2022 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
The Limits of Decolonization: Taiwan and Japan in the Wake of Empire
| Project/Area Number |
18K01001
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
オーガスティン マシュー 九州大学, 比較社会文化研究院, 准教授 (40598710)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
|
| Keywords | Decolonization / East Asian history / Taiwan |
|---|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The purpose of this research project was to examine American and Chinese occupation policies in postwar Japan and Taiwan, focusing on the process and outcome of dismantling Japanese colonialism. During the first year, I conducted archival research on Nationalist Chinese policies towards decolonizing Taiwan after 1945, making two research trips to Taipei. During the second year, I conducted further research in Taipei, Tokyo, and Kobe, collecting archival sources on new forms of personal identity documents issued by Chinese authorities. Based on these historical documents, I presented my research findings on the politics of postcolonial identification at an international symposium. I had originally planned to make an extensive research trip to the United States, but was unable to travel after February 2020, due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Consequently, I focused on translating and analyzing a collection of Chinese sources, including government documents and individual petitions, regarding the recovery of Chinese names for Taiwanese who had adopted Japanese names before 1945. Although I was unable to attend any conferences in person, I gave two online presentations for conferences and workshops based in Kobe and Taipei. Fortunately, I was able to return to Taipei in 2023 for follow-up research on the name-recovery campaign, which provides a window into understanding decolonization and postcolonialism in Taiwan. As such, I am currently finishing up writing an article for publication in one of the leading academic journals in the field of East Asian history.
|
