DOCSLIB.ORG

Life Patterns Among Taiwanese-Americans

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Life Patterns Among Taiwanese-Americans 1 Patterns of Personal and Political Life Among Taiwanese-Americans Linda Gail Arrigo Post-Doc, Inst. of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 2002-04 Green Party Taiwan International Affairs Officer, 1997-present Tel: (886-2) 2662-3677 Fax: 2662-6897 Mobile: 0928-889-931 E-mail: [email protected] Mail: No. 38, 6F, Tsui-Gu Street, Shen Keng Township, Taipei County 222, TAIWAN 2006 submitted to Taiwan Inquiry , a journal of the North American Taiwanese Professors’ Association (earlier version was presented at the Asian-American Literature Conference May 7, 2005, Chinese College of Culture, Taipei, Taiwan) ABSTRACT Taiwanese migrated to the United States first as graduate students in science fields in the late 1960s and 1970s, and later also as investors and businessmen in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Although within the United States they were classified within the broad ethnic category “Chinese American”, among the migrants the sharp political and cultural divide between native Taiwanese and Chinese “mainlanders” within Taiwan of the early period was reproduced and in fact exaggerated overseas, where the migrants could opt for separate social circles and language usage in private life. Moreover, in the mid-1970’s Hokkien-speaking Taiwanese-Americans took up a strident and relatively unified community position in support of Taiwan’s democratization and independence that deeply affected their personal lives and their relations with their homeland, given the Taiwan government’s overseas network of spies and the blacklisting that denied them the right to return. With the rising clout of the native Taiwanese middle class in Taiwan and then political opening in the late 1980’s, tensions decreased, and the businessmen migrants contributed to the growth of enclaves dubbed “Little Taipei” such as in Flushing, New York and Monterey Park, California, where the native Taiwanese vs. mainlander distinction waned. Despite this politicized context that at one time brought some Taiwanese into contract with international revolutionary movements, Taiwanese-Americans, as part of the secure American middle class and even the military-industrial complex, have generally imbibed a very conservative and pro-American political outlook. Likewise, their personal life perspectives tend to be stable, conventional, and non-confrontational. This pattern continues in their second generation, although here Taiwanese-American youth are increasingly subsumed among the other descendants of the Chinese diaspora, as in their generation they relate mainly to the dominantly white U.S. society. Key words: Taiwanese-American, Chinese-American, Taiwan, Little Taipei, brain drain, migration, diaspora, democratization, Kuomintang (KMT), Democratic Progressive Party, blacklist, exile politics, national liberation movement. 2 Introduction This article is meant to be a loose social history of the Taiwanese-American community from the 1970’s to the present. “Taiwanese” here is meant to specify “native Taiwanese”, ethnically “Han” (ethnic Chinese) living in Taiwan for several generations (i.e. they originated from south China, speaking either Hokkien or Hakka dialects), in contrast to “mainlanders” who came to Taiwan after 1945 from various parts of China together with the government of Chiang Kai-shek [1]. This is an important distinction, but of course it has often been neglected and obscured, parallel to the Chiang regime’s long insistence that Taiwan is only a small part of China, and that there was no internal discontent with its minority rule within Taiwan. For example, Iris Chang’s 2003 book The Chinese in America , devotes one chapter to “The Taiwanese-Americans”, but the description and cases she provides are all “mainlander” migrants from Taiwan, and there is surprisingly no mention of the Hokkien-speaking migrants and their community and political organizations. So I believe the social history to be presented here is a necessary correction to the English literature. But aside from describing the native Taiwanese Americans, I will occasionally mark some of the contrasts with the mainlanders from Taiwan who settled in the United States, and with Taiwanese who has migrated to Japan and elsewhere. This account could be seen as an ethnographic commentary, composed largely of casual observation and anecdote, but hopefully still largely representative. It is written mostly from my own experience as part of the Taiwanese-American community, bonded first by marriage in 1969 and later from 1975 on by participation in the historic events of the Taiwan democratic movement. So I am describing in most detail the “brain drain” generation that migrated from Taiwan to the United States for graduate study in the period of the mid-1960’s to late 1970’s and their political activities of the 1980’s. However, I will also discuss the businessman migrants of the 1980’s and 90’s, the “little study-abroad students” of the 90’s, and the second generation of the migrants. [2] Initial Migration of Native Taiwanese: The Brain Drain, 1970’s When Taiwan was “restored” to the Republic of China in August 1945 following Japan’s surrender, fifty years after it had been occupied, most of the population was literate in Japanese; but this education was not recognized by the new rulers. After a decade the younger generation of native Taiwanese had substantially made the transition from Japanese to Mandarin Chinese, albeit with bitterness over the coercive suppression of their mother tongues by the Nationalist Chinese educational system. The children of mainlanders had some privileges and