Search

This paper complicates the classic security dilemma by considering the notions of ontological security and relational deterrence. It studies how the ontological security dilemma has emerged between the US, China, and Taiwan from the relational perspective and how these spiral chains will further develop in the future. The paper incurs the literature on relational analysis to expound on how different ontological security concerns allude to relational deterrence between the three actors. Taiwan's separatism is more of a threat to China's relational self than to physical security because the separatist does not belong to any already agreed relationship. A geometric model and a few simulations yield three unconventional findings. 1) The less advantaged the US military is over China, the less likely armed unification will occur. 2) The US anti-Chinese tendency is irrelevant in determining the probability of armed unification. 3) What may escalate the spiral are China's anti-Taiwan independence and Taiwan's anti-unification. Case sensitivity indicates the ontological sensibilities of a security dilemma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper seeks to examine whether and on what basis the international human rights law applies to the territorial non-state entities, having as an example the cases of the Republic of China and the territorial non-state entities from the post-Soviet space. For this purpose, the paper will focus first, on the applicability of the relevant international human rights treaties and general international human rights law regulations. Second, it will look at what place is reserved for the international human rights law in the national legal systems of the analysed territorial non-state entities. It is argued here that these territorial non-state entities proclaim their commitment to the rule of law and human rights by transplanting international regulations, especially the human rights ones, into their national provisions. After analysing the two case studies, it will be claimed that although the territorial non-state entities committed themselves to following international human rights law norms and standards, legal transplant is not sufficient and the territorial non-state entities shall engage more at the practical level in order to ensure the effectiveness of human rights protection on their territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial parks, which are characterized as a group of industrial businesses designed to meet the concomitant demands of different organizations within an area, have played an important role in the national development strategies of many countries. Industrial parks have received increasingly more attention over time. Nevertheless, few scholars have visually analyzed global scientific data. This paper quantitatively and visually examines global academic research papers on industrial parks from 1987 to 2016 by using a bibliometric analysis. A total of 1823 papers from Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index databases were analyzed. The distributions of authorship, keywords, countries/territories, and institutes were generated. According to data from Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index databases, the top five most productive authors (i.e., Geng Y. with 22 articles, Fujita T. with 17, El-Halwagi M.M. with 15, Zhang Y. with 14, and Tan R.R. with 12) have contributed significantly to industrial park research. Papers on industrial park research have mainly been from China, the USA, and Taiwan. The dominant keywords from industrial park research from 1987 to 2016 are "China", "system", "heavy metal", and "eco-industrial park". These keywords will be the hot topics in industrial park research in the future. The research findings can provide a reference for understanding the research development process and trends in analyses in the field of industrial parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operations on inputs are partially or completely decisive for information aggregation, and parameterized operations are widely used due to their flexibility in practice. The Bonferroni mean is a typical mean operator taking into account interrelationships between any two input variables. In this paper, the Hamacher operations are considered in constructing q-rung orthopair fuzzy aggregation operators combined with the Bonferroni mean. First, explicit expressions of aggregated results by the q-rung orthopair fuzzy Hamacher Bonferroni mean operator are presented without intermediate variables, which would certainly improve the computational efficiency. Then, limits of these resulting aggregations are examined with respect to parameters within Hamacher operations and Bonferroni mean, respectively. The obtained conclusions reveal relations among the current mean operator and some existing ones, and some numerical examples are given to facilitate the conceptual arguments. Finally, the developed operator is employed to evaluate the service quality of passenger airlines in Taiwan, China, and a comparative analysis is presented in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taoism and Confucianism both exited simultaneously as philosophies of living in dynastic China. Although there has been an increasing popularity in scientometric studies, religion and health (R&H) literature lacks a holistic evaluation investigating articles relevant to Taoism and Confucianism. All publications produced in Taoism and Confucianism literature and indexed in Web of Science (WoS) databases between 1975 and 2018 were included in this study. Database search on health and Taoism literature retrieved 199 documents from WoS databases. Main research areas were Psychology, Religion and Behavioral Sciences (24.121, 21.608 and 20.603, respectively). The USA ranked first with 38 papers followed China, Taiwan and the UK (n = 35, 20 and 6 documents, respectively). Hong Kong Polytechnic University from China was the most contributor institution in health and Taoism literature. A total of 448 documents were published in health and Confucianism literature between 1975 and 2018, and original articles covered 93.08% of all literature. China was leading country with 126 articles followed by the USA, South Korea and Taiwan (n = 97, 35 and 35 items, respectively). The most productive institutions were City University of Hong Kong (China), Karolinska Institute (Sweden) and University of Hong Kong (China). Researchers from developing and least developed countries should be encouraged to carry out novel scientometric studies in R&H literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classification of operating performance of the enterprises is not only a hot issue emphasized by the management, but it is an important reference for investors too in their decision-making. Generally speaking, when predicting or analyzing business performance classification, most researchers adopt corporate financial early warning or credit-rating models, which pretty much use previous data and facts. Therefore, this paper brings about an alternative method to discriminate between excellent and poor business management, so as to take preventive measures prior to business crisis or bankruptcy. We collected the financial reports and financial ratios from the listed firms in mainland China and Taiwan as our samples to build up four kinds of