Between Civic and Ethnic the Transformation of Taiwanese

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Between Civic and Ethnic the Transformation of Taiwanese Between Civic and Ethnic The Transformation of Taiwanese Nationalist Ideologies (1895 – 2000) Vrije Universiteit Brussel Faculteit Economische, Sociale en Politieke Wetenschappen en Solvay Business School Vakgroep Politieke Wetenschappen Between Civic and Ethnic The Transformation of Taiwanese Nationalist Ideologies (1895 – 2000) Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Xiaokun Song Promotor: Prof. Patrick Stouthuysen Print: DCL Print & Sign, Zelzate © 2009 Uitgeverij VUBPRESS Brussels University Press VUBPRESS is an imprint of ASP nv (Academic and Scientific Publishers nv) Ravensteingalerij 28 B-1000 Brussels Tel. ++32 (0)2 289 26 50 Fax ++32 (0)2 289 26 59 E-mail: [email protected] www.vubpress.be ISBN 978 90 5487 575 8 NUR 754 Legal deposit D/2009/11.161/029 All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. CONTENTS CONTENTS ................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... ix NOTE ON TRANSCRIPTION .................................................................................... xi 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3 2 Theoretical Framework Contemporary Theories of Nationalism: Definition and Typology ..................... 15 2.1 Defining Nationalism .................................................................................... 15 2.2 Typologies of Nationalism ............................................................................ 18 2.3 Summary ....................................................................................................... 43 3 General Background of Taiwan: Land, History, and People ............................ 49 3.1 Land .............................................................................................................. 49 3.2 Brief History of Taiwan ................................................................................ 50 3.3 People: Population and Ethnic Composition ................................................ 54 4 Contemporary Scholarship of Taiwanese Nationalism ....................................... 59 4.1 Defining Taiwanese Nationalism .................................................................. 61 4.2 Capturing the Nature of Taiwanese Nationalism: Civic or Ethnic? ............. 69 4.3 Summary ....................................................................................................... 75 5 Taiwanese Nationalism under Japanese Colonial Rule (1895-1945) .................. 77 5.1 Policy and Structure of the Japanese Colonial Rule on Taiwan ................... 78 5.2 A Brief Overview of Taiwanese Anti-Colonial Movements .........................85 5.3 The Political Dimension of Taiwanese Nationalism .................................... 95 5.4 The Cultural Dimension of Taiwanese nationalism .................................... 109 5.5 Summary ..................................................................................................... 117 6 Taiwanese Nationalism in the Martial Law Era (1945-1987) ........................... 123 6.1 The February 28 Incident and the Resurgence of Post-war Taiwanese Nationalism ................................................................................................ 125 6.2 Challenging the GMD‟s Rule: the Overseas TIM and the Opposition Movements in Taiwan ................................................................................ 139 6.3 Diverging Conceptualisations of the Taiwanese Nation in the Overseas TIM: People, History and Language ................................................................... 148 6.4 Summary ..................................................................................................... 163 7 Taiwanese Nationalism in the Post Martial Law Taiwan (1987-2000) ............ 167 7.1 Explaining Regime Transformation ............................................................ 171 7.2 An Additional Situational Variable: the Cross-Strait Relations in Retrospect ....................................................................................................177 7.3 Conceptualisation of A Taiwanese Nation in the Political Arena: from Differences to Consensus ........................................................................... 179 v 7.4 Conceptualisation of the Taiwanese Nation in the Cultural Arena ............. 200 7.5 Summary ..................................................................................................... 212 8 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 219 GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................. 