By Senkai Hsia
On a warm and sunny Monday 25th May, the Oxford Taiwan Studies Programme hosted a screening of Invisible Nation at the Investcorp Auditorium, St Antony’s College. The screening was followed by a discussion with the film’s director, Vanessa Hope, moderated by Issy Wells. The event highlighted Taiwan’s unique geopolitical status through a documentary capturing Taiwan’s historical journey from martial law to democracy and its contemporary struggle for international recognition.
First released in 2023, Invisible Nation is an award-winning documentary which focuses on the presidency of Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female president. With unprecedented access to Tsai herself, the film provides a behind-the-scenes look into her eight-year leadership of Taiwan in the face of increasing tensions with Beijing. While the portrait of Tsai is central, the documentary also explores a much broader story of Taiwan’s colonial history, its democratic transition and the ups and downs of the island’s relationship with mainland China. In doing so, it provides a rich and compelling account of Taiwan’s place in the world highlighting its internal struggle towards democracy, competing visions for engagement with the mainland, and the personal impacts of Beijing’s pressure on Taiwan’s status and identity.
Drawing upon interviews with Taiwanese political leaders, civil society activists, and geopolitical analysts alongside archival and contemporary footage of the island’s landscapes and people, Invisible Nation seeks to inform a global audience about why Taiwan’s plight should matter to everyone. The core tension of the film is to highlight Taiwan’s status as a de facto country that is denied equal diplomatic recognition. By capturing Taiwan’s exclusion from “international society”, including international organizations, its representation as “Chinese Taipei” at global sporting events and even in internet dropdown menus, the documentary frames Taiwan’s “reduction of international personality” as an issue of dignity, freedom and universal human rights for the people of Taiwan.
As Taiwan is shunned on the international stage, the film provides an up-close portrait of President Tsai Ing-wen leading a vibrant democracy. The documentary opens with Tsai speaking to high school students asking them what “they hoped the country would do for [them]”. As the students take turns expressing their aspirations, Tsai dutifully takes careful notes. The film charts Tsai’s own evolution as a leader through interviews in official and non-official settings over the course of the documentary. From a stinging 2012 election loss to being cheered by an exuberant crowd waving “We are Taiwanese” banners upon ascending to the presidency in 2016 and her declaration of Taiwan as “already a functionally independent country” to global audiences, Tsai is portrayed as quiet yet determined, with a measured and resolute approach towards defending Taiwan’s democracy. And through its unique access to Tsai, the documentary provides a window into her as a person––highlighting her serving coffee to guests and Tsai’s cat taking an unintended starring role in one of her interviews. While not explicitly a biopic of Tsai, her leadership provides a grounding anchor for the film’s narrative by lending a personal and authoritative voice to the island’s struggle for self-determination.
In contrast to Tsai and Taiwan’s journey towards democracy, the film depicts Beijing moving towards authoritarianism and adopting an increasingly coercive approach to the island. Scenes of Taiwan’s beautiful scenery, Taipei’s skyline and the vibrancy of Taiwanese society are held against the spectre of Chinese military parades and President Xi Jinping reserving the use of force to resolve the “Taiwan question” as part of the inevitable “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”. Visceral footage of Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong cautions against acquiescing to Beijing’s demands and serves as a reminder of the threats against Taiwan’s freedom. And to underscore the risks to the wider world, the film features commentary from analysts like former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger who warns that capturing Taiwan is merely the first step to China undermining democracies across the “first island chain”.
The starkness of that contrast between the aspirations of the Taiwanese people to Beijing’s imposing statements makes for at times moving viewing. Yet, given that Taiwan’s status remains a deeply complex issue––with many views even within Taiwan itself––such a binary contrast could risk oversimplifying the challenges to cross-strait peace and stability. To the documentary’s credit, alternative perspectives are provided in the form of interviews with Tsai’s predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, who pursued greater engagement with Beijing. And the film quickly moves far beyond a simply reductive or emotional frame by giving voice to Taiwan’s leaders and telling its story of democratization through artists, civil society activists and its unique history. The documentary itself provides a valuable contribution in explaining why Taiwan’s future matters to audiences across the world.
The Q&A with Vanessa Hope provided a full auditorium with insight into the years-long process of making the documentary, including the at times nerve-wracking journey of obtaining Tsai’s permission and building trust with her and her staff. Hope explained that her team’s approach in avoiding outside narration was to “listen to people and let them speak” to tell Taiwan’s story, since they wanted to avoid Taiwan being “seen as a chess piece in a larger game”. Audience questions focused on the experience of working with Tsai, the choice of anchoring the story around Tsai’s presidency and on the personal costs of filming given the risks of backlash from Beijing. Hope reflected on the challenges in producing the film and striving for a balance between highlighting Tsai’s story and the wider narrative of the Taiwanese people’s aspirations. Notably, for the many in the audience who self-described as not being familiar with Taiwan, Hope expressed a desire that the film would be a voice for Taiwan and that its ongoing struggle to preserve its democracy would resonate for global audiences.
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The screening was opened by Dr Jing Bo-jiun, Senior Research Fellow and Programme Manager in Taiwan Studies at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, and the Q&A was chaired by Ms Issy Wells, MSc candidate in Contemporary Chinese Studies and former reporter at TaiwanPlus and Radio Taiwan International. This recap was produced in partnership between the Oxford Taiwan Studies Programme and St Antony’s International Review (STAIR).
