Language diplomacy has steadily emerged as an important facet of soft power, as it provides a crucial conduit for cultural projection, national identity reinforcement, and bilateral communication. In East and Southeast Asia, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has long dominated “linguistic soft power”—influence a country wields through its language, culture, and educational systems—as a result of its strong network of Confucius Institutes (孔子學院), which promote simplified Chinese and PRC cultural narratives worldwide. While promoting the traditional Chinese character system, Taiwan has endured considerable diplomatic constraints, mostly due to China’s political and economic pressure, which seeks to prevent third countries from forging official ties with Taiwan.Read More
Language as a Soft Power Tool: Taiwan’s Mandarin Diplomacy in Vietnam
