Paper long abstract:

The Dao people on Lanyu (Taiwan) had to face forced assimilation politics caused by the outside world. Especially the Taiwanese government saw the Dao as simple-minded natives who needed to modernize their religious, political and social structures. After several Human Rights violation, including the dumping of nuclear waste without the locals' approval and the efforts of transformation into a modern society committed by officials, a crisis among the Dao ensued. What followed were alcoholism, sickness and emigration to other areas of Taiwan. The Dao found themselves in a situation again, which was going to lead to extinction of their culture and their local customs. After an initial powerlessness the Dao revolted and started cultural revitalization processes to reconstruct locality. Through self-empowerment they were able to produce locality again, with adoption to modern societies. Today, the Dao are a strong people with a unique culture to the outside world.