A careful, deep dive into the complicated legacies of colonialism, war, and historical memory through Taiwanese veterans and comfort women of the Second Sino-Japanese War/WWII.

In my father's poli sci classroom in 1970s Taiwan, he would always call out the 'spy students' in the back: "Take good notes! Spicy bit!" The class would titter. Even the report-maker would look a bit abashed. In this A&M student's righteous "Dear Leader" invocation, there was no shame felt at all.

Reviewing a book manuscript is hard work but always worth it when it's for a good press. Particularly excited to get my hands on @jamestwotree.bsky.social's book

Honored to have @jamesbaron.bsky.social, who previously worked in the development field in Taiwan, review my book In the Global Vanguard for Taipei Times! www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

Excited to read @heguisen.bsky.social’s new book Ghost Nation!

Call for papers: "New Directions in Taiwan History" workshop to be held at University of Washington, Seattle, on February 26-27, 2026. Deadline to apply is October 10, 2025. Please share widely! For application instructions: jsis.washington.edu/taiwan/works...

Excited to see the translation of Kaori Lai 賴香吟's Portraits in White 白色畫像 published in English by Columbia UP! Translated by Sylvia Li-chun Lin and Howard Goldblatt, commissioned by Ian Rowen, and a historical introduction written by yours truly. cup.columbia.edu/book/portrai...

Reminder: I’ll be talking about my new book this Thursday!

You can grab my book on sale for 40% off! www.ucpress.edu/books/in-the...

My first book review! I am grateful to @angusbylsma.bsky.social for closely engaging with my book. The critique is fair, and it's exciting to see how the book is sparking conversations.

I'll be giving a talk on my book in Seattle and online (hybrid) on May 15 at 3:30pm (Pacific). Please join in person or online! jsis.washington.edu/taiwan/2025/...

I'll talk about rodent control in postwar #Taiwan tomorrow www.eventbrite.com.au/e/counting-r...

1/6 SCMP: "Yu has been outspoken in his advocacy for the reduction of China’s US Treasury bill holdings and has advised Beijing to stay alert for any attempts to use the country’s foreign assets against it." sc.mp/8tmps?utm_so... via @scmpnews

Taiwan has a prominent role in this story on Somaliland www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/w...

Congratulations @jamestwotree.bsky.social! Looking forward to reading this very important book!

Open access publication! My book is now available open access for everyone to read and download free on the @ucpress.bsky.social website: www.ucpress.edu/books/in-the... A brief thread about the book /1

American political scientists and historians who study China say they see more parallels today between their area of study - Chinese politics - and their own country, the United States - than ever before. www.npr.org/2025/03/17/n...

Check out my book at the @ucpress.bsky.social booth at @asianstudies.org in Columbus!

Physical copies are arriving! If you are attending AAS next week, you can find my book at the @ucpress.bsky.social exhibit booth! www.ucpress.edu/books/in-the...

Listening to James Lin talk about his new book “in the Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan” (April, UC Press) at the New Directions in Taiwan History at Princeton. 🇹🇼 🤓

I just wanted to share this superb article written by Kiah Duggins linking postauthoritarian Taiwan and Black American abolitionist movements: journals.law.harvard.edu/crcl/wp-cont... H/t to @michellekuo.bsky.social for finding Duggins’ article

The transformation of Rubio from neocon ideologue to Trump transactionalist yes man is something I would never have predicted even months ago.

Echoes of the 1971 Kissinger talks with Zhou Enlai, with Moscow and Beijing’s roles reversed and Ukraine for Taiwan.

I will be giving a talk on my forthcoming book, In the Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan, at Princeton on February 28. Please join if you’re in the area! @ucpress.bsky.social eas.princeton.edu/events/globa...

Given the significant influx of tourists from China, the ability to speak Chinese has become essential to boost tourism in Thailand. However, in the north of the country, this is resulting in a linguistic challenge that is at once psychological, social, and political, writes Po-Yi Hung.

And a big, big thank you to @jamestwotree.bsky.social of the University of Washington Center for Taiwan Studies for hosting a talk on "Revolutionary Taiwan" this past Thursday, January 30th. Had a great time with the audience! The recording is now available on YouTube www.youtube.com/live/wqb8QTN...

Ah yes, I see it's the time of year when the Philanthropy Industrial Complex (Big P for short) seeds negative stories about Mackenzie Scott because everything about the way she gives money undercuts their entire model... fortune.com/article/mack...

