 Welcome to the Culture and Society of Taiwan course. I'm Dr. Zhang Biyun. I'm the convener of this course. Welcome. Why study Taiwan? You will ask, why should I be interested in Taiwan's culture and society? Let's look at this issue from a global perspective. When people talk about Taiwan or Taiwan Miracle in the 1980s, people really just referred to this kind of economic miracle. But in the 90s, gradually this image of Taiwan changed. People really referred to this kind of democratization and the successful story of the East Asian New Democracy. Today, this island has changed into a global cultural brand. No wonder people are interested in this island. It's a multicultural society. This course will give you a real edge of your understanding of Asia Pacific region. It is not just about Taiwan itself. It's actually about loads of different things and loads of different global impacts. Japanese influence, Korean waves, Chinese heritage. They are actually a global hub of cultural impact. Topics include Taiwan's education, identity, language, ethnicity, gender and family and also mass media or sometimes to do with the nation building. This course will offer you the opportunity to connect the dotted line to understand the Asia Pacific region and get a better picture of East Asia culture. So please join us and you won't be disappointed.