New Chinese Banks: Right Out of Mao’s Playbook?

Chunjuan Nancy Wei's article on Chinese banking

Cross-Strait Relations Today: Challenges and Opportunities

The China-Taiwan relationship has been deeply influenced by path dependency, structural shifts in great power politics, and partisan struggles across the Taiwan Strait. One may wonder, what had suddenly changed between 2008 and 2010 to make a landmark free trade deal possible between the archrivals? Why was it signed despite domestic opposition? How did these rivals embrace each other economically when they still harbored significant political differences? Will this economically beneficial agreement to Taiwan come at a political cost? How will this deal influence East Asian regional economic integration, especially between Northeast Asia and ASEAN

From Mao Back to Confucius: China's Approaches to Development and Peace

While China is moving full steam ahead towards modernization, it is also looking back at its own Confucian and Daoist traditions. Will the Sinicized Marxism and Confucianism work hand in hand to promote world development and peace? Or will they pose a conundrum for Chinese leaders

Making Waves: Recent Developments of the South China Sea Disputes

The rocks of the South China Sea (SCS) are where state sovereignty and geopolitics converge. As observed by many, sovereignty disputes in the SCS entail more than simply who owns what particular geologic and geographic features. They involve shifting rights, shipping lanes, oil and natural gas reserves, the maritime environment, and security. These contested maritime zones have led to significant tensions in the region and raise great concerns for nations using the shipping lanes for international trade. These quarrels are also linked to rising nationalism in every claimant nation. At dispute are both ownership of land features and what rules to apply in resolving the disputes, since rules determine results. Continued tensions have restrained policies among the nations involved, making interactions difficult at times. To further complicate matters, nations have started to reclaim land to expand their control at the expense of others. To more vividly demonstrate how dynamic the “status quo” in the SCS is, this paper surveys the latest developments in the region; analyzes different attitudes and responses of various capitals to actions in the SCS in recent years. Competing interests are investigated to gauge each claimant’s strategies. The complexity of the overlapping claims involved calls for dialogue toward a peaceful diplomatic solution

Sino-Saudi Relations: Geopolitics, Energy, Taiwan, and Chinese Muslims

Cradle of Islam and home to two holy mosques, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia bears political significance to China and spiritual importance to its Muslim population. Yet the Kingdom was one of a few major countries that chose to recognize Taipei until the twilight of the Cold War. Being the last Arab state to recognize the People’s Republic of China, Saudi Arabia represents a rare diplomatic case worthy of study. The Saudi’s strong and stable ties first with Taiwan—even decades after the latter was thrown out of the United Nations—and warming relationship with Beijing now have all to do with oil, but oil is by no means the only factor. The links tying Taiwan to the Saudi Kingdom were complex, geopolitics and anti-communist ideology among them. While the professed anticommunism bound Taiwan with Riyadh in the past, Saudi Arabia holding hands with the second largest economy no doubt shapes a new path for the world not limited in the energy sector. Both G20 members, Sino-Saudi bilateral political-military cooperation is also on the rise. The Saudi 2030 Vision and China’s One Belt One Road initiative may further cement the bond. Yet the obvious improvement of the Sino-Iranian relationship and Chinese support of the Syrian regime could negatively affect the Sino-Saudi rapport. This paper investigates the intricate relationships between the world’s largest oil exporter and the world’s most populous state, revealing the multi-level considerations of bilateral diplomacy. It also looks into the impact this relationship has on their allies and rivals

Beijing’s Formidable Strategy in the South China Sea

Chunjuan Nancy Wei's article on China's strategy for the South China Sea

Transforming an Intractable Conflict by the Multi-Track Diplomacy Approach: Application to the Taiwan Strait Conflict

The primary cause was the control of Chinese territory. The two political groups in Taiwan (Chinese Nationalist Party or KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party or DPP) and China are the main actors whereas Japan and the United States are the secondary actors. The conflict has escalated into war, crises and unstable peace with 4 main climaxes. The initial issue was the sovereignty dispute over China and Chinese people in both territories of the mainland China and the island of Taiwan. Due to the de-Sinification and the Taiwanisation policies as well as divergent socio-political and economic developments, the issue has evolved into cultural and political identity issue creating 3 identifiers: few Chinese, more Taiwanese and some ‘Chiwanese’. Peacemaking process: The United States has prevented a reunification war; the tracks 2, 3 and 4 diplomacy have advanced the economic interdependence and social interactions with no political reunification. Policy recommendations: all the actors (China, KMT, DPP and US) need to change their policies, mainly by reviewing the “one China, different interpretations” principle, establishing a trilateral relationship, and supporting Taiwan’s participation into international organizations. This can be achieved by applying all the nine tracts of the multitrack diplomacy (MTD) approach

Lessons in Lawfare: Revisiting the South China Sea Ruling Five Years on

In 2012, Manila and Beijing had a standoff over the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, which the former lost to the latter in result. As a smaller power allied with the global hegemon, the Philippines opted for international arbitration pursuant to UNCLOS. A tribunal set under the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled overwhelmingly in the Philippines’ favor in 2016. But little has changed in real terms since then. This paper explores the viewpoints and strategies of three main players: the Philippines, which preferred multilateralism and international law but changed hearts with the ascend of Duterte; China, which is cognizant of its stature in the world, makes realistic moves, and stresses on bilateral talks; and the United States, which is concerned with its strategic interests but must assure allies and contain the rising challenger. In the last part, the paper further details how this case and its aftermath has emboldened China, delivered a blow to the already struggling international law, diminished the multilateralist and liberal approaches, and provided new lessons and strategies to smaller states which find themselves surrounded by the global power competition, and shed light on American double standards, yet again. It remains unlikely that such sovereignty-sensitive issues would be resolved by international law and courts in this era

The universal values of science and China’s Nobel Prize pursuit

China does not seem to believe the existence of universally acknowledged values in science and fails to promote the observation of such values that also should be applied to every member of the scientific community and at all times. Or, there is a separation between the practice of science in China and the values represented by modern science. In this context, science, including the pursuit of the Nobel Prize, is more a pragmatic means to achieve the end of the political leadership – the national pride in this case – than an institution laden with values that govern its practices. However, it is the recognition and respect of the latter that could lead to achievement of the former, rather than the other way around

China's Anti-Secession Law and Hu Jintao's Taiwan Policy

A poster on the China's anti-secession policy and Taiwan's political survival