227 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 231 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The idea for this dissertation was conceived during several rounds of stimulating discussion at the international conference entitled “Social Sciences and Secession” held on 27 and 28 November 1998 in Brussels and organised by the Department of Political Science of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in co-operation with the Institute for European Policy of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. The related research project received generous four-year support from the Onderzoeksraad of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) from 2000 to 2004, and the dissertation was successfully defended in its present form on 30 June 2004. The dissertation explores the historical evolution of nationalist ideologies in contemporary Taiwan. Given the relevance of the topic to a world that has yet to move out of the orbit of the nation-state system, I decided to publish it. Even without further updating, the analysis done in this dissertation may prove interesting for those readers and researchers who are interested in deciphering the profound impact exerted by nationalism on identity (trans)formation in contemporary Taiwan and in gaining a better understanding of the many controversies raging over the ongoing cross-Strait integration. For the completion of the research I owe a debt to many. First of all I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Patrick Stouthuysen, who has encouraged and guided me all the way. I also want to thank the other two members of my doctoral committee, Professor Ann Heylen and Professor Stéphane Corcuff. Young but established experts in Taiwan studies, both have provided me with valuable research materials and shared with me their keen insights into various aspects of Taiwanese society. For the final version of this disseration, Professor Michael Waller has provided me with invaluable comments. I would also like to thank Professor Ye Haiyan of Soochow University (Taiwan) and my dear friend, Michael Cai, for their great help in collecting material for this research. The staff of the VUB library have provided me with top quality service in interlibrary loan throughout all these years. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Bruno Coppieters. Without his support and continuous „pushing‟ I would never have completed and published this dissertation. Xiaokun Song Brussels/Guangzhou, 2 May 2009 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CCP Chinese Communist Party DPP Democratic Progressive Party GMD Guomindang MAC Mainland Affairs Council NICT National Institute of Compilation and Translation NP New Party NUC National Unification Council PFP People First Party PRC People‟s Republic of China ROC Republic of China ROCOT Republic of China on Taiwan SEF Straits Exchange Foundation TAIP Taiwan Independence Party TWMB Taiwan Minbao TIM Taiwan Independence Movement WUFI World United Formosans for Independence ix NOTE ON TRANSCRIPTION In Taiwan a number of romanising systems are in use, including (1) the older Wade-Giles system, the most predominant one, (2) pinyin and (3) some conventional terms such as Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen. To avoid confusing combination of different systems, pinyin, is adopted as the main romanisation system for transcribing Chinese charaters in the titles of all references, terms and concepts, names of persons and places in Chinese throughout the whole text. A glossary of the romanised characters is provided at the end of the book. Unless specified, all translations of quotations in Chinese are provided by the author. xi Part One Introduction Chapter One Introduction With the democratisation of Taiwan‟s authoritarian regime in the late 1980s, identity politics has become one of the most salient political phenomena on the island. In every election campaign the complex and sensitive question of national identity surfaces and intensifies in almost all political debates. During the Republic of China (ROC)‟s first Taiwan-wide direct presidential election campaign in 1996, national identity was one important issue separating the four running candidates. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate, Peng Mingmin claimed himself to be Taiwanese. In his view, being Taiwanese had nothing to do with being Chinese. While
Recommended publications
  • Hwang, Yin (2014) Victory Pictures in a Time of Defeat: Depicting War in the Print and Visual Culture of Late Qing China 1884 ‐ 1901
    Hwang, Yin (2014) Victory pictures in a time of defeat: depicting war in the print and visual culture of late Qing China 1884 ‐ 1901. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18449 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. VICTORY PICTURES IN A TIME OF DEFEAT Depicting War in the Print and Visual Culture of Late Qing China 1884-1901 Yin Hwang Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the History of Art 2014 Department of the History of Art and Archaeology School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 2 Declaration for PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the School of Oriental and African Studies concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person.
