Open letter to the President of NCCU

Photo by Ken Marshall, flickr (Creative Commons licence)

The following letter, which I co-wrote with Ben Goren, was published in the Taipei Times today. Addressed to Edward Chow, the President of National Chengchi University, it calls on the university to change the school anthem and make greater efforts to align the university’s values with the pluralistic democracy of contemporary Taiwan rather than paying homage to the historical party-state.

As alumni of National Chengchi University (NCCU), we have followed the news about students boycotting the school anthem during a university choir competition with great interest (“Students boycott ‘outdated’ anthem,” Dec. 6, page 3).

We would like to make a public call to NCCU president Edward Chow.

We applaud and stand with the students who want to change the anachronistic anthem with a song that reflects Taiwan’s democratic values and seeks to establish the political neutrality necessary for the school to be taken seriously as an international institution.

NCCU was established in Nanjing and was re-established in Taipei. Throughout much of its history in China and Taiwan it has functioned as a training ground for bureaucrats of an authoritarian party-state.

Thankfully, Taiwan has moved on from the dark days of the White Terror era to embrace democratic values. Yet, sadly, it appears many administrators at NCCU are still resisting attempts to realign the values and ethos of the school with the evolution of Taiwan into a nation defined by pluralism, freedom of speech and transitional justice.

NCCU could be at the forefront of the efforts to “decolonize” public institutions of moribund political ideologies.

That it avoids this responsibility continues to hurt its reputation and taints its academic output with the stigma of unprofessional partisanship.

NCCU should no longer project an image of being a school for training students to serve the party-state. Instead, it should promote itself as being at the forefront of advocating democratic values.

It needs to encourage its students to develop critical analysis and leadership skills, essential for Taiwan’s continuing democratization. It also needs to cultivate the skills and the perspective needed to operate in an increasingly interconnected and complex international environment.

NCCU’s school anthem should be updated to show that Taiwan has a multi-party democratic system. It needs to strip its campus of structural and symbolic homages to its historical origins, and its role as a crude mechanism for legitimizing and reaffirming the state.

It should instill a vision for the university as a leader in the promotion of democratic values in Taiwan and beyond.

The administration of NCCU is standing on the wrong side of history. They need to catch up with the times.

David Reid and Ben Goren

New book: Taiwan Since Martial Law

Taiwan Since Martial Law: Society, Culture, Politics, Economy
David Blundell (Editor)
NTU Press, Taipei, 2012

A few days ago I received a long awaited package from Taiwan in the mail. It contained copies of a new book, Taiwan Since Martial Law: Society, Culture, Politics, Economy.

I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the book because it contains a chapter I wrote titled, “Nation vs. Tradition: Indigenous Rights and Smangus.” The chapter is based on the research I did for my thesis in the Masters of Taiwan Studies program at National Chengchi University (NCCU).

While it is great to finally hold the book in my hands it is important to acknowledge the great amount of work that went into its production. Thanks must go to David Blundell for his tireless work as the editor. Many others were also involved in the project. The quality of the final product shines through in the beautiful artwork and design on the cover.

I feel quite honoured to have my work published alongside well known Taiwan scholars including Michael Hsiao, Ann Heylen and Jon Sullivan. Several of my classmates from the Taiwan Studies program at NCCU also contributed chapters to the book.

25 years have passed since the end martial law in Taiwan. In more human terms this period of time is a generation. The most obvious development in this time is Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian regime to a democracy. Taiwan’s democratic trajectories are outlined by Bo Tedards in the opening essay of the book. Tedards writes that “the process has not been a linear one, and nor is it quite complete.”

The process of democratisation is further explored in articles such as Jonathan Sullivan’s on election campaigning and Gary and Ming-yeh Rawnsley’s article on the media in democratic Taiwan. Human rights are addressed in Daniel Bowman’s chapter comparing the human rights policies of Ma Ying-jeou and Chen Shui-bian. Janet Tan looks at the need for a civil rights protection system.

The lifting of martial law not only created the political space for democracy to develop; it also brought about a renaissance as peoples rediscovered their identities and relocated themselves in the environmental space of Taiwan. Ann Heylen’s chapter discusses the “greening” of Taiwan history – the emergence of new historical narratives based around Pingpu identity, and the 228 Massacre and White Terror. Al Chung-chieh Wu looks at the emergence of a Hakka ethnic movement. Constance Woods details the resurgence of local identity in her case study of the Beitou Hot Springs Museum.

The book also contains several chapters on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. In addition to my chapter on Smangus, Jackson Hu looks at how the Yami of Orchid Island have used memory of place to revitalise their cultural knowledge. Yayoi Mitsuda describes how the Thao people were the first new indigenous group to gain official recognition in 2001 ending the “nine tribes” classification that had dominated for almost a century.

I have not mentioned all the contributors and will leave it to those who read the book to discover more. My recommendation is of course biased, but I hope this book will help people better understand the diverse and vibrant society of contemporary Taiwan. It will also serve as a useful textbook for any student of Taiwan Studies.

