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The Center will also provide information related to Taiwan studies and events hosted by Taiwanese communities.

 

Latest News

Commemorating the 228 Incident

Our Center is deeply committed to honoring and commemorating the 228 Incident. This tragic chapter in Taiwan's history serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of understanding and acknowledging past injustices. We strive to shed light on the complexities surrounding the 228 incident, ensuring that its memory is preserved and its lessons are learned. We would also like to show our unwavering appreciation for the individuals affected by this pivotal event and our profound concern for fostering a society built on justice, reconciliation, and mutual understanding.

Please find the links below for more information.

 

 

 

Grand Opening of UCSD’s Center of Taiwan Studies

We are delighted to announce the grand opening ceremony of the UCSD Center of Taiwan Studies, which took place on May 6, 2023. The ceremony was attended by distinguished guests, including Dr. Chiu-Shan Chen’69 (陳秋山 博士) and his wife Rufina Chen, the generous donors who established the center with a $5 million endowed gift; Professor Ping-hui Liao, the founding director and inaugural Chuan Lyu Endowed Chair (川流講座) in Taiwan Studies; Professor Nancy Guy, the co-director of the center from the Department of Music; and Professor Cristina Della Coletta, the dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. The Center is also pleased to have the School Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, EVC Elizabeth Simmons, and the faculties led by Director General C.Y. Chi from the LA Taipei Economics and Culture Office (TECO) for the Center’s opening remarks.

 

(From Left to Right: Co-Director Dr. Ping-Hui Liao, EVC Elizabeth H. Simmons, Rufina Chen, Dr. Chiu-Shan Chen'69, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, Arts& Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta, Co-Director Dr. Nancy Guy. Photo Credit: Department of Arts & Humanities)

(From Left to Right: Co-Director Dr. Ping-Hui Liao, EVC Elizabeth H. Simmons, Rufina Chen, Dr. Chiu-Shan Chen'69, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, Arts& Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta, Co-Director Dr. Nancy Guy. Photo Credit: Department of Arts & Humanities)

 

The UCSD Center for Taiwan Studies aims to expand the cultural understanding of Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans through interdisciplinary research, teaching, and outreach. The center provides a sustainable platform to grow collaboration and exchange between the U.S. and Taiwan, increase visibility in university Taiwan-centered projects, encourage student engagement across disciplines in Taiwan studies, and offer grant support for faculty and graduate student research. The center also connects local and international communities with diverse events and programming to raise awareness of important social issues impacting Taiwan.

 

The grand opening ceremony featured speeches by the donors, the directors, and the dean, as well as a musical performance by Professor Guy and her students. We are grateful to have SANPUY (桑布衣), Aiyun Huang, Michael Jones, and Kosuke Matusda to perform excerpts from “A Thousand Sounds Towards Dawn” by Kuei-Ju Lin. Moreover, we are pleased to have the Formosan Generations Ensemble to performed famous Taiwanese pieces such as “Waiting for the Spring Breeze” (望春風) and “Dance from Lanyang” (蘭陽舞曲). The ceremony also showcased some of the center's achievements and initiatives, such as the Taiwanese Americans Archives project, the Taiwan Studies Lecture Series, and the Taiwan Studies Book Talks. In addition, we appreciate the news coverage from Taiwanese agencies and Taiwanese-American media outlets (Taipei Economics and Cultural Office, Taiwan Daily, Epoch Times, World Journal).

 

(From Left to Right: Director of Taiwan Academy Te-Yuan Chien, TECO Education Director Rebecca Lan, Co-Director Dr. Ping-Hui Liao, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, EVC Elizabeth H. Simmons, Co-Director Dr. Nancy Guy, TECO Technology Director Randy Lee, Arts& Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta. Photo Credit: Department of Arts & Humanities)

(From Left to Right: Director of Taiwan Academy Te-Yuan Chien, TECO Education Director Rebecca Lan, Co-Director Dr. Ping-Hui Liao, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, EVC Elizabeth H. Simmons, Co-Director Dr. Nancy Guy, TECO Science and Technology Division Secretary Randy Lee, Arts& Humanities Dean Cristina Della Coletta. Photo Credit: Department of Arts & Humanities)

 

We thank everyone who attended the ceremony and supported the center's mission. We look forward to working with you in the future to promote Taiwan studies at UCSD and beyond.

 

UCSD Center of Taiwan Studies

 

Taipei Economics and Cultural Office 

Taiwan Daily

Epoch Times

World Journal

 

 

Messages from the Founding Director

 

2023 in Review: The Founding Director’s Year-end Message

UCSD’s Center for Taiwan Studies officially launched on May 6, 2023, with a spectacular grand opening.  Despite the public security and health safety concerns, many of our dear friends and colleagues joined us all the way from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and even Taiwan.  Up to two hundred people turned up for the event.  Chancellor Pradeep Khosla welcomed us in the Presby Concert Hall. Director General Chi of TECO brought a gift on behalf of Minister Wu of the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan, while two of our alumni percussionists performed their world premiered pieces together with the incredible indigenous singer Sangpuy.  Intergenerational Formosa Chamber Music group concluded by demonstrating the dynamics of Taiwanese cultural heritage in transmission. Memorable pictures have since been posted on social media, and follow-up coverages appeared in the newspapers—Epoch, Taiwan Daily, among others. We are very grateful to everyone there, and to those behind the scenes to make the opening such a great success: our generous donors (Dr. Chiu-shan and Rufina Chen), Chancellor’s office, Dean’s office, and my RAs.

