Chris Horton is a freelance journalist and author who has been based in Taipei, Taiwan for the past decade. He previously spent 13 years in China and two in Hong Kong. He has written extensively for The New York Times, Bloomberg News, Nikkei Asia, The Atlantic and elsewhere, covering Taiwan's national security, diplomacy, economy, culture and more. His new book, Ghost Nation: The Story of Taiwan and its Struggle for Survival (Macmillan) examines how four centuries of serial colonization shaped the people who fought for what is now Asia's freest - and most threatened - democratic country.

University of Washington Taiwan Studies Program

The Taiwan Studies Program at the University of Washington (UW) was established in 2017 to promote research and education on Taiwan society and culture. Located in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, the Program is the newest addition to long-standing programs in China, Japan, and Korea Studies, and a host of other global programs ranging from Jewish Studies to Latin American and Caribbean Studies. With graduate and undergraduate courses, regular academic lectures, and public roundtables, we serve as a global center of knowledge for students, scholars, and the public. By working with UW’s Taiwanese student organizations, the growing ranks of UW Taiwanese alumni, and the regional Taiwanese community, the Program is also an important cultural and academic hub for the Taiwanese diaspora.

The Taiwan Studies Program thanks generous support from the Taiwan Ministry of Education, the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, an anonymous donor, and our local community members who have donated to our Taiwan Studies fund.

In Ghost Nation: the Story of Taiwan and its Struggle for Survival, Chris Horton compares Beijing's claim that Taiwan has been Chinese territory "since time immemorial" with Taiwan's actual history. Several different groups have controlled some or all of Taiwan over the last 400 years -- the Dutch, Spanish, Tungning, Manchu, Japanese, Chinese, and now, Taiwanese. By looking at those who have ruled Taiwan, Horton also tells the story of the Taiwanese people, highlighting their intergenerational quest for self-determination -- and the existential threat posed by an expansionist Chinese Communist Party.