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How are we to understand China's decades-long sovereignty claim over Taiwan? One assumption upheld by many international relations scholars is that state behaviour will change according to a variance of polarity in the international system. Yet while China can flexibly manage its territorial issues elsewhere, its goal of unification with Taiwan has not changed despite multiple structural changes in the international system over the decades. This paper argues that historical and nationalist approaches alone do not explain China's unswaying obsession with this island. Geopolitics plays a far more prominent role in the minds of Chinese leaders than scholars have previously acknowledged. Since 1949, China has viewed Taiwan as a geopolitical buffer protecting the security of Chinese coastal areas. China's buffer thinking towards Taiwan was a significant factor in China's decisions to launch military action against Taiwan in 1954, 1958, and 1996. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the data from the World Value Survey, this paper uses a comparative lens to assess environmental philanthropy by focusing on four predominantly Chinese societies – mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, which contributes to the debate on whether culture can sufficiently explain cross-regional variation in civic engagement, particularly in the domain of environmental philanthropy. We find that residents in mainland China shared similar environmental concerns and beliefs with people from the other regions, but they are least likely to volunteer, donate, and demonstrate for these causes. After accounting for personal characteristics, the sizeable interregional gaps on pro-environmental behaviors remain. These findings are consistent with the argument that structural differences, particularly the developing nature of civil society in mainland China, hinders environmental civic engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s, Taiwan and China conducted over twenty rounds of negotiations through the semi-official Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) concerning the following issues: notarized papers, registered mail, illegal immigration, fishing disputes, airplane hijacking, and post-1997 shipping links between Taiwan and Hong Kong. Regrouping these issues into rights, law-and-order, and shipping, this study analyzes the differences in the negotiation processes and outcomes through variations of value-interest alignments and their perceived impact on future policy objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, many people have called for a more active role for the EU in cross-Taiwan Strait relations. While acknowledging its immense power and influence, this paper argues that the EU's role will remain limited for three structural reasons. Despite the Lisbon Treaty, the EU's sui generis system will continue to constrain its policy towards cross-strait relations. With 27 countries of varying interests, power and perspectives, it is difficult to expect the EU to change its current policies, which consist of the 'one-China' notion and the principle of a peaceful solution. Second, the regional structure along the strait is so complex that the EU can hardly come up with new initiatives. Given the fact that China is more important than Taiwan, the EU can hardly make its policy more favourable to Taiwan. However, supporting Chinese unification, especially in a non-peaceful way, will run counter to the EU's interests and principles. Even if it is willing to play a more active role, the EU lacks power to do so. Finally, the global structure will limit the EU's freedom of action. The EU does not live in a care-free environment, and nearby stability tops its security agenda. In its dealing with global issues, the EU may benefit from Chinese cooperation. Although the EU has close relations with the US, the American factor can hardly be expected to cause major changes in the EU's policy towards cross-strait relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What explains why some countries recognise Taiwan despite attempts by the People's Republic of China to pressure some to switch recognition? We argue for moving beyond 'dollar diplomacy' claims to unpack additional economic influences that might help explain why some states favour Taiwan. Using cross-national evidence from all countries (1950–2016), we find multiple economic factors influencing recognition and conclude that Taiwan's comparative success in certain regions cannot be explained by broad structural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the legality of the peacetime military activities of the People's Republic of China in Taiwan's EEZ. Definition of the EEZ; Discussion of Taiwan's new EEZ law; Application of international law to cross-strait relations; Highlights of 1995-1996 military activities and their legality; Legality concerning foreign military activities conducted in a coastal state's EEZ; Legality concerning the PRC's peacetime military activities conducted in Japan's EEZ; Concluding remarks.

