Conference Agenda

Self-determination is one of the defining concepts of the 20^th century, and at the same time one of the most sensitive and contentious (Cassese 1995; Sterio 2013). From a historical perspective, the concept originated at the beginning of the 20th century, the main inspiration coming first from the US president Woodrow Wilson, who made the principle of “government by consent” into the foundational value of his view for the post-war order, and influenced a generation of activists and intellectuals around the world (Manela 2007). The present paper intends to navigate the “Wilsonian moment” in Taiwan by looking at how “self-determination” was articulated by Lin Hsien-t’ang 林獻堂 (1881-1956), one of the most influential Taiwanese intellectuals of his time.

Mainly focusing on his epistolary exchange with Liang Qichao (Xu 2007) and on his travel diaries from the US and Europe (Lin 2019), I will try to analyze Lin’s conceptualization of “zijue 自決”, with the aim of tracing its historical genealogy, mapping its philosophical references, detecting its global influences, and shedding light on its relation with other key concepts such as nationalism, ethnicity, democracy . This, I hope, will allow to position Lin’s elaborations in the wider picture of the early-20^th-century global circulation of concepts, and connect his intellectual and political engagement against the backdrop of Taiwan’s cultural enlightenment and “dream of self-government” (Chen 2020) under Japanese colonialism.

This paper explores the role, activities, and extent of Kuomintang support for the overseas branches of the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement (CCRM) during the late 1960s and 1970s. Established to counter Mainland China's Cultural Revolution, the CCRM sought to preserve traditional Chinese culture and present the ROC as its true defender. While previous research has focused on Taiwan's domestic cultural policies, this study highlights the overlooked overseas branches.

By 1969, the CCRM had created 46 branches, particularly in the U.S., to unite overseas Chinese, promote traditional culture, and oppose communism. These branches worked with ROC embassies, consulates, and local leaders. After diplomatic challenges in the 1970s, the movement became more proactive through initiatives like the Overseas Chinese Cultural Activity Centers, aiming to expand its influence abroad.

This paper also considers pivotal international events that shaped the overseas Chinese community, including the U.S.’s recognition of Japan’s claim over the Tiaoyutai (Senkaku) Islands in 1969, which led to the Baodiao Movement, and the rise of Taiwanese independence activists and pro-PRC organizations, exemplified by the 1974 Confucius statue controversy in California. These events provide a nuanced view of the overseas Chinese community’s evolving identities and political engagement.

By analyzing these branches, this study sheds light on their role in shaping the Chinese diaspora, Taiwan’s cultural diplomacy, and transnational identity during the Cold War. It offers fresh insights into cultural preservation and diplomatic strategy in this critical period of modern history.

The Qing Empire, after annexing Taiwan in 1683, prioritized control over rice and other food crops for strategic reasons. Such an emphasis shaped a land taxation system based on rice paddies, generating the Qing treasury’s primary revenue from the island. This fiscal focus on lowland agriculture, consequently, limited the Qing understanding and grasp of mountain resources. However, the state-environment relation shifted in the late nineteenth century when Taiwan became a treaty port, opening to European trade. European merchants and consuls, driven by imperial economic ambitions, mapped Taiwan using Western cartographic practices. These maps, with unprecedented details, revealed mountain resources, transportation routes into the forests, and natural landscapes. While these maps explicitly demonstrated an imperialist desire for resource control, they also made Taiwan’s natural resources visible to the Qing. This visualization spurred the Qing Empire to assert stronger geographical dominance over the mountains and the island. This research hence explores how European cartographers depicted Taiwan’s uncharted mountains and how this mapping prompted the Qing to reconceptualize Taiwan’s environmental value. Ultimately, this study reveals how converging imperial interests in natural resources propelled the late nineteenth century Taiwan toward a new developmental stage.

This paper examines Taiwan’s exploratory contact with India during a period of wavering in India’s policy toward the PRC, from 1961 to 1966, around the time of India’s long-term Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s death. The objectives of Taiwan’s pursuit of improving relations with India were, firstly, to contain the PRC in Chiang Kai-shek’s planned counterattack on the mainland, allowing infiltrations by the ROC’s forces behind enemy lines along the Indian-Chinese border. Secondly, the new relationship would strengthen the ROC’s diplomatic situation and ensure its regime legitimacy by attracting non-aligned countries to join the anti-communist camp. Taiwan-India rapprochement encountered obstructions from the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party from the very beginning, and the United States was unwilling to intervene. In order to compete with the PRC, Taiwan highlighted its shared interest with India in military intelligence cooperation. However, the basic positions of the two countries were vastly different, and their mutual interests limited, making it difficult for their relationship to develop. The process of rapprochement was therefore tortuous and not fruitful. Drawing on declassified government documents in Chinese and English, this paper aims to probe the complex factors and structural issues involved in this diplomatic endeavor at a critical moment in major power relations and strategic reorganization in South Asia. Its findings shed new light on the history of Taiwan-India relations and on Cold War in Asia.

This article examines the development and significance of Chinese clan associations between Taiwan and the Philippines following World War II, focusing on the Cold War context. It analyzes how these associations, often formed with support from the Republic of China (ROC) government, facilitated cross-border exchanges between Taiwanese and Filipino Chinese communities. Using historical records and temple plaques, the article investigates whether these associations predated the war, originated from clan members themselves, or emerged as part of the ROC's diplomatic strategies to maintain influence in Southeast Asia during the Cold War. The article analyzes how clan associations shaped a transnational discourse of ancestral lineage and community solidarity, highlighting how they fostered ties between Taiwanese and Filipino Chinese groups. This interaction impacted not only social structures but also religious practices and local economies. By establishing a framework of "worldwide clan associations," these groups cultivated a shared identity that transcended national borders, embedding the notion of a Chinese homeland (原鄉) within local identity politics. The article also addresses the broader geopolitical tensions among the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Taiwan's evolving identity. It considers how these clan associations navigated the competing nationalisms and identity politics of the era and contributed to the identity formation of the Chinese diaspora in the Philippines.