Job Opening: Southeast Asia Research Associate at Council on Foreign Relations

Title: Research Associate, Southeast Asia 
Salary: Based upon education and experience


The Council's Studies Program is one of the country's largest foreign policy think tanks with a widely respected and influential research staff. The Studies Program's aim is to advance the discussion of American foreign policy and international affairs through its writing, publications, public outreach, and discussions.
The Council also publishes Independent Task Force reports. Task Forces are convened to examine issues of current and critical importance toU.S.foreign policy. Chaired by prominent Americans, and diverse in backgrounds and perspectives, Task Forces aim to reach a meaningful consensus on policy through private and non-partisan deliberations. Task Force reports provide policymakers with a coherent framework for thinking about an issue, and a set of concrete judgments and recommendations.

The Research Associate will primarily support a fellow whose work examines U.S.policy toward Southeast Asia, in addition to CFR's Task Force Program.

The major responsibilities of this position will include (but are not limited to):

• Providing administrative support to senior staff, including answering telephones, handling correspondence, filing, and responding to requests for information, and helping with media requests.
• Coordinating events, including roundtables and high-level Task Force meetings, by arranging mailings, preparing invitations, making travel arrangements, scheduling, corresponding with speakers, helping to prepare background papers and materials for distribution, and providing other logistical support.
• Researching specific areas as requested.
  • Assisting with the drafting, proofreading and editing of articles, book chapters, Task Force reports, and other written material, as requested by the fellows and Task Force project directors.
  • Tracking news and data sources on major issues related to Southeast Asia. .
  • Managing budgets, including preparing budgets and tracking monthly statements, monitoring grant information and writing reports and requests, creating and updating Excel spreadsheets, and preparing vouchers for reimbursement.
  • Assisting fellow with social media outreach, including publishing a blog, website, video, and/or using social media applications such as Twitter, Google+, etc., as needed

Preferred Qualifications:

• BA degree in International Relations or a related field, with high academic credentials and coursework in Southeast Asia (preferred), Human Rights, Democratization, Development, or Economics.
• 1+ years related administrative and/or internship experience
• Travel or work experience in Asia, particularlySoutheast Asia
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong research, proofreading, and editing skills
• Strong organizational skills and keen attention to detail
• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel and Email, including advanced functions such as mail merge

Qualified candidates should email, fax, or mail a resume and cover letter to the Human Resources department at the above address. PLEASE INCLUDE THE POSITION NAME IN THE SUBJECT OF YOUR EMAIL. The Council on Foreign Relations is an equal opportunity employer and actively seeks candidates from a diverse background.


Council on Foreign Relations
Human Resources Office
1777 F St. NW, Washington DC,20006
FAX +1 202.509.8490
humanresources@cfr.org
www.cfr.org

For more information, please visit http://www.cfr.org/about/career_opportunities/openings.html#1009

Sigur Center 2012 Chinese Language Grant Fellow in Taiwan: National Taiwan University - Something Happens Here!

Hi all,

First off, I want to apologize for not posting in a while. I've been dealing with anxiety issues the past couple of weeks. It's something that I've dealt with in the past. Perhaps it's the different environment, perhaps it's waking up too early in the morning to go to classes, but my anxiety has been a continual issue since I've been in Taiwan. I've still kept up with my studies, but I've also been on many trips to the doctor's. Regardless, my goal is to have at least one blog post each week for the rest of my time here.

I titled this post "Something Happens Here" because I wanted to use the GW motto to describe what happens at National Taiwan University. Corny, I know. But besides learning Chinese and studying, what exactly happens in the Chinese Language Division of NTU?

I guess I should start off by introducing the people in my class. Including me, there are a total of five students in my class--two students from Japan, one from Korea, one from Sweden, I'm the only one from the US. My teacher's name is 駱老師 (Luo Laoshi).

Luo Laoshi's birthday was a few weeks ago, so our class decided to throw a mini-surprise party. During the middle of class, one of my classmates went outside to bring in a birthday cake, and all of the students in class popped party-poppers as the cake was brought in. Our teacher was thoroughly surprised and emotional.

The Chinese Language Center at NTU also hosts different cultural events for its foreign students. One of the events taught us how to make Aiyu Jelly.