forecasting models for business performance. The empirical results show that the hybrid model provides better classification forecasting capability than the other models, while the ANFIS model adjusted by genetic algorithm could effectively enhance the classification forecasting capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase of cross-Strait economic activity, the interaction between Taiwanese business people and the Chinese government has gradually changed. As Taiwanese investment grew in volume, so did the number and frequency of contacts between the parties; a more institutionalised form regulating these contacts was established as a result. Nowadays Taiwanese businessmen have become an identifiable factor in Chinese governmental policy implementation; the process also has far-reaching implications. This paper argues that Taiwanese capital has become a Chinese governmental security asset and examines the importance of this factor when discussing conventional government/business interaction. This paper concludes that a superior national interest guides the warm welcome given by the Chinese government to Taiwanese businessmen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether the pacifying effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on territorial disputes between adversarial dyads is conditional upon the dyads' past experience of military cooperation. I built a political economy model and conducted a logistic regression analysis on the newly coded bilateral FDI data between adversarial dyads and the existing dataset by merging the rivalry data established by Thompson [51] and the territorial disputes data collected by Lee and Mitchell [42]. I found that when bilateral FDI flows between adversarial dyads reach a certain level the pacifying effect of FDI is stronger for adversarial dyads with past military cooperation. I also found that while past military cooperation has a pacifying effect in general, past military cooperation that occurred more recently has a stronger pacifying effect than those that occurred a while ago. Moreover, based upon the theoretical model and empirical findings in this paper, I investigated the political implications for Tsai Ing-wen's "New Southbound Policy" and Taiwan's approach to the territorial dispute issues in the South China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets up a framework for analyzing the policies of the US and the People's Republic of China toward the Republic of China(Taiwan). It surveys how the two powers' policies have evolved during the period 1949-2009 and makes numerical evaluations of the degree of "supportiveness" of American policy toward the ROC and the degree of "aggressiveness" of the PRC's policies. The evaluations are charted. The paper observes that the US and the PRC have been engaged in a kind of "negotiation-by-move-and-countermove" over this period. This form of interaction is found to be slow-motion and not very effective for resolving differences between the two sides. However, the need for a formal resolution of the island's political-legal status becomes less important as the trade, investment, and people-to-people linkages between the two Chinese entities increase. There appears to be a huge potential for an ever-greater convergence of the two powers' economic desires for Taiwan even while the issue of their respective stances towards its legal-political-military status may not be resolved for quite a while. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the theory of social construction of reality deriving from the writings of Max Weber, Alfred Schutz, Thomas Luckmann and Peter Berger to explain the origin of national identity and hence the emergence of a nation. It argues that social construction of national reality originates from everyday life experience taken for granted during the process of socialization. Individuals make sense out of the external world. Experiences taken for granted become actor's stock of knowledge. A common scheme of knowledge shared by the community serves to differentiate in-group (nationals) and out-group (foreigners). Collective consciousness thus defines national identity and hence a nation. Unless people (both in-group and out-group) interact with and learn from each other, different stocks of knowledge taken for granted will create political tension. This theory will be applied to understand the tensions in Tibet and along the Taiwan Strait. The paper further argues that Taiwan can hardly separate from mainland China in the future, while strong Tibetan consciousness continues to defy against powerful Chineseness, resulting in endless upheavals in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dongguan, an emerging world-famous manufacturing metropolis in South China has attracted considerable attention of both academic and policy research over the past two decades. Industrial clusters driven by the influx of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Dongguan have been primarily based on qualitative analysis, while without any differentiations of the sources of FDI. Based on the firm-level statistical data and on-site investigation, this study attempts to explore quantitatively and comparatively the extent and patterns of industrial agglomerations of Hong Kong and Taiwan manufacturing investment in Dongguan. Through comprehensive town-level quantitative analysis, the paper exemplifies that Hong Kong and Taiwan manufacturing agglomerations in various towns of Dongguan that have evolved in different sectoral and spatial patterns. Being consistent with the earlier qualitative analysis, the distinctive trajectories could be interpreted by the different firm linkages and comparative advantages of Hong Kong and Taiwan as source regions, as well as the distinct interactions with Dongguan as host region in the context of global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The white spots known as microbubbles that are formed in cellulose acetate film, significantly affects the texture of the image. However, the formation of microbubbles and their corresponding microstructure are poorly understood. In this paper, cellulose acetate microfilm from the Republic of China (AD 1912–1949) collected in the Second Historical Archives of China was chosen as a prototype to investigate the causes of microbubble disease for the first time. A comparative study was conducted between the film samples with and without microbubbles. Herein, the microstructural analyses including optical and SEM microscopy were conducted. The crystals in the microbubbles proved to be triphenyl phosphate as identified by NMR spectroscopy and SEM–EDX. Comparative properties of the film substrate with and without microbubbles were measured by TG, XRD and FT-IR spectroscopy. The results show that formation of microbubbles was generally accompanied with the vinegar syndrome and was produced between the protective and emulsion layers with the different types of shapes along the closed structure (the diameter of ~ 0.1–2 mm). The formed microbubble was filled with plasticizer. Based on the above-mentioned results, the possible formation process of microbubble was proposed in the present study. The results can provide support for the cause of microbubbles and basis for the conservation of photographic films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore the role of ethical