 

To many of us, May 6th opening only marked the climax of what the Center for Taiwan Studies at UCSD had been doing all along—book talks, public lectures, concert events, international conferences, and so forth.  We are glad to report that the year 2023 has also presented quite a few of the happy “first” occasions.  Thanks to Dr. Hwalin Lee’s gift, our Center has a full-time staff and an office at the Arts and Humanities Building.   Another endowed chair in Taiwan Studies is being announced at UCSD. Additionally, we begin to attract new donors, such as Warren and Margaret.  And for the first time, I was asked to offer Taiwan Films twice a year instead just once—in the spring quarter, and then in the fall. Both were with huge enrollments.   Throughout the year, I have been busy hosting talks on Taiwan’s presential election and cross Strait relation.  It seems that courses or lecture topics on Taiwan have become among the most popular campuswide, not to mention that Taiwan is constantly in the international news. To quote Vanessa Hope, director of Invisible Nation (2023), one must “visit, see, and love” Taiwan, in siding with its struggle for human rights, democracy, and inclusion in the global community.

 

On Dec. 2, 2023, The Economist zoomed in on two film awards across the Taiwan Strait to reveal “the battle for the future of Chinese cinema.” According to the columnist, the “Golden Horse” vs. the “Golden Rooster” awards reflect the bifurcation of Chinese cinema (and of cultural politics in the Sinophone communities).  Chinese mainstream “Golden Rooster” award only got 179 films entered this year and finished with “patriotic” winners, while the “Golden Horse” in Taiwan had 552 submissions from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan, with a lot of them “thoughtful art-house films, suffused with social criticism.”  Evidently, even Chinese film directors are fed up with their autocratic regime of censorship and nationalistic vanities.

 

Taiwan’s future as a Sinophone cinema hub is increasingly secure, but in 2023 two shock waves rigged Taiwan’s film industry.  Director Hou Hsiao-hsien was reported to have suffered from Alzheimer disease and decided to quit.  Earlier, Wei Te-sheng was tricked into a heavy debt.  Hou is certainly among the most versatile directors who make Taiwan films world famous.  I still remember the ways he said about showing up in the studio ahead of everybody else to make sure all would work fine and to stay toward the very end of the shooting sessions to sweep the floor.  During his short visit to San Diego three years ago, director Wei told us that his wife and he would move around on a moped (not a BMW!), just to save every penny for a movie production.  Fortunately, he pulled through and now has a new film in hand (and with several under preparation.)

 

2023 saw two wars raging (one in Ukraine, and another in Gaza), on top of global warming, inflation, earthquakes, and many other catastrophes.  But gloom appears to have turned into boom, with stock markets reaching a record high.  As always, Taiwan shows itself to be persevering and resilient.  For years to come, our Center would carry on telling our stories and footsteps, to enable the world to see why and how Taiwan matters.   However, we also like to offer comparative, international, and interdisciplinary perspectives on Taiwan studies, by examining the island state’s real strengths and weaknesses.

 

We start 2024 with a Jan. 18 public forum on Taiwan’s presidential election results and impact. Speakers include Prof. Susan Shirk (UCSD), Thomas Gold (UC Berkeley), and others.   Then, we explore the future of Taiwan-Fulbright exchange programs on Jan. 26, to be followed by Prof. Wendy Cheng’s book talk on the Cold War Taiwan.   Several international conferences and workshops are being planned for the summer.  However, our focus this year will be to promote Taiwanese/Taiwanese American oral history documentaries. Please let us know if you should have any questions or suggestions about these projects.

 

At the end of this tumultuous year, we wish you and families all the very best.

 

Happy Holidays! And A Most Wonderful New Year Ahead!

 

 Cordially,

 Ping-hui Liao, PhD

 Chuan Lyu Endowed Chair

 Founding Director

 Center for Taiwan Studies

 University of California, San Diego

 

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A Year-end Message from the Founding Director 
Center for Taiwan Studies
University of California, San Diego

 

Dear All:

 

Happy Holidays!

 

At the end of the year 2022, we would like to express our deep appreciations of the donors (Chui-Shan and Rufina Chen; Bob and Jean Cheng; Hwalin Lee) for their generous gifts.  We should also acknowledge that we owe a lot to a transitional team who has worked meticulously and tirelessly from different locations over the last two years to help incorporate Taiwanese American Achieves into our Center website, on top of transferring related photo albums to the Geisel library’s digital resources: Jeff Chen, Judy Chen, Knight Chen, Xi Chen, Tony Hsieh, Ashley Lee, James Lee, and in particular, Susan Liu.  Together with several of our research assistants—Brandon, Jason, and Zach, they render UCSD a hub in Taiwan and Taiwanese American studies, in sharing not only important historical images, or Taiwanese American Who’s Who bio entries, but discussions on the changing status of China-Taiwan-US relationship, book talks, film showcase, and public events, among others, around Taiwan and Taiwanese America.

