National Chengchi University and Loyola Marymount University Collaborate to Discuss Taiwan during the Cold War

The 7th International Academic Symposium jointly organized by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) was held at UCLA on April 19-20. The event was hosted by the Asia Pacific Center under the UCLA International Institute.

The theme of the symposium was “Rethinking Cold War Culture and History in Taiwan.” In addition to scholars from NTNU and UCLA, participants also included professors from top universities such as Princeton University, University of Washington, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Toronto, Stockholm University in Sweden, and National Cheng Kung University. The interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary exchanges and discussions deepened the participants’ understanding and awareness of the topic, sparking more inspiration and collaboration opportunities. Many faculty, students, and community scholars from UCLA and other Southern California universities actively participated in the interactive discussions.

This international conference is one of the important annual events promoted by the Taiwan Studies Initiative jointly initiated by UCLA and NTNU. It was co-directed by Professor Shu-mei Shih from UCLA and doctoral student Faye Lu. Over the course of the two-day conference, 17 papers were presented and six thematic sessions were held, covering topics such as “Taiwan’s Position in the Global Cold War,” “Critical Approaches to Chinese Culturalism in Cold War Taiwan,” “Cultural and Historical Memories of Cold War Taiwan,” “Americanism in Taiwan,” “Cold War Emotions of Taiwanese Americans,” and “Critical Interventions in Cold War Studies,” touching on issues related to ethnicity, imperialism, colonization, immigration, gender, island consciousness, and more.

During the opening ceremony, Professor David Kim, Vice Provost for International Studies at UCLA, Professor Min Zhou, Director of the Asia Pacific Center, Professor Shu-mei Shih, Director of the UCLA-NTNU Taiwan Studies Initiative and professor in the departments of Asian Languages & Cultures, Comparative Literature, and Asian American Studies, and Faye Lu delivered welcoming speeches. They thanked NTNU for its contribution to the inter-school exchanges and the scholars from various fields for their enthusiastic participation. They also emphasized the significance of the symposium’s theme in Taiwan studies and reflected on the success of the previous six international conferences. Faye Lu shared her experience and insights from attending the conference over the years, expressing her honor in hosting an academic conference closely related to her research interests.

The papers presented at the symposium explored Taiwan’s unique situation during the Cold War period from historical, political, literary perspectives, showcasing Taiwan’s unique potential in resolving global conflicts beyond the traditional frameworks of the old and new Cold Wars. The closing panel discussion, moderated by Professor Shu-mei Shih, allowed participants to share their reflections and reach consensus on compiling the papers from this year’s symposium. The conference concluded successfully, achieving fruitful outcomes that will effectively promote further in-depth research on Cold War Taiwan in the future. ◇