subsidies for schooling as the dependants of bureaucrats and military, but by the late 1960’s native Taiwanese were at least 70% of the student body in technical fields at the most prestigious university, National Taiwan University (i.e. a little less than the native Taiwanese proportion in the whole population, 85%). In political, diplomatic, and social disciplines the mainlanders clearly predominated, as seen especially at the second-ranked university, National Chengchi University, which was originally founded as a KMT cadres college and specialized in these fields. From some meager population data, and also consistent with Iris Chang’s description, it is my impression that in the 1950’s most migration from Taiwan to the United States was by mainlanders, whose families were still sunk in the refugee experience and mentality. Some with wealth stayed in Taiwan only briefly and then sought the safety of the United States or other countries as soon as possible, fearing the Chinese communists would eventually prevail. Others hedged their bureaucratic positions in Taiwan by sending their sons for study abroad, a route towards obtaining green card status. 3 By the 1960’s, however, the rapid expansion of technically-advanced military, aerospace and nuclear industries in the United States created the “brain drain” that swept tens of thousands of Taiwan youth to graduate school and thence secure employment in the United States. The official numbers for study abroad, which had to be approved by the Ministry of Education until July 1989, are given as follows in five year increments: Table 1. Taiwan Students Going Abroad for Study, Main Countries USA & Australia, UK, France, Total in 5 Students Year Japan Canada N Zealand Germany yr period Abroad 1950-54 1416 0 4 21 1441 3637 1955-59 2645 5 43 303 2996 2553 1960-64 6719 11 206 1041 7977 4564 1965-69 11457 24 364 989 12834 6780 1970-74 9761 27 385 377 10550 12029 1975-79 18537 26 599 776 19938 12250 1980-84 26626 15 575 636 27852 17560 1985-89 35233 64 4762 4303 44362 22590 1990-94 69213 8186 18224 10253 105876 30960 1995-99 78137 14161 33233 8047 133578 36410 2000-2004 79844 15450 46319 8087 149700 29234 Source: This table has been compiled from two tables, 1950-1989 and 1988-2004, on the ROC Ministry of Education website. There are numerous inconsistencies in the original tables. During 1989 the requirement for approval of study abroad by the Ministry of Education was deleted; and the sources of information change after this and the figures suddenly escalate. Appreciation to Dr. Jerome Keating for pointing me to this source. Total for going abroad for study in the five-year period is just for the countries in prior columns, and does not include sizeable later numbers for Singapore (600-800 in 2004), Southeast Asia, or other European countries (875 in 2004), etc., or the small figures given for “Other” for the period 1950-89 (maximum 122). Numbers of students abroad is taken from numbers on a chart on the Ministry of Education website, apparently those currently known to have student status. The data given is the first year in the five-year period. The peak is in the year 1994, at 37,580. Note that after 1990 there are many fewer abroad at one time relative to total numbers going abroad for study in the period, implying that the majority are in short-term programs. Averaging the students abroad at the beginning and end of the period and dividing by the number of students who have gone abroad, we obtain the following indices: 1950-54 2.15 1980-84 0.72 1955-59 1.19 1985-89 0.60 1960-64 0.71 1990-94 0.32 1965-69 0.73 1995-99 0.25 1970-74 1.15 2000-04 0.20 1975-79 0.75 4 By the end of 1974, nearly 32,000 students had gone to study in North America. Probably less than 10% returned to Taiwan after completion of study. One might suspect U.S. geo-political strategy in this cultivation of youth from Taiwan. The general impression is that 90% of the graduates of National Taiwan University in engineering fields went to the U.S., the vast majority with financial aid in the form of scholarships and research assistantships. Otherwise, U.S.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • On Behalf of the National Council of Asian Pacific
    April 16, 2020 Dear Member of Congress: On behalf of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), the Democracy Initiative, and the undersigned organizations, we are writing to denounce the continued increase in racist attacks and discrimination against the Asian American community, and to express our support for H.Res. 908, introduced by Representative Grace Meng (D-NY-6) and its Senate companion to be introduced by Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI); both of which condemn all forms of anti-Asian sentiment related to COVID- 19. Hate and bigotry are not consistent with realizing the promise of American democracy where all of us have an equal voice. COVID-19 is a public health crisis that has fundamentally disrupted our way of life and is saddling our most vulnerable individuals and communities with significant new burdens. Our collective focus must be on overcoming this challenge and caring for one another. As the number of COVID-19 cases have increased, so too have attacks targeting Asian Americans. On March 14th, the New York Post published an article of a Chinese American father walking his son to the bus stop and was verbally and physically attacked by an angry stranger.1 Just days later in Texas, a Burmese man and his son were stabbed at a local Sam’s Club by a young man who attacked them because of their race.2 As these attacks have continued surging, we are concerned that as our country continues to struggle to overcome COVID-19, anxiety, frustration and fear will intensify before it subsides.
