The following book review appeared in the March issue of Global Asia.
When Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen unveiled her administration’s “New Southbound Policy” in 2016, it’s unlikely that historical parallels with imperial Japan crossed her mind. Yet as this compelling monograph reveals, from the moment Taiwan was ceded to Japan, plans to turn the island into a base for southern expansion were afoot.
These ambitions were not, as might be expected, always actively encouraged or even supported by the central government in Japan. In fact, as this book makes clear, efforts by the Taiwan Government-General to lead the charge from Taihoku (present-day Taipei) often put it at odds with the overlords in Tokyo. Yet even when support was not forthcoming, the government-general was constantly enacting “new imperial strategies centered on mobilizing its overseas Taiwanese subjects.”
To read the full review, click here.
