An asset‐based approach to indigenous development in Taiwan

Numerous scholars studying community efforts to (re‐)establish autonomy have begun to focus on the importance of empowerment in the economic, political and cultural spheres. There is a growing understanding that such empowerment can be hastened by affirmative development strategies that build on community assets and capacities rather than attempting to redress – and thereby emphasising – needs or lack. Such development work reflects intertwined currents in contemporary philosophy, influenced by the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche and of Gilles Deleuze. In Taiwan, a recent resurgence in identities among marginalised aboriginal or indigenous peoples (‘Formosans’) has been accompanied by novel approaches to development. This discussion heuristically employs a set of development theories that are essentially variants of ‘asset‐based community development’ (ABCD) to suggest that a focus on affirmation and empowerment has been and can be a key to success in Formosan development initiatives. The paper presents the results of qualitative field research, illuminating three case studies of Formosan development – in Tsou, Tayal and Taroko territories. It argues that Formosan development will benefit from a focus on community capacity, political empowerment and social as well as physical assets, and that to an important degree this has already happened in some communities.