Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- 1 Unpacking Taiwan's Exceptionalism: Themes and Studies
- 2 The Legal Status of Taiwan under International Law
- 3 Taiwan’s Unique Position Toward the South China Sea
- 4 Taiwan-China-United States Relations: Taiwan’s Unique Safe House for Better or Worse
- 5 Exceptionalism under a Glass Ceiling? Taiwan’s Democratic Development and Challenges
- 6 The Sunflower Movement: An Example of the Dynamics of Civic Activity in Taiwan
- 7 The Development of Indigenous Tourism Clusters in Taiwan: Economic and Cultural Foundations of Sustainability
- 8 A Shark Paradise in Taiwan (Dis)appears: From Shark Soup to Shark Diving
- 9 Taipei’s Soft Power at Work: The Image of Taiwan in Polish Dailies “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Rzeczpospolita”
- Contributors
- List of Figures
- Index
9 - Taipei’s Soft Power at Work: The Image of Taiwan in Polish Dailies “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Rzeczpospolita”
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 July 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- 1 Unpacking Taiwan's Exceptionalism: Themes and Studies
- 2 The Legal Status of Taiwan under International Law
- 3 Taiwan’s Unique Position Toward the South China Sea
- 4 Taiwan-China-United States Relations: Taiwan’s Unique Safe House for Better or Worse
- 5 Exceptionalism under a Glass Ceiling? Taiwan’s Democratic Development and Challenges
- 6 The Sunflower Movement: An Example of the Dynamics of Civic Activity in Taiwan
- 7 The Development of Indigenous Tourism Clusters in Taiwan: Economic and Cultural Foundations of Sustainability
- 8 A Shark Paradise in Taiwan (Dis)appears: From Shark Soup to Shark Diving
- 9 Taipei’s Soft Power at Work: The Image of Taiwan in Polish Dailies “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Rzeczpospolita”
- Contributors
- List of Figures
- Index
Summary
Abstract: Taiwan's external relations are ‘exceptional.’ Due to the island's contested international status and limited recognition, public diplomacy often provides Taipei with the only channel to conduct external affairs through the soft-power resources it enables. Therefore, in order to assess the island's foreign policies, it is crucial to understand its soft power capacity.
This chapter analyzes the challenges to the exercise of Taiwan's soft power as well as its effects in selected Polish dailies. First, it looks for themes that may enable and disable Taiwan's soft power in the scholarly literature and documents released by Taipei's govermental actors. Second, it examines whether these themes pertaining to the island were present in two Polish dailies – “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Rzeczpospolita” – during a one-year period from November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2017. The newspaper analysis aims to reveal narratives that are alternative to those promoted publicly and that are related to the image of Taiwan, other significant international actors, and Taiwanese governmental as well as non-state executors of public policy, all of which may contribute to an enabling or disabling environment for Taipei's soft power. It applies techniques and methods from media research and discourse analysis.
Keywords: public diplomacy, soft power, Taiwan diplomacy, newspaper analysis
Introduction
Taiwanese diplomacy is ‘exceptional’ due to the island's contested international status. Taiwan is not recognized by the majority of the states of the world and, for this reason, its international space is severely limited. Currently, it enjoys formal diplomatic relations with only 14 countries and the Holy See and cannot become a member of the foremost international organizations, particularly those where statehood is a prerequisite. As a consequence, Taipei's politicians and administrations responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs must show a great deal of ingenuity to utilize the traditional diplomatic tools of sovereign states, such as propaganda or diplomatic and economic statecraft. One must admit that Taipei has been very creative in its diplomatic endeavors by inventing “pragmatic diplomacy,” “dollar diplomacy,” “holiday diplomacy,” “academic diplomacy,” “flexible diplomacy,” “substantive diplomacy,” “medical diplomacy,” “viable diplomacy,” etc.
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- Information
- Taiwan's Exceptionalism , pp. 179 - 214Publisher: Jagiellonian University PressPrint publication year: 2022