    [Show full text]
  • Re-Examining Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan: University Strategies for Implementing Overseas Programmes
    Higher Education Studies; Vol. 8, No. 4; 2018 ISSN 1925-4741 E-ISSN 1925-475X Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Re-examining Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan: University Strategies for Implementing Overseas Programmes Yuching Liao1 1Graduate School of Education, Kyoto Unviersity, Kyoto, Japan Correspondence: Yuching Liao, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Hommachi, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan. Tel: 81-80-4243-0168. E-mail: [email protected] Received: August 1, 2018 Accepted: August 14, 2018 Online Published: October 20, 2018 doi:10.5539/hes.v8n4p116 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/hes.v8n4p116 Abstract This study clarifies the rationale for offering overseas programmes as an internationalization strategy by Taiwanese higher education institutions through an analysis of related university documents and interview data. In doing so, this study highlights how institutional goals and characteristics, as well as social and cultural backgrounds, affect the internationalization of higher education based on the following two points. First, in addition to the pursuit of academic excellence and expanding student markets, university strategies are based on its particular history, resources, development goals, and orientation. Second, although different strategies were observed among the examined universities, the Chinese element and the pluralistic value of Taiwanese society have influenced the overseas programmes offered by Taiwanese universities. This paper argues that instead of merely adopting the international standard or pursuing academic excellence, it is essential for Taiwanese universities to implement internationalization strategies in order to determine their meaning and purpose in the context of Taiwanese higher education. Keywords: cross-border education, higher education, internationalization, overseas programmes, Taiwan, universities’ strategies 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Contact Information of Emergency Assistance Association
    Contact Information of Emergency Assistance Association Area Name Contact Information North Boston Taiwanese Emergency Tel:617-650-9252 America Assistance Association 617-763-0708 email:[email protected] Greater New York Taiwanese Tel:212-365-4855 Emergency Assistance email:[email protected] Association Pittsburgh Taiwanese Emergency Tel:412-212-3976 Assistance Association email: [email protected] Emergency Assistance Tel:716-741-4648 Association Buffalo Niagara email:[email protected] Region Tel:716-568-0688 email:[email protected] Taiwanese Caring and Assistance Tel:571-252-0713 Association of Greater email:[email protected] Washington D.C. Atlanta Care and Assistance Tel:770-451-4456、678-670-2881 Association email:[email protected] Greater Chicago Taiwanese Tel:847-530-4214 Emergency Assistance email:[email protected] Association Detroit Taiwanese Emergency Tel:248-767-0999 Assistance Association email:[email protected] Houston Taiwanese Care and Tel:713-376-4552 Assistance Association email:[email protected] DFW Taiwanese Care and Tel:469-789-6858 Assistance Association email:[email protected] Florida Emergency Assistance Tel:407-758-1314 Association email:[email protected] Taiwanese Foreign Emergency Tel:425-277-5206 Management Association of email:[email protected] Northwest Great Portland Emergency Tel:425-746-3602~3 Response Association email:[email protected] Colorado Taiwanese Emergency Tel: 217-220-1499 1 Contact Information of Emergency Assistance Association Area Name Contact Information Assistance
    [Show full text]
  • History of Imperial China
    History of Imperial China Chapter 1: The Origins of Chinese Civilization Geography The Yellow River The Yellow River is so called because of the yellow loess silt that it carries, providing rich nutrients for agriculture, 12 This loess is also very easy to work with primitive tools, hence explaining why it became one of the first regions to be settled, 12 The Yellow River, however, is prone to flooding, and when it did so it tended to inundate enormous settled regions, 13 The Yangzi River The basin of the Yangzi river to the south is warmer and wetter than the north, 13 This is why the south of china is more suited to crops like rice, while the north is better for wheat and millet, 13 The Yangzi and many of its tributaries are