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This is a collection of papers on philosophy of science,conceptual history of science, and sociology of science written byTaiwanese scholars. It is perhaps one of the best, written byTaiwanese, in all Chinese-speaking societies. Some works in it showOrientals study topics that are typically Western philosophy ofscience. Others show how traditional topics in the history of Chinesescience (mathematics, optics, and geology) could be studied with highsensitivity to the philosophy and sociology of science. It alsotouches upon issues of the `autonomous' development of social sciencesin Taiwan, a society whose academic researches are greatly influencedby the West. This collection will prove stimulating and valuable togeneral and scholarly readers alike who are interested in philosophyand history of science, especially as related to East Asia and theWest.
The book will interest scholars in philosophy of science, philosophyof language and psychology, studies of philosophy of science in thethird world, history of Chinese science, history of science in EastAsia, and history of mathematics.
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This is the first explanation and evaluation of Taiwan’s defence forces and infrastructure. It examines not only Taiwan’s armed forces, but also its Ministry of National Defence, personnel issues, and civil-military relations.

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Taiwan's Military Prowess Laid Bare
In Taiwan's Security: History and Prospects, US Navy veteran Bernard Cole (unrelated to this reviewer) offers an unusually in-depth assessment of the many facets of Taiwan's defense establishment. While many publications have approached the subject from a quantitative perspective - how many tanks, aircraft, missiles and men Beijing would be capable of deploying against Taiwan in a symmetrical warfare scenario - Cole's book bores deep into Taiwanese society and highlights a series of social and institutional factors that would influence the outcome of a war with China.

Laying out the foundations to his argument, Cole contends that Taiwan's strategic positioning can be broken down into four phases - civil war; the 1949 to 1972 period of focusing on retaking China; the 1973 to 1990 transition from an offensive strategy to a defensive one; and the post-1991 emphasis on all-out defense. Parallel to these has been tutelage by the US, which while fearing that Chiang Kai-shek's () military adventurism in the 1950s risked sucking Washington into a war with China, nevertheless made great contributions to the modernization of the Taiwanese military.

Following his brief though sufficient historical overview, Cole then turns to the Chinese threat to Taiwan, one that has exploded in recent years with a leap in Beijing's modernization of its forces and renewed confidence in the place it occupies on the geopolitical map. Although, in Cole's view, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) continues to be dominated by army officers, a recent shift toward the PLA Air Force (PLAAF), accompanied by the acquisition and indigenous development of fourth-generation aircraft, increases the possibility of a military attack against Taiwan. The introduction of Russian-made Su-27s and Su-30s in the PLAAF also means that for the first time in years China could pose a serious challenge to Taiwan's F-16s and Mirage 2000s over the control of airspace across the Strait, although the proficiency of Chinese pilots remains in doubt.

The modernization of the PLA Navy also means that the balance of naval power in the Taiwan Strait is now in Beijing's favor. Cole argues that given Taiwan's geographical situation, mine warfare represents an especially serious threat to its economy and one it is ill-prepared and ill-equipped to deal with. China is also actively seeking aircraft carriers and mid-air refueling platforms, which would provide the PLAAF with the ability to attack Taiwan in an enveloping fashion rather than from a single direction.

In the past decade, Beijing has also markedly increased the number of DF-11 and DF-15 missiles it has deployed against Taiwan, which in his New Year speech President Chen Shui-bian () said now amounted to more than 1,300. Formidable though this threat may be, Cole argues, Taiwan's ballistic-missile defense systems, complemented by the ongoing relocation and hardening of high-value targets, could make it likelier that a missile attack against Taiwan would not be devastating. However, he notes that China has actively pursued the development of cruise missiles, which are much more difficult to intercept.

Cole follows his exposition of the PLA threat with a thorough, cubicle-by-cubicle look at the Taiwanese military establishment, dissecting one organization after another and explaining their roles and challenges, all the while emphasizing the need for greater cooperation and integration between the services. While this section is unlikely to appeal to the general reader, it nevertheless symbolizes Taiwan's openness to discuss these matters with researchers like Cole - something that would be unimaginable on the PRC side - and willingness to learn and improve.

