Consuming Democracy: Geopolitics, Human Rights, and Tourism in Taiwan

International tourism has been an area where Taiwan has projected its soft power. Tourism involves constructing an identity for the outside world to see, and tourism as ‘placemaking’ requires the deliberate selection of imagery and rhetoric that will represent and synopsise the history, culture, and environment of a location. This article examines democracy and human rights in Taiwan’s tourism landscape and argues that Taiwan’s experience of political transformation is becoming a vital component of its tourism identity under the Democratic Progressive Party government. Emphasising Taiwan’s democratic achievements helps it to build a collective memory of its democratic citizenry, distinguish itself from the People’s Republic of China, and garner support among Western liberal democracies. At the same time, it may reduce the complexity of Taiwan’s political transformations by integrating them into a linear narrative of success and closure.