The European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS)

In 2000, Professor Robert Ash of the the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, created the Taiwan Research Centre, focusing on contemporary Taiwan. The Centre’s activities extend to major areas of research, a co-teaching program, publishing, regular seminars and other related activities, in order to attract scholars from around the world. In 2006, the Centre set up the first Taiwan Studies master’s program, which has operated very smoothly since then. The Centre’s efforts earned recognition with the with the 2007 ROC-France Cultural Award.

With the support of the Foundation, Professor Ash set up the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) in 2004. Although the EATS is a relatively new academic organization, its annual meetings have been held in many major cities in Europe (including Ljubljana, London, Paris, Prague, Stockholm, etc.), with the number of participants and papers submitted increasing each year, thereby becoming an important event in Taiwan Studies worldwide. EATS has placed particular emphasis on the cultivation of young scholarly talent, including special panels for graduate students and the recent inauguration of its own Young Scholars Award. In addition, EATS launched a twice-yearly online newsletter entitled EATS News in January 2013, and has also been actively engaged in publication projects, including two book series as well as several special issues of journals and edited volumes.