Taiwan Studies Workshops


Friday, February 27, 2009 4:00 pm
Taiwan Studies Workshop
Cross-Strait Relations after Chen Shui-bian: A Trip Report
Thomas Christensen, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University; Steven Goldstein, Sophia Smith Professor of Government, Smith College; Alastair Iain Johnston, Governor James Albert Noe and Linda Noe Laine Professor of China in World Affairs, Government Department, Harvard College; William Kirby, T.M. Chang Professor of China Studies, Harvard University; Alan Romberg, Senior Associate and Director of the East Asia Program at the Henry L. Stimson Center

About the Talk: For nearly a decade, a delegation from the Taiwan Studies Workshop has traveled to both sides of the Strait to hold discussions. During the visit this past January, the group focused on the nature and impact of Hu Jintao's recent initiative, which was encapsulated on December 31 in his "six points." Meetings were held with officials on the island and the mainland who are directly concerned with the management of cross-strait relations as well as with think-tank scholars and academics. The panel reported on its impressions of these meetings.



Thursday, March 5, 2009 12:15 pm
Taiwan Studies Workshop
Revisiting Taiwan's Defense Strategy
William Murray, Associate Research Professor, U.S. Naval War College's Center for Naval Warfare Studies


About the Talk: China's recent military modernization has fundamentally altered Taiwan's security options. Chinese submarines, advanced surface-to-air missiles, and, especially, short-range ballistic and land-attack cruise missiles have greatly reduced Taiwan's geographic advantage. Taipei can no longer expect to counter Chinese military strength in a symmetrical manner, with Patriot interceptors, diesel submarines, surface warships, F-16 fighters, and P-3 maritime patrol aircraft. Therefore, Taiwan must rethink and redesign its defense strategy, emphasizing the asymmetrical advantage of being the defender and seeking to deny the People's Republic its strategic objectives rather than attempting to destroy its weapons systems. This will enable Taipei to deter more effectively Beijing's use of coercive force, will provide a better means for Taiwan to resist Chinese attacks should deterrence fail, and will provide the United States additional time to determine whether intervening in a cross-Strait conflict is in its own national interest.

About the Speaker: Lt. Commander Murray (Ret.) joined the Navy in 1983 and qualified to command fast-attack, nuclear-powered submarines. In 1994, he received a master’s degree from the U.S. Naval War College. He has served on the Operations Staff at the U.S. Strategic Command and as a member of the faculty of the War College's Strategic Research Department. He retired from the Navy with the rank of Lieutenant Commander in 2003. Lt. Commander Murray is the co-editor of China's Future Nuclear Submarine Force and China's Energy Strategy: The Impact on Beijing's Maritime Policies, published by the U.S. Naval Institute Press. His articles have appeared in International Security, the U.S. Army War College Parameters, Jane's Intelligence Review, the National Bureau of Asian Research’s Asia Policy, and the Naval War College Review.
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Friday, April 3, 2009
Taiwan Studies Conference
30th Anniversary of The Taiwan Relations Act

10:30 am                 Keynote by J. Stapleton Roy
J. Stapleton Roy is Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He served as Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from 1991-1995.

12:00-1:15 pm          Lunch Break

1:30-2:30 pm           Panel 1:   Drafting the TRA
Panelist: Roger W. Sullivan, former President of the U.S.-China Business Council; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Pacific and East Asian Affairs, 1978-1980
Panelist:  David Tawei Lee, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada, career Foreign Service Officer, and author of The Making of the Taiwan Relations Act
Moderator: Steven M. Goldstein, Professor of Government, Smith College

2:45-3:45 pm           Panel 2:  Implementing the TRA
Panelist:  Richard Bush, Senior Fellow, the Brookings Institution, and Director, the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies; formerly Chairman and Managing Director, the American Institute in Taiwan
Panelist: Douglas H. Paal, Vice President for Studies, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; formerly Director of the American Institute in Taiwan
Moderator: Julian Chang, Executive Director, the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard-Kennedy School of Government

4:00-5:15 pm           Panel 3:  The Future of the TRA
Panelist: Thomas C. Christensen, Professor of Politics, Princeton University; served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Panelist:  Robert G. Sutter, Visiting Professor of Asian Studies, the School of Foreign Service, George Washington University; formerly served as Senior Specialist and Director of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division of the Congressional Research Service
Moderator: Alan D. Romberg, Distinguished Fellow and Director, the East Asia Program, the Henry L. Stimson Center

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