Article by LI QI. Abstract: Sound epidemic management in Taiwan ensured the Hsinchu Science Park (HSP)’s considerable growth in 2020. The island had few infection cases, and its social order seemed not that different than before. However, the following year is much more challenging. During May and June of 2021, […]
Article by Jonathan S. Parhusip. Abstract: This article is a fragment of my thoughts, analysis, reflection, and critique regarding the establishment of migrant labour unions in Taiwan and my encounter with self-organized migrant fishers communities in Taiwan fishing ports. The paper will combine my ethnographic study of self-organised migrant fishers’ […]
Article by Juan Alberto Ruiz Casado. Abstract: The current hegemonic rivalry between China and the United States has placed Taiwan at a geopolitical crossroads where the island state has to struggle to decide its role in said conflict. Taiwan’s mass media, in their role as opinion builders through specific editorial […]
Article by Weisyun Chen. Abstract: Convenience stores in Taiwan are unique spaces. They challenge the concept of alienation and make it totally outdated. Challenging the notion of alienation, convenience stores abstract not only labor-time but also the social relationships among individuals, as the value of labor. The convenience store is […]
Interview by Hanh T. L. Nguyen. Introduction: The following is a friendly conversation between me and my old friend, Bau. He and I have known each other for a long time since high school. In Vietnam, Bau was an electrical engineer. He is married and his wife is also working […]
Project report by Lungani Hlongwa, Fernan Talamayan, and Weisyun Chen. Abstract: With increasing energy demands, the need for social infrastructure, and the neoliberalization of the environment, socio-environmental conflicts have increased dramatically in recent decades. In advocating for environmental justice and community rights, our collaborative research project titled “Socio-Environmental Conflicts in […]
Book review by Christine Chow. Abstract: How should we comprehend Taiwanese literature under Japanese rule (1895-1945)? What was the meaning of literature for Taiwanese writers at that time? Furthermore, how could we evaluate the significance of their works? For those who are interested in the above questions, the latest published […]
Article by Shih-Chun Lin. 簡介：本文試圖以T婆工廠為範例來講述「移工」在凱恩斯─威斯特伐利亞架構下所承受的不公正以及可能解決的辦法。移工所受到的不公平通常以「平等」與「身分」之間的關係來呈現。面對這種暴力，希望利用Giorgio Agamben、Nancy Fraser、Foucault…等人的概念來試著將問題清楚的呈現並提出對應之道。事實上，已很概括的方式來看，這三位學者的思考有一個共通點 :典範轉移(paradigm shift)。Foucault對「瘋狂」(madness)的分析，就是一個很典型的典範轉移的問題 :對科學接受的「區分假設」的拒絕。Agamben對例外狀態(state of exception)、暴力的分析，Nancy Fraser對肯定(affirmation)與改造(transformation)方案的區分，通通都是對準這個典範轉移而來，試圖用另一種帶來「平等」的「差異」來代替原有的「假設區分」，或許這極為類似Karl Marx所討論的 「無階級社會」的問題。當然這裡有兩個問題是需要被釐清 :身分是否為另類的勞動力，無階級社會中「差異」的問題。然而由於篇幅及能力的不足，本文就直接從「身份剝削」這個「假設」出發，探討在移工這個現象中帶來「平等」的「差異」與「假設區分」之間的問題。 Introduction This article attempts to use the Lesbian Factory as an example to describe the unequal condition of migrant workers in the “Keynesian-Westphalian frame”. The unequal condition of migrant workers is often expressed in terms of the relationship […]
