Taiwan’s Strategy for Regional Economic Integration
All Publications button
1
Publication Date
SCPKU hosts cross-Pacific Ocean entrepreneurship class
News Type
News
Date
Paragraphs
Stanford and Peking University MBA students took the same Stanford Graduate School of Business "Startup Garage" entrepreneurship class in real time September 16-20, 2014 via an innovative education technology - the Highly Immersive Classroom at the Stanford Center at Peking University. Read more (in Chinese).
Hero Image
All News button
1
Taiwan's Strategy for Regional Economic Integration
Related Multimedia
The Role of the United State in Cross-Strait Economic Integration
Related Multimedia
Economics of Taiwan
Related Multimedia
Cloud computing is Japan’s way out of "Galapagos syndrome"
News Type
News
Date
Paragraphs
Japan is often cited for failing to capitalize on its innovative technologies and design aesthetics in global markets, but the advent of cloud computing provides new opportunities, says Kenji Kushida, the research associate for the Japan Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC), in a new coauthored op-ed.
In Nikkei Asian Review, Kushida writes with Martin Kenney, a professor of community and regional development at the University of California, Davis, that Japan’s market has a strong record of developing high-quality hardware and services, particularly in the consumer electronics and digital content industries, but a majority remains domestic.
Often referred to as the “Galapagos syndrome,” Japan is a technology leader but its output is largely confined to its own borders. The term compares the country’s industry to the Galapagos Islands, located off the coast of Ecuador, where geographic isolation has led to unique evolutionary development.
Kushida, who heads a new research project on Silicon Valley-Japan relationships, and Kenney note that many of the high-end core components in products from U.S. and Asian manufacturers are Japanese, despite loss of visibility on the final product.
The authors also say the rise of global cloud-computing services offers an immense opportunity for Japan, and a way to escape the Galapagos syndrome and enhance its global competitiveness.
The full op-ed can be found on Nikkei Asian Review online.
Hero Image
A "Techno-Mall" highlighting various technology developments in Japan is held at the The Tokyo International Forum in Dec. 2013.
Flickr/Ben Lee
All News button
1
The Politics of Polarization: Taiwan in Comparative Perspective
-
[[{"fid":"209960","view_mode":"crop_870xauto","fields":{"format":"crop_870xauto","field_file_image_description[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_credit[und][0][value]":"Arlene Hsu","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Taipei at night with Taipei 101. 28 February 2009.","field_related_image_aspect[und][0][value]":"0","thumbnails":"crop_870xauto"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"crop_870xauto","field_file_image_description[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_credit[und][0][value]":"Arlene Hsu","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Taipei at night with Taipei 101. 28 February 2009.","field_related_image_aspect[und][0][value]":"0","thumbnails":"crop_870xauto"}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"width":"870","class":"media-element file-crop-870xauto","data-delta":"1"}}]]
Over the past year and more, Taiwan’s political elite has been deadlocked over the question of deepening economic relations with the People’s Republic of China. This controversial issue has led to a standoff between the executive and legislative branches, sparked a frenzy of social activism and a student occupation of the legislature, and contributed to President Ma Ying-jeou’s deep unpopularity.
On October 17-18, the Taiwan Democracy Project at CDDRL, with the generous support of the Taipei Economic and Culture Office, will host its annual conference at Stanford University to examine the politics of polarization in Taiwan.
This conference will bring together specialists from Taiwan, the U.S., and elsewhere in Asia to examine the sources and implications of this political polarization in comparative perspective. It will include a special case study of the Trade in Services Agreement with China that triggered this past year’s protests, as well as a more general overview of the politics of trade liberalization in Taiwan, prospects for Taiwan’s integration into the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other regional trade agreements, and a consideration of the implications for Taiwan’s long-term democratic future.
Conference speakers will include: Chung-shu Wu, the president of the Chung-hwa Institute of Economic Research (CIER) in Taipei; Steve Chan of the University of Colorado; Roselyn Hsueh of Temple University; Yun-han Chu, the president of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation; and Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
Panels will examine the following questions:
1. What are the sources and implications of political polarization in Taiwan, and how have these changed in recent years?
2. How does Taiwan’s recent experience compare to political polarization in other countries in Asia (e.g. South Korea, Thailand) and elsewhere (the US)?
3. To what extent does the latest political deadlock in Taiwan reflect concern over the specific issue of trade with the People’s Republic of China, versus a deeper, systemic set of problems with Taiwan’s democracy?
