The history and development of public health have attracted a growing scholarly interest. Numerous studies have examined the role of the state, its motives, and the formulation of policy. Fan Yen-Chiou, a historian specializing in colonial medicine, has previously worked on Japan's role in shaping and modernizing Taiwan's public health infrastructure in the first half of the twentieth century. Taiwan's experience of colonial modernity is considered unique: Japan intended to turn its first colony into a showpiece of modernization. Diverse Embeddedness and Creative Transformation: A Century of Public Health in Taiwan comprises twelve chapters contributed by researchers from Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. While addressing different topics, all these studies tackle the dynamic interactions among multiple players (always including the state) in formulating public health initiatives during the colonial period and its aftermath.