Where Cole's book really stands out from other publications is in its analysis of the impact democratization, civilianization of the military and the attempt to achieve an all-volunteer service have had on Taiwan's military preparedness and ability to defend itself. Likening the Democratic Progressive Party administration's commendable, albeit daunting, attempt to create a professional defense bureaucracy to the US implemention of the Defense Reorganization Act of 1947 and the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 simultaneously, Cole nevertheless identifies deficiencies in the process: a lack of funding and the failure, so far, to attract enough volunteers. Compulsory service, now at 12 months, is also far too short, in Cole's assessment, to provide soldiers with the training they need to operate in a 21st-century military. There is little doubt that democracy imposes an additional burden on national defense, as seen for example in the battle over the special arms acquisition budget and overall defense spending - something the authoritarian regime in Beijing does not have to contend with - versus other national concerns such as development and the environment.

Throughout his book, Cole also touches on a shift in Taiwan's posture from one of "passive defense" to "active defense," wherein Taipei's strategy would be to present Beijing with a credible deterrent and take the battle away from Taiwan and into China. Although this remains controversial, Taiwan's development of offensive weapons such as the Hsiung Feng III, the Hsiung Feng IIE and Tien Kung III, as well as "blackout" bombs, represents a step in that direction and recognition on Taiwan's part that purely defensive action against an overwhelming adversary might not be feasible. Aside from obvious military targets in the PRC identified by Cole, such as missile batteries and command centers, China's current fuel shortage and how this would affect its ability to sustain an attack on Taiwan should inspire Taipei to look at the possibility of targeting fuel depots there.

In the end, Cole argues, Taiwan must decide how much capital and human resources it is willing to invest in its defenses, which sends a message to its allies about how serious it is about protecting its hard-earned democracy. Although the US remains a committed ally, its responsibilities elsewhere mean that a speedy US intervention in the Taiwan Strait should not be taken for granted. Building a capability to hold the line for 15 days - Taipei's current strategy - therefore might not be enough.

(Originally published in the Taipei Times, Jan. 13, 2008, page 18.) ... Read more

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The first study of colonial Taiwan in English, this volume brings together seventeen essays by leading scholars to construct a comprehensive cultural history of Taiwan under Japanese rule. Contributors from the United States, Japan, and Taiwan explore a number of topics through a variety of theoretical, comparative, and postcolonial perspectives, painting a complex and nuanced portrait of a pivotal time in the formation of Taiwanese national identity.

Essays are grouped into four categories: rethinking colonialism and modernity; colonial policy and cultural change; visual culture and literary expressions; and from colonial rule to postcolonial independence. Their unique analysis considers all elements of the Taiwanese colonial experience, concentrating on land surveys and the census; transcolonial coordination; the education and recruitment of the cultural elite; the evolution of print culture and national literature; the effects of subjugation, coercion, discrimination, and governmentality; and the root causes of the ethnic violence that dominated the postcolonial era.

The contributors encourage readers to rethink issues concerning history and ethnicity, cultural hegemony and resistance, tradition and modernity, and the romancing of racial identity. Their examination not only provides a singular understanding of Taiwan's colonial past, but also offers insight into Taiwan's relationship with China, Japan, and the United States today.

Focusing on a crucial period in which the culture and language of Taiwan, China, and Japan became inextricably linked,Taiwan Under Japanese Colonial Rule effectively broadens the critique of colonialism and modernity in East Asia.

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Cultural Comlexities from Tokyo to Taipei/Taihoku
This book brings together in one volume a fine collection of readably scholarly articles by professors in Taiwan, Japan, and America on the subject of, well, just as it says, Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule--a potentially contentious subject indeed, and yet deeply fascinating and seriously significant, as this book itself amply demonstrates. The overall tone gets it just right too, striving neither to rantingly condemn Japan's colonial aggression nor blithely whitewash it, but rather to understand it in all of its complexity--especially the complicated and convoluted cultural interactions occasioned by this historical situation and their reverberating effects on people's sense of identity (both colonized and colonizers). The articles are too many and multifarious to properly summarize here, but many deal with literature and art while some in a more straight-up history manner attempt to theoretically grapple with Taiwan's particular case as a colony or else crunch numbers to arrive at some unexpected conclusions about certain events in the island's colonial history. All of the articles are well-written, interesting, nuanced, and informative in their own way, and as a whole they contribute quite a bit to our understanding.

