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The seminar was primarily aimed at young students and university graduates and was delivered in five sessions via Zoom.
In the first session, Juan Pablo Cardenal presented on “Taiwanese Democracy”: the evolution of Taiwan from 1949 to the present day; Taiwan’s image from Beijing and from Taipei; cross-strait relations under the governments of the DPP and the KMT; the impact on Taiwan of the end of the “one country, two systems” model in Hong Kong and the Sunflower Movement; China’s authoritarian influence on Taiwan in contrast with Taiwan’s strengths: prosperity, rule of law and democracy; and possible future scenarios in the Taiwan Strait. In the second session, Cardenal spoke on “Taiwan in Latin America and in International Organisations”: interpretations of “One China” by Beijing, Taipei and the rest of the world; Beijing’s strategy of diplomatically isolating Taiwan; Taiwan’s allies in Latin America and the Caribbean and its presence in international organisations; the nearly two decades (2007–2025) of frustrated economic expectations among Central American countries that broke relations with Taiwan and established ties with China; and Taipei’s relations with the United States, Japan and the European Union.
Photo 2, The Economic Miracle of Taiwan, From Agricultural Island to Global Technological Power.
In the third session, Marcel Oppliger presented on “Economic Revolution: From ‘Made in Taiwan’ to the Heart of Chips and AI”: Taiwan’s economic transformation from post-colonial poverty and the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War under Kuomintang dictatorship to becoming one of the Four Asian Tigers, and later one of the most important and strategic technological centres in the 21st century. The session explored how land reform, state-led industrial policy, export-oriented manufacturing, and dense SME networks drove the “Made in Taiwan” miracle, followed by a deliberate shift towards advanced technology, semiconductors, and today’s AI hardware supply chain.
Photo 3, Taiwanese Civil Society, Contributions to Democracy and Development
In the fourth session, Gabriela Ippólito-O’Donnell spoke on “Civil Society in Taiwan: Contributions to Democracy and Development”: the evolution, structure and dynamics of civil society organisations in Taiwan from the 20th century to the present. Using a historical, sociological and political perspective, she analysed how factors such as political transition, economic development, cultural identity and the international context have shaped a distinctive civic ecosystem. The approach was analytical and comparative, placing Taiwan within broader debates on civil society, democratisation and social movements. Topics included origins and background (pre-1945), the authoritarian era (1949–1980s), transition and expansion (1980s–2000), and cross-cutting themes and case studies.
Photo 4, Structural Constraints. Taiwan’s diplomatic actions in Latin America, and their coordination with U.S. strategy, face structural constraints. Since Latin America is not a priority in U.S. global strategy, U.S. support for Taiwan tends to be selective. China has consolidated a strong economic influence in the region. In contrast, Taiwan has far more limited resources, and the United States does not necessarily compensate for this gap.
In the fifth and final session, Kuo-Wei Kung presented on “Relations Between Both Sides of Taiwan and Latin America”: a mix of diplomatic competition, economic cooperation and geopolitical rivalry. While China continues to expand its economic and political influence in the region, Taiwan seeks to maintain its diplomatic alliances and deepen cooperation with its Latin American partners. As such, Latin America will remain an important arena in cross-strait relations. Additionally, under the administration of President Donald Trump, US policy towards the Western Hemisphere has undergone significant changes. Over the past year, Washington has taken a series of actions in Latin America aimed at countering China or indirectly affecting its geopolitical interests. What impact will these measures have on future competition between both sides of the Taiwan Strait in Latin America?
Juan Pablo Cardenal is a journalist and writer. Between 2003 and 2014, he served as China correspondent for major Spanish newspapers, specialising since 2009 in China’s global expansion. He has researched this phenomenon in 40 countries across four continents to understand the impact of Chinese investment, infrastructure and loans. This work resulted in three co-authored books, including La silenciosa conquista china (2011) and La imparable conquista china (2015), translated into 12 languages. Since 2016, he has led research projects on Chinese soft power and Beijing’s political influence in Latin America, publishing several reports. He has lectured at international institutions and contributed to outlets such as El País, El Mundo, Clarín, The New York Times, Project Syndicate and the South China Morning Post. He is editor of Análisis Sínico at CADAL.
Marcel Oppliger Jaramillo is a journalist from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and a Master’s candidate in International Studies at the University of Chile, where he also completed a diploma in Chinese Studies. He has worked as Opinion Editor for Chilean newspapers La Tercera, La Segunda and Diario Financiero, where he also edited “Conexión a Asia” and “Conexión a China”. He has published three books and taught at the journalism schools of Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and Universidad de los Andes. He currently lives in Taipei, where he runs the YouTube channel “Taiwan Edge”, focused on Taiwan as a global innovation hub, and writes columns for English- and Spanish-language media.
Gabriela Ippolito-O’Donnell holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge, a Master’s from the University of Notre Dame, and a BA from Universidad del Salvador. She is the author of The Right to the City: Popular Contention in Contemporary Buenos Aires (2012) and co-editor (with Martín D’Alessandro) of La Ciencia Política de Guillermo O’Donnell (2025). She is Professor of Political Science at UNSAM (Argentina) and has previously directed political science programmes at Universidad del Salvador and UNSAM.
Kuo-Wei Kung holds a PhD in Political Sociology from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Master’s in Law from Tamkang University. He is Associate Professor in the Department of Global Political Economy and Director of the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Tamkang University.
