ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a linear historical narrative of the unfolding of colonial and post-colonial policies and interventions on the built environment that have attempted to construct a political narrative and subjectivity of Taiwan’s residents. Rather than attempting to elaborate on all the complexities that exist within local political discourse, it focuses on the role colonial-era institutions and infrastructures have played in framing the production of space to suit political narratives. The chapter examines the ways in which historical colonial institutions, and the modern democratic reprogramming of these institutions, have shaped the environment and political discourse of post-colonialism in Taiwan. Contemporary political discourse in Taiwan has in many ways been shaped by the architecture of past colonial orders. Taiwan’s pre-colonial history was complex and characterized by persistent conflict between local indigenous tribes and attempts at colonization by the Japanese, Chinese, and Western trade powers.
