Angela Ju

Angela Ju joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as Visiting Scholar, Taiwan Program Kwoh-Ting Li Fellow for the 2026-2027 academic year. She is an Associate Professor of International Affairs & Political Science at St. Edward's University in Austin, TX. She is a political scientist who uses mixed-methods approaches to study race/ethnicity, gender, international migration, social determinants of health, the nonprofit sector, and urban politics in North America, Latin America, Europe, and East Asia. Her first book, Identities Matter: The Politics of Immigration and Incorporation (Oxford University Press), was published last year. 

While at APARC, Angela will be working on her second book monograph, Taiwan's Migration Diplomacy towards Mainland Chinese Migrants and Refugees. In this book, she will examine why Taiwan has not formed consistent immigration policies for migrants from Mainland China. Using textual analysis of Taiwanese government legislation and publications, the book's primary argument is that Taiwan uses its migration policies as a way to manage its foreign relations with Mainland China. Central to Taiwan’s policies towards Mainland Chinese (PRC -People’s Republic of China) refugees and migrants is its Nationality Act stipulating that every person of Chinese heritage outside the People’s Republic of China is theoretically a Taiwanese (ROC - Republic of China) national irrespective of generation counts and thus eligible for jus sanguinis (right of citizenship based on heritage) preferential treatment for immigration. This does not mean that the Nationality Act does not consider those from Mainland China to be Republic of China nationals. What this does mean in practice is that the Nationality Act excludes residents of Mainland China (including Hong Kong and Macau) from the legal definition of refugees, who must be foreign nationals. As a result, repatriation of Chinese people whom the Taiwanese government finds to be acceptable is an effective workaround for the Taiwanese government both domestically and internationally. 

Additionally, the book will argue that one of the ways that Taiwan pursues international participation despite its lack of international recognition as a state is through its migration diplomacy.