On May 6th and 7th, the Center for China Studies, the Humanities Research Center, College of Law, and the Institute of International Relations of National Chengchi University jointly held the “International Conference on Strategizing the Rise of China: Development, Dynamics and Driving Forces.” By holding this conference, they attempted to develop China studies in Taiwan and encourage interdisciplinary research. This conference, as a part of the “Aim for the Top University Plan” executed by NCCU, also showed recent research results of NCCU’s “Cross-Strait Relations and China Studies— Formation of Modern China and Regional Security Studies Plan.”

In his welcome message, Dr. Edward H. Chow, the president of NCCU, hoped more and more scholars from different disciplines will see the importance of China studies. Chow said “the world should pay more attention (to the issue of China).” He had great expectation on this conference where scholars could not only examine why and how China rises but also analyze what impact China may bring to the world.

Dr. Ching-ping Tang, the director the Center for China Studies, said this interdisciplinary conference jointly held by four institutions included many different issues and perspectives. In Tang’s opinion, in order to understand what strategies China used for its growth and development, strategic communication and research will be indispensable. He said “Studies of communist spy should be left in the past. It’s time for Taiwan and China to work together for the studies of Chinese culture and history and to share research results with each other. We will build a steady foundation for a prosperous future between us.”

The Keynote Speech in Day 1 was delivered by Professor Guang-da Zhang, a chair professor of the Department of History at NCCU. His speech focused on the Fanxin (the “barbarian heart”) in the early Tang dynasty, the Huaxin (the “Han /Chinese heart”) in the late Tang, and interactions among different ethnic groups during the period of the Tang-Song Transformation. Zhang attempted to explicate historically the formation of a historical concept: “the Hua-Hsia Community.”

Professor Xianchu Zhang from the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong thought this was a successful and meaningful conference. This was good opportunity for scholars from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Macao to consider problems that China faces now and their impacts to the world. Zhang believed that this conference would create a concrete foundation for future academic cooperation.

One of participants, Miss Wan-yin Shih, a sophomore student major in law at NCCU, grasped the chance to learn more about the legal culture and changes of law in China. Shih took a course “A Study of PRC’s Civil Law” before and has already planned to exchange to China for a short-term study in the future. Mr. Chia-hsiang Wang, a senior high student who had received an admission to the Department of Diplomacy at NCCU, joined in the conference as well. Wang was eager to know the current situation of NCCU’s China studies in advance.

Dr. Whei-ming Chou, the director of the Humanities Research Center, said NCCU, as a top university in the fields of humanities and social sciences in Taiwan, must take the responsibility to build a platform for interdisciplinary discussions. In this way, scholars could share their research with each other and learn more diverse viewpoints.

Dr. Ching-ping Tang further explained why this conference used words “on strategizing” as its title. In the past, Taiwan often took an opposite position to China. However, it’s time to strategically change it. Taiwan could learn from China, and vice versa. Tang also mentioned that this conference showed research results for the past 10 years of NCCU’s “Aim for the Top University Plan.” Tang hoped NCCU will continue cultivating in China studies and show its importance to the whole world.