This book's one minus is one inexplicably found in many academic publications nowadays: sloppy and lazy editing. Many proper nouns throughout the book are infected with typos, and the kanji given especially for several of the Japanese names and terms are incorrect or incomplete. This can really be annoying if not maddening for the readers, not to mention misleading for those less familiar with the subject or the languages involved. Other than that one gripe, though, I highly recommend this fine book, most especially of course if your interests are in Taiwanese History, Japanese History, or Colonial Studies. If the study of literature is your chief concern as it is mine, I imagine you'll find much of interest here as well. Check it out!

The following articles are included in this book:
Intro: "Taiwan Under Japanese Colonial Rule, 1895-1945: History, Culture, Memory" by Liao Ping-hui
1. "A Perspective on Studies of Taiwanese Political History: Reconsidering the Postwar Japanese Historiography of Japanese Colonial Rule in Taiwan" by Wakabayashi Masahiro
2. "The Japanese Colonial State and Its Form of Knowledge in Taiwan" by Yao Jen-to
3. "The Formation of Taiwanese Identity and the Cultural Policy of Various Outside Regimes" by Fujii Shozo
4. "Print Culture and the Emergent Public Sphere in Colonial Taiwan, 1895-1945" by Liao Ping-hui
5. "Shaping Administration in Colonial Taiwan, 1895-1945" by Ts'ai Hui-yu Caroline
6. "The State of Taiwanese Culture and Taiwanese New Literature in 1937: Issues on Banning Chinese Newspaper Sections and Abolishing Chinese Writings" by Kawahara Isao
7. "Colonial Modernity for an Elite Taiwanese, Lim Bo-seng: The Labyrinth of Cosmopolitanism" by Komagome Takeshi
8. "Hegemony and Identity in the Colonial Experience of Taiwan, 1895-1945" by Fong Shiaw-chian
9. "Confrontation and Collaboration: Traditional Taiwanese Writers' Canonical Reflection and Cultural Thinking on the New-Old Literatures Debate During the Japanese Colonial Period" by Huang Mei-er
10. "Colonialism and the Predicament of Identity: Liu Na'ou and Yang Kui as Men of the World" by Peng Hsiao-yen
11. "Colonial Taiwan and the Construction of Landscape Painting" by Yen Chuan-ying
12. "An Author Listening to Voices from the Netherworld: Lu Heruo and the Kuso Realism Debate" by Tarumi Chie
13. "Reverse Exportation from Japan of the Tale of 'The Bell of Sayon': The Central Drama Group's Taiwanese Performance and Wu Man-sha's 'The Bell of Sayon'" by Shimomura Sakujiro
14. "Gender, Ethnography, and Colonial Cultural Production: Nishikawa Mitsuru's Discourse on Taiwan" by Faye Yuan Kleeman
15. "Were Taiwanese Being 'Enslaved'? The Entanglement of Sinicization, Japanization, and Westernization" by Huang Ying-che
16. "Reading the Numbers: Ethnicity, Violence, and Wartime Mobilization in Colonial Taiwan" by Douglas L. Fix
17. "The Nature of 'Minzoku Taiwan' and the Context in Which It Was Published" by Wu Micha ... Read more

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In the most comprehensive analysis of Taiwan's economic development available to date, Hwang traces the economic, political, and historical factors that enabled the island to transform itself from a poor country into an emerging world economic power in a period of only 40 years. Hwang explores such issues as the role played by cultural and individual aspirations of the Taiwanese and the improvements in political, social, and educational life that were made possible by the island's economic growth, Taiwan's growing contribution to the global economy, and the country's ability to rapidly narrow the technological gap between itself and the industrialized nations. ... Read more

