International scholars reflect on Taiwan's authoritarian legacy forty years after martial law
From 1 to 3 April, the university hosted the 23rd Annual Conference of the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS), bringing together leading international scholars to examine the legacies of authoritarianism in Taiwan forty years on from the eve of the lifting of martial law.
Global Scholars and Key Themes
The 'Echoes of Authority: Forty Years on from the Eve of the Lifting of Martial Law' conference, organised by Dr Isabelle Cockel, Mr Max Dixon, and Dr Stefano Pelaggi (Sapienza University of Rome), marked the second time EATS has taken place at Portsmouth, following the 2014 conference also organised by Dr Cockel.
The conference featured 25 academic panels and 140 researchers and students from the UK, Taiwan, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Canada and the United States. It offered an in-depth exploration of the impact of martial law not only on politics and security, but also on everyday life.
Discussions highlighted how authoritarian rule shaped what citizens could think, read and watch, as well as how they spent their leisure time within a police state. Participants also examined the enduring legacies of authoritarianism after democratisation, including its influence on legal systems, family relations, public space, heritage conservation and the natural environment.
Bringing History to Life
Academic debate was complemented by a rich programme of exhibitions and film screenings that brought the themes of the conference to life.
The photo exhibition 'Janus Moments: Taiwan’s Democratic Awakening through a Journalist’s Lens' showcased the work of renowned photojournalist Tzu-ming Huang.
Through images of social movements and political protests, the exhibition documented confrontations between citizens and the authoritarian state, as well as moments of transitional justice following democratisation. It included some of Huang’s best-known work on Taiwanese Comfort Women and the political tattoos of the Korean War prisoners of war.
A second exhibition, 'Silencing but Unsilenced', displayed a rare collection of banned and confiscated political magazines published during the martial law era. Donated by the National Museum of Taiwan History to Dr Cockel, the collection highlighted the determination of civil society actors to defend freedom of speech, expression, thought and assembly. The risks taken by writers, editors, photojournalists, distributors and retailers were further explored in 'Behind the Scenes', a short documentary by Huang and Dr Cockel, which also featured former law enforcement agents involved in raids on these publications.
Film, Memory, and Lasting Impact
Two film screenings further enhanced the programme.
'Eyes on Democracy' presented the work of nine photojournalists over the past four decades, demonstrating how visual reporting contributed to the acceleration of democratisation in the 1990s. At a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping news production, the film reaffirmed the power of photojournalism in exposing contested power relations in the public sphere.
The documentary 'Panana' explored the Cold War experiences of the daughter of a political prisoner, showing how her body and victim identity were instrumentalised by the authoritarian Taiwanese state in political manoeuvring involving communist Poland. The film offered a powerful reflection on the complex relationship between minority women and the state.
The conference highlighted the University of Portsmouth’s continued commitment to internationally engaged research and to examining the social, political and cultural legacies of authoritarianism in East Asia.
