KSCB162 Taiwan: Island at the Crossroads

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2018
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Prof. Evan Dawley (lecturer), Mgr. Bc. Denisa Hilbertová, M.A. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. Lucie Olivová, MA, Ph.D., DSc.
Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Bc. Denisa Hilbertová, M.A.
Supplier department: Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 8. 10. 10:00–11:40 B2.21, 14:00–15:40 B2.21, Tue 9. 10. 12:00–13:40 B2.21, 14:00–15:40 B2.21, Wed 10. 10. 8:00–9:40 B2.23, 10:00–11:40 B2.23, Thu 11. 10. 12:00–13:40 B2.22, 16:00–17:40 J22, Fri 12. 10. 10:00–11:40 B2.24, 12:00–13:40 B2.24
  • Timetable of Seminar Groups:
KSCB162/01: No timetable has been entered into IS.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 45 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/45, only registered: 0/45, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/45
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
For most of human history, the island of Taiwan was an unremarkable, and mostly ignored, island off the coast of Asia. Today, it is an economic powerhouse and a potential flashpoint of regional and perhaps even global conflict. In fact, now is not the first time that Taiwan has been contested territory. It has been a crossroads of empires since the 17th century, a space into which a variety of nations and peoples have expanded their influence and presence as part of larger projects of empire-building. This history has had a profound effect upon contemporary Taiwan and the identities of its residents. This course will examine the historical forces that have forged the Taiwan of today, and how these forces have helped shape the ways in which those living in Taiwan view themselves and their place in the world, both now and in the past.
Learning outcomes
Objectives: After successful completion of this course, students should understand the following: 1. the general outline of Taiwan’s history; 2. the political and economic development of the Republic of China on Taiwan; 3. Taiwan’s position in the recent global context, in connection to China, the United States, and Japan; 4. how nationalism could lead to armed conflict in the Straits, and how that conflict could involve the United States and Japan.
Syllabus
  • Detailed Class Schedule: Day 1 We will discuss Taiwan’s history and the island’s connections to China and Japan. Some questions to consider: How and why did Taiwan become part of Qing China? How did it become of part of Meiji Japan? What influence did Japanese colonial rule have on Taiwan? 1. Taiwan in Imperial China - early contact with the mainland - aborigines 原住民, 山地同胞; 生番 = “raw” tribes; 熟番 = “cooked”/assimilated tribes - Taiwan as part of Maritime China - Ming/Qing transition - Zheng Chenggong 鄭成功; a.k.a. Koxinga 國姓爺 - part of China's frontier: 移民社會 (immigrant), 移墾社會 (“frontier”) - ambivalence toward the mainland 2. Japanese rule (日治時代） - Treaty of Shimonoseki 馬關條約 - economic development and exploitation - employment and education opportunities, and discrimination - stability and a police state - Asia's Orphan亞西亞的孤兒 - movements for expanded autonomy - changing Taiwanese elite Readings: None. Day 2 This day’s session will examine Taiwan’s post-war history and its incorporation into the Republic of China. Some questions that we will examine are: How did the early failures of Nationalist Chinese rule spur the Taiwanese Independence Movement? What were the secrets to Taiwan’s economic success? How did Taiwan’s international position collapse in the 1970s? How did the shifting international context affect the island’s domestic politics? 1. Retrocession - Nationalist government (國民政府) preparations, Cairo Conference - Chen Yi （陳儀） - conflicting expectations of Nationalist rule - economic problems, corruption, etc. - February 28 Incident （二二八事件，事變，慘案，屠殺） - clash of world views? - failed policies - poor leadership - systemic versus situational factors - tragedy, incident, massacre, failed rebellion? 2. Nationalists (國民黨) build a police state - Kuomintang (KMT) in old romanization system, now often called GMD (Guomindang) - martial law and the White Terror (白色恐怖） - retreat and chaos - Korean War - reforms of the Nationalist Party, local political structure, and the military (中央改造委員會) - Nationalists promise to retake the mainland (反共抗俄) - 1952 Peace Treaty with Japan and 1954 mutual security treaty with the United States (共同防御條約） - Taiwan Strait Crises of 1954-5 and 1958 3. Economic success - rent reduction and land reform - Joint Committee on Rural Reconstruction - import substitution policies - US alliance and peace with Japan - rule of the technocrats 4. 