Tsai Ying-wen (蔡英文), a researcher of democracy and totalitarianism at Academia Sinica’s Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, has passed away, a group of fellow researchers announced on Facebook on Sunday.
Tsai, who has the same Chinese name as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), was 67.
He was the first Chinese-speaking researcher to invoke the work of late American-German philosopher Hannah Arendt in his research, the group said.
Tsai Ying-wen died on Thursday last week from liver and lung infections caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease.
In the statement on the Facebook page for a political science text titled Who Governs? (菜市場政治學), the group praised Tsai Ying-wen for his contributions to the study of democracy and dictatorships.
He introduced Taiwanese students to the works of Arendt, as well as many legal principles new to them, it said.
Tsai Ying-wen’s translation of Chapter 2, “Imperialism,” and Chapter 3, “Totalitarianism,” of Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism sparked a surge of interest in the subjects in Taiwan, it said.
He also translated works by German political theorist Carl Schmitt, which he discussed in comparison with Arendt’s theories, and was one of the first researchers in Taiwan to critically discuss Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s concept of ausnahmezustand, or the “state of exception,” it said.
Tsai Ying-wen’s published works include From Monarchy and Autocracy to Democracy (從王權,專制到民主:西方民主思想的開展及其問題), Contemporary Political Thought (當代政治思潮) and Political Practice and Public Space (政治實踐與公共空間).
He also published a translation of John Gray’s Two Faces of Liberalism.
From Monarchy and Autocracy to Democracy won an award from Academia Sinica, the nation’s top research institute.
“That obscure academic work was reprinted after only three months. I suspect it was likely because readers mistakenly thought the author was the other Tsai Ing-wen,” the statement cited Tsai Ying-wen as jokingly saying when he accepted the award at the time.
The statement ended by thanking him for his contributions to the field of political science research.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final