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Paper long abstract:

In the completion of the Human Genome Project, the rapidly increasing bio

banks on regional, national, and ethnic levels focus mainly on the genetic variation rather than on genetic similarities. In this context, new biomedical technologies create new possibilities, facilitating the development of new identities - the emergence of imagined genetic communities. The Taiwan Biobank is one of national genetic projects in the world. Focusing on the global diffusion and influence of the "bio-political paradigm," this article analyzes the relationship between the establishment of the national genetic project and national identity in Taiwan. It examines how local biomedical scientists have employed the discourses about 1 the importance of sear

ching for Taiwanese particular genetic attributes, 2 the potential contribution of biomedicine to the national economy in the globalizing competition, and 3 the significance of a national genetic project to the health of Taiwanese future generation to justify the project of Taiwan Biobank. By exploring how the dis

course of "theTaiwanese genome as a niche " has being constructed, the article points to the significant role of socio-technical imaginaries in the establishment of Taiwan Biobank and shows the local experience shaped by the global diffusion of the bio-political paradigm.