This is a story I probably could not have gotten published a few years ago: In Taipei, people sometimes dump their deity statues at sacral places such as the Longshan Temple. People do this because they feel they no longer need those statues. However, throwing them in the bin, their folklore beliefs tell them, might provoke a curse. Dropping a statue off at a temple, basically giving them a new home, seems like the friendlier solution. So common has this practice become that it has caused trouble to the temples — and provoked the curiosity of the National Taiwan Museum, which now hosts some of the statues.
For a journalist like me, this story is fascinating: It offers insights into how religions can be flexibly combined, how the fear of gods and consumerism can merge and the great diversity of belief systems in the world. However, until recently, I would have had difficulty selling a piece like this to a German-language outlet. Publications would say: “It’s interesting, sure, but too far away from our readers’ world.”
Today? When I discussed it earlier this year, the papers loved it. They asked if I could send it the next day, if I have photos and if I could make it longer.
Why would the same story — a local story about homeless deities — not have raised much interest just a few years ago, but is causing excitement today? The answer is that it is from Taiwan.
Nowadays, almost anything from Taiwan bears something supposedly interesting, perhaps even geopolitical. For who knows how much longer Taiwanese could continue to live in peace? Who knows when China might invade?
Of course, the contingency scenario is not new.
However, in Europe, a Chinese invasion of Taiwan has become a possibility that cannot continue to be overlooked since Russia’s escalation of its war in Ukraine in February 2022. Russia’s invasion has drastically shifted Europeans’ geopolitical awareness: Decades of European integration instilled a way of thinking about war and conflict that it is a thing of the past — or a thing of far-away places. Russia’s 2014 invasion of eastern Ukraine did not wake Europeans up, but its attempt at taking the whole of Ukraine in 2022 did.
European countries have become heavily involved in the war in Ukraine by supporting the Ukrainian forces militarily. As such, the worry that war may return to more European countries has become more real, too. It has sharpened the view of Europeans — politicians, journalists and citizens — not only toward Russia but also its ally China. In turn, since China claims Taiwan as its territory and is threatening to take it by force, worries of yet another war are growing.
Whether European countries would support Taiwan in the event of a Taiwan contingency similar to how it has supported Ukraine is unclear. Some analysts expect they would. Others point at a division of labor between Japan, South Korea and the USA supporting Taiwan, while Europe might have to continue its support of Ukraine against Russia. In any case, European countries — as any other country — would be heavily affected by a war in Taiwan as global supply chains would collapse.
With this in mind, it is less surprising that public interest in Taiwan has grown in Europe. For example, I was much busier in covering last month’s presidential and legislative elections than the elections in 2020 or 2016. The European public finally understood the importance of Taiwan’s democracy, one that is constantly under threat from China. However, European institutions should have understood much sooner. The EU and its member states share part of the responsibility for why Taiwan is diplomatically isolated and cannot be sure of the support it would get if it were attacked.
Precisely because European states do not formally recognize Taipei, it is the politicians’, media companies’ and citizens’ responsibility to at least care about Taiwan. The lowest level of caring is paying attention to what is happening. This has finally started.
How do I know that the story about the homeless deities would hardly have provoked any interest some years ago? About 10 years ago, I suggested another story to various media outlets: Taiwan then had the world’s lowest fertility rate, which was causing demographic aging and ultimately a shrinking population — challenges also faced by Germany. A close look at the reasons why young Taiwanese often chose not to have children would be instructive for the Germans, I said.
“Taiwan is a bit far away for our readers,” I was told then.
Last year, when Taiwan’s fertility rate was still low and I pitched pretty much the same story again, it sold exceptionally well.
Felix Lill is an independent journalist from Germany who reports on East Asia, including Taiwan, for a wide range of media. He holds a PhD in governance from the Hertie School.
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