Centre of Taiwan Studies Seminars and Events
The SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies has become one of the most important centres for Taiwan Studies academic events in the world.
During term time it holds regular public seminars, in which scholars working on Taiwan present their research to the wider UK Taiwan studies community.
It also manages the annual European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) conference, which is held in a different European city each year. The EATS conference has already become the most important date in the European Taiwan studies calendar.
In addition, it hosts at least one international Taiwan Studies conference every two years. These tend to be collaborative projects with other Taiwan or East Asian institutes and are designed with the aim of producing a book or journal special edition publication.
2013
January
23/01/13
- Environmental Justice and Public Participation: A Case Study of Nuclear Waste Management and Policy in Taiwan
Chi-lun Huang (Newcastle)
This paper is an investigation into the public participation of Taiwan’s policy on nuclear waste disposal, concentrating on the ways in which dumping sites have been chosen, and on the wider implications of those choices.
30/01/13
- Concentration of media ownership and the threat to democracy in Taiwan
Dr Monique Chu (SOAS), Dr Ming-yeh Rawnsley & Prof. Gary Rawnsley (Leeds) --moderated by Victor Chan of BBC
This event is co-organised by the Centre of Taiwan Studies, SOAS, and the student society “UK for Taiwan Media Freedom” as a round table forum.
February
06/02/13
- Documentary Screening: "Our Life Saving Vinegar” and “Memoir Of Miss Kuan” and Q&A with film maker Jeng Hsiao-ta
Jeng Hsiao-ta (SOAS)
In this seminar, we will screen a short film entitled "Our Life Saving Vinegar", which documents the difficulties of learning a new trade and leading a new life for former sex workers in Taiwan. The film also questions the government's policy and asks why prostitution is not an acceptable occupation in Taiwan. The film screening will be followed with Q&A with film maker Hsiao-ta Jeng.
20/02/13
- How the UK learnt to deal with Taiwan: Trade and politics 1960-1980
Mike Hoare (SOAS)
Based on newly available archival data, this lecture describes the fraught process through which the British government came to terms with pressure to open up trade with Taiwan between 1960 and 1980, while the Foreign Office struggled to maintain the fiction that Britain could not recognize or deal with the ROC for fear of Beijing.
22/02/13
- Face to Face with Lung Ying-tai
Dr Lung Ying-Tai (Minister of Culture, Taiwan)
Since May 2012, Dr. Lung Ying-tai has served as Taiwan's first Minister of Culture. Part of her mission is to promote sustainable peace across the Taiwan Strait through cultural exchanges. In this informal gather, Minister Lung takes questions from the audience and shares her views on cultural issues.
March
06/03/13
- Taiwan Since Martial Law: UK Book Launch
Niki Alsford (SOAS), Dr. Monique Chu (SOAS) & Dr. Ming-yeh Rawnsley (Leeds)
Taiwan Since Martial Law is a collection of papers that examine the social, cultural, economic, and political changes that have happened on the island since the lifting of martial law in 1987. The authors conclude that this was a truly watershed moment in modern Taiwan history. The Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS has assembled the UK-based authors to discuss this rapidly-changing island in all of its diversity through their own personal reflections.
13/03/13
- The US Military and American Commitment to Taiwan’s Security
Prof. Steve Tsang (Nottingham)
This talk focuses on how the U.S. military assesses the threat of a Taiwan Strait crisis over the next two decades, America’s possible responses, and the U.S. capacity for effective intervention. It examines the drivers behind the U.S. approach, highlighting their implications.
14/03/13
- Book launch: Imaging and Imagining Taiwan Identity representation and cultural politics
Dr. Bi-yu Chang (SOAS) & Dr. Andy Birtwistle (Canterbury Christ Church)
Since the 1990s the issue of identity has been one of the most prominent and hotly-debated topics in Taiwan Studies. Imaging and Imagining Taiwan takes a fresh approach to this important topic, examining Taiwanese identity from a visual perspective and exploring the ways in which the island is presented and imagined.
20/03/13
- Memories of a Future Home: Taiwanese Teenagers in China
Dr. Lin Ping (National Chungcheng University & SOAS)
This paper focuses on a special group of Taiwanese immigrant adolescents residing in China who have been educated in schools following the curriculum of their home country. By analyzing their experiences at these schools and life after graduation, we may know how this type of ‘overseas education’ affects the identity formation of these adolescents.