Aiyu Jelly

Aiyu jelly is a common desert in Taiwan. It's a soft jelly--a little like jello. The jelly itself has no taste whatsoever, but Taiwanese people like to eat the jelly with lemon and other fruits to give it special flavor.

The discovery of aiyu jelly derives from a story of a man who was travelling along a river in Taiwan. He was thirsty, so he took a drink from the river. Upon taking a sip from the river, he realized that there was jelly in the water that he was drinking from. He looked above the river and realized that the seeds from the fruits above--when mixed with water--turns into jelly. He began selling making and selling the jelly on his own, and named it 愛玉(aiyu) after his daughter.

So how exactly is aiyu made? The fruit above is known as "Aiyu" in Taiwan. I don't think there is a name for this type of fruit in English. In order to make aiyu jelly, the seeds from the fruit have to be taken out and dried out. When the seeds are dried, they look like fur-like particles.

The seeds are then put into a bag--sort of like a tea bag--so that the seeds are won't be separated and rubbed into cold water. Here's me rubbing the aiyu seeds into cold water.

The seeds have to be rubbed for about 15-20 minutes until the water turns into a yellowish-gold color. The technique for rubbing is like handwashing clothing--you have to use your fingers and really press the seeds together in the water. Stickiness on the hands is part of the process. 

After rubbing the seeds, you have to wait about another 10-15 minutes. The water starts turning into a soft jelly by itself. Then, you can use an utensil to dig out the jelly and eat it!

As mentioned before, aiyu jelly has no flavor by itself, so it's wise to add sugar or fruits to make it more appetizing.

It was fun learning and having hands-on experience with food. I'm not a very good cook--whether it's a extravagant meal or a simple dessert. I can safely say that the aiyu jelly I made was not nearly as good as the ones I've tasted in stores and street vendors. It's probably a better deal to spend a little money if you are looking to have a decent dessert. The food in Taiwan is extremely cheap anyway.

As you can see, many things happen at the Chinese Language Division at National Taiwan University. If you are interested in studying Chinese, look no further, this is the place to be!

Peace,

Chris Wang
B.A. International Affairs, Minor in Sociology 2014
Sigur Center 2012 Chinese Language Fellow
National Taiwan University, Taiwan

2012 Summer Fellow: Beijing Roast...Lamb?

First, a little background before getting started. Each of the past three summers, I've had the privilege of helping Professor Bruce Dickson with his ongoing research project, which has been designed and implemented in collaboration with the Research Center for Contemporary China at Peking University. Prof. Dickson and the center's director, Dr. Shen Mingming, were classmates at the University of Michigan during graduate school and have subsequently worked together on various projects, researching Chinese government and modern Chinese society. The center's specialty is survey work, gathering data on public opinion and conditions around the country, and Prof. Dickson has drawn upon this expertise in carrying out his own recent investigations.

           

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my visit to Beijing had something of a dual purpose - both to carry out my own preliminary research and inquiries in preparation for my dissertation work, but also to spend a bit of that time continuing my work as research assistant to Prof. Dickson. This overlap has been extremely helpful, since I’ve been able to draw on my experiences at the RCCC to develop my own work. Dr. Shen and the other staff at the Center, especially Dr. Yan Jie, have given Bruce and I guidance and have pointed us in many useful directions, so it was natural for me to turn to the RCCC on this trip as I began to ask some of my own questions.

In practice, this meant that while other activities at Nankai University and Tsinghua University were more useful in terms for ascertaining Chinese experts’ opinion on my specific questions about popular nationalism and PRC foreign policy, the RCCC was able to provide me with the logistical background necessary for this research. Who has carried out surveys on these questions, and where? What kinds of public opinion research is it feasible for me to carry out as a graduate student in the near future? Will the questions I’m interested in make sense to ordinary Chinese, or am I at risk of a cultural disconnect?

So, I was happy to have a chance to talk shop with our friends in Beijing. But I’d be neglecting half of the story if I only described our academic work. As in most fields, social interactions and connections are an important facet of one’s work, all the more so when it comes to research designs that require the collaboration of multiple individuals and research centers across national boundaries. For that reason, the dinner of roast lamb that we had with Dr. Shen and some of his Chinese friends early in the trip was at least as important as the meetings we had in the RCCC’s conference rooms.

