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Despite Taiwan's rise as an economic force in the world, modernity has not led to a Weberian process of disenchantment or curbed religiosity. To the contrary, other factors--social, economic, political--have stimulated religion. How and why this has happened are central issues in this book.

One part of Taiwan's flourishing religious culture is the elaborate and colorful procession of local gods accompanied by troupes of musicians and dancers. Among them are performers with outlandishly painted faces portraying underworld generals who serve the gods and punish the living. Through their performances, these troupes claim to exorcise harmful forces from the community.

In conducting fieldwork among these troupes, Donald Sutton confronted their claims to a long history--when all evidence indicated that the troupes had been insignificant until the 1970s--and their assertions of devotion to tradition given the diversity of performances. Concentrating on the stylistic variations in performances, the author describes the troupes as organizations shaped by the "market forces" of supply and demand in the culture of religious festivals. By focusing on performances as the nexus of market and art, he shows how bodily performance is the site where religious statements are made and the power of the gods made visible. ... Read more

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This book analyses the efforts throughout East Asia to deploy education for purposes of political socialization, and in particular in order to shape notions of identity. The chapters also examine the trend of ‘common textbook initiatives’, which have recently emerged in East Asia with the aim of helping to defuse tensions arguably fuelled by existing practices of mutual (mis)representation. These are analysed in relation to the East Asian political context, and compared with previous and ongoing endeavours in other parts of the world, particularly Europe, which have been keenly observed by East Asian practitioners. Written by a group of international education experts, chapters discuss the enduring focus on the role of curricula in inculcating homogenous visions of the national self, and indeed homogenized visions of significant 'others'.

Including contributions from scholars and curriculum developers involved personally in the writing of national and multi-national history textbooks this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian education, Asian history and comparative education studies.

Gotelind Müller is Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany

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Jennifer M. Wei argues that construction and perceptions of language and identity parallel socio-political transformations, and that language and identity crises arise during power transitions. Under these premises, language and identity are never well-defined or well-bounded. Instead, they are best viewed as political symbols subject to manipulation and exploitation during socio-historical upheavals. A choice of language--from phonological shibboleth, Mandarin, or Taiwanese, to choice of official language--cuts to the heart of contested cultural notions of self and other, with profound implications for nationalism, national unity and ethno-linguistic purism. Wei further argues that because of the Chinese Diaspora and Taiwan's connections to China and the United States, arguments and sentiments over language choice and identity have consequences for Taiwan's international and transnational status. They are symbolic acts of imagining Taiwan's past as she looks forward to the future. ... Read more

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The rapid growth of Taiwan’s postwar “miracle” economy is most frequently credited to the leading role of the state in promoting economic development. Megan Greene challenges this standard interpretation in the first in-depth examination of the origins of Taiwan’s developmental state.

Greene examines the ways in which the Guomindang state planned and promoted scientific and technical development both in mainland China between 1927 and 1949 and on Taiwan after 1949. Using industrial science policy as a lens, she shows that the state, even during its most authoritarian periods, did not function as a monolithic entity. State planners were concerned with maximizing the use of Taiwan’s limited resources for industrial development. Political leaders, on the other hand, were most concerned with the state’s political survival. The developmental state emerged gradually as a result of the combined efforts of technocrats and outsiders, including academicians and foreign advisors. Only when the political leadership put its authority and weight behind the vision of these early planners did Taiwan’s developmental state fully come into being.

In Taiwan’s combination of technocratic expertise and political authoritarianism lie implications for our understanding of changes taking place in mainland China today.

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Laliberté looks at a relatively unexplored aspect of modern Taiwan: the influence of religion on politics. This book offers a detailed survey of three of the most important Buddhist organizations in Taiwan: the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (BAROC), the Buddha Light Mountain (or Foguanshan) monastic order, and the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Association (or Ciji). It examines their contrasting approaches to three issues: state supervision of religion, the first presidential election of 1996, and the establishment of the National Health Insurance.

