An editorial published in yesterday’s Taipei Times titled “China’s grasp of Taiwan history” reminds us of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) intention of annexing Taiwan under cover of academic research.
I could not agree more with the author: Thinking about the issue more deeply is necessary.
The CCP’s plan includes not just research on Taiwan’s history, but also broadly defined “Taiwan studies.” People should assess the significance of Taiwan studies regarding national security.
War has evolved into hybrid warfare. For example, in addition to guns and ammunition, non-military tactics carried out through academic research have become an important front line.
Hybrid warfare between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has already begun. The government has put a great amount of effort into defending Taiwan, but besides enhancing the military, it can do a lot more to protect the nation.
If an armed conflict breaks out between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, nobody can say for sure how long the war would last, and the longer the war continues, the more unfavorable the situation would be for Taiwan.
All the countries that support Taipei are democracies. Their support, as well as how long they would be our allies in a war, depends on how strongly those their electorates identify with Taiwan.
People must understand a hard truth: Most Europeans and Americans are only vaguely aware of Taiwan. In this sense, people cannot necessarily count on their support for Taiwan during a war.
Around the end of last month, I participated in the Taiwan Studies Summer School, hosted by the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Professor Ann Heylen of National Taiwan Normal University’s Department of Taiwan Culture, Languages and Literature was the keynote speaker.
In her speech, Heylen advocated the establishment of global Taiwan studies using a research approach based on Taiwanese subjectivity. I cannot agree more with her viewpoint.
For decades, Taiwan studies has been limited to research on local cultures, and hence academics in the field can hardly obtain necessary resources. For example, it has never been easy for those in the field to receive National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) grants. The major reason is that applicants are required to publish articles in international journals: The more they publish their work, the higher the chances are that they would obtain NSTC grants. Yet it is difficult to publish articles thematically about Taiwan in international journals.
As Canadian academic Scott Simon said, for international academics, specializing in Taiwan studies could kill their career.
The author of the article worries that academic discourse in Taiwan could lose power in the international community. Unfortunately, this is not something that might happen in the future: It is happening right now.
Confronted by such an unfavorable situation, what can be done to strengthen the academic front line? The government can do a better job by integrating all types of research resources in Taiwan. Thus, researchers could cooperate to attain greater achievements. Taiwanese researchers should also be sponsored more to conduct Taiwan studies projects in collaboration with international academics.
Although it might take years for these initiatives to produce results, the effort would have long-term and far-reaching effects.
Compared with purchasing weapons, providing funds for Taiwan studies is only a drop in the bucket.
Chen Chun-bin is a professor at Taipei National University of the Arts.
Translated by Emma Liu
Why is Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not a “happy camper” these days regarding Taiwan? Taiwanese have not become more “CCP friendly” in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of spies and graft by the United Front Work Department, intimidation conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Police/Coast Guard, and endless subversive political warfare measures, including cyber-attacks, economic coercion, and diplomatic isolation. The percentage of Taiwanese that prefer the status quo or prefer moving towards independence continues to rise — 76 percent as of December last year. According to National Chengchi University (NCCU) polling, the Taiwanese
It would be absurd to claim to see a silver lining behind every US President Donald Trump cloud. Those clouds are too many, too dark and too dangerous. All the same, viewed from a domestic political perspective, there is a clear emerging UK upside to Trump’s efforts at crashing the post-Cold War order. It might even get a boost from Thursday’s Washington visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In July last year, when Starmer became prime minister, the Labour Party was rigidly on the defensive about Europe. Brexit was seen as an electorally unstable issue for a party whose priority
US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought renewed scrutiny to the Taiwan-US semiconductor relationship with his claim that Taiwan “stole” the US chip business and threats of 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made processors. For Taiwanese and industry leaders, understanding those developments in their full context is crucial while maintaining a clear vision of Taiwan’s role in the global technology ecosystem. The assertion that Taiwan “stole” the US’ semiconductor industry fundamentally misunderstands the evolution of global technology manufacturing. Over the past four decades, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), has grown through legitimate means
Today is Feb. 28, a day that Taiwan associates with two tragic historical memories. The 228 Incident, which started on Feb. 28, 1947, began from protests sparked by a cigarette seizure that took place the day before in front of the Tianma Tea House in Taipei’s Datong District (大同). It turned into a mass movement that spread across Taiwan. Local gentry asked then-governor general Chen Yi (陳儀) to intervene, but he received contradictory orders. In early March, after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) dispatched troops to Keelung, a nationwide massacre took place and lasted until May 16, during which many important intellectuals
RSS