The Formosa Exchange

On May 20, 2024, one day after the inauguration of Taiwan’s first Indigenous president, the entire population of the island wakes up to discover they have suddenly switched places with the residents of Cuba. Two multi-ethnic island communities with colonial histories suddenly find themselves facing baffling new questions, as well as the greedy weight of a new “mainland” hegemon. Huang Chong-Kai’s astonishing work of speculative realism opens new conversations on race, marginality, and the (re)telling of history by weaving multiple voices and genres into a single work. We experience the miraculous switch through the eyes of Taiwan’s first Indigenous president, a Cuban painter, a Han Taiwanese who wants to be Indigenous, and a former inmate of Guantanamo Bay. The author transforms these stories into a narrative ecosystem by presenting them through a variety of different media styles, including book reviews, podcast transcripts, and interviews.