Speaker: Ms. Dolma Tsering,
Dissertation Fellow, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy;
PhD Candidate, Chinese Division, Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Date: Friday, November 27th, 2020
Time: 12:30 – 14:00
Venue: Room 202, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy
No. 4, Alley 17, Lane 147, Sec 3, Sinyi Rd. Taipei, Taiwan
Moderator: Dr. Mei-Lin Pan (潘美玲), Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Graduate Program of Ethnicity and Culture, National Chiao Tung University
Discussant: Dr. Tien-Sze Fang(方天賜), Associate Professor, Center for General Education, and Deputy Director, Center for India Studies, National Tsing Hua University
Agenda:
12:30 – 12:40 Opening remarks by Dr. Mei-Lin Pan
12:40 – 13:20 Presentation by Ms. Dolma Tsering
13:20 – 13:40 Comments by Dr. Tien-Sze Fang
13:40 – 14:00 Open discussion
※ Please note that this event will be conducted in English.
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In late 1990s Taiwan recast its political system and transformed itself from what China is today into a working democratic political system. The liberal democratic system adopted by Taiwan had a positive impact in forging Taiwan’s international position and perception and its relationship with allies. Among a host of positive developments, the democratic transition of Taiwan enormously had helped Taiwan and the Central Tibetan Administration to reshape the relationship into a new path.
Prior to the democratic transition period, Taiwan and the Central Tibetan Administration relation were contentions. One key factor that contributed to shaping such contentious relations was the Taiwan assertion of sovereignty over Tibet through a constitutional body like Mongol and Tibet Affairs Commission (MTAC). The CTA held the commission for a very long time been funding “conflicts and discords in the Tibetan community.” As a result, despite Communist China as a common threat factor, both sides failed to maintain a stable relationship.
After the democratic transition in Taiwan and also with the internationalisation of Tibet issue, notwithstanding the differences on Mongol and Tibet Affair commission, both sides decided to strengthen the relationship that was once quite contentious. The Dalai Lama’s visit to Taiwan in 1997 and the establishment of Religious Foundation of the Dalai Lama office in Taipei aftermath replicates the new beginning of the relationship. With the normalisation of relations, Dharamsala witnessed a growing number of Taiwanese visitor, and Taiwan saw an increasing number of Tibetan Buddhist centre and monks and nun. Both sides also witnessed several official exchanges including issuing statements, sending wishes etc.
The relationship strengthened; however, there are still various issues like China factor, MTAC and Taiwan’s ambiguity on dealing with Tibet issue remain as significant challenges. This article aims to examine the democratic transition in Taiwan and its implication on the Tibetan and Tibet relations. The article also deals with opportunities and challenges within the relationship. The study would be based on both primary and secondary data.
—by Ms. Dolma Tsering
Speaker Biography
Dolma Tsering submitted her Ph.D thesis at Chinese Division, Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. She worked as research associate at the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. She also interned at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). She research interest includes China-Tibet issues, China’s Tibet Policy, China’s ethnic minority issues, India-China relations, Taiwan and Tibet relations and China’s deep sea exploration and capacity building.
Contact Li Ying-Hsuan to register – yhli@tfd.org.tw