climate on the relationship between the paternalistic leadership and team identification at the team level. In contrast to the prior studies which tended to focus on ethical climate as a whole dimension, this paper further classified the domain of construct into the categories of egoism, benevolence, and principle using a sample from 143 teams in Mainland China and Taiwan. Hierarchical regression results showed that the average paternalistic leadership had a significant impact on the team identification at the team level. Moreover, the results indicated that the ethical climate of benevolence fully mediated while the ethical climate of egoism partially mediated the relationship between authoritarian leadership and team identification. Also, the ethical climates of benevolence and principle had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between benevolent leadership and team identification as well as moral leadership and team identification, respectively, but the ethical climate of egoism did not play a significant role. The major findings, theoretical contributions, practical implications, and the limitations were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the accepted paper, the authors' affiliation has been wrongly typeset as People's Republic of China, but this should read Taiwan. The correct affiliations are shown below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some countries more effectively respond to crises than others? This paper compares China's relatively effective response to the 2002-3 SARS outbreak with Taiwan's relatively ineffective response, focusing on three variables that constitute China's 'authoritarian advantage' - centralized decision making powers; public support; and, relations with the mass media. The paper rejects a fourth explanatory variable specific to the Taiwan case - membership in international organizations. Drawing heavily on the Taiwan example, the paper concludes by suggesting options for overcoming the authoritarian advantage in pandemic response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Taiwan Strait has often been referred to as one of the world's most dangerous hotspots and many dire predictions have been made about a military conflict between mainland China and Taiwan, likely involving the United States. Yet, despite several crises in the Taiwan Strait and numerous war speculations, there has been no major armed conflict between Beijing and Taipei since the 1950s. How do we explain the puzzle that an expected war across the Taiwan Strait did not happen after all? This paper first examines the explanations based on military balance of power. Having found the realist/rationalist explanations less convincing, however, this study explores the explanatory power of the 'ethnicity' factor. It suggests that when the Chinese society is no longer divided by ideological differences, the 'ethnicity' may provide a more convincing explanation of why a military conflict has not happened in the Taiwan Strait in the past four decades. This paper also considers several counterarguments, including the neo-liberal argument of economic integration as a driving force for peace in the age of globalization. The paper concludes with a discussion of some policy implications resulting from the 'ethnic peace' thesis and proposes that when actively promoted by the both sides, the Chinese ethnic identity is likely to be the most important strategic guarantee of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait for many years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to construct a notion of well-being in the workplace applicable to Taiwan society as an example of the Chinese cultural communities. The construction involves the following steps. Different domains of the well-being in the workplace are identified based on the results of workplace research. A set of integrative values combining universal values and Chinese values is constructed to serve as the ground for constructing the components of workplace well-being. Both the universal portion and the Chinese portion have a generic and a workplace-specific portion as their integrative parts. The values in effect help to define specific contents of the components, thus making them relevant and applicable to the Chinese culture. The construct serves as the basis to develop specific indicators to measure, monitor and assess well-being in the workplace. The construct of workplace well-being forms a part of the general well-being in business which contains various well-beings associated with the multiple stakeholders in the business communities—customers, shareholders, citizens, competitors, communities, and the environment. In today’s globalized business environment, this construct is especially significant when more multinationals are operating with an increasingly multicultural workplace where people with different cultures communicate, cooperate and interact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to evaluate the prospect of creating a currency union in the “Greater China” economic area. Despite of the political deadlock and military confrontation in the Taiwan Strait, the Greater China area has experienced rapid and spontaneous regional integration in the past decades as a result of increasingly cross-border trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), technology contracts, and other arrangements in accordance with changes in comparative advantage and industrial upgrading in these economies. In this study, we focus on the symmetry in shocks that is perceived as one of the major preconditions of a currency union. In contrast to the previous studies, we investigate the time-varying correlation of supply, REER and monetary shocks by using the Kalman filter technique to assess the dynamic changes in structural similarity and convergence among the Greater China economies. We also examine the costs of forming a currency union in the area due to the loss of monetary autonomy in each economy. Our results suggest that there is a rising structural symmetry between the Greater China economies, and this area has become increasingly a better candidate for a monetary union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, 28 aftershock sequences are selected, which are distributed in different areas including north China, southwest of China, northwest of China, Taiwan area, Turkey and Greece. In order to investigate the characteristics of these sequences along with different temporal and spatial coordinates, each sequence has been divided into dozens of segments called ``sub-sequences''. The ETAS (Epidemic Type Aftershock Sequences) model is applied to each ``sub-sequence'', and therefore the vectors of parameters of ETAS could be evaluated. Another model named LR (Logistic Regression) model is used to seek the correlate relation between the parameters of ETAS applied to every earthquake ``sub-sequence'' and seismicity. All the analyses and estimations imply that the characteristic of decay of aftershock sequences in different temporal and spatial domains seems to be characterized by the parameters of the ETAS model applied to some aftershock sequences or ``sub-sequences'', and there are some proportional correlate relations between the evaluation of LR model and the occurrence probability of the succeeding strong seismic energy release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the