This study analyzes the factors that explain the diverse paths the three organizations have taken in the politics of Taiwan. Based on an in-depth examination of Buddhist leaders' behaviour, The Politics of Buddhist Organizations in Taiwan compels us to question conventional views about the allegedly passive aspect of religious tradition, deference to authority in societies influenced by Confucian culture and the adverse legacy of authoritarian regimes. ... Read more

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Under an Imperial Sun examines literary,linguistic, and cultural representations of Japan's colonial South(nanpo). Building on the most recent scholarship from Japan,Taiwan, and the West, it takes a cross-cultural, multidisciplinary,comparative approach that considers the views of both colonizer andcolonized as expressed in travel accounts and popular writing as wellas scholarly treatments of the area's cultures and customs. Readersare introduced to the work of Japanese writers Hayashi Fumiko andNakajima Atsushi, who spent time in the colonial South, and expatriateNishikawa Mitsuru, who was raised and educated in Taiwan and tried tocapture the essence of Taiwanese culture in his fictional andethnographic writing. The effects of colonial language policy on themultilingual environment of Taiwan are discussed, as well as the roleof language as a tool of imperialism and as a vehicle through whichJapan's southern subjects expressed their identity--one that bridgedTaiwanese and Japanese views of self.

Struggling with these often conflicting views, Taiwanese authors,including the Nativists Yang Kui and Lu Heruo and Imperial Subjectwriters Zhou Jinpo and Chen Huoquan, expressed personal and societaldifferences in their writing. This volume looks closely at their livesand works and considers the reception of this literature--the Japaneselanguage literature of Japan's colonies--both in Japan and in theformer colonies. Finally, it asks: What do these works tell us aboutthe specific example of cultural hybridity that arose inJapanese-occupied Taiwan and what relevance does this have to theglobal phenomenon of cultural hybridity viewed through a postcoloniallens?

Simultaneously broad and admirably nuanced, Under an ImperialSun incorporates sophisticated scholarship with primary materialsto present a rich and complex picture of the workings of colonialism. ... Read more

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Taiwan has come a long way since the establishment of the Chiang Kai-shek Government on the Island in 1949. It is no longer what it used to be. From a poor resource-less, isolated and authoritarian country, it has, within a span of fifty years, been transformed into a modern, and a democratic society possessing all the characteristics of a viable State. Today, it has established relations with many countries of the world, has developed into a society comparable to some of the European countries, enjoys a high degree of stability, and has successfully established a democratic system. No other country has achieved such a remarkable success in so short a time. It is indeed an impressive and unprecedented performance. The period of transition was difficult, but the miracle is that it was remarkably conducted.The book is all about this with a particular focus on Taiwan's relations with the outside world, and how the high walls of isolation were broken down. This is indeed a unique experiment carried out in a unique way.The particularity of the book lies in the fact that it explains exoterically the totality of Taiwan's foreign Relations. ... Read more

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These volumes provide an extensive and reliable research source for study of a 100-year period of Taiwanese history. The early reports cover the nineteenth-century years of Formosa as a part of China, as well as the brief period of independence in 1895, followed by the period up to World War II as a Japanese colony. The post-war reports are valuable in documenting the struggle between the Kuomintang, led by Chiang-kai-shek, and the Communist forces of Mao-tse-tung. The Nationalists, defeated on the mainland, brought to Taiwan the flag which had been adopted as the national flag of China from 1928-1949. These reports provide contemporary accounts of the military tensions of the early 1950s, the rivalry over the Chinese heritage and the unresolved status of Taiwan. The reports give a balanced picture of the different political and ethnic constituents in Taiwanese history, with information on the Chinese, Japanese and aboriginal communities. ... Read more

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This collection of essays, edited by leading scholars in the field, focuses on how expressive genres such as music, dance and poetry are of enduring significance to social organization. Research from New Guinea, Indonesia and Taiwan is used to assess how historical changes modify these forms of expression to adjust to the social and political needs of the moment. The volume is unique in exploring the significance of expressive genres for the social processes of coping with and adjusting to change, either from outside forces or from internal ones. The contributions detail first-hand fieldwork, often conducted over a period of many years, and with each contributor bringing their experience to bear on both the aesthetic and the analytical aspects of their materials. Comparative in scope, the volume covers Austronesian and non-Austronesian speakers in the wider Indo-Pacific region. ... Read more

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Dissecting the contentious relationship between Taiwan and China, this book aims to integrate the complex history of the region with the most pressing modern-day problems that define this cross-strait relationship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent Primer on a Complex Geopolitical Issue
I would strongly recommend this excellent book for anyone who seriously wants to read about one of the most complex geopolitical issues affecting security in Asia and Sino-US relations.