My last post made a point of the “odd” banquet food that one often gets served as a guest in China, and this is just one more instance of why it’s better to visit a long-time friend (or one’s boss’s long-time friend) than it is to be the honored newcomer: old friends can take you to their favorite neighborhood haunts without shame. Dr. Shen can seem a bit idiosyncratic in his culinary tastes by Chinese standards – e.g. he enjoys rare steak, something few Chinese I’ve met have ever even tried, much less enjoyed – but it’s a joy to have someone treat you like a native, especially in a country with as much good food to offer as China. Our final evening at the RCCC before Prof. Dickson left the country, we got in Prof. Shen’s car (he had a new driver this year) and headed out into the far northwest of Beijing, somewhere beyond the 5^th ring road. After passing countless low-slung restaurants and local shops, we ended up at an ordinary-looking establishment with a delicious specialty: entire legs of lamb, skewered raw on a spit, and placed over a bin of red-hot coals set into the middle of each table to cook over the course of the evening as each person carved off pieces for him or herself. Along with the most pungent stinky tofu I’ve ever experienced (spread on fried wafers like a cheese) and a batch of baijiu so strong that it’d probably give a Russian pause, it made for a memorable night. By the end of the evening, I’d even been officially “adopted” as a student of the RCCC.

Prof. Shen (center) and friends before dinner

All of this is just to say that it’s important to connect with people on a personal level, especially in China. Not only has doing so smoothed the road for my research, but it’s also shown me some parts of China that I never would have found on my own. My thanks to Prof. Dickson and the Sigur Center for making these experiences possible!

Jackson Woods
Ph.D. Political Science 2015
Sigur Center 2012 Field Research Fellow
Beijing, China

Job Opening: Assistant to the Office of Graduate Student Career Development

This is a full-time position and includes salary, full benefits, and 96 percent tuition remission.

For more information, please visit: https://www.gwu.jobs/postings/10556

Grant for Asian Language study in Asia - Hindi in India: Landour Language School

In the last weeks of the Hindi course at the Landour Language School, I progressed at a slower pace than previously. Having ‘conquered’ the basic rules of the alphabet and grammar, I swiftly moved onto the farther regions of the Hindi syntax. This chiefly consisted of mastering four verb tenses: (1) the past; (2) the future; (3) their respective continuous forms; (4) and the imperfect. Initially, this looked simple as all these tenses depart from the root of the verb (e.g., the root of the verb ‘to eat’, ‘ka’, becomes ‘kaya’ in the first person of the past, ‘kaunga’ in the future, ‘ka raha hum’ in the present continuous, and ‘kata’ in the present imperfect). Thus, the formation of verb tenses in Hindi seemed to solely involve the addition of suffixes or auxiliary verbs to the original root. However, this was only one step towards the usage of verb tenses in Hindi.

In addition to the existence of irregular verbs (which change according to the particular verb tense being used) and different suffixes for each personal pronoun, there is also variation in the subject itself (e.g., ‘I’ can take four distinct forms) as well as in the structure of the sentence (e.g., the verb can either agree with the subject or the object). This, along with other linguistic features (such as the degree of formality and certain idiomatic usages), makes up for rather complex and meticulous sentence construction. During this period, I found that while learning and understanding the rules can be quite straightforward, employing them correctly in oral conversation is a completely different matter. This requires repeated and persistent practice.  

I was finally able to catch a glimpse of the Himalayas. Unfortunately, the pic (taken from my Iphone) is not as clear as real life.

Fortunately, the teachers at the Landour Language School had the patience and experience to guide me through this difficult stage of Hindi language learning. Hence, in the last weeks at the school, we focused on developing my oral skills, mainly through relentless hours of reading and conversation. While improving my speaking skills, this also broadened the scope of my vocabulary. One facilitating factor for the English speaker consists of the shared vocabulary between the two languages. Thus, when in doubt, one may employ the English word. Yet, as I later found out in my ‘real world’ interactions, this commonality can be misleading. In particular, the ‘street’ pronunciation of English words here tends to be rather different from the standard one used in the UK and the US. For that reason, using English words in Hindi sentences can lead to further confusion (e.g., when I asked a rickshaw driver to take me to the city/shaher ‘museum,’ he took me instead to the city ‘mill’); instead, the best approach seems to use as much Hindi vocabulary as possible.

