Speaker: Kristina Kironska
Discussant: Luís Cunha – Guest Professor at Information Management School – NOVA Lisboa
Link to access the session: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3117153557618018?p=g8HLqTVZEQM8AQBY8k
- ID da reunião: 311 715 355 761 801 8
- Código de acesso: 3cC9Qj3J
Abstract
In this talk, Dr Kristina Kironska examines how Taiwanese people perceive and emotionally experience cross-Strait relations. Drawing on nationally representative survey data, the analysis explores not only what Taiwanese people think about relations with China, but also how these relations make them feel.
The findings reveal a strongly negative emotional landscape, dominated by anxiety, threat, helplessness, and, in the context of confrontation, anger. The seminar discusses how these emotions interact with threat perceptions, attitudes towards Taiwan’s political future, and preferences regarding independence versus unification. It further considers the implications of these findings for the prospects of managing cross-Strait tensions.
The talk is based on the chapter “Looming Pessimism? Taiwanese Perceptions and Emotions of Cross-Strait Relations”, co-authored by Rong Chen and Kristina Kironska, in Taiwan in the New World Order: The Legacy of Tsai Ing-Wen, edited by Julia Marinaccio and Kristina Kironska (Brill, 2026).
Speaker Bio
Kristina Kironska is an Assistant Professor at Palacký University Olomouc and Co-Director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS). She spent several years living, studying, and working in Taiwan, including lecturing at the University of Taipei.
She has led and coordinated several international research projects, including the EU-funded The EU in the Volatile Indo-Pacific Region (EUVIP, 2022–2025) and the Global Taiwan Chair (2025–2026). Since 2023, she has served on the Board of the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS).
Her research focuses on Taiwan, Myanmar, international relations, human rights, and public opinion. She is the author and editor of several books on Taiwan, including Contemporary Taiwan: More than a Flashpoint (Routledge, 2025) and Taiwan in the New World Order: The Legacy of Tsai Ing-wen (Brill, 2026).