    [Show full text]
  • Hazards and Protest in the “Green Silicon Island” the Struggle for Visibility of Industrial Hazards in Contemporary Taiwan
    China Perspectives 2010/3 | 2010 Taiwan: The Consolidation of a Democratic and Distinct Society Hazards and Protest in the “Green Silicon Island” The Struggle for Visibility of Industrial Hazards in Contemporary Taiwan Paul Jobin Édition électronique URL : http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/5302 DOI : 10.4000/chinaperspectives.5302 ISSN : 1996-4617 Éditeur Centre d'étude français sur la Chine contemporaine Édition imprimée Date de publication : 15 septembre 2010 ISSN : 2070-3449 Référence électronique Paul Jobin, « Hazards and Protest in the “Green Silicon Island” », China Perspectives [En ligne], 2010/3 | 2010, mis en ligne le 01 septembre 2013, consulté le 28 octobre 2019. URL : http:// journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/5302 ; DOI : 10.4000/chinaperspectives.5302 © All rights reserved Special Feature s e v Hazards and Protest in the i a t c n i e “Green Silicon Island” h p s c r The Struggle for Visibility of Industrial Hazards in Contemporary Taiwan e p PAUL JOBIN This paper presents the struggle of several actors, from environmental NGOs to labour activists, to make industrial hazards more socially visible. After an overview of the key issues in Taiwan’s environmental movement since the democratic transition of the mid-1980s, the second part focuses on labour NGOs, an original form of mobilisation pushing for reform of the compensation scheme for occupational hazards. The cases presented cover different industries—including nuclear, chemical, electronics, etc.—various pollutants, and their consequences on public health such as lung diseases diseases and cancers. n his inauguration address in 2000, the newly elected rior of work sites—be it a mine, an electronics factory, a nu - president Chen Shui-bian announced an ambitious proj - clear plant, a construction site, or the office of a Iect of converting Taiwan into a “Green Silicon Island” newspaper.
    [Show full text]
  • The Present and Future of Americanization in South Korea
    ARTICLE .51 The Present and Future of Americanization in South Korea Seong Won Park The Hawaii Research Center USA Abstract This paper examines the historical origins and current processes of both pro- and anti-Americanism in South Korea, where Americanization is associated with Koreans' wealth and security in the era of globalization. However, it is suggested here that South Korea should explore alternatives to Americanization by considering a range of alternative futures for Korean society. The future is always changing, so South Korea has to carefully observe current situations and continuously redesign their vision of the future by considering four alternatives to Americanization rather than subscribing to only one dominant vision. Keywords: Americanization, anti-Americanism, patriarchal society, South Korea, alternatives, globalization, English Introduction South Korea has done nothing to curb Americanization since the 1950s, and in an era of global- ization, Korean society is becoming more influenced by the United States in terms of economic, political, and psychological realms. However, anti-Americanism has been recently growing rapidly there. The reactions to Americanization reflect changes of Koreans' consciousness about wealth and security. This paper examines the origins and processes of both pro- and anti-Americanism in Korea and forecasts possible alternatives appropriate for strengthening Korea's future security and wealth. The first part of this paper discusses how Americanization occurred in South Korea and how it has become Americanized through 1) the number of US-educated Ph.D.s in universities and govern- ment, 2) the propensity to adopt American lifestyles, and 3) the high market shares of American movies and television programming.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae of J. Bruce Jacobs (29 December 2015)