 Monsoon clouds gather atop the foothills of the Himalayas in the afternoon. Quite a spectacle! 

While I am still far from becoming fluent in Hindi, during these weeks I was able to overcome significant hurdles and break away from basic conversations around my name, origin and age. I now feel confidently enough to find my way in common day-to-day situations, such as visiting a market or giving directions to a rickshaw driver. I have also learnt important vocabulary about politics and society, which will hopefully be useful for my future dissertation research in India. As a teacher told me in one of my last lessons, I now possess a solid basis to speak, read and write Hindi. I could not have accomplished this without the kind help and support of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies. For that reason, I think it is only appropriate to finish this post by expressing my deepest gratitude to the center for providing me this excellent opportunity to learn Hindi language in India.

Diogo Lemos

PhD student in Political Science 

2012 Sigur Center Grant for Asian Language Study in Asia

Hindi in India

Sigur Center Grant for Field Research Summer 2012: Girls' Education in Rural India

Greetings from India! My name is Nora Shetty, and I am a M.A. student in the International Education program at GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development. Due to the generosity of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, I am spending five weeks in Karnataka state, studying non-formal education and its impacts on female students. In order to better understand the language and culture, I arranged to stay with a host family for the duration of my visit (more on this in a future blog!) and am currently residing in Mysore city.

Mysore is the second largest city in Karnataka state and is known as the “City of Palaces.” The largest attraction is the Maharaja’s Palace, which was home to the Wodeyar maharajas. The majority of the original wooden palace was destroyed by fire in 1897 and was replaced in 1912 by English architect Henry Irwin. The palace is open for visitors during the day where one can peruse the intricately tiled rooms, examine military weaponry, and view the metal howdas, which sat on the backs of elephants and carried the royal family during processions.  The best time to visit is Saturday and Sunday evenings when the exterior of the palace is lit with nearly 100,000 bulbs, and visitors can wander the gardens, eating chat, a traditional South Indian snack.

My host family was eager to introduce me to this site, of course, but this did not prove to be easy. While my visit to the see the interior went smoothly, I had to make three journeys to view the lights. The first attempt entailed standing at the gate with other visitors wondering why the lights were not turned on at the scheduled time, and my second visit, the following night, had us dodging scooters, horse-drawn carriages, and massive crowds of people in order to reach the gates before 8:00pm, when the bulbs are turned off. Just as we approached the gate to purchase our tickets, the lights turned off without warning. It was 7:34pm.

The following weekend, after visiting the beautiful Bindavan Gardens outside of Mysore, we made one last effort at viewing the bulbs. Unbeknownst to us, the palace was holding a special program on the history of the palace and Mysore city. Green and red lights were projected on the palace and alternated along with the storyline and musical soundtrack. The spectacular event culminated in the illumination of the bulbs and was well-worth the minor frustrations experienced the week before.

In addition to the palace, my host family suggested visiting the Mysore Zoo, which opened in 1892. The zoo houses a wide range of animals, including rhinos, elephants, primates, snakes, and birds. Based on visits to U.S. zoos, I anticipated seeing the lions and tigers from behind bullet-proof glass but was quite surprised by their accommodations. A simple fence separated visitors from the enclosures, consisting of large ‘islands’ of grass and trees surrounded by an 8-foot wide pit. While I’m sure the distance was carefully calculated to avoid escape, the signs posted around the zoo did little to ease my worry.

 

After a walk through the zoo, we piled into the car and headed for Coorg, where my host mother lived as a young girl. Coorg is best known for its lush landscape of tobacco fields and coffee plantations and is covered in a cool mist, making it an excellent escape from the dust, heat, and crowds of Mysore.

On the way home, we stopped at a Tibetan colony named Bylakuppe. The main tourist attraction in this area is a temple complex with an active monastery. During my visit, several of the smaller temples were being utilized for prayers, and the young monks’ chants echoed throughout the complex.