1970s - Sino-American Rapprochement - UN debacle - oil crisis and trade conflict with the US - death of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) - Taiwanization （臺灣化）of the party, state, and economy - recognition of the PRC, end of the MST, and the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, - American Institute on Taiwan (美國在臺協會) Reading: Chu, Yun-han, and Jih-wen Lin. “Political Development in 20th Century Taiwan: State-Building, Regime Transformation, and the Construction of National Identity.” The China Quarterly 165 (2001): 102–129. Day 3 On day three, we will look at the Taiwan Independence Movement in its global contexts. We will explore the international emergence of that movement, we will discuss Beijing’s One-China Policy, and how the United States and Japan reacted to that policy. This international dilemma will be placed in the context of the evolution of Taiwan’s domestic politics. 1. Reform and rising opposition - independence movement in Japan, then the United States (臺獨) - Dangwai (黨外) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP—民主進步黨) - Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and reform, 1975-1988 2. China’s Taiwan policy - Mao Zedong (1937-1976) - Deng Xiaoping (1978-1992) One Country-Two Systems - Jiang Zemin (1992-2003), Eight Points - Hu Jintao (2003-2012) 3. United States - Nixon through Carter - Taiwan Relations Act - Strategic Ambiguity - Continued arms sales Japan - recognition switched in 1973 - growing fears of China’s power - ongoing ties with Taiwan Readings: Chai, Winberg, “Relations between the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan: Overview and Chronology” Asian Affairs, 26: 2 (Summer, 1999): 59-76. Stephen Phillips, “Building a Taiwanese Republic: The Independence Movement, 1945¬–Present,” in Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, ed., Dangerous Strait: The U.S. – Taiwan – China Crisis (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008), pp. 44–69 Day 4 On day four, we will discuss the development of cross-Strait interaction from 1990s to 2008. An increasingly powerful and prosperous China pushed for greater integration across the Strait while Taiwan struggled to maintain its international presence. How did democracy on Taiwan impact cross-Strait relations? 1. Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), 1988-2000 - One China policy remains in place, ’92 Consensus （一個中國的原則，九十二共識） - Taiwanization of the Nationalists, including military, security, and intelligence services - Cornell trip and PRC missile tests in the mid-1990s - cross Strait tensions by the late 1990s - growing Taiwanese identity? - competing visions of the nation and national identity 2. Chen Shuibian （陳水扁）, 2000-2008 - Pan Green victory (DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union) over Pan Blue (KMT and People First Party, 親民黨) - nation building efforts of the DPP in power - conflict between DPP and independence activists - constitutional reform and referenda - China’s military build-up, White Paper, and the 2005 Anti-Secession law （反分裂國家法） - corruption and comparisons to “old” Nationalist rule Readings: Council of Foreign Relations. “Background: China-Taiwan Relations.” 2009. http://www.cfr.org/china/china-taiwan-relations/p9223 Day 5 The final class will explore how the past shapes the present in relations involving Taiwan, China, Japan, and the United States. How do these countries and their populations view the past? What influence does the past have on contemporary domestic politics and international relations? How might the past shape responses to a shift in the current status quo? The bulk of this section will be taken up with a final role-play on what might happen if Taiwan were to formally pursue independence; and with a final writing assignment. 1. The rise of nationalism - Nationalist resurgence under Ma Ying-jeou (Yingjiu, 馬英九) - No independence, no unification, no use of force; One China with different interpretations - the Strawberry Movement - the PRC’s patriotic education campaign - LDP resurgence under Koizumi Junichirō and Shinzō Abe 2. Role-play: Crisis Management and History - How would China, the United States, and Japan respond to a referendum on independence in Taiwan?
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Barak Kushner, “Nationality and Nostalgia: The Manipulation of Memory in Japan, Taiwan, and China since 1990,” The International History Review 29:4 (December 2007): 793-820
  • Murray Rubinstein, ed., Taiwan: A New History (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2007)
Teaching methods
Seminars
Assessment methods
Brief in-class quizzes on days 2, 3 and 4: 15% Here is a sample quiz question for day 2: What are two of the most important ideas about Taiwan’s history that we discussed in the first class? These will be broad questions designed to make you think about major themes of the course: Taiwan’s complex historical evolution and how the past has shaped the present. You will only be asked to write a few sentences for each. Active participation: 35% This does not mean you need to agree with me or any of the readings. The important thing is to show you have thought about the readings or lectures, and offer your own interpretation. Final Exercise: An In-Class Activity for which students will have to prepare some research, incorporate history into a hypothetical crisis, and write a short commentary on how the past shapes the present: 25% for preparation and engagement, 25% for the written commentary
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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