International Center for Cultural Studies

Report｜Young Scholars’ Workshop on Refugee Studies

2026-08-04

*Translated from Chinese into English by AI

Date and Time｜May 22, 2026, 13:00–17:00

Venue｜Room HC104, Humanities and Social Sciences Building 3, Guangfu Campus, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Moderator｜Mei-Ling Pan (Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University)

Speakers｜

Ching-Tai Wu (Ph.D., Department of Religious Studies, Fu Jen Catholic University)

Chui-Wah Fung (Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Sociology, National Chengchi University)

Ni-Ni Peng (Ph.D., Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National Chi Nan University)

Event Link
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Discussants｜

Mei-Ling Pan (Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University)

Yu-Shan Liu (Associate Professor, Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National Chi Nan University)

Chung-Chih Chao (Associate Professor, Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National Chi Nan University)

Writer｜Guang-Yu Chen (Master’s Student, Graduate Program of Ethnicity and Culture, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University)

Opening Remarks by the Moderator
In today's international community, refugee issues are frequently marginalized and overlooked. Moderated by Professor Mei-Ling Pan, this workshop aimed to build an exchange platform for early-career scholars engaged in refugee studies to share their field observations. The core concern of the workshop was: "Refugees are also human beings; under conditions where their political and civil rights are restricted, how do they demonstrate agency in seeking survival?" Through field research conducted by the three scholars, the audience was guided into the lived experiences of refugees in Turkey, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

Negotiating Across Multiple Borders: Identity and Exile Trajectories of Syrian Professionals in Istanbul
Dr. Ching-Tai Wu’s fieldwork focuses on professional Syrian refugees in Istanbul, Turkey, including teachers, physicians, and engineers. Throughout their exile during the Syrian Civil War, their self-esteem, professional identity, and future aspirations were shattered; nevertheless, rather than being passive victims, they act as moral agents. Through schools and free clinics established by NGOs such as the Tzu Chi Foundation, these refugees endeavor to rebuild their professional agency under the vulnerable legal status of "temporary protection." Dr. Wu specifically highlighted that this represents a negotiation across multiple boundaries (geopolitical, legal, professional, and religious), wherein refugees construct their professional identity and sense of belonging through action within the structural limitations of humanitarian organizations.

The Protracted Displacement of Myanmar Refugees in Malaysia
Chui-Wah Fung adopted a "refugee system" perspective to examine the plight of Myanmar refugees in Malaysia through the dynamic interactions among their home country, the host country, and the international refugee regime. As Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugees are treated as illegal or undocumented migrants who live under the constant threat of arrest (illustrated by the term "operasi"—the Malay word for police raids—which has become a routine daily greeting among refugees). Fung challenged the stereotype that waiting is purely passive and stagnant by introducing the concept of "definition of the situation," asserting that refugees are far from entirely passive. Furthermore, Fung proposed the concept of "waiting capital," emphasizing that refugees actively leverage "social capital" and "cultural capital" as protective camouflage within a multicultural environment to survive in urban crevices, thereby demonstrating agency and adaptability.

Between Refugees and Migrants: Myanmar Nationals in Taiwan After the 2021 Coup
Dr. Ni-Ni Peng (who was personally detained during the 2007 Saffron Revolution) explored the circumstances of "white-collar refugees" who arrived in Taiwan following the 2021 Spring Revolution in Myanmar. Dr. Peng pointed out that the displacement of Myanmar refugees has deep historical and institutional roots, and that three successive waves of social movements have shaped a "hybrid mode" of trans-border exile, increasingly blurring the line between refugees and legal migrants. In Taiwan, where a Refugee Law is absent, many Myanmar nationals fleeing state violence are forced to enter the country under student status—some even resorting to "strategic leave of absence" or delaying graduation to maintain legal residency, rendering them de facto political exiles in a legal gray area. Finally, Dr. Peng highlighted the institutional deficiencies in Taiwan's handling of "mixed migration" and contrasted them with the regularizations implemented by Japan and South Korea to address labor shortages, underscoring the urgency of establishing an asylum framework in Taiwan.

Panel Discussion
First, the scholars sought to revise Giorgio Agamben’s reduction of refugees to "bare life," emphasizing instead the agency that refugees retain at the margins of the law. In sharing their field experiences, the speakers candidly admitted that researchers entering foreign fields are often relatively vulnerable and end up being sheltered and cared for by the refugees themselves. Navigating the cracks of the nation-state system, refugees continuously search for spaces of survival through mobility and negotiation—a process that in itself poses a challenge to international regimes.

Next, the panel focused on pragmatic solutions and future challenges. Associate Professor Chung-Chih Chao and Professor Mei-Ling Pan jointly noted that Taiwan should look beyond traditional 3R policies (Repatriation, Local Integration, and Third-Country Resettlement) when considering refugees, proposing an approach that aligns national pragmatic needs with humanitarian care. Additionally, university campuses within higher education serve as potential asylum spaces capable of legally accommodating youth who cannot return home due to armed conflict. However, Professor Pan cautioned that the expansion of state surveillance technologies means that even when transnational exiles escape overseas, their family members back home may still face threats such as police intimidation, presenting a major future dilemma for both refugee survival and research.

Finally, the scholars advocated for reforms regarding institutional review board (IRB) regulations in academic research—such as requiring refugees to sign written consent forms, which overlooks the real-world risks associated with revealing their identities. The participating scholars collectively appealed to academia not to view refugees solely through the label of "vulnerable groups," calling for greater institutional support and flexibility for related research. Through the fieldwork of early-career scholars and the insights of the discussants, this workshop offered valuable perspectives on rediscovering refugee agency within an international order of intersecting borders, while offering profound inspiration for how Taiwanese society might provide more inclusive institutional solutions.