| Abstract | This article examines Taiwan’s new president’s 2016 proposal for a truth and reconcili-ation commission (TRC), and addresses the ways in which this TRC serves domestic,regional and international policy goals. For Taiwan as a contested state, the TRC ispart of a legitimation strategy that includes consolidation of a collective memory aboutearlier authoritarian state violence, cultural and political distinction from the irredent-ism and authoritarianism of China, and demonstration of adherence to internationalnorms of democracy and human rights. We argue that the Taiwan case reveals theinstrumentality of a TRC as a geopolitical strategy, particularly for relatively stabledemocracies facing external existential threats from an authoritarian country. We fur-ther demonstrate the need for ongoing research on transitional justice in Asia, andemphasize that political transitions are not only situated within nation states, but alsoin regions where TRCs may have profound geopolitical effects
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