It was nice to be interviewed for this article by Taiwan's Central News Agency about our new East Asia MA program with a Taiwan Studies track: focustaiwan.tw/culture/2024...

We are proud to announce a new Taiwan Studies track of the East Asia MA degree at the University of Washington. This would be the first graduate program in Taiwan Studies in North America and the second in the world. Apply by Jan 31 for fall 2025 admission: jsis.washington.edu/taiwan/acade...

When Congress created a new development bank, it aimed to "provide countries a robust alternative to state-directed investments by authoritarian governments and US strategic competitors" [read: China] 5 years later, @christinalu.bsky.social & I take stock of DFC: foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/16/d...

Excellent piece, must read www.thewirechina.com/2024/12/15/s...

I spoke with Philip Cunliffe at @bungacast.bsky.social on the US-Taiwan relationship, the history of Taiwan's economy and politics, and ideas on what a new Trump administration will mean for Taiwan. A 43 minute preview is available for all to listen! bungacast.com/2024/12/10/4...

In an explainer for @goodauth.bsky.social, I share some historical and contemporary context to martial law in South Korea and Yoon's botched attempt yesterday. goodauthority.org/news/martial...

Big news! My book "Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Party Formation" is officially available for pre-order through University of Washington Press! Here's a brief summary of the book, contested politics, and why Taiwan matters for political science:

Bluesky folks, sharing our website on primary sources on Taiwanese history. Consider including a few of these in your spring classes on colonialism, education, medicine, indigenous histories, and East Asian histories. taiwanprimarysources.com

"Rebellion Against Mao Is Justified" Taiwanese psyop leaflet adopting both slogans and visuals from the Cultural Revolution. Context and analysis available on Herbert A. Friedman's "psywarrior" website

My book, “Making Mao's Steelworks: Industrial Manchuria and the Transnational Origins of Chinese Socialism,” finally has a confirmed publication date—December 5, 2024. You can order it via Amazon. www.amazon.com/Making-Maos-...

If I can finish proofreading and make the index in time, my new book will come out in January. 📖 I've been working on it for five years so I'm pretty excited that it will soon be a reality. I'd like to tell you a bit about it. 1/16

I will be presenting online today (11/27 1pm Taiwan time) at National Yangming Chiaotong University on a research project I'm working on exploring the intersection of Taiwan and Cold War studies. Please join if you're free! www.facebook.com/share/p/12AL...

The design department at @uwapress.bsky.social created a great cover. Forthcoming spring 2025. uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295...

Check out this SOAS blog post by @dgtam86.bsky.social on gender & Hong Kong’s democracy movement blogs.soas.ac.uk/china-instit...

Put together a starter pack of folks who research and write about historical and contemporary issues related to science and technology in China. Please let me know if you have suggestions to add to this list or want to be a part of it, too. go.bsky.app/LCxEqEy #histstm #science #technology #China

Lovely news! #TaiwanTravelogue, by Yang Shuang-zi (author) and Lin Kin (translator), have won the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature! A first for Taiwan.

Bluesky, here's my forthcoming book, Island Tinkerers: Innovation and Transformation in the Making of Taiwan's Computing Industry! @mitpress.bsky.social mitpress.mit.edu/978026254938...

Very proud that our new volume on Development, Socialism, and Internationalism is now out on Open Access! Many thanks to my wonderful co-editor Nana Osei-Opare and all our contributors, & @jessicareinisch.bsky.social & David Brydan for welcoming us in their series www.bloomsbury.com/us/socialism...

Pleased to share my new article on the history of health insurance in Taiwan through the lens of ethnicity, politics, and global health. (Open Access) 1/ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Not sure I've ever witnessed more anticipation for an edited volume than for this one, which is finally out as of yesterday. I suspect it'll make a splash... uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/oceani...

My next book is now Amazon official. Remaking the Earth, Exhausting the People: The Burden of Conservation in Modern China a.co/d/8GJpnx3

Created a Taiwan Studies Starter Pack for folks coming from Twitter. Let me know if you ought to be on here! go.bsky.app/TG2GBbz

It's alive! My book now has a webpage on the University of California Press @ucpress.bsky.social website: www.ucpress.edu/books/in-the... Will be available open access in April 2025!