2025 Taiwan Update Lectures

Taiwan’s Multidimensional Energy Security Challenges

Professor Chyungly Lee

A stable and reliable energy supply is essential for a nation’s economic growth and development. In selecting fuel sources, nowadays almost all countries have taken climate change into account, adopted sensible clean energy transition plans, and designed a schedule to meet the goal of Net Zero. While pursuing a 3-E (energy-economic-environmental) balanced energy supply strategy, Taiwan, lacking indigenous resources, faces unique challenges of supply disruptions from over dependence on energy imports and possible blockade, quarantine, or invasion from Beijing. Any disruption of power supply or surge of energy costs could not only threaten Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global high-tech market but also undermine Taiwan’s internal stability and the nation’s survival. In this talk, Dr. Chyungly Lee will first present fact sheets on Taiwan’s energy status, summarize Taiwan’s current energy strategy, and then discuss dilemmas and vulnerabilities that Taiwan might face in the next few years.

What does Taiwan’s two-level politics tell us?

Professor Alex Tan

This presentation examines Taiwan as a critical case study for understanding the evolving challenges to democracy in the 21st century. Arguing that Taiwan serves as a “canary in the coalmine,” the analysis highlights how the island’s early and persistent political polarization—rooted in identity politics and the legacies of authoritarian rule—prefigures trends now visible in established democracies worldwide. The research explores how deep divisions between the Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), reinforced by institutional and social factors, have led to legislative gridlock, declining trust in political institutions, and a “democratic ceiling” that constrains further democratic development. Taiwan’s precarious geopolitical position, facing constant pressure from the People’s Republic of China, intensifies the dilemma of balancing national security with the protection of civil liberties. The presentation analyzes Taiwan’s innovative responses to disinformation, foreign interference, and public health crises, illustrating both the resilience and fragility of democratic systems under external and internal stress.

Gaming Taiwan: Indigenous Epistemologies in Play

Associate Professor Chia-rong Wu

This research explores how Indigenous knowledge systems in Taiwan are being revitalized through video games. Far from mere entertainment, these games draw on tribal traditions, ancestral stories, and deep connections to the land to create meaningful digital experiences. By blending oral storytelling with interactive gameplay, Taiwanese Indigenous game developers are preserving cultural memory while challenging colonial legacies. Titles like Princess Baleng, Tayal, VuVu, and Gadvia show how games can empower communities and pass down wisdom to younger generations in innovative and engaging ways. Gamers not only play a game but also immerse themselves in digital environments shaped by Indigenous perspectives and values. This study encourages all engaged audiences, including educators and students, to consider video games as powerful tools for cultural resurgence and learning. Focusing on Indigenous Taiwan, it highlights how digital games integrate historical consciousness and interactivity to reimagine the past and future of the island.

Info: In this talk, Dr. Chyungly Lee will first present fact sheets on Taiwan’s energy status, summarize Taiwan’s current energy strategy, and then discuss dilemmas and vulnerabilities that Taiwan might face in the next few years.

Info: This presentation examines Taiwan as a critical case study for understanding the evolving challenges to democracy in the 21st century.

Info: Please join us outside AM103 for some light refreshments

Info: This talk explores how Indigenous knowledge systems in Taiwan are being revitalized through video games. Far from mere entertainment, these games draw on tribal traditions, ancestral stories, and deep connections to the land to create meaningful digital experiences.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Room AM103, Alan MacDiarmid Building, Kelburn Parade, Wellington, New Zealand