Invisible Nation, a film about Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation, debuts in Taiwan｜Taiwan News

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Invisible Nation is a documentary exploring Taiwan’s democratic history and its ongoing struggle for international recognition. It also follows the leadership of Taiwan’s former president, Tsai Ing-wen. FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to the director of the film, Vanessa Hope. Let’s join them.

Invisible Nation is a documentary film directed by Vanessa Hope that explores Taiwan’s political landscape. Vanessa Hope’s connection with Taiwan began when she was a student. She first visited from 1995 to 1996. In 2016, upon realizing that Taiwan might elect its first female President, she decided to return to document the presidential election and formed a partnership with producer Sylvia Feng.

Vanessa Hope
Director
I think that story has so much to do with the history which people don’t know. They really don’t know the rest of the world how and unfortunately, the United States in its foreign policy supported this dictatorship in Taiwan and 38 years of martial law so there is a very clear understanding of why democracy matters for everybody and why dictatorships are terrible. I truly think there is never been a more urgent time to get Taiwan’s story out in the world because every democracy but also every authoritarian government, people living in authoritarian countries, can learn from Taiwan’s people, Taiwan’s story, the resilience, the incredible sense of the importance of democracy here because we need it in the United States, we need it in Europe, we need it all over the world.

Sylvia Feng
Producer
I first connected with the director in late 2016, shortly after Tsai Ing-wen was elected president. Looking back, Taiwan was still quite marginalized internationally, and its issues weren’t receiving much global attention. That’s when I thought I can help with this. In the spring of 2017, we entered the Presidential Office. I’m deeply grateful to President Tsai’s staff at the time for trusting us and allowing us to film freely. I made it clear to them that this was an independent production—a documentary is not subject to political censorship. Our commitment was to present the story accurately and proportionally, but it would never become a political propaganda film. Later on, the presidential staff provided many opportunities for filming. Around 2019 and 2020, the global political landscape underwent significant changes—particularly with the Russia-Ukraine war—and suddenly, Taiwan became a focal point of international attention. But when we look back, the director had already planned to film this documentary in 2016. Those who are pioneers are often the loneliest, and the journey was hard. I often told her You are really tough. Despite many challenges, together, we overcame each one.

The documentary highlights Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female president, and her leadership during her tenure. It offers a deep dive into Taiwan’s fight to uphold its sovereignty while facing pressures from China. Beyond politics, the film also shows scenes from Tsai’s personal life. Through this documentary, Hope aims to demonstrate the resilience of Taiwan’s democracy as a model for the world and shed light on the challenges posed by authoritarianism.

Vanessa Hope
Director
You see in her (Tsai Ing-wen’s) strength in speaking up for and standing up Taiwan. She was continually tested starting more in her second term. Whether it was with COVID or with the crackdown on Hong Kong, which I think accounted for a lot of her popularity that sort of surged that brought her election again, her second election in 2020. The way in which China overtly tries to exclude Taiwan from international organizations. Whether it is the World Health Organization, part of the United Nations in the middle of a global pandemic. The first one being SARS and now COVID. Whether it is excluding them from the Civil Aviation Organization or Interpol, or any of the diplomatic allies that Taiwan needs to exist. I think overall, the understanding I came away with is that it is very important in democracy, government, leadership in general to recognize all people in your country, in other countries, and to disagree. We can have disagreements, but not if our disagreement is based on your denying my right to exist, my very humanity. I think that Taiwan has such
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