Mr. Bush served as head of the American Institute in Taiwan ("AIT"), the organization established by Congress in the 1970s to handle relations between the US and the ROC authorities controlling Taiwan after the US switched formal diplomatic recognition to the PRC.As a part of his duties, Mr. Bush repeatedly met with the highest members of the political establishment in Taiwan as well as with the most senior US policy makers under the Clinton and Bush (II) administrations.Mr. Bush's book provides the reader with a very readable, detailed and accurate description of the historic background and current political dilemmas raised by the current division of authority on each side of the Taiwan Strait.He dispassionately and accurately summarizes the variousgeographical, historic, political, economic, legal, cultural, linguistic and social factors impacting and shaping the acrimonious relations between the authorities in the Beijing and Taipei. His description of those complex issues and their interactions within the context of cross strait relations is one of the most objective and clear-sighted descriptions I've yet read.Mr. Bush also deftly analyses the role of the US government within the context of cross strait relations and on Sino-US relations in general.In particular, Bush relies on solid facts as evidenced by the excellent citations to varied sources, including open source press materials, observations of leading political figures with whom he has personally met, various treatises and policy papers by Chinese, Taiwanese and US analysts. Moreover, and despite another reviewer's rather silly comments to the contrary, Bush's grasp of the public international law issues is quite good and based on his professional experience and extensive interaction with public international legal specialists, both inside and outside of the United States government.Bush's description of these legal issues further illustrates the complexities dogging the resolution of this complex issue.While I may not entirely agree with all of his conclusions on the role the US can play in bringing about a resolution to the issue of reunification, I found this work to be a worthy addition to the limited corpus of works on this critical issue.

I should add that I was an official with the AIT from 1998-2000 though I never met Mr. Bush in person.Before that I spent several years in Asia working for the US government, both as military officer and later as diplomat.I've traveledextensively in China, and have many Chinese and Taiwanese friends, in and out of their respective governments, with whom I've discussed the issues related to cross strait relations.In short, I've been intimately involved with cross strait relations and Sino-US relations for some time and strongly believe that Bush's book is worth the five stars I gave above.

No Knots are Untied with Mr. Bush's latest opus
"Untying the Knot" enjoyed a brief popularity in Taiwan, however the book does not pose any new solutions for the problems in the Taiwan Strait.These problems have been with us for over fifty years.

I will be quite direct and say that Mr. Bush has a very very limited understanding of international law issues, and his limited understanding is especially noticeable when he tries to discuss the "Taiwan sovereignty" issue.

Contrasingly, reading through the sixteen pages of documentation in a new lawsuit filed in late Oct. 2006 in Washington D.C. shows a much more complete picture, and offers some truly "creative thinking" on all related issues.This new lawsuit advances a little-known but surprisingly coherent rationale under international law to say that Taiwan is "an overseas territory under the jurisdiction of the USA."A summary of the lawsuit is here -- [...]

Perhaps Mr. Bush would be interested in studying these court documents, and other related background information on the internet, and then writing up an Addendum for his book !!My friends and I will look forward to seeing a revised version of "Untying the Knot" in the not too distant future.

