Successful Dissertation Defense

We are pleased to announce that Wu Kuan-wei successfully defended his dissertation, titled "In Meditation of a Small State: Joshua Wen-kwei Liao (廖文奎, 1905–1952) and his Reflection on Statehood," on July 29, 2026. The photo shows Mr. Wu after the defense alongside members of the examination committee—Prof. Marion Eggert, Prof. Christian Schwermann, and Dr. Anke Scherer—as well as his supervisors, Prof. Christine Moll-Murata and Prof. Heiner Roetz. Prof. Wu Rwei-Ren participated online.

The Section for Chinese History and the Research Unit for Taiwanese Culture and Literature extend their warmest congratulations to Mr. Wu on this significant achievement and wish him all the best for the future.

Guest Lecture "Civil Society Mobilization in Taiwan's Bluebird Action and Recall Campaigns"

On July 14, 2026, the Research Unit for Taiwanese Culture and Literature invited Professor Ho Ming-sho, PhD 何明修 from the Department of Sociology at National Taiwan University as a speaker for a guest lecture on the topic "Civil Society Mobilization in Taiwan's Bluebird Action and Recall Campaigns".

For more insights into the event, please click the button below.

Block Seminar - "400 Years of Taiwan History"

As part of the Taiwan Teaching Program Ass. Prof. Dr. Chien Hung-yi 簡宏逸 from the Department of History at National Cheng Kung University was invited to hold a hybrid course on "400 Years of Taiwan History". The block seminar came to a successful conclusion with Ass. Prof. Dr. Chien Hung-yi's visit to Bochum, allowing lively in-person discussions with the students.

For more insights on the class and information about the Taiwan Teaching Program, please click the button below.

Workshop "TAP: Aktuelle Trends Lehre und Forschung zu Taiwan“

In cooperation with the Taiwan Working Group of the German Association for Chinese Studies (DVCS), the TAP project at the University of Trier is holding workshop to promote aspiring academics. Students of all status groups (from the 3rd semester of BA programs, MA and doctoral candidates) are welcome to apply.

For more information please click the button below.

Spring School "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture"

From February 9 to 20 our Spring School  "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture" took place, bringing together students from the Ruhr University Bochum and people generally interested in Taiwan for an intensive and immersive learning experience.

For more information and insights please click the button below.

Movie Screening of the Research Training Group "East Asian Futures"

The Research Training Group GRK 2833 "East Asian Futures" is pleased to invite you to our public outreach event "Visions of the Future in East Asian Cinema." Across two afternoons in March, we will explore cinematic visions of the future from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. After successfully ending the first film screening the second event will take place on March 18, 2026, 4–9 PM. They will screen the South Korean science fiction anthology Doomsday Book (2012) and the Chinese sci-fi comedy Moon Man (2022). For more information please click the button below.

Time: 18th of March, 4 - 9 pm
Location: Endstation Kino, Wallbaumweg 108, 44894 Bochum

Lecture on "Taiwanese Pop Music" by Achim Kehlenbach

As part of our Spring School "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture" Achim Kehlenbach will hold a lecture about "Taiwanese Pop Music" on Thursday, February 19th. Everyone interested is cordially invited to join us.

Time: 19th of February, 4 - 6 pm
Location: MB3/126, Ruhr University Bochum

Spring School 2026 "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture"

We are happy to announce that we will be hosting another Spring School in February this year teaching elementary Taiwanese and introducing its application in contemporary Taiwanese popular culture. The spring school is intended as a fresh-up for those who participated in the Spring School in 2025 or who already have knowledge of Taiwanese, and for beginners. 

For more information and insights please click the button below.

Book Launch with National Taiwan Library

On December 12, 2025, the National Taiwan Library introduced its newly published Chinese translation of the book "Eine kurtze Ost-Indianische Reiß-Beschreibung" (1669) by the Swiss painter and traveler Albrecht Herport. In cooperation with the Faculty of East Asian Studies at Ruhr University Bochum, a hybrid event was held at the university's library, where the National Taiwan Library also introduced the restoration work of its book hospital, its special collections, and fellowship programs for visiting scholars.

For more insights into the event, please click the Button below.

Dr. Hsu Yu-Yins Field Trip to Taiwan

In October 2025 Dr. Hsu undertook field research in Taiwan, took part in the First Taipei-Germany Conference and visited the Changhua Senior High School. For more insights, please click the button below.

Workshop Discussion with Taiwanese Comicauthor Nownow (小峱峱)

We are pleased to invite you to a special event featuring renowned Taiwanese comic author Nownow (小峱峱), who will be introducing herself and her comic "Guardienne" (守娘), which recently has been published in German translation. Join us for an engaging workshop where Nownow will share insights into her life and themes behind her work, followed by a lively audience discussion. The event will be in german and chinese.

Time: 23rd of October, 6 - 8 pm
Location: MB3/126, Ruhr University Bochum

Teaching Program for History, Culture, and Languages of Taiwan Extended

The Research Unit for Taiwanese Culture and Literature gratefully announces the extension of the Taiwan Teaching Program supported by the Taiwan Ministry of Education for another three years, beginning in 2025.

For more information about the program, please click the button below.

International TAP Workshop in Trier

From September 1 to 4, 2025, the TAP team hosted their international workshop "Taiwan's Responses to Global Megatrends". This four-day event brought together leading academics from Europe and Taiwan to discuss the island's role in addressing current global issues. 

For more information please click the button below. 

Author Reading - "Geisterdämmerung" by Kevin Chen

On July 11, 2025, the Taiwanese writer Kevin Chen (陳思宏) visited the Taiwan Research Unit for an author reading of his work "Geisterdämmerung" (鬼地方). For more insights of the event please click the button below. 

EATS Annual Conference

From June 20-22, 2025, the 22nd EATS Conference was held at the at Palacky University Olomouc. The conference thoroughly explored the theme "Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific" and featured key discussions on Taiwan's evolving international role and its rich cultural memory. For more insights please click the button below.  

Guest Lecture "Military Training in Taiwan's Upper Middle Schools, 1953-1960"

On June 16, 2025, Dr. Jennifer Liu, Professor of East Asian History at Central Michigan University, held a guest lecture about "Military Training in Taiwan's Upper Middle Schools, 1953–1960."  For more insights please click the button below.

Fieldtrip in Japan and Taiwan

Between February and May 2025, Dr. Hsu undertook field research in Japan and Taiwan, including exhibition visits related to medical education, literature, and modern history. For more insights, please click the button below.

Spring School "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture"

In February 2025 our Spring School  "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture" took place, bringing together students from the Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen for an intensive and immersive learning experience.

For more information and insights please click the button below.