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During the mid-1990s, Taiwan witnessed a remarkable proliferation of historical writings and cultural movements pertaining to 'the local'. 'Place (difang)' and 'community (shequ)' became two ubiquitous terms in the lexicon of being Taiwanese.
This book is a critical examination of the socio-historical condition in which the discourse of local diversity emerged and gradually permeated Taiwan's public culture. Interweaving ethnographic sensibility and theoretical insights across disciplines, including anthropology, cultural studies and cultural geography the study elucidates the complex relationships between localism, nationalism and globalism. Not only is it a rare type of ethnography in Taiwan studies, this book also enriches our understanding of the increasingly significant field of East Asia (post)modernity. ... Read more

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In ancient China a monster called Taowu was known for both its vicious nature and its power to see the past and the future. Over the centuries Taowu underwent many incarnations until it became identifiable with history itself. Since the seventeenth century, fictive accounts of history have accommodated themselves to the monstrous nature of Taowu. Moving effortlessly across the entire twentieth-century literary landscape, David Der-wei Wang delineates the many meanings of Chinese violence and its literary manifestations. Taking into account the campaigns of violence and brutality that have rocked generations of Chinese--often in the name of enlightenment, rationality, and utopian plenitude--this book places its arguments along two related axes: history and representation, modernity and monstrosity. Wang considers modern Chinese history as a complex of geopolitical, ethnic, gendered, and personal articulations of bygone and ongoing events. His discussion ranges from the politics of decapitation to the poetics of suicide, and from the typology of hunger and starvation to the technology of crime and punishment. ... Read more

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Rethinking Fiction and History
Wang's masterful take on the violent modern history of China deftly combines literary studies and historical investigations to explore historical and literary meanings. How does one survive and account for atrocity and sufferings? The author is sensitive to the pitfalls of writing about such subject matter ("one person's account of 'tears and blood' may achieve nothing more than a second person's undeserved catharsis"). On modern Chinese readers' and writers' demands of literature as a radical agency of change, Wang has this to say: "modern Chinese representation of violence can be underwritten as a violence of representation." Beautifully written and enlightening throughout. Highly recommended to any one who cares about modern China and that country's unparalleled literary creativity in the face of a violent history. Chapter 8, "Second Haunting," is especially important. ... Read more

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With comprehensive historical, political, socioeconomic, and cultural data, this book offers a timely examination of the developments in mainland China, Taiwan, and U.S. involvement in the region as they relate to the ongoing Taiwan Strait dilemma. While many books approach this issue primarily from the viewpoint of Taiwan, this book gives considerable attention to China and its development and role in the issue. In an approachable style, this intriguing work identifies the realities that mainland China and Taiwan, as well as the United States, face and presents various options in an effort to develop mutual understanding and peaceful solutions for each party involved in the Taiwan issue. ... Read more

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Especially recommended reading for students of political science and foreign relations with China and Taiwan.
Written by Gabe T. Wang (Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at William Paterson University), China and the Taiwan Issue: Impending War at Taiwan Strait is a critical examination of the modern political realities confronted by China, Taiwan, and the United States. The tensions between China and the independent Taiwan remain a persistent threat of instability in the region; China and the Taiwan Issue examines historical, cultural, and practical factors surrounding the issue and offers recommendations for peaceful solutions to potential conflict. Especially recommended reading for students of political science and foreign relations with China and Taiwan.

china and the taiwan issue
The most unique characteristic of this book is its comprehensive perspective on the Taiwan issue. After an introduction of the Taiwan issue in Chapter One, Chapter Two provided its readers with a concise but complete history of modern China, which is most fundamental in understanding the Chinese society and psychology about the internal and international politics. This brief history indicates why the Chinese are so anxious about getting Taiwan back. Then, Chapter Three provided the audience with a brief history of Taiwan, which informs the audience why many people in Taiwan want to become independent and why the Taiwan issue is so complicated. Chapter Four made a comparison of the socioeconomic development in both mainland China and Taiwan. The author seems to see more similarities than differences between the Taiwan Strait. This is very interesting and helpful, for most people are used to the Cold War stereotypes. Chapter Five described the U.S. involvement of the United States in the Taiwan issue and how the international politics influenced the United States decisions. It provides more information from the less known side of China. Chapter Six gave an account of the political relations between China and Taiwan with the involvement of the United States.Finally, Chapter Seven provides the author's analyses of the tri-part interactions between China and Taiwan as well as the United States.It also provided the readers with options for each of the three parties involved.