    Curriculum Vitae of J. Bruce Jacobs (29 December 2015) Full name and title Professor Jeffrey Bruce Jacobs Addresses et al Office address [Please use home address below] Professor J. Bruce Jacobs Emeritus Professor of Asian Languages and Studies School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics Monash University Melbourne, Victoria 3800 Australia Home address: 1 Maida Court Lower Plenty, Victoria 3093 Australia Contacts numbers: Email: [email protected] Home Tel: IDD+ (61 3) 9435 6596 Mobile Tel: IDD+ (61 409) 500 413 Citizenship Australian Education and academic qualifications Ph.D. Columbia University 1975 Thesis: ‘Local Politics in Rural Taiwan: A Field Study of Kuan-hsi, Face and Faction in Matsu Township’ Major Areas: Political Science (Comparative Politics) Chinese Area Studies (Anthropology, History) Certificate of East Asian Institute, Columbia University 1970 MA Columbia University 1970 Thesis: ‘Recent Leadership and Political Trends in Taiwan’ [No degree] National Taiwan University (Graduate Faculty of Arts) 1965-66 Major Area: Early Chinese History A.B. Columbia University 1965 Major Areas: Government Chinese Language and Culture Scholarships: National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.A.), 1973 1 East Asian Institute, Columbia University, Ph.D. Field Research Fellowship, 1971-1973 National Defence Foreign Language Postgraduate Scholarships (U.S.A.), 1966- 1970 Present appointment Monash University, 2014— Emeritus Professor of Asian Languages and Studies Monash University Monash University, 1991-2013 Professor of
    [Show full text]
  • Immigration and Restaurants in Chicago During the Era of Chinese Exclusion, 1893-1933
    University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Summer 2019 Exclusive Dining: Immigration and Restaurants in Chicago during the Era of Chinese Exclusion, 1893-1933 Samuel C. King Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Recommended Citation King, S. C.(2019). Exclusive Dining: Immigration and Restaurants in Chicago during the Era of Chinese Exclusion, 1893-1933. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5418 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Exclusive Dining: Immigration and Restaurants in Chicago during the Era of Chinese Exclusion, 1893-1933 by Samuel C. King Bachelor of Arts New York University, 2012 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2019 Accepted by: Lauren Sklaroff, Major Professor Mark Smith, Committee Member David S. Shields, Committee Member Erica J. Peters, Committee Member Yulian Wu, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Abstract The central aim of this project is to describe and explicate the process by which the status of Chinese restaurants in the United States underwent a dramatic and complete reversal in American consumer culture between the 1890s and the 1930s. In pursuit of this aim, this research demonstrates the connection that historically existed between restaurants, race, immigration, and foreign affairs during the Chinese Exclusion era.
    [Show full text]
  • The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local Autonomy
    SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS Number 92 January, 1999 The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local Autonomy by Christine Louise Lin Victor H. Mair, Editor Sino-Platonic Papers Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305 USA [email protected] www.sino-platonic.org SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS is an occasional series edited by Victor H. Mair. The purpose of the series is to make available to specialists and the interested public the results of research that, because of its unconventional or controversial nature, might otherwise go unpublished. The editor actively encourages younger, not yet well established, scholars and independent authors to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contributions in any of the major scholarly languages of the world, including Romanized Modern Standard Mandarin (MSM) and Japanese, are acceptable. In special circumstances, papers written in one of the Sinitic topolects (fangyan) may be considered for publication. Although the chief focus of Sino-Platonic Papers is on the intercultural relations of China with other peoples, challenging and creative studies on a wide variety of philological subjects will be entertained. This series is not the place for safe, sober, and stodgy presentations. Sino-Platonic Papers prefers lively work that, while taking reasonable risks to advance the field, capitalizes on brilliant new insights into the development of civilization. The only style-sheet we honor is that of consistency. Where possible, we prefer the usages of the Journal of Asian Studies. Sinographs (hanzi, also called tetragraphs [fangkuaizi]) and other unusual symbols should be kept to an absolute minimum. Sino-Platonic Papers emphasizes substance over form.
    [Show full text]
  • Moving Beyond the Future Now Past of U.S.-China Legal Studies: Re-Opening the American Legal Mind?
