signed by Professor Nirmala Rao, then SOAS Pro-Director, and Dr Tseng Shu-hsien, then Director General of Taiwan’s National Central Library. 

The TRCCS was launched with an initial donation of over 800 books and DVDs published in Taiwan. These materials complement the teaching and research activities of the CTS, particularly in areas such as Taiwan’s politics and international relations, society and culture, modern history, economic development, language, and film studies.  

Currently, TRCCS resources directly support several CTS-taught modules, including: 

• New Taiwan Cinema and Beyond  
• Culture and Society of Taiwan  
• Taiwan and International Politics I  
• Taiwan and International Politics II  
• Taiwan’s International and Cross-Strait Relations 
• Elections, Gender and Social Movements in Taiwan 

In addition to print materials, the TRCCS offers a range of digital databases for Taiwan and Chinese Studies. Notably, the United Daily News database provides searchable full-text access to news articles dating back to the 1950s. The National Central Library continues to expand the collection through annual large-scale book donations and by providing access to a diverse range of research databases available via the National Central Library’s TRCCS portal. 

Understanding Taiwan through film and documentaries

Over the past three decades, Taiwanese cinema has achieved international recognition, with major successes at leading film festivals—particularly across Europe. Responding to this flourishing film culture, SOAS University of London introduced the course New Taiwan Cinema and Beyond, which has since become one of the most popular Taiwan modules at SOAS. Beyond their artistic quality, Taiwan’s films and documentaries provide a vital lens for understanding the island’s complex history, politics, and society—an idea that inspired the creation of our ongoing “Understanding Taiwan through Film and Documentaries” series.  

The series gives students and the wider public the opportunity to view landmark Taiwanese films and participate in discussions with filmmakers, actors, and scholars. The selected films are closely integrated with Taiwan-focused courses at SOAS—such as New Taiwan Cinema and Beyond and Culture and Society of Taiwan—and help contextualise key themes including Taiwan’s democratisation, identity, cross-Strait relations, and cultural transformation. 

Each academic year, the project presents a mix of feature films, short films, and documentaries. Screenings are held in each of Semester 1 and Semester 2, with additional screenings organised as part of the annual Taiwan Studies Summer School. All screenings are free and open to the public, and are widely promoted through the CTS website, social media, and mailing lists. 

The series has grown into one of the Centre’s most dynamic outreach initiatives. Its success reflects the collective effort of the CTS team and the support of our partners, including the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute, Taiwan Docs, and TaiwanPlus. Many filmmakers have expressed how much they value the thoughtful conversations and engagement from SOAS’s informed and diverse audiences. 

Taiwan studies in Europe

• European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan at Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen
• Research Unit on Taiwanese Culture and Literature at Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum
• Wiener Zentrum fuer Taiwanstudien at Vienna University
• European Association for Taiwan Studies
• Taiwan Research Center at the University of Ljubljana
• University of Heidelberg’s Institute of Chinese Studies' Taiwan Lecture Series
• French Taiwan Studies
• University of Central Lancashire, Northern Institute of Taiwan Studies
• University of Nottingham, Taiwan Studies Programme

Taiwan studies in North America

• North American Taiwan Studies Association
• Conference Group on Taiwan Studies, American Political Science Association
• Center of Taiwan Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara
• Taiwan Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin
• Taiwan Studies Program at the University of South Carolina
• UCLA Taiwan Studies Program
• University of Washington Taiwan Studies Programme
• University of Alberta Taiwan Studies Programme

Taiwan studies in Australia

• Australasian Taiwan Studies Association
• Taiwan Studies at the Australian National University

Taiwan studies in Japan

• Japan Association for Taiwan Studies

Taiwan studies in the People’s Republic of China

• Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University

Taiwan studies in Taiwan

• Academia Sinica World Congress of Taiwan Studies
• Graduate Institute of Taiwan Culture, Languages and Literature at National Taiwan Normal University
• Graduate Institute of Taiwan History at National Taiwan Normal University
• Graduate School of Taiwanese Culture at National Taipei University of Education
• Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature at National Taiwan University
• Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature at National Chengchi University
• Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature and Transnational Cultural Studies at National Chung-Hsing University
• The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines
• The Research Center for Digital Humanities, National Taiwan University
• Changhua Christian Hospital Digital Archive

Taiwan studies publications

• Routledge Research on Taiwan Series
• Camphor Press
• Cambria Taiwan Literature Series
• Brill Taiwan Studies Series
• Springer Sinophone and Taiwan Studies