Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2016, 9:00-11:30 am
Venue: The Digital Auditorium, First Floor, the Social
Sciences Information Center, National Chengchi
University
Speakers: Chuan-tiong Lim (Associate Research Fellow,
Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica), Perry Shen
(Former Director General of the Department of Treaty and
Legal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
Republic of China)
Hosted by: The Research Center for International Legal
Studies, and the Humanities Research Center, National
Chengchi University
In the past few decades, the sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands (also called as the Diaoyutais) has always been a controversial issue among the Republic of China (Taiwan), Japan, the United States and the People’s Republic of China. This sovereignty issue raises disputes and is related to the politics and international relations in East Asia. In 1968, a United Nations research report claimed that the waters around the Diaoyutais might be rich in petroleum resources. This economic attraction made the competition of acquiring the Diaoyutais more fierce, and this issue received great notice in the world. In 1969, Richard Nixon, President of the United States, and Eisaku Sato, Prime Minister of Japan signed a joint communiqué causing the controversy of the Diaoyutai Islands more complicated. Following in the 1970s, the Baodiao Movement (Protecting the Diaoyutais Movement) asserted Chinese sovereignty over the Diaoyutais. Through a series of historical documents and positive actions, the government of the Republic of China persisted that the Diaoyutais has always been a part of the territory of the Republic of China. In 2012, President Ma Ying-jeou proposed the “East China Sea Peace Initiative” and urged neighboring countries to show restraint and explore peaceful means for settling the issue. In 2013, the Republic of China and Japan officially signed the Taipei-Tokyo Fisheries Agreement. Will there be any other means for settling the issue?
On December 7, the Research Center for International Legal Studies and the Humanities Research Center at National Chengchi University will jointly hold a symposium to discuss the issue of the Diaoyutai Islands and clarify the standpoint of the Republic of China. Dr. Chuan-tiong Lim, an associate research fellow of the Institute of Modern History at Academia Sinica, and Mr. Perry Shen, the former Director General of the Department of Treaty and Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China are invited to deliver lectures to analyze this complicated dispute by reviewing historical archives and international law. The symposium will be open to everyone who is interested in and cares about the future development of the issue of the Diaoyutai Islands. In the symposium, we will try to figure out how to make the East China Sea become the “Sea of Peace and Cooperation.” We look forwards to your participation.