Paper short abstract:

Ren Jian magazine, a legendary Taiwanese monthly with immense social and ethnic movement involvement in 1980s, did not confine to domestic issues. By closer look at the reportages, its scope to reach out to ethnic minorities in other states denotes a prelude for Taiwan's transnational alliance.

Paper long abstract:

How could documentary photo-text reportages become vehicles for promoting social justice and ethnic rights? Launched in 1985, two years before the lifting of martial law in Taiwan, a monthly magazine titled Ren Jian (The Human World) demonstrated the possibilities via its mere 47 issues in less than 4 years. Founded by Chen Ying-zhen(1937-2016), a leftist writer, activist and victim of political witch hunt under KMT regime, Ren Jian magazine's outstanding photography and in-depth reportage ever since set up good reputation among readers. Aspects on Ren Jian's achievement, such as raising public awareness of social inequality and anti-discrimination as well as its efforts on propelling subsequent social and ethnic movements have been widely addressed. However, this magazine's enthusiastic effort to expand readers' horizon by introducing other ethnic cultures outside Taiwan was neglected. This paper aims to focus on Ren Jian's photo-essays on ethnic minorities in China, Southeast Asia, and North America to see its endeavors to flourish the varieties of ethnic reportages and efforts to incorporate Taiwan's ethnic dialogue with other Asia-Pacific states. Though some reports may not attain to editor's immediate pursuit for ethnic justice, the follow-up effect of such introductory publications should not be ignored. It could be a prelude of transnational cooperation for Taiwan's indigenous alliance with Asia-Pacific ethnic movement when constructing transnational fictive brotherhood was imminent in the coming age of globalization.