Living Dead in the Pacific: Racism and Sovereignty in Genetics Research on Taiwan Aborigines

Colonized since the 1600s, Taiwan is largely a nation of settlers, yet within its population of 23 million are 500,000 Aboriginal people. In their quest to learn about disease and evolution, genetic researchers have eagerly studied this group over the past thirty years but have often disregarded the rights of their subjects. Examining a troubling revival of racially configured genetic research and the questions of sovereignty it raises, Living Dead in the Pacific details a history of exploitation and resistance that represents a new area of conflict facing Aboriginal people both within Taiwan and around the world.