This paper focuses on managing the underwater cultural resources of the China Seas. It presents a comparative analysis of the public policies in Mainland China and Taiwan in connection with a recent draft convention of UNESCO pertaining to underwater cultural resources. In recognition of the problem of underwater archaeological resources being discovered in ocean areas of arguable jurisdiction, potential areas of conflict between the two regimes are analysed through a comparison of provisions between the draft UNESCO convention and the corresponding laws of China and Taiwan. In addition a trend towards commercialization in this area and the implications of this trend are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new species of the tribe Synergini (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae), i.e., Lithosaphonecrus arcoverticus Liu, Zhu et Pang , sp. n. Lithosaphonecrus decarinatus Liu, Zhu et Pang, sp. n. and Saphonecrus emarginatus Liu, Zhu et Pang , sp. n. are described from Hunan, China. The three species have emerged from the same galls collected on Lithocarpus glaber (Thunb.) in December, June, and April, respectively. Phylogenetic reconstruction of Synergini based on mtDNA COI and rRNA 28S D2 genes resolved two independent monophyletic clades exclusively associated with Lithocarpus plant hosts, i.e., the genus Lithosaphonecus and the lithocarpii species complex of Saphonecrus. The three species each have a sister relationship with a congener in Taiwan, an island off the southeastern coast of continental China. This recurrent disjunct distribution and relatively low COI sequence variation between the sister species in each species pair are considered attributable to the formation of the Taiwan Strait in Holocene ca 10,000 years ago. We also discussed the possible speciation mechanism for Lithosaphonecrus due to seasonality and topography in subtropical China. Finally, we addressed the need for conservation consideration in urbanization planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores a case of ancestor worship in Taiwan, within the southern sphere of Chinese culture. Ancestry as a system of belonging works as a fundamental grammar for building structural continuity in traditional China, yet the system displays a great deal of variation. The Hakka peasants of southern Taiwan are shown to honour, in an ‘unorthodox way', several different agnatic lines of descent as forming an individual, while at the same time strongly collectivising the dead into one single unit. The latter works as a denial of the first pluralistic message. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses, the complex relationship between Tehran, Beijing and Washington on the Iranian nuclear issue. Indeed, China's policy towards Iran has often been described as ambiguous, in supporting Washington, on the one hand, while protecting Tehran, on the other hand. In this article, we argue that, in fact, Beijing policy vis-a-vis Tehran depends on the state of its relationships with Washington. Indeed, a closer analysis shows that China is using Iran as a bargaining chip with the United States on, among others, two key security issues, i.e., Taiwan and the oil supply. The guarantee of a secured oil supply from the Middle-East in addition to a comprehensive policy of the US with regard to Chinese security interests in Taiwan as well as the use of smart sanctions against Tehran, which would thus take into account, to a certain extent, Beijing economic interests in Iran, are, indeed, the guarantee of Beijing's support to the US policy towards Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many individuals speak of China as a single trading partner, in reality Greater China consists of at least three regional subcultures - the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. These regions differ in terms of their historical development, values, and traditions, which have implications for what to expect in negotiations. This article examines the cultural differences found in these three regions of Greater China, with particular attention to an often overlooked yet critical stage of the negotiation process - the initiation stage. Using data from the GLOBE Study on cultural practices and values, propensity to initiate a negotiation (engage a counterpart, make a request or demand, and optimize that request) is estimated for each regional subculture. The implications of these findings for practitioners and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the Chinese emigrating from Jinmen, Fujian Province, between the 1850s and 1942. It examines how Chinese migrants in colonial Singapore responded to their displacement in the various spatial and temporal stands with special reference to migrants from the Jinmen Islands in close proximity to Xiamen, Fujian. Jinmen men jumped on the bandwagon to migrate to colonial Singapore and found themselves uprooted in a situation of neither here nor there. This piece of research illustrates the role of social organizations in which workers and traders were involved and the significance of these organizations and their activities in influencing the way Jinmen migrants sought to create a sense of belonging in placing themselves across borders. In the process it was the class differentiation within the Jinmen diaspora that led to the various agenda and ways of living in their negotiation of a sense of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bursaphelenchus chengi sp. n. is described and illustrated. Dauer juveniles were isolated from imported wood packaging materials from Taiwan to Nanjing Port, China. Bursaphelenchus chengi sp. n. was reared and maintained on Petri dish cultures of the fungus Botrytis cinerea. The new species is characterised by the medium body size in both sexes, the presence of only two incisures in the lateral field and the robust and strongly curved spicules. The spicule lamina is angular distally, the rostrum digitate and the condylus rounded. The tail is arcuate with a pointed terminus. The bursa is usually truncate with the posterior margin indented in some specimens or rounded with a fine axial point. Females have a small vulval flap formed by a short extension of the cuticle of the anterior lip, and a conical tail that gradually tapers to an almost straight or slightly recurved, pointed or rounded terminus. Because of the presence of two lateral lines, similar spicule shape, tapering female tail and the presence of a small vulval flap, B. chengi sp. n. should be grouped in the abietinus-group sensu Braasch. together with B. abietinus, B. antoniae, B. hellenicus, B. hylobianum and B. rainulfi. ITS-RFLP profiles support the proposal of the new species, and phylogenetic analysis of the 28S rDNA D2/D3 domain sequence places it close to B. antoniae and other species of the abietinus-group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Examines the use of the label Ru among twentieth-century popular Chinese religious groups, specifically Confucianism. Ru in Taiwanese popular religion; Spirit-writing movement in Taiwan and on mainland China; Teachings of the Confucian tradition.

The empirical findings largely support the hypothesis stated above: controlling for age, the three generations differ significantly in the directions hypothesized by neo-modernization theory in most, but not all respects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]