martin gale hypothesis for five Asian stock markets using the spectral shape tests of Durlauf (1991). Unlike the variance ratio test employed in previous studies (eg, Pan et al, 1991), the spectral shape tests are consistent against all stationary alternatives to the martingale null. The spectral shape tests were applied to daily and weekly returns on the stock indices of Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan over a period of 17 years. The results show that the martingale null is rejected for most markets. There is some evidence that the rejections may be due to low frequency or long memory influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the correlations among perceived organizational support (POS), self-efficacy, knowledge transfer, and innovative behaviors of employees in the information service companies of Taiwan and mainland China using goal-oriented behavior and social identity theory. A structural model was built, and data were collected through a survey conducted in two rounds, two months apart, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicate that POS significantly affects innovation behavior and self-efficacy in both regions, and self-efficacy plays a key mediating role in the research model. However, the relationship between POS and knowledge transfer was non-significant for mainland China. The study also reveals that the culture of knowledge sharing in the organization can promote employees' innovation, knowledge sharing behavior, communication, and knowledge transfer. The findings imply that managers should provide organizational support to improve employees' innovative minds and self-belief, particularly during the pandemic. This research fills a theoretical gap by applying Western theories in an Eastern context and broadening the generalization of the theory. It provides practical implications for improving the quality of human resources by suggesting that managers should provide organizational support to improve employees' innovative minds and self-belief, particularly during a pandemic. Additionally, it contributes to the literature by examining how cross-cultural differences affect the relationships among POS, self-efficacy, knowledge transfer, and innovative behavior. This study also enriches the literature about employees in particular regions and their service innovation behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of police cooperation strategies have developed around the Southern Chinese seaboard, which encompasses the coastal provinces of Mainland China, Taiwan, and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Cooperation mechanisms in the region encompass intelligence sharing strategies and establishment of the Electronic Communal Information Sharing Platform (ECISP), common investigations, regular meetings, practitioner exchanges, and training. Although conducted on a regular basis, these cooperation strategies mostly lack a formally binding legal basis, relying purely on informal practitioner efforts at best supported by Memoranda of Understanding. Due to their historical independence all police forces involved in cooperation at the Southern Chinese seaboard have had to establish strategies to overcome legal, organisational and cultural differences. This region could therefore be compared to cooperation networks between sovereign nation-states in other regions. The historical development of Greater China's highly informal, practitioner driven approach to cooperation is reminiscent of early forms of cooperation between the police agencies of states that are now members of the European Union (EU). This paper explores the development of both informal and formal strategies established among police agencies around the Southern Chinese seaboard and compares them with the EU to enhance the historical, political and legal understanding of the two regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As healthcare systems around the world are facing increasing physician shortages, more physicians are migrating from low to high income countries. Differences in medical education and international interaction may have significant effect on physician flows. The Chinese Medical Graduates (CMGs) in the US present an interesting case to examine this effect. This paper evaluated the current number and historical trends of CMGs in the US from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong comparing their differences and similarities in terms of demographic and geographic characteristics. Since 2000, the number of CMGs in the US showed a consistent upward trend at a rate of approximately 206 additional graduates per year. In 2010, there were 8,797 CMGs in the US. Compared to CMGs from mainland China, CMGs from Taiwan and Hong Kong were much older. Much larger proportion of Taiwan and Hong Kong CMGs were male. However, they were more likely to practice in solo settings than mainland CMGs. The vast majority of CMGs are concentrated in urban areas and no significant differences were found for their distributions in underserved areas. However, a larger proportion of Taiwan and Hong Kong CMGs were in western coastal states; whereas a larger proportion of mainland CMGs were located in eastern coastal states. Fluctuations in CMG numbers in the US reflect the significant differences within the medical education systems among the three. The seemingly homogenous CMGs in the US do show significant differences. Given the magnitude and historical trends of migration of CMGs to the US, further exploration of its causes and impact is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines generalized trust and trust in institutions in Confucian Asia, covering six countries namely, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, and one dependent region, Hong Kong. Using data from the 2006 AsiaBarometer Survey, our study affirms the reliability and validity of using a two-item scale to measure generalized trust. Our analysis suggests that due to demographic differences, there are variations in the level of generalized trust of countries in Confucian Asia, despite the fact that these societies share a similar background in Confucian philosophy. The relationships between generalized trust and political trust, and between generalized trust and trust in public institutions, are weak but positive. The positive relationship between generalized trust and trust in economic institutions is only significant for some of the economies, while trust in international institutions has the weakest relationship with generalized trust for all societies. We conclude the paper with research implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an extension of the metafrontier Malmquist productivity index, which takes into account the effect of scale efficiency change in its decomposition for both the non-parametric and parametric frameworks. Meanwhile, the 'catch-up' in the index is also disintegrated as two components: pure technological catch-up and frontier catch-up. An empirical application that uses unbalanced panel data of the Taiwanese and Chinese commercial banking industry is also conducted under a parametric framework. The results reveal that the adverse scale efficiency change is the key factor to inducing the inferior productivity growth seen in Chinese banks compared with Taiwanese banks, which spotlights the importance of