After depositing our shoes by the door, we entered the largest and most ornate temple of the complex, the Golden Temple. The walls are adorned with colorful paintings depicting gods and demons, and three beautiful golden Buddha statues, Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amitayus, look down at visitors. This place is surrounded by landscaped gardens and provides a wonderful contrast to the traditional Hindu attractions in the area.

With several ‘to-do’ items checked off my list, it was time to start research! I was off to rural Bangalore the next morning to visit schools and begin to better understand the issues facing girls in India.

Nora Shetty

M.A. International Education, 2013

Sigur Center 2012 Field Research Fellow

Karnataka, India

Job Opening: Assistant to the Office of Graduate Admissions at the Elliott School

This is a full-time position and includes salary, full benefits, and 96 percent tuition remission.

For more information, please visit: https://www.gwu.jobs/postings/10473

Fellowship Opportunity: Fulbright Student Program

Fulbright Student Program Application is Now Open!

Fulbright Study/Research Grants and English Teaching Assistantships provide a full year of study, research or teaching English abroad

The GW Campus Deadline to Apply for 2013-14 Fulbright Awards is September 3^rd, 2012.

FULBRIGHT US STUDENT PROGRAM

Eligibility: Seniors and Recent Graduates;

US Citizens ;

Recommended minimum GPA: 3.4 for research/study grants; 3.2 for English Teaching Assistantships.

Additional eligibility requirements can be found here: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/eligibility

GW Campus Deadline: 11:59pm (ET) September 3, 2012

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the nation's largest study abroad fellowship program, and is designed to give recent B.S./B.A. graduates opportunities for international experience, personal enrichment and an open exchange of ideas with citizens of other nations. The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board looks favorably on qualified graduating seniors, who are still in the process of developing specific career plans.

There are several types of Fulbright grants:

Fulbright Academic Study/Research Grants (http://us.fulbrightonline.org/application-components/academic ): These grants generally provide round-trip transportation; book and research allowances; maintenance for the academic year, based on living costs in the host country; supplemental health and accident insurance; tuition, in some cases; and language or orientation courses, where appropriate.

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships (http://us.fulbrightonline.org/application-components/eta): Opportunities to teach English language and conversation classes have been available in the following countries (the list is regularly updated): Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Serbia, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Spain, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela. A stipend is provided based on living costs in the host country. The Fulbright award covers round-trip international travel, health and accident insurance, and orientation costs.

Fulbright Opportunities in Business: Several countries have offered Fulbright business opportunities in the past, including Australia, Mexico, Netherlands, and Spain.

There are a variety of more specialized awards, which may be found at http://us.fulbrightonline.org/about/types-of-grants

For more information, visit the Fulbright US Student Program at http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html

Internship Opening: US-ASEAN Business Council

Policy and Research Internship

Reports to : Vice President - Policy
Based in : Washington, D.C.

The US-ASEAN Business Council is currently accepting applications for a Fall 2012 intern to work in their Washington, D.C. headquarters. Interns collaborate directly with country teams and undertake highly substantive work, consisting largely of academic research, conference attendance, and various other tasks in support of a particular team’s goals.

 

Council internships offer a wealth of academically enriching opportunities, such as access to our high-level conferences and events with ASEAN government leaders and public policymakers. Interns also have the opportunity to publish high-quality research notes internally to member companies and externally to the ASEAN public policy community.

 

The internship includes diverse and meaningful responsibilities, such as:

1) Analyzing current national and regional economic policy issues in ASEAN impacting international businesses. Areas of research include: 

• Customs and trade facilitation
  
• Defense and security
  
• Energy and natural resources
  
• Financial sector and capital markets
  
• Food and agriculture
  
• Health and life sciences
  
• Information and communication technology
  
• Trade policy and programs

2) Assisting with the Council’s numerous outreach-related programs and publications, such as:

• drafting weekly country and industry updates
• answering email queries from member companies and the general public
• general support for roundtables and meetings. 

Eligibility: 

• Must be at least a college junior in good standing
  
• Must have at least a 3.3 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) or equivalent from a non-U.S. institution
  
• Must be eligible to work in the U.S.
  
