New Southbound Policy Portal

Traditional Thai dance group Four Faces stages performances across Taiwan for the deity Phra Phrom, helping promote the Southeast Asian country’s culture. (Photo by Jimmy Lin)
 

A raft of public and private efforts in recent years are bolstering appreciation for the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia among the people of Taiwan while enhancing understanding between the two sides.

Among these endeavors, the “One Film, One Journey” festival running since 2017 at Taipei City-based National Chengchi University has screened over 50 documentaries, independent movies and short films from Southeast Asia to date. Curator Chung She-fong, an NCCU associate professor, has also begun to compile a book aimed at introducing casual readers to the region’s cinema.

Interest in the area has grown rapidly in Taiwan over the past decade, fueled by government initiatives such as the Southeast Asia Advisory Committee created by the Ministry of Culture in 2015, as well as the Taiwan-New Southbound Policy Cultural Exchange Programs initiative.

Promulgated in 2016, the NSP seeks to bolster ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian nations, Australia and New Zealand.

“Taiwan has strong economic and trade relations with Southeast Asia, plus a lot of migrant workers who hail from the region. But the average person on the street doesn’t know a lot about these countries,” said Kuei Yeh-chin, director-general of the MOC’s Department of Cultural Exchange. “We’re hoping to change that.”

According to ethnomusicologist Tsai Tsung-te from Tainan National University of the Arts in southern Taiwan, though migrant workers from Southeast Asia comprise the largest group of foreign residents in Taiwan, they often suffer from a kind of cultural invisibility.

The expert on traditional Indonesian music has obtained TNCEP funding to study the development of performing arts groups made up of migrant workers and other immigrants in Taiwan. Such groups often struggle to find a suitable location to practice and perform because of negative stereotyping or sensationalist media reporting, he said.

Through his work with Angklung Taiwan, VIT Dance Group and others, Tsai has made several recommendations to local governments on how best to integrate and support Southeast Asian communities.

As a longtime observer of migrant workers in Taiwan, Tsai is under no illusions about the work still needed to ensure people of all cultures are fully integrated into local society, but he is confident that initiatives such as TNCEP can help usher in a more inclusive future through promotion of Southeast Asian cultures.

Government policies still have a critical role to play in making Taiwan a welcoming environment for people from Southeast Asia, according to the MOC’s Kuei. With the founding of the SAAC and the launch of the NSP as well as subsequent strategies like TNCEP, he is convinced the government is on the right policy track going forward.

“These initiatives are going to ensure Taiwan establishes and maintains a long-term cultural partnership with Southeast Asia, enabling the country to play an even more active role in the region,” he said. “Building new relationships takes time, but Taiwan is willing and able to do so.” (E)

(This article is adapted from Cultural Catalyst in the July/August Issue 2021 of Taiwan Review. The Taiwan Review archives dating to 1951 are available online.)