the scale efficiency change term on productivity measures. It also provides one possible explanation for the recent hot issue about the motives for the two shores of the Taiwan Straits advancing financial openness to each other and mutually signing a banking Memorandum of Understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how and why China has been perceived as an economic threat in Taiwan through an examination of Taipei's post-Cold War economic policy with respect to the mainland. While Taipei's restriction on trade and investment across the Taiwan Strait until mid-2008 was widely considered a failure by both opponents and supporters of closer cross-Strait economic ties, this analysis points to an overlooked function of Taiwan's economic policy that was not just about tackling the problems of the security externalities or promoting the island's economic development. What appeared to be an ineffective policy can be understood as a successful boundary-drawing practice that discursively constituted a vulnerable Taiwan under Chinese economic threat, hence conducive to the (re)production of Taiwanese national identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the U. S. role in cross-strait relations before and after the political power transition in Taiwan during 2008. It explores the question of whether a new dynamic is shaping the Beijing-Taipei-Washington trilateral relations with the significant relaxation of cross-strait relations, and how that affects Washington's ability to influence the direction of cross-strait relations in the future. More specifically the paper analyzes the role the United States played in shaping the new reality in the Taiwan Straits, and the evolving thinking on Taiwan in American strategic and political circles. It will also discuss how Washington has managed the cross-strait relations so far as well as how Beijing and Taipei have handled the American factor on some sensitive issues. Finally it will look at the potential benefits and limitations that the United States could contribute to achieving a higher level of reconciliation and integration between the two sides across the Taiwan Straits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper examines the FDI location strategies of firms from one of the Asian NIEs (Taiwan) in a rapidly emerging market (China). Although there is a substantial literature on FDI location choice, most studies model the choice as a function of a range of location-specific attributes such as local market size, labour costs etc. Few studies consider the impact of firm-specific characteristics, other than potential country-of-origin effects. • Yet locations, and especially those in emerging markets where institutions are weak and capital markets are immature, also differ in terms of their risk. Different shareholder constituencies within the parent company will typically have different preferences with regard to risk, and are therefore likely to favour some locations over others. • We find that the ownership structure of the parent company matters with regard to its FDI location decision and, in particular, that both family and non-family insider shareholders exert influence over the choice of location. • Furthermore we show that firms' location and entry mode choices are inter-related, and establish that the extent of their resource commitments in their foreign affiliates leads parent companies to favour locations where the perceived risks are lower. • Finally we show that the efficacy of firms' external relational linkages varies according to the strength of the cultural and historic ties between the location of the foreign affiliate and the home country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After noting the rise of geoeconomics in the post-Cold War era, the paper ascertains how the age of geoeconomics re-defines power and the rules of the balance of power game. Of particular significance is that a nation’s economic security eclipses its military security (or traditional national defense). In this context, I examine the meanings of the rise of a re-ascendant China for world politics in general and for Taiwan’s future in particular. Considering Taiwan’s heavy dependence on imported natural resources and its isolation and exclusion from vital international economic groupings, such as FTA’s. ASEAN, ASEM, and the 16-nation Asian super economic bloc in the marking. Finally, I take a prospective look at the prospect of a future cross-Strait integration between Taiwan and mainland China under the impact of the dictate of geoeconomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To facilitate comparison across cultures, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been developing a universal measure of quality of life (QOL) called the WHOQOL Questionnaire. This questionnaire contains 24 facets organized into six broad domains: physical, psychological, level of independence, social relationships, environment, and spirituality/religion/personal beliefs. The standard WHOQOL is designed for cross-cultural comparison. However, to obtain a valid QOL measure that can be applied in diverse populations, cultural adaptation of the WHOQOL has been encouraged. Each culture is permitted to add culture-specific questions, called national items, so that the questionnaire can also reflect cultural attributes. Three Chinese versions of the WHOQOL have been developed for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. National items were selected for each version according to the criteria proposed by the WHOQOL Group. The purpose of this paper is to compare the Taiwan version to the China and Hong Kong versions. The questionnaire development process, response scale generation, psychometric properties (reliability and validity), national items, and population means were all examined. Results indicated that not only is cultural adaptation of WHOQOL measures necessary for individual cultures, but also for sub-cultures, as these differences must be considered in order to provide effective health care and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PRC and Taiwan are competing to gain diplomatic recognition from Pacific Islands states, a number of which recognise Taiwan and serve as a barrier to its international isolation. Since much of Oceania is in Australia's sphere of influence, this struggle has often involved Canberra. This paper focuses on the intensifying conflict--with conclusions about the local political economic situations of the countries in Oceania that are most likely to switch recognition, the dilemmas that the issue poses for Australia and its alliance with the US, and the game theory of these auctions of diplomatic recognition. The rental of recognition is analysed as a "sovereignty business" in which some Pacific Islands states engage—similar to the offshore financial centres which are prevalent in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the government and society of the Republic of China's (ROC or Taiwan) have changed markedly in the new millennium, the fundamentals of US policy toward the island remain intact. This study outlines recent developments in Taiwan and shows how they represent challenges to the US. It also discusses American policy toward Taiwan and examines several proposals for change that an American administration may wish to consider. In conclusion, the paper explains