navigable, whereas the Yellow river is not, 13 Chinese Geographic Isolation China was long isolated from other early civilizations by the ocean to the east, the Tibetan plateau to the west, and the Gobi and other deserts to the north, 13 The Chinese did not see themselves as sitting on the edge of a vast Asian continent, but rather as being the central civilized region of the world, surrounded by vast oceans, deserts and mountains that were largely unimportant, 13 Chinese Mythology The Three Sovereigns Chinese mythology associates the origins of their civilization with several ‘great men’, as opposed to other cultures who credit gods, 10 Fu Xi domesticated animals and invented the family, Shen Nong invented the plough and the hoe, and Huang Di invented the bow and arrow, boats, carts, ceramics, writing
    [Show full text]
  • Taiwanese Eyes on the Modern: Cold War Dance Diplomacy And
    Taiwanese Eyes on the Modern: Cold War Dance Diplomacy and American Modern Dances in Taiwan, 1950–1980 Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Tsung-Hsin Lee, M.A. Graduate Program in Dance Studies The Ohio State University 2020 Dissertation Committee Hannah Kosstrin, Advisor Harmony Bench Danielle Fosler-Lussier Morgan Liu Copyrighted by Tsung-Hsin Lee 2020 2 Abstract This dissertation “Taiwanese Eyes on the Modern: Cold War Dance Diplomacy and American Modern Dances in Taiwan, 1950–1980” examines the transnational history of American modern dance between the United States and Taiwan during the Cold War era. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the Carmen De Lavallade-Alvin Ailey, José Limón, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, and Alwin Nikolais dance companies toured to Taiwan under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. At the same time, Chinese American choreographers Al Chungliang Huang and Yen Lu Wong also visited Taiwan, teaching and presenting American modern dance. These visits served as diplomatic gestures between the members of the so-called Free World led by the U.S. Taiwanese audiences perceived American dance modernity through mixed interpretations under the Cold War rhetoric of freedom that the U.S. sold and disseminated through dance diplomacy. I explore the heterogeneous shaping forces from multiple engaging individuals and institutions that assemble this diplomatic history of dance, resulting in outcomes influencing dance histories of the U.S. and Taiwan for different ends. I argue that Taiwanese audiences interpreted American dance modernity as a means of embodiment to advocate for freedom and social change.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise and Fall of the Taiwan Independence Policy: Power Shift, Domestic Constraints, and Sovereignty Assertiveness (1988-2010)
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2012 The Rise and Fall of the Taiwan independence Policy: Power Shift, Domestic Constraints, and Sovereignty Assertiveness (1988-2010) Dalei Jie University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Asian Studies Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Jie, Dalei, "The Rise and Fall of the Taiwan independence Policy: Power Shift, Domestic Constraints, and Sovereignty Assertiveness (1988-2010)" (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 524. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/524 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/524 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Rise and Fall of the Taiwan independence Policy: Power Shift, Domestic Constraints, and Sovereignty Assertiveness (1988-2010) Abstract How to explain the rise and fall of the Taiwan independence policy? As the Taiwan Strait is still the only conceivable scenario where a major power war can break out and Taiwan's words and deeds can significantly affect the prospect of a cross-strait military conflict, ot answer this question is not just a scholarly inquiry. I define the aiwanT independence policy as internal political moves by the Taiwanese government to establish Taiwan as a separate and sovereign political entity on the world stage. Although two existing prevailing explanations--electoral politics and shifting identity--have some merits, they are inadequate to explain policy change over the past twenty years. Instead, I argue that there is strategic rationale for Taiwan to assert a separate sovereignty. Sovereignty assertions are attempts to substitute normative power--the international consensus on the sanctity of sovereignty--for a shortfall in military- economic-diplomatic assets.
