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Paper short abstract

This article proposes the concept of differentiated biological citizenship to analyze how Taiwan has become the first country to legislate mandatory collective informed consent for Indigenous peoples.

Paper long abstract

Since the 1990s, Taiwan has promoted genomics as a key component of its transition toward a knowledge-based economy. Ethical controversies surrounding genomic research have largely been articulated through locally adapted frameworks of Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI). However, disputes over Indigenous genetics in Taiwan extend far beyond issues of scientific recruitment or research ethics, encompassing broader political, sociocultural, and historical dynamics. These controversies catalyzed sustained mobilization by Indigenous activists and ultimately led to Taiwan becoming the first country to legislate mandatory collective informed consent for Indigenous peoples in 2016.

To account for these developments, this article proposes the concept of differentiated biological citizenship to analyze how Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples have articulated alternative forms of bioethical governance in response to biomedical colonization. Rather than framing consent solely as an individual ethical procedure, differentiated biological citizenship highlights how law, Indigenous self-determination, and bottom-up political action reconfigure participation in biomedical research along ethnic and historical lines. The article first reconstructs the origins and key events of Indigenous genetic controversies, situating them within processes of globalization and Taiwan’s shifting identity politics. It then traces how scientists, Indigenous elites, and state officials negotiated and institutionalized collective informed consent as a regulatory practice. Finally, by examining recruitment practices, relations of trust and distrust, and enduring power asymmetries between Indigenous and Han populations, the article critically assesses the practical challenges of collective informed consent as a governance model within Indigenous communities.