why the current policy, albeit contradictory and ambiguous, is in the best interest of the United States. There is a strong possibility that any major change in policy would succeed only in undermining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reexamines American policy toward China, Taiwan, and their ambivalent bilateral relationship, focusing on the period since Washington's shift from strong (but not unconditional) support of Nationalist China to the role of balancer in the early 1970s, particularly on the most recent period under George W. Bush. We analyze the relationship from a strategic triangular perspective. The China-Taiwan-US relationship is triangular in the sense that each actor's relations with the other two depend on its relations with the third. It is strategic in its focus on security. The United States has been the consistent "pivot" of this triangle, having better relations with both "wings" than they have with each other. Washington has retained this structurally advantageous position partly because of its disproportionate strategic weight, and partly because of the inherent difficulties Taipei and Being have had forging a cooperative bilateral relationship. This structure has been quite stable since the Cold War, as Washington has periodically shifted its balance from one wing to the other without altering the triangle's basic configuration. Yet so long as the configuration is maintained, the basic problem on which the triangle is based - the contested independence of Taiwan - cannot be resolved. This creates a sense of national identity frustration that will continue to generate attempts at resolution, either by Taiwan's declaration of independence or China's forced reunification (or both). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to illuminate the interactive relationship between domestic politics and external policy in Taiwan's mainland China policy after the 2000 presidential election. Following the logic of Putnam's two-level games, this paper demonstrates how the newly elected President Chen Shui-bian adopted an ambiguous and evasive approach as well as frequently shifted positions in his dealings with the mainland China issue due to the constraints of his pro-independence constituents and a vigilant, anti-independence Beijing. Employing Knopf's three-to-three games as well as Puchala's issue politicization, it further shows how Taiwan's opposition parties--the KMT, the PFP, and the NP--as well as Chen's political rivals, took advantage of Chen's inability to break the Strait impasse by initiating active engagement with Beijing in order to gain political advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) motivations and technological resource commitment on headquarters' employment of process control over subsidiaries, to better understand the process control mechanisms. Drawing on agency theory and the resource dependence perspective, a cross-sectional data model is developed among the 1541 Taiwanese manufacturing firms engaged in foreign investments, 1015 headquarters–subsidiary (HQ–Sub) relationships in China were selected from the database; in each of these relationships, the headquarters is located in Taiwan, while the subsidiary is located in China. Our findings reveal that the headquarters will use process control if the primary motivation for setting up a subsidiary in a host country is resource-seeking, but not use process control with market-seeking motivation. This control process relationship is enhanced/weakened/weakened by the headquarters'/subsidiaries'/partners' technological resource commitment. Taiwanese multinational corporations (MNCs) from newly industrialized economies (NIEs) seeking to choose control mechanisms that fit their technological resources and FDI motivations in China are given guidelines. It adds to the use of control mechanisms with HQ-Sub literature. Both resource-seeking and market-seeking motivations shed light on technological resource commitment by various units of an MNC, to ward off information asymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an export-oriented economy, Taiwan's export income can be easily influenced by internal and international economic factors, including the industrial production index (IPI) and the exchange rate. With China being Taiwan's largest recipient, Taiwan's export income from China is extremely important to Taiwan's economy. Therefore, this research investigates the nonlinear relationship between the IPI of Taiwan and Taiwan's export income from China with the application of a panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model. In addition, the currency exchange rate of RMB to NTD, which is the transfer variable, is used to examine the dynamic effect. The research period is monthly data ranging from January 2001 to February 2022. The empirical results show that the effect of the IPI of Taiwan on Taiwan's export income with China is dynamic. Moreover, with the existence of a threshold value, its influence changes as the currency exchange rate of RMB to NTD varies over time. Finally, regardless of whether the currency exchange rate of RMB to NTD is above or below the threshold value, as the IPI of Taiwan increases, Taiwan's export income from China also increases, differing only in the degree of increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the genetic diversity of nematode parasite populations is crucial to gaining insight into parasite infection dynamics and informing parasite phylogeography. Anisakiasis is a zoonotic disease caused by the consumption of infectious third-stage larvae (L3) of Anisakis spp. carried by marine fish. In the present study, a total of 206 mitochondrial DNA sequences (cytochrome c oxidase 2, cox2) were used to study the genetic diversity, genetic structure, and historical demography of twelve A. pegreffii populations from Trichiurus japonicas along the coast of mainland China and Taiwan. Two distinct evolutionary lineages of A. pegreffii and no significant genealogical structures corresponding to sampling localities suggested that isolation in the marginal seas shaped their patterns of phylogeographic distribution along the coast of mainland China and Taiwan during glaciation with lower sea levels. Furthermore, pairwise FST values and AMOVA did not indicate any significant genetic differentiation among groups with no relation to the geographic area, which might be attributed to fewer barriers to gene flow as well as large population sizes. The results of the neutrality test, mismatch distribution, and Bayesian skyline plot analyses showed that entire population underwent population expansion during the late Pleistocene. Analysis of the demographic history revealed that A. pegreffii underwent historical lineage diversification and admixture due to secondary contact based on ABC analysis. The present research represents the first definitive population structure and demographic history across sampling locations of A. pegreffii along the coast of mainland China and Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The obligate pollination mutualism between figs (Ficus, Moraceae) and pollinator wasps (Agaonidae, Hymenoptera) is a classic example of cospeciation. However, examples of phylogenetic incongruencies between figs and their pollinators suggest that pollinators may speciate by host shifting. To investigate the