探索臺灣文化外交旗艦機制：以《Taiwan NOW》臺日文化交流藝術計畫為例

Exploring the Flagship Mechanism of in Taiwan's Cultural Diplomacy: The Case of Taiwan NOW, a Taiwan–Japan Cultural Exchange Arts Project

本研究旨在探討臺灣建立文化外交「旗艦機制」的潛力與挑戰，以2021年文化部辦理東京文化奧林匹亞相關的《Taiwan NOW》臺日文化交流藝術計畫作為個案研究。《Taiwan NOW》因疫情影響而最終與東京奧運脫勾，仍然以「合製共創」的策展理念，對日本展現臺灣當代、多元與創新的文化價值。
本文首先回顧文化外交與「旗艦機制」理論，並闡明文化奧林匹亞作為臺灣文化外交實踐的重要場域，以及2020東京奧運受疫情影響之背景脈絡。接續以「旗艦機制」作為分析框架，從政策情境、多重目標設定、多層級治理結構與工具選擇等面向，系統性解析《Taiwan NOW》的政策設計，並且由此個案研究探討文化外交的特殊性、與國內文化治理之相互關聯，以及此執行機制的潛力與挑戰。
研究發現，《Taiwan NOW》可被視為文化外交「準旗艦」機制。在主權受限與疫情挑戰下，本案透過藝文展演擴展臺灣的國際能見度與外交空間，展現出彈性應變、國內示範性、跨國及跨部門協作等特色，且於後疫情時代運用創新數位交流工具。此外，本案由文化中介組織執行，展現了「臂距原則」在維持專業品質上的優勢。然而，本案缺乏影響力評估研究，其執行模式亦欠缺穩定的制度性支持，所傳遞的文化價值型塑亦缺少公共參與。因此，本文建議政府設立長期、制度化的旗艦機制與成效評估框架，透過治理創新實現可持續的文化外交實踐。

This study explores the potential and challenges of Taiwan’s cultural diplomacy flagship mechanism through the case study of Taiwan NOW, a Taiwan-Japan cultural exchange arts project designed to respond to the Tokyo 2020 Cultural Olympiad in the first place. Although delayed and decoupled from the Olympics due to the pandemic, the project adopted a‘co-production and co-creation’approach to showcase Taiwan’s contemporary, diverse, and innovative cultural values.
The paper reviews theories of cultural diplomacy and flagship mechanisms firstly, positions the Cultural Olympiad as a significant arena for Taiwan's cultural diplomacy practice, and explains the pandemic's influence on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as contextual background. Using the flagship mechanism as an analytical framework, the study examines Taiwan NOW across contextual influences, multiple purposes, multilevel governance, and tool selection. Through this case study, the paper examines the characteristics of Taiwan’s cultural diplomacy, its interrelations with domestic cultural governance, and the opportunities and challenges in its implementation mechanism.
The findings indicates that Taiwan NOW can be viewed as a cultural diplomacy ''quasi-flagship'' mechanism. Despite constraints on sovereignty and pandemic challenges, the project expanded Taiwan's international visibility and diplomatic space through arts and cultural performances, demonstrating adaptive resilience, domestic exemplarity, and transnational and cross-departmental collaboration. The project also leveraged innovative digital tools in the post-pandemic era. Moreover, its implementation through a cultural intermediary organization demonstrates the strategic advantages of the arm’s-length principle in ensuring professional quality. However, the project lacks an impact assessment and demonstrates weak bureaucratic stability, and the cultural values it conveys are not grounded in public engagement. Accordingly, this study recommends establishing a long-term, institutionalized flagship mechanism and adopting impact assessment frameworks to sustain cultural diplomacy practices through governance innovation.