Neocolonial nostalgia obscures Taiwan’s contested heritage: How retro trends erase postcolonial memory and who benefits from this framing
Original framing: “Lantern festival host city showcases Taiwan-Japan history and culture” — The Japan Times
It references the Japanese occupation (1895‑1945) and the KMT’s later suppression, but treats them as background rather than as ongoing structural forces that shape present‑day heritage politics. The piece fails to connect the retro‑nostalgia trend to a broader pattern of neocolonial memory‑manufacturing that repeats across East Asian postcolonial contexts.
The article’s glossy framing of a Taiwan‑Japan lantern festival hides a web of colonial legacies, indigenous erasure, and elite commodification.
By integrating indigenous perspectives, historical depth, cross‑cultural comparison, and scientific data, we reveal how nostalgic aesthetics operate as a trickster that both conceals and hints at resistance. Future‑oriented, participatory solutions—grounded in transparent funding, youth literacy, and reparative dialogue—can transform the festival from a soft‑power showcase into a site of collective memory and justice.