Good choices going forward!
The author did a good job explaining the history of the 56-year conflict of the two sides. From 1991 to 2004, Taiwan invested a total of $78 billion USDollars in China and cross-strait trade was about the same amount. With no suicide bomber or mass murders of Taiwan investors, the two sides are still at odds with the political deadlock. Issues on sovereignty, security, independence vs unification, the leverage game, US factor.. were covered in depth. People in Taiwan followed the Japanese and US business model, the economy boomed for 40 years.Now that the middle class in China is doing the same thing, that is about 100 million out of 1.3 billion people.Again, the two sides are very different.Untying the knot will be at least 20+ years when the majority of 1.3 billion are catching up as middle class in China. ... Read more

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As the British relinquish control of Hong Kong, the economic relationship among the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, and Hong Kong becomes especially significant. Despite political and diplomatic tensions, this relationship has grown phenomenally in recent years and continues to prosper. Known as the "China Circle," it is an important emerging economic region that cuts across political boundaries.

This book is the first comprehensive study of the underlying economic dynamics that make the China Circle not only possible, but hugely successful. Yun-wing Sung, Barry Naughton, and Kong Yam Tan analyze the macroeconomic issues in each of the political entities that make up the China Circle. Michael Borrus, Chin Chung, Jean Franois Huchet, and Dieter Ernst focus one of the region's leading industries, electronics. With rapid changes in technology, firm strategy, and global markets driving its continuous restructuring, the electronics industry offers a detailed view of the factors that are shaping the region as a whole.

To provide a complete economic picture of the China Circle today--and possible future developments--the contributors explore key issues including emerging divisions of labor, developing trade and investment patterns, and the effect of Hong Kong's return to China in July 1997.

Written in an open and accessible style, the book is especially timely and more in-depth than anything currently available. ... Read more

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Born in Japanese-occupied Taiwan, raised in the scholarly traditions of ancient China by his grandfather but forced into the Japanese educational system, Hu Taiming, the protagonist ofOrphan of Asia, ultimately finds himself estranged from all three cultures. Wu's autobiographical novel, completed in 1945, is widely regarded as a classic of modern Asian literature and a groundbreaking expression of the postwar Taiwanese national consciousness. Originally written in Japanese and now translated into English for the first time,Orphan of Asia offers a powerful depiction of the political, cultural, and psychological impact of colonialism.

Orphan of Asia begins during Taiming's childhood in Taiwan, which has been annexed to Japan only recently. Taiming eventually makes his mark in the colonial Japanese educational system and graduates from a prestigious college. However, he finds that his Japanese education and his adoption of modern ways have alienated him from his family and native village. He becomes a teacher in the Japanese colonial system but soon realizes that there is something seriously wrong with the status quo. He quits his post but finds that, having repudiated his roots, he doesn't seem to belong anywhere.

Thus begins Taiming's long journey for his rightful place. But neither in Japan, where he goes to study physics in the belief that technology represents the future, nor in mainland China, where he marries and has a daughter, does he ever come to feel at home or find his calling. Although he assiduously avoids politics, Taiming can't help being caught up in the conflicts that shaped modern East Asian history. He is accused of spying for both China and Japan after hostilities breakout between the two countries, and he witnesses the effects of Japanese imperial expansion, the horrors of war, and the sense of anger and powerlessness felt by those living under colonial rule.

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In the fourth edition of Taiwan: Nation-State or Province? Professor Copper examines Taiwan's geography and history, its society and culture, its economy, its political system, and its foreign and security policies in the context of Taiwan's uncertain political status: whether a sovereign nation or a province of the People's Republic of China. Copper argues that Taiwan's very rapid and successful democratization (while leaders in Beijing oppose democratic change) suggests Taiwan should be independent and separate from China; increasingly important economic links between Taiwan and China says the opposite. Professor Copper argues that exacerbating this problem Washington and Beijing espouse opposing policies regarding resolution of the "Taiwan issue" and that has made the Taiwan Strait the world's number one "flashpoint" (place where major powers collide and where war using weapons of mass destruction may be used). This matter has been recently been given further salience by the shift of political power to Chen Shui-bian who was elected president in 2000 and the victory of his opposition party, which has long advocated an independent Taiwan, in the 2001 legislative election and by America's growing perception of a "China danger" and concern about Beijing's military expansion that is in large part aimed at Taiwan. Taiwan: Nation-State or Province? is unlike other books of this genre pursues the theme of Taiwan's unique status and seeks to gauge its future as one of the world's vortex political entities.Praise for the previous editions ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Essential reading if you want to understand Taiwan.
Although the book's organization resembles a textbook too much, theinformation is invaluable. Given that there is a mountain of booksavailable on China it is extremely helpful to read something about thefirst Chinese democracy. While I enjoyed the book as a whole I wasparticularly interested in the story of Taiwan's evolution fromdictatorship to democracy. This is especially cool because Taiwan is stillstrengthening its democracy.No other book examines Taiwan in such depth,which is not as great a compliment as it sounds since only a handful ofbooks really examine modern Taiwan. ... Read more