    RESPONSE Moving Beyond the Future Now Past of U.S.-China Legal Studies: Re-Opening the American Legal Mind? JEDIDIAH J. KRONCKE* Current American debates regarding Sino-American affairs are dominated by recriminations over the implications of China’s recent illiberal turn. Dim prospects for Chinese political liberalization have caused many to defend their promotion of post-1978 American engagement which was often publicly justified as promoting eventual liberalization in China, especially by those who worked to impact Chinese legal development. As the leading luminary of modern American China legal studies, Jerome Cohen has been moved to contextualize his own efforts as one who contributed greatly to the development of U.S.-China relations in this era. In his recent essay Was Helping China Build Its Post-1978 Legal System a Mistake?, Cohen defends his legacy amidst these recriminations while taking most direct aim at a reading of my book, The Futility of Law and Development: China and the Dangers of Exporting American Law. This essay explores Cohen’s engagement with Futility to clarify its arguments and its account of the Sino-American legal relationship over the past three centuries. It responds to Cohen’s reading by highlighting how Futility’s history is predominantly concerned with the damage done to American legal culture as an early tradition of legal cosmopolitanism aimed at improving American law was traded for one exclusively focused on an ever unverified capacity to shape foreign legal development. This “closing of the American legal mind” not only stultified domestic legal innovation but also led to recurrent misperceptions of foreign legal systems like those which shaped our engagement with China throughout the twentieth century, including the post-1978 era.
    [Show full text]
  • Transitional Justice and Judicial Reform in Taiwan
    Washington International Law Journal Volume 28 Number 3 7-1-2019 Whither Converging Narratives of Justice in Transition? Transitional Justice and Judicial Reform in Taiwan Agnes S. Schick-Chen Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wilj Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, and the Courts Commons Recommended Citation Agnes S. Schick-Chen, Whither Converging Narratives of Justice in Transition? Transitional Justice and Judicial Reform in Taiwan, 28 Wash. L. Rev. 677 (2019). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wilj/vol28/iss3/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at UW Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington International Law Journal by an authorized editor of UW Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Compilation © 2019 Washington International Law Journal Association WHITHER CONVERGING NARRATIVES OF JUSTICE IN TRANSITION? TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND JUDICIAL REFORM IN TAIWAN1 Agnes S. Schick-Chen2 Abstract: Referring to Taiwan’s recent transitional justice legislation as a first tentative step towards the possibility of judicial solutions for problems of injustice dating from the authoritarian era, this paper elaborates chances and difficulties of introducing the judiciary to the ongoing processes of coming to terms with the past in Taiwan. It intends to argue that apart from the specific circumstances of Taiwan’s transition to democracy after the lifting of martial law in 1987, the avoidance of a judicial approach to transitional justice was both caused by and the reason for a deficit in narratives of judicial justice.
    [Show full text]
  • The History and Politics of Taiwan's February 28
    The History and Politics of Taiwan’s February 28 Incident, 1947- 2008 by Yen-Kuang Kuo BA, National Taiwan Univeristy, Taiwan, 1991 BA, University of Victoria, 2007 MA, University of Victoria, 2009 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of History © Yen-Kuang Kuo, 2020 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee The History and Politics of Taiwan’s February 28 Incident, 1947- 2008 by Yen-Kuang Kuo BA, National Taiwan Univeristy, Taiwan, 1991 BA, University of Victoria, 2007 MA, University of Victoria, 2009 Supervisory Committee Dr. Zhongping Chen, Supervisor Department of History Dr. Gregory Blue, Departmental Member Department of History Dr. John Price, Departmental Member Department of History Dr. Andrew Marton, Outside Member Department of Pacific and Asian Studies iii Abstract Taiwan’s February 28 Incident happened in 1947 as a set of popular protests against the postwar policies of the Nationalist Party, and it then sparked militant actions and political struggles of Taiwanese but ended with military suppression and political persecution by the Nanjing government. The Nationalist Party first defined the Incident as a rebellion by pro-Japanese forces and communist saboteurs. As the enemy of the Nationalist Party in China’s Civil War (1946-1949), the Chinese Communist Party initially interpreted the Incident as a Taiwanese fight for political autonomy in the party’s wartime propaganda, and then reinterpreted the event as an anti-Nationalist uprising under its own leadership.
