The Academia Sinica Center for Digital Cultures (ASCDC) has consistently been devoted to the exploration of new possibilities in humanities and science research through digital means, as well as the digital transformation of Academia Sinica scholarship. Now, under the dark cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic, such work is more important than ever. This year (2021), the ASCDC has applied its experience in developing digital humanities research tools and operating digital museums to the exploration and implementation of a physical and digital publishing program. I hope that, on the spectrum of professional and popular science, the ASCDC can select brilliant content most suited to showcasing new knowledge, while publishing the finest scholarship to promote the expansion of Chinese language scholarship around the world.
The "Reflections on COVID-19" website represents the first stage of this enterprise, exemplifying the goals described above by publishing both physically and digitally. This website gathers the research of 19 Academia Sinica humanities and social science scholars, compiling their reflections on historical experiences and explorations of contemporary topics, as well as integrating a kaleidoscope of images, charts, and recordings to accompany their popular science lectures and scientific discoveries. It reveals Academia Sinica's real-time response to topics of concern in Taiwanese society and throughout the world. The website's corresponding book will be published this summer as a collection of all these scholars' essays. I hope that the utilization of both virtual and physical media can help readers better understand the lessons learned from epidemic experiences in the past, so that we can suitably respond to the challenges facing Taiwan and the threats confronting human society.