Compared with many books about Taiwan issue, this book is obviously less partial and has painted a more complete picture of the issue. It is less influenced by the prevailing and popular international politic ideologies; instead, it pays much more attention to the concerns and fundamental changes in both China and Taiwan. The book focuses on or intended to discuss about the Taiwan issue; however, it is also a good book to understand China, its politics, social problems, anxieties, the social and economic developments.It is a must read book for those who sincerely want to understand China. Although its subtitle is Impending War at Taiwan Strait, it actually does not talk about war.

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Drawing on a wide range of Chinese historical and contemporary texts, this book addresses diverse subjects including nationalist literature; language ideology; the crafting of a national history and the impact of Japanese colonialism. ... Read more

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Provides detailed information on places, events, and people in Taiwan and explains the importance of each while relating most of Taiwan's identity as a nation or alternatively its ties to China. The information contained in this book also links Taiwan's history, society, economic growth, and politics, to its status and importance in the world community. A comprehensive chronology of events and an exhaustive bibliography. ... Read more

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Perfect for in-depth reports or as a reference starting point.
College-level collections strong in Asian history and culture can't be without this updated third edition of HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF TAIWAN, which surveys the nation's history, ongoing conflicts with China, and other political and social issues. Here's a cross-referenced dictionary of entries which includes important people, places, events and political parties, surveying the entire country's affairs. Perfect for in-depth reports or as a reference starting point. ... Read more

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Among the great entrepots around the Pacific were some which had such great advantages of location that for many centuries there always was a trade centre somewhere in the vicinity. Others rose to prominence for a time when the political and economic conditions were right, but then were eclipsed and almost forgotten. In the 1600s, Taiwan was a vortex of world trade and great power rivalry, but then became a remote frontier of the great Qing Empire. Hoi An in central Vietnam was another major centre of foreign trade, strongly encouraged by the local Nguyen rulers, from the 1500s to the 1770s, but then was shattered by the Tayson Rebellion and revived only in very different form under the 19th-century Nguyen dynasty. This volume offers access to the scattered scholarship on these two intriguing cases which help throw light on the success of other centers, such as Macao or Manila. ... Read more

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A never-before-published account of the experience of an American officer at the hands of Japanese captors, Prisoner of the Rising Sun offers new evidence of the treatment accorded officers and shows how the Corregidor prisoners fared compared with the ill-fated Bataan captives.

When Japanese aircraft struck airfields in the Philippines on December 8, 1941, Col. Lewis C. Beebe was Gen. Douglas MacArthur's chief supply officer. Promoted to brigadier general, he would become chief of staff for General Wainwright in 1942. Beebe kept diary records of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, their advance to Manila and capture of the Bataan Peninsula, and their assault on Corregidor. When Japanese troops took Corregidor, Beebe was among those captured.

During his captivity, Beebe recorded in his diary descriptions of poor rations, inadequate medical care, and field work in camps in thePhilippines, on Taiwan, and in Manchuria. He also describes thesometimes greedy behavior of his fellow captives, as well as a lighter side of camp life that included POW concerts and Red Cross visits.

Annotation and an epilogue by General Beebe's son, Rev. John M. Beebe, add details about his military career, and an introduction by historian Stanley L. Falk places the diary in the context of the broader American experience of captivity. ... Read more

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Despite differences in the political, social, and economic systems of Taiwan and mainland China, the process of modernization in both has challenged traditional cultural norms.Tonglin Lu examines how differences in cultural formation between Taiwan and China have influenced reactions to modernity and how cultural identity has taken different forms on both sides of the Taiwan straits.She illustrates how these differences in the experience of modernity are expressed through analysis of paradigmatic films produced in both countries, with a particular emphasis on their formal experiments. ... Read more