Foreign Workers and the Wildfires of Democracy in East Asia
Memo #111 – As democratic movements spread to the Middle East and North Africa, hopeful observers and nervous authoritarian leaders wondered when they will reach Asia. In fact, they already arrived there in the late 1980s. But another East Asian democratic revolution has been taking place over the past decade, brought about by foreign workers.
100 Years after the Xinhai Revolution
Memo #108 (Theme: 100 Years after the Xinhai Revolution) Today, on October 10, 2011, the world is commemorating the centennial of the Xinhai Revolution, which ended the Qing Dynasty and founded a republican China. In a series of Memos we examined the impact that the revolution and its aftermath have had on China and its […]
One Hundred Years of Waiting
Memo #107 – For many Chinese, the Xinhai Revolution will be recalled on October 10 as modern China’s founding moment a century ago. The revolution ended an imperial system whose foundations go back millennia. In those terms, 1911 was a great success. But suppose that, rather than look backward, we look ahead. What if we measured the republican revolution by the republic it ushered in, and not the empire it ushered out?
U.S. Arms Sales to Taiwan a Sore Point in U.S.-China Relations
Memo #105 – The Obama administration’s decision to sell arms to Taiwan clouds bilateral relations with China. The timing is not ideal. Global economic recovery is volatile and tensions are increasing in the South China Sea. Next year, there will be a leadership transition in China and the U.S. will hold its presidential election.
The Democracy Card
Memo #102 – The goal of the Xinhai Revolution, for its leaders, was to establish a democratic republic in China. Working out how to celebrate the centenary of the revolution on October 10, 2011 has not been easy. The republican ideal has been achieved, but in most of the Chinese world, democracy has not. Only the Republic of China (ROC, or Taiwan) and Singapore have full democracy. Hong Kong has a free press, rule of law, and limited elections. The Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) has virtually no democracy, despite the many rights and freedoms listed in the constitution.
Through Taiwan is the Shortest Route between Japan and China
Memo #98 – Joint ventures between Taiwanese and Japanese firms in China survive longer than companies formed only with Japanese capital. Research shows that Japanese firms have a better chance of success in China through alliances with their Taiwanese partners. The survival rate (which measures firms or joint ventures started in the 1990s up to the year 2005) in China has been around 68 per cent when Japanese companies entered the market alone. But the rate is 10 per cent higher if they worked with Taiwanese corporations. Taiwan can play a critical role in trilateral relations and create a win-win-win environment.
Re-examining China’s Periphery – Video Interview with Dr. Pitman Potter
Memo #93 – Pitman Potter’s recent book, Law, Policy, and Practice on China’s Periphery: Selective Adaptation and Institutional Capacity, examines the Chinese government’s policies and practices for relations with the Inner Periphery areas of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia, and the Outer Periphery areas of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Analysis of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taiwan and China
Memo #19 – On August 17th, 2010, the Taiwanese legislature passed the “Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement” (ECFA). This is an agreement between Taipei and Beijing, signed on June 29th, 2010, towards creating a cross-Strait free trade agreement. Some see economic integration as the precursor to political integration. But even after the ECFA’s successful ratification, the electoral strategies of Taiwanese political parties make cross-Strait normalization far from a forgone conclusion.