4. How are globalization and trade liberalization reshaping Taiwan’s domestic political economy, and what are the prospects for forging a stronger pro-trade coalition in Taiwan that transcends the current partisan divide?
The conference will take place October 17-18 in the Bechtel Conference Room in Encina Hall at Stanford University. It is free and open to the public.
Conference Resources
Conference Papers
How Cross-Strait Trade and Investment Is Affecting Income and Wealth Inequality in Taiwan by Chien-Fu Lin, National Taiwan University
Generational Differences in Attitudes towards Cross-Straits Trade by Ping-Yin Kuan, Department of Sociology & International Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, National Chengchi University
Change and the Unchanged of Polarized Politics in Taiwan by Min-Hua Huang, National Taiwan University; Center for East Asia Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution
Social Media, Social Movements and the Challenge of Democratic Governability by Boyu Chen, National Sun Yat-sen University, Institute of Political Science
Coping with the Challenge of Democratic Governance under Ma Ying-jeou by Yun-han Chu, National Taiwan University
Taiwan’s Bid for TPP Membership and the Potential Impact on Taiwan-U.S. Relations by Kwei-Bo Huang, National Chengchi University, Department of Diplomacy
In the Wake of the Sunflower Movement: Exploring the Political Consequences of Cross-Strait Integration by Pei-shan Lee, National Chung Cheng University, Political Science Department
The Roots of Thailand’s Political Polarization in Comparative Perspective by Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Chulalongkorn University; The Institute of Security and International Studies
The Role of the United States in Cross-Strait Economic Integration by Chen-Dong Tso, National Taiwan University
The China Factor and the Generational Shift over National Identity by Mark Weatherall, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy
Taiwan’s Strategy for Regional Economic Integration by Chung-Shu Wu, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research
Polarized Electorates in South Korea and Taiwan: The Role of Political Trust under Conservative Governments by Hyunji Lee, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia
Polarization in Taiwan Politics by Steve Chan, University of Colorado, Boulder
Agenda
Conference Biographies
Taiwan Polarization Conference Flyer
Politics of Polarization in Taiwan: Conference Report
Conferences
Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project
This project is completed, October 2014-October 2019.
Motivation
There has been by a heightened interest in Silicon Valley as an innovation system. The interest is not only in Silicon Valley's entrepreneurism, but how entrepreneurship fits into the broader economic structure. Over the past few years, Silicon Valley has witnessed a new wave of Japanese startups (entrepreneurs, successful startups from Japan). This trend has occurred within the context of increased importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in Japan.
Teaching Resources on Japan
To promote a deeper understanding of Japanese culture, history, contemporary issues, and U.S.–Japan relations, we recommend the following diverse set of teaching resources and curriculum tools to bring Japan to life in K–12 classrooms. Many others can be found on the SPICE website. In addition, SPICE offers a national distance-learning course for high school students called the Reischauer Scholars Program.
Yong Suk Lee
0
Former SK Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Yong Suk Lee was the SK Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Deputy Director of the Korea Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University. He served in these roles until June 2021.
Lee’s main fields of research are labor economics, technology and entrepreneurship, and urban economics. Some of the issues he has studied include technology and labor markets, entrepreneurship and economic growth, entrepreneurship education, and education and inequality. He is also interested in both the North and South Korean economy and has examined how economic sanctions affect economic activity in North Korea, and how management practices and education policy affect inequality in South Korea. His current research focuses on how the new wave of digital technologies, such as robotics and artificial intelligence affect labor, education, entrepreneurship, and productivity.
His research has been published in both economics and management journals including the Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Economic Geography, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Health Economics, and Labour Economics. Lee also regularly contributes to policy reports and opinion pieces on contemporary issues surrounding both North and South Korea.
Prior to joining Stanford, Lee was an assistant professor of economics at Williams College in Massachusetts. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Brown University, a Master of Public Policy from Duke University, and a Bachelor's degree and master's degree in architecture from Seoul National University. Lee also worked as a real estate development consultant and architecture designer as he transitioned from architecture to economics.
While at APARC, Dr. Lee led and participated in several research projects, including Stanford-Asia Pacific Innovation; Digital Technologies and the Labor Market; Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Economic Development; The Impact of Robotics on Nursing Home Care in Japan; Education and Development in the Digital Economy; and New Media and Political Economy.
Former Deputy Director of the Korea Program at Shorenstein APARC