AIT Director speaks at NCCU

William Stanton, the Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), gave a speech at the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University (國立政治大學) this morning. He addressed the topic of US-Taiwan relations highlighting the close ties between the two countries especially in the areas of education, trade and military exchanges.

Last week Taiwan lifted a ban on US beef imports that had been in place since 2003. This topic seems to be of great interest to the Taiwanese media and there were cameras from a number of Taiwan television stations present. (All the cameras left immediately after Stanton commented on the beef issue.)

Stanton addressed the beef issue early in his talk saying, “There’s never been one case of any person getting Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease from eating US beef. I’d like to point out in contrast that in 2008 1,034 people tragically lost their lives riding motorscooters in Taiwan. There really is no risk eating US beef.” He added that more than 50 countries in the world import US beef.

Stanton went on to discuss the close ties that exist between the US and Taiwan. He highlighted education and trade as key areas. The US has more trade with Taiwan than it does with India, Spain, Italy and Singapore. He noted Taiwan was once the largest source of foreign students for the US. It is currently ranked sixth even though it only has 23 million people.

Stanton noted the improvement in cross-strait ties. He said, “We believe that the improved relationship fosters stability. It makes Taiwan a more attractive place to invest and do business.”

Stanton said that improved cross-strait relations, “avoids the risk of miscalculation and potential conflict.” He added that, “The nature, the scope and the pace of that relationship is for the people of Taiwan to decide. Despite the warming trend, Taiwan’s sense of security — whether politically, economically or militarily — is certainly not as strong as it should be. Taiwan, in order to feel secure, needs friends and the United States will continue to be a dependable friend to Taiwan.”

This led to the security issue. Stanton said US policy is, “based on the Taiwan Relations Act which commits the United States to ensuring sufficient self-defense capability for Taiwan. We’re not going to waiver in that commitment.”  The issue of F-16’s was still under discussion, but he said that one year ago the US concluded a US$6.4 billion deal which provided Apache helicopters, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Harpoon missiles for ships, upgrades to the E-2 reconnaissance aircraft, Patriot PAC-3 missiles and also aircraft spare parts.

Stanton then emphasised that the security relationship was not just about weapons sales. He said, “It’s an ongoing dialogue. We have regular exchanges between our militaries.” He noted that some Taiwanese military personnel were receiving training and education in the United States.

Questions following Stanton’s talk gave NCCU students a great chance to ask a high ranking US diplomat about key issues in the US-Taiwan relationship.

A diplomacy student from the US asked what the US could learn from Taiwan’s development. He said that Taiwan’s healthcare system could be a model for the US.

Stanton replied, “The biggest lesson from Taiwan is the theme that President Obama is stressing, the need for education. A decision that Taiwan made early on was intensive high-level education and it has been a great formula for success.” On healthcare he said he personally supported the program President Obama was working on. He also cited a personal example of the high costs his daughter had faced for basic medical treatment in the US.

An exchange student from China said that Taiwan officials had said that Taiwan would be a peacemaker rather than a troublemaker in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the US arm sales to Taiwan contribute a potential threat that would make Taiwan a troublemaker.

On the US arms sales Stanton said, “It’s a two-way street. There are somewhere between a 1,000 and 1,400 missiles along the Chinese coast aimed at Taiwan. Taiwan feels very vulnerable. The mainland [sic] has never given up its policy of saying it would strike if independence were declared.”

“There hasn’t been much done by the mainland to reassure the people of Taiwan. It’s a US policy going back 30 years that we will support the self defense of Taiwan. The principle issue is the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland and the sense of threat that people here feel.”

New edition of Austronesian Taiwan

Austronesian Taiwan: Linguistics, History, Ethnology, Prehistory was first published in 2000 and has been out of print for past few years. A new edition of the book was published to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Shung Ye Museum and the exhibition of artifacts from Japan’s National Museum of Ethnology.

The new edition was edited by Dr David Blundell, my thesis advisor at NCCU, with assistance from Chris Anderson and the people at SMC Books. I also played a role in the editing process.

Austronesian Taiwan is a wonderful collection of papers on the Austronesian speaking peoples of Formosa. It is a great reference for anyone who would like to learn more about the rich culture and history of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. The book gives many insights into the value of Austronesian languages and their associated cultures as  living heritage and as a cultural resource for Taiwan and the world.

The connections between Taiwan and the Austronesian dispersal through the Indian and Pacific Oceans are explored in Peter Bellwood’s chapter “Formosan Prehistory and Austronesian Dispersal”. A more contemporary perspective is found in Chris Anderson’s essay on the Amis Folklore Great Singers of Malan. It is a fascinating look at how the group formed in response to the unauthorised use of samples of Amis singers by Enigma in their hit song “Return to Innocence”. It shows the complex interactions that took place in the context of globalisation when the group from Malan performed on the international stage. The book also contains essays on linguistic studies, archaeology and looks at Japanese studies of Formosa.

The final chapter by David Blundell has been updated to include more information about developments of the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI). Another reflection of the influence of the internet is the list of internet resources in an appendix.

If you are in Taiwan you may be able to purchase the book at SMC Books (南天書局) or the Shung Ye Museum.