mechanism of speciation by host shifting, we examined the phylogenetic relationships and population genetic structures of six closely related fig species and their pollinators from southern China and Taiwan-Ryukyu islands using various molecular markers. The results revealed 1) an extraordinary case of pollinator sharing, in which five distinct fig species share a single pollinator species in southern China; 2) two types of copollination, namely, sympatric copollination by pollinator duplication or pollinator migration, and allopatric copollination by host migration and new pollinator acquisition; 3) fig species from southern China have colonized Taiwan repeatedly and one of these events has been followed by host shifting, reestablishment of host specificity, and pollinator speciation, in order. Based on our results, we propose a model for pollinator speciation by host shifting in which the reestablishment of host-specificity plays a central role in the speciation process. These findings provide important insights into understanding the mechanisms underlying pollinator speciation and host specificity in obligate pollination mutualism. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses reveal mechanisms of pollinator sharing, copollination and speciation by host-shift in fig-wasp mutualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies emphasise that the foreign direct investment (FDI) strategies of firms from newly industrialised economies (NIEs) are different from the FDI strategies of firms from developed economies. It has also been shown that NIE firms are often controlled by founding families who make key strategic decisions, and that they rely heavily on network linkages when developing their FDI strategies. What is less clear, however, is how the corporate governance factors in NIEs, the risk preferences of the main shareholder constituencies, and the network-based business culture affect the decision to undertake FDI in emerging markets. This paper explores the entry mode and location choices of firms from an Asian NIE (Taiwan) in an emerging market (the People's Republic of China). It shows that the choice of equity stake in an affiliate depends upon the extent of family and institutional share ownerships in the parent company. High-commitment entry is found to be positively associated with the affiliate being located in areas with strong economic, cultural and historic links with the parent company. Furthermore, the entry mode and location decisions appear to be interrelated, with the parent's equity stake in the affiliate depending inter alia upon the location within China, and the favoured location depending inter alia upon the equity stake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the European Union (EU) model with regard to its origin and processes to understand how EU integration came about and what factors played key roles in promoting it. Review of the economic and political relations between Taiwan and mainland China; Main historic events of the formation of the EU; Trends of cross-strait integration.

Analyzes the political economy of regionalisation in Greater China which includes China, Macao, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Characteristics of regionalisation; Comparison between regionalisation and regionalism; Trade patterns among the countries; Link between microregion and globalisation; Advantages of regional integration.

The article offers information on Web-based Science Museum on the Internet in Taiwan. It states that this would enable lifelong learning of Chinese cultural heritage and Chinese-language content in cyberspace. It mentions the invention of Internet is impacting in the way people live and learn. Technologically advanced nations are all actively promoting science and technology and innovative applications of technology. It states that distance learning has narrowed the barriers and geography and time. Professionals who have a thorough understanding of topics in education use the Internet to communicate scientific knowledge to diverse learners in cyberspace and to improve content on the Internet as well, Web users would benefit greatly.

On one divide, energy types have been linked with the varying degree of environmental damage. Another perspective argued on the severity of the damaged base on per capita and/or population consumption pattern. As such, this study investigates the nexus of per capita natural gas consumption-carbon dioxide emissions and per capita income-carbon dioxide emissions in the case of the People of the Republic of China. This study objectively expanded to illustrate whether the N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis holds in the case of China or not. The employed autoregressive distributed lag bound testing approach incorporated additional explanatory variables (urbanization) within the N-shaped EKC hypothesis over the period 1971–2018. Importantly, the results show an evidence of inverted N-shaped EKC relationship. In addition, the study posits a positive relationship between natural gas consumption and carbon dioxide emissions and between urbanization and carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, the study proposes renewable energy development and decongestion of the urban centers as a means of controlling global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In consumer fireworks, various functions of chemicals create an energetic reaction with a type of colored light, smoke, heat, and the sound to achieve the pyrotechnic effects. Fireworks mixtures may be highly sensitive to external disturbances such as ignition sources, temperature changes, shocks, friction, and static electricity. Approximately 95% of fireworks are imported from China by ocean shipment, taking 4 days to a week to Taiwan. The prediction and assessment for the nth-order reaction, and thermokinetic parameters from thermal safety model for fireworks and pyrotechnic compositions were investigated. This study showed which reaction intensity of the propellant as water was added. It can be seen from the results that water will affect the thermal hazard of propellant. Moreover, the novel findings indicated that the water increased the thermal hazard of the propellant and consequently increased the risk for launching a degradation. Based on the heat transfer theoretical models, the time to maximum rate and time to conversion limit were extrapolated for consideration and discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure of agricultural industries at Cross-Strait differs as climate change is considered. In fact, its influence on their agriculture and other industries vary when the impact produced by natural disasters due to climate change are faced. To estimate direct and indirect losses caused by natural disasters, this study applies Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) analysis developed by Miller and Blair (2009) to discuss the development among Cross-Strait industries as they face disaster losses. The data sources used in this article are from Lin (2013), Cross-Strait ICIO table, and the statistics of agriculture in the periods 2005–2017 for Taiwan and Mainland China. The main results from our ICIO analysis are as follows: the value-added losses caused by natural disasters mainly involve agriculture, forestry, fishery, wholesale and retail trade, animal feed, and chemical