Scholar to Explore China-Taiwan Relations

10/30/2015 

Days before the leaders of China and Taiwan will meet for the first time since Communist China forced the country's nationalist government out in 1949, SUNY Cortland is hosting one of the nation's top experts on the long, troubled relationship between the two countries.

Dennis V. Hickey, a top China scholar who directs the Graduate Program in Global Studies at Missouri State University, will give a talk ripped from today’s headlines on political tension over escalating territorial disputes in the South China Sea on Thursday, Nov. 5, at SUNY Cortland.

Hickey, a distinguished professor who is the university’s James F. Morris Endowed Professor of Political Science, will discuss “In the Eye of the Typhoon: Taiwan and the Growing Dispute in the South China Sea,” at 4:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.

China has recently pushed its claims in the strategic waterway by building artificial islands that China believes will strengthen its territorial claim in the South China Sea, alarming Taiwan, an island nation that China views as a breakaway republic. The U.S. Navy recently challenged China's effort by intentionally sailing within 12 miles of the human-made land masses. The United States is Taiwan's primary military supporter.

Wednesday, China and Taiwan surprised the world by announcing that their respective leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, will hold an historic meeting Sunday in Singapore.

	Dennis V. Hickey

"The timing of this is really intense," said event organizer Lu-Chung “Dennis” Weng, SUNY Cortland assistant professor of political science. "This is the most important issue in East Asia, and we happen to have an expert scheduled here."

Hickey told Weng he will include the rapidly unfolding developments in China-Taiwan relations in his presentation. Following his hour-long lecture, an open meeting with students and faculty will take place.

Sponsored by SUNY Cortland’s Political Science Department, the Clark Center for International Education and The Taiwan and Asia Program of University of Texas at Austin, the lecture is free and open to the public.

“The quarrel involves numerous states,” noted Weng., “But there is one player in this contentious game that is often ignored — namely, the Republic of China in Taiwan.”

Hickey will provide an overview of the ongoing South China Sea dispute and outline Taiwan’s policy toward it. Also, he will discuss the triangle relationships between Taiwan, China and the U.S. in today’s world.

“While Taiwan has long been the most sensitive of issues in U.S.-China relations and likely remains so for many years to come, this talk will help you understand the role of Taiwan and why this island is critical in American foreign policy,” Weng said.

For more information, contact Weng.