Latest Events
Online Forum: China, BRI and Implications on Digital Governance, Authoritarianism and Future of Human Rights
This online discussion invites scholars and activists from the Global South to critically examine China's digital footprint and its implications for human rights. It explores how digital technologies are reshaping logistics, infrastructure, and governance mechanisms, such as Smart Cities and CCTV surveillance systems, and considers how cyber networks and data collection enhance social control in a complex environment.
Screening and Discussion: Clement Town 舒適小鎮
舒適小鎮（Clement Town）命名自當時受到台灣政府經濟支持，在今日印度北安查爾邦（Uttarakhand）建造的隱密小鎮，這個小鎮是擁有1970年代最先進的供水及供電設備的印度城鎮之一，由為台灣工作的當地情報人員設計、建造，據當時一份政府出版品的紀錄，類似的小鎮在與中國接壤的印度領土上曾多達二十多個，後來得以來台就學的孩童，或多或少與這些城鎮的居民有關在這次的計畫當中，我自當年的檔案中篩選出三組透過擺拍所完成的影像，分別是在相館拍攝的紀念照、在基隆港拍攝的合照，與少女們抵台就學前所拍攝的照片。我邀請表演者與當年參與或間接參與接運計畫及邊境上特殊行動的人們見面，試圖透過交談與詮釋，重新創造出這些照片被拍下前的樣貌，部分在當時的拍攝地點，如基隆港西側二號碼頭、今已成為停車場的特殊學校等地，還原照片被拍攝前所發生的事件。
Hsinchu City, Taiwan 300 Taiwan
Screening and Discussion: The Link (2024) [Report]
The Link is a short documentary directed by Musquiqui Chihying and Lou Mo. It explores the connections between migration, slavery, forced labor, extraction, and control techniques in the Global South, with a particular focus on Mauritius. The film also highlights the ties between the 19th century Western colonial period, and 21st century China's "World Digital Brain" ambitions, as pursued by Chinese multinational corporations through submarine cable connections.
Hsinchu City, Taiwan 300 Taiwan
Latest Publication, Book & Podcast
Dolma Tsering | China–Nepal strategic partnership stumbles over BRI and boundary issues
China’s attempts to change its relations with Nepal into a strategic partnership, focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and the Boundary Management System, have encountered significant challenges due to disagreements. Specifically, Nepal’s reluctance to fall into debt traps caused by high-interest loans from the Belt and Road Initiative and continued failure to ratify the Boundary Management System agreement. The two countries’ inability to reach a consensus on these vital issues, combined with Nepal’s measured resistance to China’s dominance, highlights the uncertainty in their strategic relationship.
11 Indicators of Forced Labour Podcast 強迫勞動11項指標
This channel aims to explain the 11 indicators for identifying forced labor published by the International Labor Organization (ILO). These 11 indicators are based on the Forced Labor Convention (C29) and derived from the theoretical and practical experience of ILO’s Special Action Program to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL).
-Abuse of vulnerability
-Deception
-Restriction of movement
-Isolation
-Physical and sexual violence
-Intimidation and threats
-Retention of identity documents
-Withholding of wages
-Debt bondage
-Abusive working and living
conditions
-Excessive overtime
Dolma Tsering | The U.S., Kuomintang and Tibetan Resistance 1950-1960: Covert Operations, Consequences and Tibetan Paratroops in Taiwan
This paper reflects on the complex political dynamics between the United States, the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and Tibetan leaders from 1950 to 1960. In contrast to the existing literature, this study assesses these trilateral relationships by focusing on attempted covert operations and consequences. While volumes of studies have been published about the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) involvement in the Tibetan resistance movement, what remains understudied is the secret but unsuccessful attempts at cooperation between the Kuomintang and Tibetans and the role that the U.S. played in these activities. Findings demonstrate that the U.S. and Kuomintang’s interest was driven by the desire to exploit the Tibetan resistance to advance their interests in combating Communist China.
Joyce C.H. Liu | Freud, Balibar and the Paradox of Civility: The Aporia of the Political Topology 佛洛伊德、巴禮巴與「文明性」的悖論：政治拓撲學的難題
This article delves into the interpretations of “civilization” and “civility” by Freud and Balibar, examining how Balibar, through Freud’s lens, dissects the inherent paradoxes within “civility” and introduces the concepts of “co-citizenship” and “civil process” through the movement triggered by Freud’s concept of the death drive. Central to the discussion is the recognition that civilization engenders both creative and destructive violence, prompting reflection on how we address the complexities of “civilization”. Specifically, how does civilization veil and justify its own violence?
Mei-Lin Pan & Dolma Tsering | The Lived Experience of Tibetan Refugees in Taiwan: Contesting Rights to Work, Residence, and Citizenship
The study highlights how the political situation in Taiwan played a central role in determining the rights and status of Tibetan refugees in Taiwan. During Taiwan’s authoritarian phase, Tibetan refugees gained citizenship by serving the state’s purpose of advancing Chinese nationalist ideology, while in the democratic phase they were considered stateless and unable to obtain a residence visa due to national security concerns.
Bonny Ling & Mariko Hayashi | Refugee Protection in Japan and Taiwan: Common Challenges and Ways Forward for Human Security
This chapter explores the current situation of refugee protection in both Japan and Taiwan. For both, refugee assistance serves a diplomatic purpose by promoting the country’s contribution to external refugee issues, rather than implementing the norms and spirit of the Refugee Convention domestically. This chapter examines the gaps between international standards in the protection of asylum seekers and refugees, and Japan’s implementation of those standards. It also looks at how these challenges are manifested for Taiwan, which lacks an asylum law.
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