fertilizer industries. These sectors account for 87.4% in Mainland China and 94.6% in Taiwan of total separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equivalent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) by Mahayana Buddhists with vegetarian diets is quantitatively evaluated. The Buddhists in seven Mahayana-dominated countries or regions, i.e., China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, are studied. Assessments of the vegetarian population among these Mahayana-dominated countries or regions are performed. Correlation formulas based on data from a national survey are developed to quantify the GHGEs of various dietary groups by using the meat consumption as the only required input. To demonstrate its reliability, the prediction from the formulas developed is first compared with the results of a food production-and-consumption study using a different approach. Then, the formulas are used to assess the GHGE reduction due to Mahayana Buddhists with vegetarian diets. The assessment indicates that Mahayana Buddhists with vegetarian diets account for the equivalent GHGE reduction of 48.83 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is a huge amount and is equal to 11.3 or 8.9% of the GHGEs from France or the UK in 2012, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing culturally appropriate diabetes nutrition interventions for immigrants could be facilitated knowing what is successful in the home country and other relevant countries. The primary purpose of this scoping review was to identify the design and delivery methods of nutrition interventions for Chinese populations with type 2 diabetes, in their home countries and as immigrants to western countries. A total of 14 articles was retrieved and included. Overall, the approaches used in China often were modelled on intensive lifestyle programs although alternative strategies were also identified. Most interventions were not focussed solely on nutrition, and only a few were conducted in community settings. Most of the interventions were delivered in a group format, while those conducted in China also included individual counselling, particularly for nutrition. In addition, the diabetes and nutrition-related outcomes, cultural relevance and acceptability, and other factors that influenced protocol compliance were considered. Improvements in blood glucose control were observed in participants in all interventions where it was measured. Participants reported increased nutritional knowledge but nutritional behaviour was generally not well documented. Trials conducted in the United States emphasized the importance of cultural adaptation of intervention programs, particularly with respect to dietary patterns and specific foods. Practice-transferable characteristics are highlighted. Research gaps included trials conducted in community settings with pragmatic implementation and evaluation, comparative trials of interventions to gauge relative effectiveness, and measuring and reporting dietary outcomes for better understanding of the impact on dietary behaviours and their relationship to health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental reward (ER) is an established mechanism contributing to depression. Given the high prevalence of depression in China and Taiwan, it is important to develop measures that facilitate the examination of cultural similarities and differences in ER. The reward probability index (RPI) assesses ER through items measuring individual access to rewarding (Reward Probability) and aversive (Environmental Suppressor) events. The purpose of the current study is to translate the RPI into Chinese (C-RPI) and to study cultural difference in ER by examining structural- and item-level differences in RPI functioning. A total of 930 college students were recruited from China (n = 300), Taiwan (n = 300), and the United States (n = 330). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to study the configural invariance of the RPI and C-RPI. Item response theory-based differential item functioning (DIF) testing was used to study item level differences in functioning between the RPI and C-RPI. Results overall support the established RPI structure in all three regions. Most Reward Probability items exhibit no DIF across cultures, while most Environmental Suppressor items exhibit DIF across cultures. Findings highlight cultural difference in ER constructs and cultural factors contributing to the observed DIF. The assessment and clinical implications of the findings are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the spatial pattern of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) to Latin America and socioeconomic determinants that affect the attractiveness of Latin America for Chinese capital. I also treat Latin America as a political stage between Mainland China and Taiwan in the diplomatic competition. This research examines recent shifts of Chinese OFDI strategies into the Global South and China's rising political power in the global capital network. This article consists a brief review of the role of foreign investment for both sending and receiving countries, a cartographic analysis of Chinese OFDI in Latin America, a statistical modeling of socioeconomic determinants of Chinese OFDI in receiving countries, and a set of country-specific vignettes of new features in Chinese OFDI. This research unveils several new trends associated with Chinese OFDI to Latin America: first, Chinese OFDI tends to transform from a resource-focused to a market-focused player; second, Chinese OFDI establishes a more diverse sectoral structure; third, Chinese investors tend to avoid investing into Taiwan's diplomatic allies. Policy implications and concluding thoughts are placed as the finale for this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed summertime wave patterns in the western North Pacific by separating them into those during El Niño (EN) and La Niña (LN) years for 1979–2015. The background flow revealed that in the EN years, the subtropical high was weaker and the East Asian summer monsoon trough was deeper and extended farther southeastward. The composite results indicated that in the EN years, tropical cyclone (TC) tracks were more solid and stably associated with wave pattern propagation routes because the circulation anomalies were significantly stronger. However, in the LN years, when the wave patterns were weak under the shorter and less organized monsoon trough due to the enhanced subtropical high, the TC tracks and cyclonic anomalies were irregular and sporadic. Further background flow analyses indicated that the EN circulation favored the development of the monsoon trough and east–west expansion and contraction of the subtropical ridge, whereas the stronger subtropical ridge dominated most western North Pacific areas in the LN years. Therefore, the monsoon trough was weaker in the LN years and induced recurving TCs to take more scattered routes near Taiwan and China's east coast. Therefore, Taiwan experienced more rainfall during recurving TC periods in the LN years than in the EN years. For the straight-moving TCs passing through Taiwan, rainfall was concentrated over southern Taiwan in the EN years but more evenly distributed in the LN years. Thus, background flow changes strongly affect wave patterns and TCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]