• Must be able to work at least 20 hours a week
  

Applicants should have strong writing, research, and analytical skills as well as a high benchmark for quality and success. They must demonstrate the ability to bridge ideas and history, work independently, and demonstrate a strong academic/professional background in ASEAN foreign and trade policy issues. A confidentiality contract on proprietary information will be required. The Council will also work with college programs to obtain credit where possible. The position is unpaid but includes monthly WMATA SmarTrip benefits.

Application Instructions:

 

To apply, please email Daniel Wu at dwu@usasean.org with the subject “Fall 2012 Policy and Research Internship” with the following documents: 1) cover letter stating your research interests; 2) a résumé, and 3) two writing samples (preferably on Southeast Asia). We will be accepting applications until Friday, August 17, 2012.

For more information, please visit http://www.usasean.org/Aboutus/Jobs/policy-intern.asp

Part-Time Job Opening: GW Global Gender Program

The Global Gender Program is hiring a part-time Communications Assistant. The position includes an hourly wage plus 48% tuition remission.

For information on how to apply, please visit: https://www.gwu.jobs/postings/10299

Part-time Job Opening: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Editorial Assistant--Asia Program

Location:  Washington, DC

Employment Type:  Part Time

Description:  Editorial Assistant (Asia Program-Carnegie Chinese Newsletter) – 18 Hours per Week

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a global think tank, is seeking a part-time Editorial Assistant to work 18 hours per week in its Asia program. Position will assist with the editing and production of its Chinese-language monthly newsletter, Carnegie China Insight. Unique in its nature, this newsletter has won widespread recognition of readers in U.S. and Chinese policy circles. Duties will include writing Chinese summaries of English journal articles; assisting in proofing translations and other Chinese publications; conducting research on newsletter or Asia Program-related outreach and development; additional editorial tasks and other duties as needed.

Position will start immediately and is located in Washington, DC. Candidates must be fluent in Chinese and able to write in Chinese proficiently; fluent in English; and possess excellent analytical skills. B.A. in International Affairs or Political Science preferred.

Please include resume, letter of interest and availability

---

This position is ideal for Chinese-speaking graduate students, preferably in those entering their second year. Apply as soon as possible because they will be closing the application soon and will begin interviewing candidates early next week.

For more information, please visit: http://carnegieendowment.iapplicants.com/ViewJob-327677.html

A Trip to Tainan

Last weekend, I visited Taiwan’s fifth largest city—Tainan—with the Chens, a Taiwanese family that has helped me a lot while I have been in Taiwan.  Mr. Chen, who is in his mid-forties, is the founder of a small memory products company named AXPRO, which primarily manufactures USB flash drives for the Chinese and Latin American markets. Mrs. Chen is a stay-at-home mom who takes care of her two sons, one of whom is ten years old and the other seven.  I met the Chens through Mrs. Chen’s older sister, who I see regularly in DC at a Chinese Bible study I go to.

Before arriving in Taiwan, I was planning on traveling to Tainan because my guidebook recommended it as one of the “must places” to see when one visits the island. This is because Tainan is the former capital of Taiwan (prior to 1887), and is considered to be the center of traditional Taiwanese history and culture.  Thus, when the Chens invited me to accompany them on their annual summer weekend trip to Tainan a few weeks ago, I leaped at the opportunity.

Getting to Tainan was fascinating in itself, as we drove from Taipei to get there.  We took one of Taiwan’s two major highways that run across the western side of the island on a north-south axis.  Most of Taiwan’s population lives on the island’s western side (the eastern side is very mountainous), so these two highways serve as crucial transportation channels between Taiwan’s major cities. Despite the fact that Tainan is one of Taiwan’s southernmost cities, it only takes around three and half hours to get from Taipei in the north of Taiwan (Taiwan is really small!).  However, because Mr. Chen stopped at several rest stops along the highway during our recent trip to Tainan, it took around 5 hours for us to get there. Taiwanese highway rest stops are not like the rest stops one would find in the States—they are bustling centers were travelers can end up spending hours.  At the first rest stop we visited (which was about a two hour drive south of Taipei), there was a large, air-conditioned building where one could find restaurants, gift shops, and convenience stores.  I also spotted a woman singing traditional Chinese opera songs in an outdoor plaza. This particular rests top also overlooked a valley, so many travelers were enjoying the view while taking a rest.

