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RSSTOGA hosts China/Taiwan panel
Debate arises during panel discussion
Professors and two students, one Chinese and one Taiwanese, met to discuss the tensions and divisiveness in the region.
The Tulane Organization for Global Affairs hosted a panel Tuesday night to foster student and faculty discussions about the tensions between China and Taiwan.
The panel included Professor Brian DeMare of the history department; Professor Chris Fettweis of the political science department; Professor Chi-Wen Jevons Lee of the A.B. Freeman School of Business; Crystal Wu, a freshman business major from mainland China; and Amy Hsu, a senior and the only Taiwanese undergraduate at Tulane.
The panel discussed the problematic implications of the political divide between mainland China and Taiwan. Panelists offered their viewpoints on issues like the impact of the Chinese economy on the region’s divisiveness and the sentiments of the Chinese and Taiwanese people regarding that divide.
Wu and Hsu, the two Tulane students on the panel, offered their personal perspectives from living in the region.
Though Hsu did not agree with all of the opinions of the other panelists, she thought the event was a success.
“Obviously, I don’t agree with all of [the panelists’] views, but I still think they did a pretty decent job. I think the event went well, but we kind of skirted around the actual issue of Taiwan/ China and digressed a little more than I would’ve liked. However, I still had fun and I think the audience was able to learn a few things about the issue,” said Hsu.
She said she also thought that many Tulane students are not aware of the conflict.
Hsu described her role as a Taiwanese student as being like a “mini-ambassador” because the small region lacks substantial representation in the United States.
“Because it’s so important to Chinese people and Taiwanese people, when we come together… it becomes a political issue,” Hsu said.
She said she also thought that many Tulane students are not aware of the conflict.
DeMare said that many of the attendees were already well educated about the issue and had already formed opinions. The discussion ran the full hour and a half, and some students approached the panelists afterward.
“Most of the students came informed and left with a better understanding,” DeMare said.
“There was more interest than there was time to address.”
Koplan Nwabuoku, TOGA president and moderator of the event, said he hoped that the panel would help students become more engaged and involved about global political issues. He said the intent of the event was to serve as a segway to more international discussion and bring more important panelists to Tulane.
“We wanted a topic that drew interest, something that has some kind of clash,” Nwabuoku said.
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The conflict between Taiwan and China is an excellent example of one type of international justice problems in modern time. The center of the conflict is Chinese imperialism and aggression. It is a shame of China. It is also a shame of the United Nations.
Taiwan was legally a part of Japan before April 28, 1952, when the Peace Treaty with Japan became effective.
According to the UN Charter of June 1945, any territory separated from a defeated nation in WWII should be turned to the UN for a trusteeship and then get its ‘future’ determined by a plebiscite. Japan was defeated in WWII. Therefore, Taiwan should be taken care of by the UN and get her ‘future’ determined by the Taiwanese themselves. It has never happened as simple as that.
In August 1945, after Japan surrendered to the alied power, General MacArthur ordered Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese government to occupy Taiwan. In February 1947, the Taiwanese uprising (or “228 Incident”) occured. Chiang took the opportunity to kill and arrest all the Taiwanese leaders. In May 1949, Chiang ordered a martial law (lifted in 1987) for Taiwan. In December he fled to Taiwan, which was not a part of China, and set up his exiled “Republic of China” (ROC).
Since 1945, Taiwanese have received Chinese education with all kinds of lies, cheats and threats. Chiang’s KMT party is the richest political party in the world. They have built a complete underground network of party agents for watching the people and buying and controling votes in elections. The people outside of Taiwan have been very confused about Taiwan. The Taiwanese themselves are confused as well.
Today, Taiwanese need to find out what Taiwan really is by self education, not from textbooks.
On October 13, 1952, Chiang made the announcement in his KMT’s 7th Conference that the Republic of China was “gone.” He said, “As long as we have Taiwan, the (Chinese) Communists are powerless on me.” His says were clearly based on the fact that Taiwan was legally not a part of China, ROC or PRC. The same fact implys that the “Taiwan Relations Acts” are appropriate. The same fact implys that the claim on Taiwan by Beijing is a total wyth.
After 60 years in existence, the UN has become so powerful that it can handle neither the nuclear arms disputes nor the pirates attacks. Taiwanese can not count on the UN. Taiwanese need to work harder and harder for their own future.
Very sorry for my poor typing job. “Alied power” should read “allied powers.” “Taiwan Relations Acts” should read “Taiwan Relations Act.” “A total wyth” should read “a total myth.”
The TOGA had the goodwill to get the two students, one from Taiwan and the other from China, to join the panel. However, due to certain degree of “pressure” back home they might not be able to talk freely on the subject. The Chinese student must be very ignorant about “real” Taiwan.
The PRC government has been very deceiving to the Chinese people. For example, in both the joint Communique of December 15, 1978, and the US-China Communique on Taiwan of August 17, 1982, the US “recognized” PRC as the sole legal government of China and “acknowledged” the Chinese position that there is one China and Taiwan is a part of China. But the PRC government informed the matter to its people by consistently replacing the word “acknowledged” with “recognized.” (See Renmin Ribao or Peoples Daily of 12/17/1978 and 8/18/1982.) The consequence: 1) Misled the people; 2) Received high respect from the people; and 3) Incited the people to hate the US (for selling arms to Taiwan).