【Article by Graduate Institute of Development Studies】
NCCUs Graduate Institute of Development Studies invited Professor Dafydd Fell of SOAS University of London to conduct a lecture regarding his recently published book, Taiwan’s Green Parties: Alternative Politics in Taiwan.

As a scholar, Professor Fell research lies primarily in comparative politics, with a specialization in Taiwan politics. Fell’s personal history with both Taiwan and NCCU date back to the late 1980s when he studied at NCCU’s Chinese Language Center as a university student. In particular, Dr. Fell’s background as a British scholar makes his in depth research of Taiwan’s political parties unique in both its nature and perspective. Professor fell’s recent publication focuses on the impact and evolution of Taiwan’s Green Party (台灣綠黨). Starting from the party’s founding in 1996, Fell’s book follows key happenings and evolution within the party, all the way up until Taiwan’s most recent presidential election in January of 2020.

Professor Fell began his talk by introducing his research methods, as well as the ten year process behind his latest book. He continued his lecture by summarizing his book, organized in chronological order from 1996 to the present day. Professor fell noted that despite limitations to the Green Party’s electoral success, the leaders of the party have repeatedly made substantial impact on social movements in Taiwan; particularly in the areas of anti-nuclear power and same sex marriage. He also noted that Taiwan’s Green Party has maintained a close relationship with global green party movements and that its influence in the international sphere has generally outdone its performance domestically. The second half of Professor Fell’s book focused on the parties electoral success (or lack thereof) and the evolving nature of party ideology through time. Professor Fell continuously mentioned that the Green Party has had many unique attributes which differentiate it from other political parties in Taiwan in there operation. Dr. Fell said that it was this uniqueness which led to his interest in studying the Green Party in the first place.

At the end of the official lecture, the room was opened up for questions to the diverse audience consisting of 6 nationalities. Included in these questions were related to the Green Party’s influence on Taiwan’s political scene, The party’s relationship with the international green movement, and the evolution and nature of the party’s ideologies and key issues. Lastly, Professor Fell mentioned that he was working in collaboration with a number of Taiwanese colleagues to publish a Chinese version of his recent book which he hoped would be available in 2022.