    [Show full text]
  • Whose History and by Whom: an Analysis of the History of Taiwan In
    WHOSE HISTORY AND BY WHOM: AN ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORY OF TAIWAN IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE PUBLISHED IN THE POSTWAR ERA by LIN-MIAO LU (Under the Direction of Joel Taxel) ABSTRACT Guided by the tenet of sociology of school knowledge, this study examines 38 Taiwanese children’s trade books that share an overarching theme of the history of Taiwan published after World War II to uncover whether the seemingly innocent texts for children convey particular messages, perspectives, and ideologies selected, preserved, and perpetuated by particular groups of people at specific historical time periods. By adopting the concept of selective tradition and theories of ideology and hegemony along with the analytic strategies of constant comparative analysis and iconography, the written texts and visual images of the children’s literature are relationally analyzed to determine what aspects of the history and whose ideologies and perspectives were selected (or neglected) and distributed in the literary format. Central to this analysis is the investigation and analysis of the interrelations between literary content and the issue of power. Closely related to the discussion of ideological peculiarities, historians’ research on the development of Taiwanese historiography also is considered in order to examine and analyze whether the literary products fall into two paradigms: the Chinese-centric paradigm (Chinese-centricism) and the Taiwanese-centric paradigm (Taiwanese-centricism). Analysis suggests a power-and-knowledge nexus that reflects contemporary ruling groups’ control in the domain of children’s narratives in which subordinate groups’ perspectives are minimalized, whereas powerful groups’ assumptions and beliefs prevail and are perpetuated as legitimized knowledge in society.
    [Show full text]
  • Bridging Worlds: Buddhist Women's Voices Across Generations
    BRIDGING WORLDS Buddhist Women’s Voices Across Generations EDITED BY Karma Lekshe Tsomo First Edition: Yuan Chuan Press 2004 Second Edition: Sakyadhita 2018 Copyright © 2018 Karma Lekshe Tsomo All rights reserved No part of this book may not be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage or retreival system, without the prior written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations. Cover Illustration, "Woman on Bridge" © 1982 Shig Hiu Wan. All rights reserved. "Buddha" calligraphy ©1978 Il Ta Sunim. All rights reserved. Chapter Illustrations © 2012 Dr. Helen H. Hu. All rights reserved. Book design and layout by Lillian Barnes Bridging Worlds Buddhist Women’s Voices Across Generations EDITED BY Karma Lekshe Tsomo 7th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women With a Message from His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama SAKYADHITA | HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I iv | Bridging Worlds Contents | v CONTENTS MESSAGE His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii INTRODUCTION 1 Karma Lekshe Tsomo UNDERSTANDING BUDDHIST WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD Thus Have I Heard: The Emerging Female Voice in Buddhism Tenzin Palmo 21 Sakyadhita: Empowering the Daughters of the Buddha Thea Mohr 27 Buddhist Women of Bhutan Tenzin Dadon (Sonam Wangmo) 43 Buddhist Laywomen of Nepal Nivedita Kumari Mishra 45 Himalayan Buddhist Nuns Pacha Lobzang Chhodon 59 Great Women Practitioners of Buddhadharma: Inspiration in Modern Times Sherab Sangmo 63 Buddhist Nuns of Vietnam Thich Nu Dien Van Hue 67 A Survey of the Bhikkhunī Saṅgha in Vietnam Thich Nu Dong Anh (Nguyen Thi Kim Loan) 71 Nuns of the Mendicant Tradition in Vietnam Thich Nu Tri Lien (Nguyen Thi Tuyet) 77 vi | Bridging Worlds UNDERSTANDING BUDDHIST WOMEN OF TAIWAN Buddhist Women in Taiwan Chuandao Shih 85 A Perspective on Buddhist Women in Taiwan Yikong Shi 91 The Inspiration ofVen.
