Columbia University is raising money to establish a Taiwan Studies Center by 2028, which would be the first of its kind at an Ivy League university, representatives from the school in New York said at an event in Taipei on Saturday.
Speaking at a Columbia Alumni Association of Taiwan meeting at the Regent Taipei, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) hailed the potential founding of the center as a step toward furthering the cause of democracy and learning.
Hsiao said she was a student at the university in 1996, when Taiwan held its first presidential election by popular vote, a pivotal moment in the nation’s history.
Photo courtesy of the Columbia Alumni Association of Taiwan
She said the university’s commitment to learning and the value of freedom taught her the courage, self-confidence and fervent belief in the unity of action — knowledge that she would later rely on in public service.
Hsiao had studied under Columbia University political science professor Andrew Nathan, who is spearheading the effort to found the Taiwan studies center, she said.
Nathan, 88, said he hoped the establishment of the center would foster an independent perspective in the study of Taiwan separate from the framework of China studies.
US academics too often approach Taiwan through the lens of China studies, failling to grasp the full complexity and uniqueness of Taiwanese politics, economy, history, art and culture, he said.
The center is to forge a multidisciplinary platform for academic research on Taiwan in collaboration with the university’s schools of political science, journalism, law, business, public health and social work, he said.
Fundraising efforts are being pursued with the goal of obtaining US$10 million by the end of the year — enough to fund the center for five years, Nathan said.
The center would become the first Ivy League research institution dedicated to Taiwan should all go according to plan, he said.
Formosa International Hotels Group chairman Steve Pan (潘思亮), whose company owns Regent Taipei, praised Hsiao for spreading the message of Taiwan’s stance as a beacon of democracy, courage and a force for good.
He also thanked Nathan for attending the event, saying that he was glad to see him reunited with the vice president.
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