ANU Taiwan Studies Program

As a world-leading institution with a strong focus on Asia, ANU has long valued Taiwan Studies. Since 2013, the ANU Taiwan Studies Program — a unique collaboration between The Australian National University (ANU) and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China (Taiwan) — has brought together academic excellence and cultural awareness of Taiwan for ANU and for the wider community.

The ANU Taiwan Studies Program 2025–28 will continue to offer two flagship undergraduate courses: Taiwanese Society and Politics and Taiwanese (Southern Min) language and the Taiwan Update. With solid success of the Taiwan Update at ANU, the 2025–28 program will partner with Victoria University of Wellington/Te Herenga Waka to bring the Taiwan Update to Wellington, New Zealand. The Program will provide students with opportunities to engage with the many aspects of Taiwan intellectually and will foster public and academic interest in matters related to Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan.

ANU Taiwan Update

Since 2022, the ANU Taiwan Update has attracted significant interest by providing a platform for academics, public servants and the engaged public to consider current issues in Taiwan and their implications for the region.

Building on the strengths of recent ANU Taiwan Updates, the ANU has partnered with Victoria University of Wellington/Te Herenga Waka to co-host the Taiwan Update in Wellington from 2025 to 2027.

This 1.5-day program takes place in early September each year and includes presentations by leading scholars in their field followed by a film screening.

Past recordings can be viewed here.

Courses

Taiwanese Politics — Office of the President, Flickr

ASIA2222: Taiwanese Society and Politics

For Australians, Taiwan typically figures only as an issue in the geo-politics of the East Asian region, as one half of “Cross-Strait Relations”. Yet, it is a fully functioning democracy and an independent state in all but name that can be studied in its own right. Taiwan has almost the same population as Australia but is about half the size of Tasmania. Like Australia, its indigenous population plays a significant part in politics and society, and Taiwan is also moving towards legalising same-sex marriage. This course provides an overview of contemporary Taiwan’s society and politics while also paying attention to the historical events that formed its present shape and which remain live issues today.

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CHIN2013: Taiwanese (Southern Min)

This course introduces students to current Taiwanese, also known as Holo, which is part of the Hokkien or Southern Min (Minnanyu) language group. It places specific emphasis on the use of this language in daily practices in Taiwan, although the language is also used in the southern part of Fujian Province, People's Republic of China, and in many diasporic communities in South-east Asia. The course covers basic pronunciation and grammar. Students learn to conduct everyday conversations and to use common content and function words in conversation and writing. It also develops a knowledge of the cultures and traditions that have shaped features of the language.

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