Speaker: Wen-hsin Yeh, University of California at Berkeley

For centuries under the Ming and the Qing, indigenous communities of Taiwan (i.e. the Austronesian-speaking tribal groups in the mountains and on the Pacific side of the island) led distinct styles of life in a state of relative insularity. That insularity ended in the 19^th century when Western and Japanese naval vessels appeared on the Pacific. In response, the Qing cut roads into the mountains and sent troops down the coast.  These events marked a new beginning for the aborigines who, labeled as headhunters and savages, came under successive regimes of colonial rule. Things changed again towards the end of the 20^th century.  China adopted a “National Ocean Strategy” by which the People’s Navy would routinely project its presence on the Pacific.  And Taiwan, out of a determination to deliver transitional justice, issued in 2016 a presidential apology to the tribes as long-suffering victims of historical injustice.

This presentation on Taiwan’s indigenous people takes the Pacific as a point of reference to build a historical narrative.  In doing so, the talk seeks to position Taiwan in a changing world of connecting oceans.