Assessing China’s Attempts to Limit Taiwan’s Cultural Visibility

When Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi’s novel *Taiwan Travelogue* secured the 2026 International Booker Prize, it represented a historic milestone on the world stage. Yet the achievement unfolded against a backdrop of pressing geopolitical tensions.

During the ceremony, Lin King, the book’s English translator, voiced the apprehension felt across Taiwan, where she spent much of her youth.

“In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, I made the explicit decision that rather than translating Sinophone works indiscriminately, I would only translate writing from Taiwan for the foreseeable future. I will continue to do so until the day comes that my homeland’s sovereignty is no longer a provocation or a punchline — until no English speaker feels comfortable saying to me, ‘I really should come visit you in Taiwan while it still exists.'” she said in her acceptance speech.

Literature and politics

The novel traces a young Japanese writer’s visit to Japanese‑ruled Taiwan in May 1938, undertaken as part of a government‑sponsored lecture tour. As she and her Taiwanese interpreter wander the night markets and share street food, a quiet intimacy develops. The story foregrounds Taiwan’s own history, diverging from the Beijing‑promoted “Greater China” narrative.

“Literature and politics are directly connected,” Yang told DW. “Politics determines the allocation of resources, and the allocation of resources determines which works get pulled out, held up high and defined as ‘good literature.’ The idea that politics can just be kept out of it doesn’t exist.”

Shortly after the prize announcement, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement urging writers on both sides of the Strait to adopt a national perspective, honor historical truths, and confront the suffering endured by the Chinese people during Japan’s wartime aggression and fascism.

“From China’s perspective, they do not want to see Taiwan’s voice gain prominence,” Yang said.

Her work illustrates that Taiwanese culture emerges from a blend of Indigenous, Japanese colonial, and local Han influences, rather than representing a simple offshoot of Chinese culture.

During Yang’s October book tour in Germany, an event at the Literaturhaus in Munich sparked controversy after the interpreter markedly condensed several of her remarks on Taiwan, China, history, and politics. The interpreter later acknowledged errors and omissions in the translation but denied any intentional removal driven by political motives or the cross‑strait situation.

Taiwan and China

Beijing regards Taiwan as a Chinese province and has repeatedly threatened to use force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s democratically elected president, however, rejects the claim that Chinese laws extend to the island.

Since 1949, Taiwan has operated as a de facto independent entity, preserving its own government, military, and legal framework despite persistent military pressure from Beijing.

China’s international overreach?

China’s surveillance of Taiwan’s international activities extends well beyond reactions to literary awards.

“The primary targets of suppression and harassment are outspoken individuals, exiled activists, diaspora community organizers, and their family members and close associates still residing in Taiwan,” said Dr. Yan‑ho Lai, a senior fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Asian Law. “From the PRC’s perspective, these groups pose a threat to regime security because they can amplify dissenting voices and alternative narratives about China to the West.”

In April this year, Taiwanese barista Lin Shao‑hsing, widely known as Bala, captured the 2026 World Latte Art Championship in the United States. Shortly thereafter, any reference to Taiwan in connection with Bala’s victory was stripped from the official World Coffee Championships website.

The site now lists Bala as representing “the competition body of Chinese Taipei,” a designation frequently employed in international arenas like the Olympics to denote Taiwan, though it is rarely used within Taiwan itself.

A 2026 survey conducted by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center shows that an overwhelming majority of Taiwanese residents identify as Taiwanese, with just 2.5% describing themselves as Chinese.

In 2024, Chinese authorities allegedly plotted to stage a “car collision” during the visit of Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi‑khim to Prague, the Czech capital. Czech intelligence officials informed local media that the incident was part of a broader, escalating scheme devised by Chinese diplomats and intelligence officers stationed at the Chinese embassy in Prague.

In early October, the FBI announced the arrest of a woman in California on allegations that she had been spying on the son of Taiwan’s president. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, she had traveled to Seattle in 2025 under orders from Beijing to monitor the president’s son and his family, collecting photographs, video recordings, and license‑plate data.

At a press conference on October 6, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that it consistently opposes the hype surrounding alleged Chinese spies and rejects efforts to smear or vilify the country.

“It reflects the ambiguity and limits of international law that the PRC’s use of soft power to curb Taiwan’s visibility may not fall squarely within the domain of international law, given that Taiwan is not recognized as a sovereign state by international bodies,” said Dr. Lai.

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