We got to Tainan around 8 PM and, after placing our belongings in our hotel, we set out immediately for local restaurants and street-side food vendors that were known for their tasty snacks. Indeed, Tainan is not only known in Taiwan for its historical and cultural significance, but also for its delicious food.  If I had to pick my favorite food item in Tainan, it would be the lemon tofu pudding (dou hua) I ate.

In addition to eating Tainan’s most famous food, the Chens and I also visited Anping Fort. Anping Fort was built by the Japanese during their colonization of Taiwan (1895-1945) on the ruins of Fort Zeelandia, an early 17^th century Dutch fort that was built to better oversee Holland’s burgeoning trade in Asia at the time. However, the Japanese destroyed much of Fort Zeelandia in order to build Anping Fort in the early 1900s, but did manage to preserve one section of Fort Zeelandia’s outer brick wall. Besides Anping Fort and the wall remains of Fort Zeelandia, Tainan has so many other historical sites that it would take forever to describe them all!

Another last interesting aspect of Tainan is that the majority of its residents come from families that have lived in Taiwan for centuries.  That is, the ancestors of most of Tainan’s residents did not come to Taiwan from the Chinese Mainland with Chiang Kai-shek in 1949 or in the early 1900s, but in the 17^th and 18^th centuries from Southeast China. Because of this history, most people in Tainan today speak “Taiwanese” (a dialect of Chinese that originated in Southeast China) instead of Mandarin Chinese. Moreover, most Tainan residents do not identify themselves as ethnically “Chinese,” but “Taiwanese.” This is one of the reasons Tainan and other Southern Taiwanese cities are strongholds for Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose party platform advocates for de-jure independence from China. Taiwan’s former and only DPP president, Chen Shui-bian, who was in office between 2000 and 2008, was born in Tainan, and all of Tainan’s current representatives in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan (Taiwan’s legislative body) are from the DPP. Thus, Tainan’s political atmosphere is vastly different from that of Taipei, which has historically supported Taiwan’s current ruling party—the KMT, or Nationalist Party.

Thanks for reading!

Kyle Churchman
Elliott School of International Affairs
BA International Affairs, 2013

Sigur Center Grant for Field Research Summer 2012: Asia Center at Seoul National University

The term, Quasi-Alliance, is often used to describe the relationship between South Korea and Japan. Victor Cha, an expert on Asian security and a professor at Georgetown University, has emphasized the role of the United States in bridging the two countries in his book, Alliance despite Antagonism.

Indeed, today's Korean politics appears to prove that there are no better words to describe the two countries' relationship than antagonism and alliance, considering the heated debate both between the Left (Tonghap-Minju Party) and the Right (Saenuri Party) and between the Lee Myongbak government and the Opposition party. Though admitting their procedural fault in not consulting with the National Assembly before announcing the military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, the government and the governing party stress the importance of elevating military relations with Japan to the level of sharing important information regarding regional military changes. They say North Korea threat would be a primary target of the military pact with Japan, which has not been inked yet.

On the other hand, the Opposition party and some progressive newspapers argue against the signing of the pact. First, they say that the people's deep resentment toward Japan because of its brutal colonial rule between 1910 and 1945 should be solved prior to the signing of the military pact with Japan. Second, signing the pact with Japan is the same as joining the US's strategic encirclement of China, which would seriously harm South Korea's economic interests.

Though both sides sound plausible, the argument of the Opposition party that economic interests should be prioritized in strengthening the alliance with the US and Japan begs me the question: Will economic ties with China be hurt when South Korea beefs up its alliance with the US and Japan? If so, how so?

This untested conjecture that strengthening economic ties with the US and Japan would harm the South's economic interests in maintaining economic relations with China has been dragging Seoul's feet in managing its security cooperation with the US and Japan. Although I have been doing research on this topic and writing my dissertation on effects of economic ties on South Korea'a alignment strategies toward China, the answer doesn't seem as apparent as some politicians say.