Taiwan is pushing back against China's claim to be the birthplace of the Austronesian peoples, using a youth-focused cultural forum in Taitung as a soft-power answer.

• Taitung County will hold the 2026 Austronesian Culture Forum in mid-October at the National Museum of Prehistory, built around young people's perspectives.
• China has spent years courting Maori and other Pacific Indigenous groups while calling itself the Austronesian homeland; Chinese representatives reportedly approached guests at Taitung's own event.
• Archaeologists counter that Taiwan being the Austronesian homeland is the settled consensus, and that race and culture are not the same thing.
• The forum will use Talanoa Dialogues, a Fijian circle-talk format used at UN climate talks, where everyone speaks as equals.
• Sessions cover boat-building and ocean diplomacy, weaving and art as healing, language revival, and small sustainable businesses that let young Indigenous people stay in their hometowns.

Outlook: Expect the cultural tug-of-war across the Taiwan Strait to widen beyond sovereignty into heritage and Pacific influence.