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This work, written by an expert in the politics of Mainland China and Taiwan, looks at the role the Constitution of the Republic of China has played in the development of Taiwan since 1949 and its potential influence on the People's Republic of China.The Chinese Communists conducted the first long march for the sake of the majority of Chinese people, with the victory of MAO Zedong. In the second long march, CHIANG Kai-shek and his successors tried to convert the Chinese mailand from a Communist, totalitarian system, into a democratic, prosperous one by relying on the spirit of the Republic of China (ROC) constitution and by setting itself as a good example, in gradually guaranteeing freedom and democracy. Needless to say, this march is long and difficult."Struggling Against The Chinese Communists under the Republic of China Constitution" challenges other models and theories on the study of the relationship between the ROC (Taiwan area) and mainland China or the People's Republic of China (PRC) since China became politically (as opposed to legally) divided in December 1949.Arguably, it is the ROC Constitution that has helped ROC citizens to live in a non-Communist or anti-Communist political system. Actively promoting democracy and freedom on the Chinese mainland (neidi) can further guarantee the Taiwan area's survival.The book provides valuable scholarship of interest to anyone researching the political history of China and its prospects for democratization. ... Read more

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Rambling, unconvincing
Modern Chinese history, Yu Peter Kien-hong argues, can be divided into two defining periods -- the First Long March, led by Communist leader Mao Zedong to "liberate peasants and farmers," and the Second Long March, in which non- and anti-communists sought to "promote full-fledged and mature constitutional democracy" in China.

Yu, a professor at Ming Chuan University, posits that Taiwan and "mainland China" are both part of the Republic of China (ROC). Both Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC), though they have engaged in different, lesser marches since, are bound by the same destiny, in the form of the ROC Constitution, to "reunite" at one point. As the ROC was never dissolved, the PRC is a derivative of, or partial successor to, the ROC. In other words, it did not completely replace the ROC, meaning that it can only claim sovereignty over Taiwan as part of the ROC.

To make his point, Yu walks us through the marches led by Chiang Kai-shek, Yan Chia-kan, Chiang Ching-kuo, Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, arguing that despite great contests of power and changing times, the leadership in Taiwan -- which throughout the book the author annoyingly refers to as "Taiwan area" -- nevertheless continued to adhere to the ROC Constitution, which in his view has worked quite well in its "struggle" against the CCP.

While not shying away from criticizing the Chiangs and Lee, Yu shows his true political colors in his description of Chen, whose election engendered a "political mess plus scandals of one type or another," and who did a "terrible job" as president. Yu's problem, however, is that in the 35 pages he dedicates to the Chen march, he fails to show us why his tenure was so terrible, relying on the 2004 shooting incident -- a favorite of deep blues in their attacks on the former president -- to somehow make his point. Here, as in many books written by KMT sympathizers, the pan-blue camp's scorched earth tactics in the legislature, which often prevented the executive from governing, are papered over.

It is more likely, therefore, that Yu's unfavorable characterization of Chen lies in the fact that the latter was the leader who came closest to abandoning the

so-called Second March by forsaking the ROC Constitution in his efforts to create a Republic of Taiwan (ROT). Doing so would have destroyed, once and for all, the theory -- now on life support -- that "mainland China" and Taiwan are two parts of the ROC.