    [Show full text]
  • Threading the Needle Proposals for U.S
    “Few actions could have a more important impact on U.S.-China relations than returning to the spirit of the U.S.-China Joint Communique of August 17, 1982, signed by our countries’ leaders. This EastWest Institute policy study is a bold and pathbreaking effort to demystify the issue of arms sales to Taiwan, including the important conclusion that neither nation is adhering to its commitment, though both can offer reasons for their actions and views. That is the first step that should lead to honest dialogue and practical steps the United States and China could take to improve this essential relationship.” – George Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State “This EastWest Institute report represents a significant and bold reframing of an important and long- standing issue. The authors advance the unconventional idea that it is possible to adhere to existing U.S. law and policy, respect China’s legitimate concerns, and stand up appropriately for Taiwan—all at the same time. I believe EWI has, in fact, ‘threaded the needle’ on an exceedingly challenging policy problem and identified a highly promising solution-set in the sensible center: a modest voluntary capping of annual U.S. arms deliveries to Taiwan relative to historical levels concurrent to a modest, but not inconsequential Chinese reduction of its force posture vis-à-vis Taiwan. This study merits serious high-level attention.” – General (ret.) James L. Jones, former U.S. National Security Advisor “I commend co-authors Piin-Fen Kok and David Firestein for taking on, with such skill and methodological rigor, a difficult issue at the core of U.S-China relations: U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Strengthening U.S.-Taiwan Defense Relations
    energ securit STRENGTHENING U.S.-TAIWAN rogra DEFENSE RELATIONS POLITICAL AND SECURITY AFFAIRS Foreword by Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert he U.S.-Taiwan relationship is under the spotlight at a critical time. Concerns are rising over China’s global campaign to undermine Taiwan’s legitimacy. A freeze has occurred in official cross-strait exchanges since the Tsai Ing-wen administration took office, the U.S.-China trade relationship is increasingly tense, and the Trump administration has shown a growing interest in Tthe Indo-Pacific region. Washington is certainly aware of Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. The rapid pace of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) modernization has positioned China to carry out its active defense strategy in the western Pacific, South China Sea, and Indian Ocean within a few years. Despite the continuous presence of these strategic and military challenges, Washington still lacks a consensus on how to strike a balance between the merits of fostering defense relations with Taipei and the costs of retaliation from Beijing. During the Obama administration, the United States’ and Taiwan’s diverging views on defense policy and cooperation posed obstacles to bilateral security ties. Due to rapid Chinese military modernization and then president Ma Ying-jeou’s prioritization of relations with China, the United States developed an “asymmetrical defense” framework for its arms sales policy. This framework essentially meant that Taiwan had to rely on its geography and focus on anti-landing operations to counter a PLA amphibious invasion scenario. The United States expected Taiwan to invest most heavily in land-based mobile antiship cruise missiles, sea mines, and multiple-launch rocket systems.
    [Show full text]
  • Languages of New York State Is Designed As a Resource for All Education Professionals, but with Particular Consideration to Those Who Work with Bilingual1 Students
    TTHE LLANGUAGES OF NNEW YYORK SSTATE:: A CUNY-NYSIEB GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS LUISANGELYN MOLINA, GRADE 9 ALEXANDER FFUNK This guide was developed by CUNY-NYSIEB, a collaborative project of the Research Institute for the Study of Language in Urban Society (RISLUS) and the Ph.D. Program in Urban Education at the Graduate Center, The City University of New York, and funded by the New York State Education Department. The guide was written under the direction of CUNY-NYSIEB's Project Director, Nelson Flores, and the Principal Investigators of the project: Ricardo Otheguy, Ofelia García and Kate Menken. For more information about CUNY-NYSIEB, visit www.cuny-nysieb.org. Published in 2012 by CUNY-NYSIEB, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10016. [email protected]. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alexander Funk has a Bachelor of Arts in music and English from Yale University, and is a doctoral student in linguistics at the CUNY Graduate Center, where his theoretical research focuses on the semantics and syntax of a phenomenon known as ‘non-intersective modification.’ He has taught for several years in the Department of English at Hunter College and the Department of Linguistics and Communications Disorders at Queens College, and has served on the research staff for the Long-Term English Language Learner Project headed by Kate Menken, as well as on the development team for CUNY’s nascent Institute for Language Education in Transcultural Context. Prior to his graduate studies, Mr. Funk worked for nearly a decade in education: as an ESL instructor and teacher trainer in New York City, and as a gym, math and English teacher in Barcelona.
    [Show full text]