 

It has been a great pleasure to offer online blogs and archival narratives such as “Our Stories” and “Our Journeys” to the public, as they show inspiring paths taken by Taiwanese Americans in their everyday life that quietly (and often consequentially) transform the community, making the world a better place.  A famous physician couple, for instance, have devoted almost their entire lives to taking care of others.  However, as they age and develop symptoms they know only too well for comfort, they must learn to cultivate the art of self-care and to accommodate a late style.  Their nuanced life lessons are both heart-warming and instructive.  As a matter of fact, there are far too many stories like this one, but unfortunately relatively little known in the social media despite their tremendous impact. 

 

Of course, news of Taiwanese Americans winning a mayoral or congressional race would go public, but from time to time it is tragic incidents like the assassination attempt on a Taiwanese president or a medical doctor sacrificing himself to save the lives of others that get broadcasted.  In part a critical response to this, our Taiwanese American History (TAH) archives raise consciousness that the world can be better off if people get to know more about the achievements and diasporic experiences (including fears and hopes) of Taiwanese Americans in their professional fields, private lives, and communal contributions.  That is, about the ways in which Taiwanese/Taiwanese Americans develop good will and cultivate agency in resisting racism, in taking up freedom and responsibilities.

 

The questions of agency are constantly raised in our book talks hosted by the Center for Taiwan Studies.  A historical novel on the Rover Incident (1867), for one, reveals how ethnic, place, and narrative identities got constituted as the native tribal people witnessed how the Qing general and American diplomat used them just for their politically motivated self-gain.  (Regrettably, the dubious legacy continues.) Ethically reawakened though shocked, the local were forced to resort to oral tradition to keep their stories alive, so that the truth could be told.  Such a local and global cultural dialectics is a theme that prevails over our books talks—Hsiau’s book on 1970s nativism and social movements, for one.  In contrast, Two Countries by Mr. Li-pei Wu reveals a very different trajectory in highlighting ways to be competitive while engaged and collaborative in winning over international friends.  Through him, the ties between Taiwan and the US become increasingly much closer.   In yet another case study, a cold war militarized offshore island presents a mixed picture of war and peace, with its residents living in fears from 1947 on, traumatized by battlefield devastations and almost endless anti-Communist campaigns, but as of now, they entertain hopes of co-prosperity as promised by cross Trait talks and trade. Apparently, the citizens learn how to mediate between fears and hopes, to come up with more flexible identity stances.  In fact, the most recent general election result in Taiwan seems to echo such a change in mentality across major cities and counties.

 

Throughout the year, we have been very fortunate to be able to integrate projects, to host events, and to designate Formosa Intergenerational Family Chamber Music Group as our first group of artists in residence.  Though active mostly locally, the Group has played vital roles in transnational charity events, sending love to Kenya or Ukraine, for example.  We will invite the Group back to participate in the Grand Opening tentatively scheduled for the early May, in addition to hosting more forthcoming book talks and workshops.  Please stay tuned.

 

Sadly, we also suffered loss of several dear friends in 2022.   Our condolences and prayers go to the Tsuang and Zhang families.  Professor Ming Tsuang and his wife Snow contributed generously to many events on Taiwan.  Ming was instrumental in establishing Taiwanese Language Program at Harvard University, and later in setting up the Chuan Lyu Endowed Chair in Taiwan Studies at UCSD.  Through family channels, we heard that Snow passed away peacefully on October 10.  In the memorial service, our priest friend reassured us that in spite of the insufferable loss and pain, Professor Tsuang showed great strength and the will to live, to complete his research projects.  We wish him well.

 

We learned rather belatedly that Professor Yingjin Zhang, formerly Literature Department Chair, died in Shanghai suddenly on June 15.  Yingjin was most supportive of Taiwan Studies Center from the very beginning.  He helped me to initiate in 2011 a proposal to establish a Taiwan/Sinophone Studies center.  Four years later, Professor Lei Liang (of Music) joined us to talk to the administrators about such a center.  Dean of the Arts and Humanities was particularly surprised to find that Yingjin and Lei should provide more than enthusiastic stamps of endorsement for a Taiwan center, even though both were originally from mainland China. It is only when we came up with 5 million as committed by Chiu-shan and Rufina in 2021 that the Center got launched. Upon hearing the news, Yingjin was the first to congratulate us. Before his untimely death, Yingjin teamed up with Professor Kuei-fen Chiu of National Chung-hsing to publish at least three books on Taiwanese documentary film, Taiwan cinema, and world literature of the Sinosphere.  He will certainly be missed.

 

I am sure our dear friends are now looking over us from heaven to whisper with a big smile: “Fuel up” to bring forth more good work 加油!Please stay healthy and happy 平安喜樂!

 

With all of these in the background, we wish everybody a wonderful and productive year ahead!

 

All the very best,

Ping-hui Liao, PhD

Founding Director

Center for Taiwan Studies

Chuan Lyu Endowed Chair in Taiwan Studies

Literature Department, UCSD