As long as Taiwan adheres to the Constitution, written under much different times in 1947, it is possible to hope, as Yu does, that at some point in future it will be possible for the two sides to "reunite." As this is ostensibly Yu's preferred scenario, Chen's pro-Taiwan ideology was therefore a threat. This prompts him into reminding us, though he is wrong, as it turns out, that Ma Ying-jeou's victory in 2008 was a "severe warning" sent by the "majority" of voters in the pan-blue camp "that the ROC [i.e., Taiwan] cannot abandon mainland sovereignty." We all know, of course, that the majority of people who voted for Ma did so because he promised to revive the economy and improve relations with Beijing, not because of some deep-felt desire to claim sovereignty over China.

For all his opposition to Chen's efforts to create a Republic of Taiwan -- which like the PRC could arguably be seen as a "successor" of the ROC -- Yu fails to mention that in 1954 Beijing adopted its own Constitution of the People's Republic of China, which rather than draw from the ROC Constitution, is modeled after the Constitution of the Soviet Union, written in 1936. We can therefore argue that the disconnect that obviated the ROC Constitution was not caused by the Taiwanese independence movement, but rather by the enactment of the PRC Constitution, the latest version of which was adopted in 1982. Yu would be extremely naive if he thought that "reunification" would occur under terms other than the PRC's -- that is, under the ROC framework he advocates.

Equally unpersuasive is Yu's argument that the KMT should join forces with like-minded elements in China in fostering full democracy, efforts that surely would take us closer to war in the Taiwan Strait than anything the Lee and Chen administrations ever did in the name of Taiwanese independence. Toward the book's end, Yu himself admits that the CCP prioritizes its hold on power and only sees the possibility of democracy "with Chinese characteristics" at some distant point in the future. He also ignores the impact that more than 110 years of separate rule has had on identity in Taiwan and people's desire to link their destinies with a regime that, to all, is an alien one.

Sadly, the relatively simple -- and by no means original -- theory at the core of The Second Long March is marred by damnably poor editing and the author's tendency to jump from one point to another without any seeming connection between them, which is distracting and often confusing. Outrageous passages, such as his claim that 650,000 natives of Taiwan -- or one-tenth of the population -- were slaughtered by Imperial Japanese forces during the colonial period (the figure is closer to 30,000, according to many experts, while only Chinese propaganda supports such numbers), serve to discredit Yu and raise questions about the intentions of his badly written, flawed and ultimately unconvincing his book.

(Originally published in the Taipei Times, Sunday, December 6, 2009, page 14.) ... Read more

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This comprehensive volume features essays on education in modern Taiwan, each coauthored by a Chinese scholar and an American counterpart. The work furthers understanding and communication between two diverse cultures. The focus is on how another society is attempting to deal with issues in education currently being addressed in Western academic and political circles. Taiwan is a particularly good example for educators in the United States to study because the country is one of the most dynamic, fast changing and economically viable societies in the world, using the vehicle of education successfully. ... Read more

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This book explores the remarkable religious renaissance that has reformed, revitalized, and renewed the practices of Buddhism and Daoism in Taiwan. Democracy's Dharma connects these noteworthy developments to Taiwan's transition to democracy and the burgeoning needs of its new middle classes. Richard Madsen offers fresh thinking on Asian religions and shows that the public religious revival was not only encouraged by the early phases of the democratic transition but has helped to make that transition successful and sustainable. Madsen makes his argument through vivid case studies of four groups--Tzu Chi (the Buddhist Compassion Relief Association), Buddha's Light Mountain, Dharma Drum Mountain, and the Enacting Heaven Temple--and his analysis demonstrates that the Taiwan religious renaissance embraces a democratic modernity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great overview of Far East.Focus on China and Taiwan.
The author's focus is primarily China and Taiwan.However, I learned the most from his coverage of Japan and North Korea.I commend him on his selection of material and consistency of scope.The writing is direct and to the point, nothing fancy.The book is both concise and well written enough to read straight through.A scholar of any one country would probably not find enough meat, but as a regional overview for those interested in understanding the area's dynamics, the book is outstanding.Below is the table of contents:

Introduction
U.S. Interests and Flashpoints of East Asia
The Japanese Military
The Chinese Military
The Taiwanese Military
The South Korean Military
The North Korean Military
Conclusion ... Read more