From colonial control to democratic citizenship: unpacking Taiwan’s legal reform and indigenous rights

This paper examines the transformation of citizenship in Taiwan through democratisation and decolonisation, focusing on the pivotal role of the household registration system. Originating as a colonial and authoritarian tool for population control and the projection of a China-centric identity, the system has evolved into a crucial mechanism defining Taiwanese citizenship. While democratisation has facilitated the establishment of a Taiwan-centric legal identity and enhanced the political rights of Taiwanese citizens, this transformation has been constrained by two major issues: the ambiguity between national and citizen identity, and the continued marginalisation of indigenous peoples. Drawing on coloniality of citizenship, the authors explore how democratisation has enabled Taiwanese citizens to engage in substantive political participation while simultaneously limiting indigenous peoples’ access to assert their rights. Despite legal advances, such as the right to prior-consultation for indigenous peoples, settler-state frameworks – embodied by the household registration system – continue to impose settler-centric criteria on indigenous peoples. This ongoing coloniality reflects a tension between indigenous peoples’ definition of citizenship, which is rooted in land, lineage, and community, and the state’s citizenship frameworks. This study underscores the ongoing colonisation and the need to foster citizenship models that recognise the subjectivity of indigenous peoples within liberal democracies.