    [Show full text]
  • Use of Theses
    Australian National University THESES SIS/LIBRARY TELEPHONE: +61 2 6125 4631 R.G. MENZIES LIBRARY BUILDING NO:2 FACSIMILE: +61 2 6125 4063 THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY EMAIL: [email protected] CANBERRA ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA USE OF THESES This copy is supplied for purposes of private study and research only. Passages from the thesis may not be copied or closely paraphrased without the written consent of the author. UEKIEMORI AND THE USE OF HISTORY A sub-thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of East Asian Studies in the Australian National University By Loh Kwok Cheong Asian History Centre Australian National University November 1994 To Pei Ling Affirmation This thesis is the sole work of the author, Loh Kwok Cheong, and except where due acknowledgement is made in the text, does not, to the best of my knowledge, contain material previously presented, published or written by another person. ii Acknowledgement I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. John Caiger, for showing me the way to discovering my interest and for his encouragement, advice and support throughout the writing of this study. I would also like to thank Dr. Tessa Morris-Suzuki for her comments and support. Special thanks also goes to members of the Faculty of Asian Studies and Division of Asian and Pacific History, RSPacS for their assistance and patience. Finally, my deepest gratitude is for my wife, Pei Ling, who has been most supportive and tolerant of my temperaments since I embarked on this course. iii Abstract German historian Michael Sturmer ascribes a functional role for historical consciousness: "in a country without history, he who fills the memory, defines the concepts and interprets the past, wins the future."1 Although Sturmer was concerned with the way in which understanding of history shapes contemporary discourse in post World War Two Germany, his statement also aptly described the manner in which history has been used in Japan since the advent of the modem century.
    [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]
  • October 2011
    OCTOBER 2011 10.1 Cyprus Independence Day – after a five-year Cyprus struggle, Cyprus won its independence from the UK in 1960 People's Republic of China Birthday - a two-day China celebration of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 Unification Day - marks the anniversary of the Cameroon British Southern Cameroons’ independence from the United Kingdom and unification with French Cameroun in 1961 Captains Regent Day – the day on which the two San Marino heads of state, the two “Regent Captains,” are invested with their powers in Piazza Liberta; occurs twice per year Independence Day - the Compact of Free Palau Association took effect on this day in 1994; it established a constitutional government in free association with the United States Armed Forces Day South Korea Independence Day - commemorates three events: Nigeria when Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960, became a federal republic with new constitution in 1963, and restored to civilian rule in 1979 10.1 Patriotism Day Rwanda Mehregan (Autumn Festival) – also known as the Iran Persian Festival of Autumn, is an ancient Persian fest which is dedicated to Mehr (or Mithra/Mitra), the goddess and symbol of light, friendship, faith, love and kindness National Day - commemorates the founding of Hong Kong People’s Republic of China on this day in 1949 Tuvalu Day (Independence Day) - commemorates Tuvalu independence from the United Kingdom International Music Day - proclaimed by the International UN/UNESCO in 1975 as an annual event to celebrate music 10.2 Gandhi
    [Show full text]
  • Rise of China and the Cross-Strait Relations by Philip Yang National Taiwan University
    tik 5th Europe-Northeast Asia Forum i The Taiwan Strait and Northeast Asian Security Berlin, 15-17 December 2005 A conference jointly organised by Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Berlin, the Korean Institute for International Studies (KIIS), Seoul, and the Federal Ministry of Defence, Berlin Discussion Paper Do Note Cite or Quote without Author’s Permission ftung Wissenschaft und Pol Sti Rise of China and the Cross-Strait Relations by Philip Yang National Taiwan University German Institute for International and Security Affairs SWP Ludwigkirchplatz 3–4 10719 Berlin Phone +49 30 880 07-0 Fax +49 30 880 07-100 www.swp-berlin.org In East Asia, the rise of China has dominated most regional policy discussion and deliberation. In almost every field of regional concerns, China’s rise has posed new challenges and brought profound implications. The impacts of China's rise on cross-strait relations are also heatedly discussed in Taiwan’s academia as well as media. China’s surging economy and newfound political clout expand its tool box in handling cross-strait relations and complicate U.S. role in dealing with the cross-strait political and military stalemate. With its missile deployments directed at Taiwan and the adoption of an anti-secession law threatening the use of force to deter Taiwan’s pursuance of de jure independence, China’s coercive cross-strait policy could severely challenge the island and its most important ally, the United States. However, China’s rising economic power and political status in the region have also been translated into a growing pool of “soft” power, affording Beijing increasing leverage on cross-strait issues.
    [Show full text]