NCCU-Keio-Yonsei Inaugural Joint Conference – Regional Development in East Asia: Security, Economy, and Technology
On January 10th, 2023, National Chengchi University, Keio University, and Yonsei University co- organized the conference for the first time titled “Regional Development in East Asia: Security, Economy, and Technology”. The Inaugural Joint Conference opened with the Dean of Social Sciences, professor Wan-Ying Yang, who addressed the audience with her Welcome Remarks.
Keynote Speaker Professor Yoshihide Soeya, Professor of political science and international relations at the Faculty of Law at Keio University, set the conference’s tone with his keynote address, stating “we could identify ourselves as something about squeezing the middle between the U.S. and China”. He shared his insights into different senses of the distance between the U.S. and China, and of the three countries (Taiwan, Japan, South Korea) that enable them to set a middle tool to tighten the complicated relationship between the U.S. and China.
The event was divided into four panels. During the first hour, Professor Chung-min Tsai, Professor at the Department of Political Science and Vice Dean of the College of Social Sciences at National Chengchi University; Professor Junya Nishino, Professor of Political Science, and Faculty of Law at Keio University; and Professor Wooyeal Paik, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Yonsei University, all shared perspectives from their respective countries (Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea) on political and security aspects of cooperation in the East Asia region and the current global strategic landscape.
Professor Chung-min Tsai assessed the strategic trilateral relations of the U.S., China, and Taiwan, and obstacles the three countries might face; in particular, the possibility of a coming war between the U.S. and China over Taiwan.
Professor Junya Nishino discussed trilateral security cooperation among Japan, the U.S., and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the age of US-China rivalry, and challenges likely present in strengthening relations between Japan and the ROK.
Professor Wooyeal Paik explained the global strategic landscape in Indo-Pacific and Euro- Atlantic regions, especially the critical factors promoting the cooperation of ROK and NATO. He also spoke on the necessary development of the coalition dimension to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue.
Professor David Arase, a Visiting scholar from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University, moderated this panel.
In the second session – Political Economy and Governance, Professor Ken Tsutsumibayashi, Dean of Faculty of Law at Keio University; Professor Heon- Joo Jung, Professor of Department of Public Administration at Yonsei University; and Professor Yi- Chun Chien, Assistant Professor of Political Science at National Chengchi University, all discussed development trends, cooperation, and the national policy system that have affected regional socio- economic growth and stability.
Professor Ken Tsutsumibayashi presented the AI technological breakthrough and its two-face impacts on human life and democratic legitimacy. At the same time, Professor Heon Joo Jung covered competition and cooperation in applying technology in East Asian countries’ military fields.
Professor Yi-Chun Chien compared migrant care worker policy approaches in Taiwan and South Korea that have contributed significantly to solving the challenges of labor shortages in the social welfare sector.
Professor Yeonho Lee, Dean of Social Sciences at Yonsei University moderated this panel.
In the third session – Domestic Politics in Taiwan, Professor Philip Hsiaopong Liu, Professor of the Graduate Institute of Development Studies at National Chengchi University; and Professor Lev Nachman, Assistant Professor of the International Doctoral Programme in Asia-Pacific Studies at National Chengchi University, both delved into changes of Taiwan’s response to issues with foreign elements.
Professor Philip Hsiaopong Liu shared his views on Taiwan’s perspectives of African Americans from 1949 to 1979 and its increasing attention to African American affairs since the 1970s. Finally, professor Lev Nachman identified important reasons that affected Taiwanese people’s reverence towards Mr. Abe’s death.
Professor Tsutsumibayashi from Keio University moderated this panel.
For the fourth and final “Comparative Politics and Political Communication” session, Professor Yuko Kasuya, Professor of Political Science from the Department of Political Science, and Faculty of Law at Keio University; and Professor Ja-Rim Kim, Professor from the Department of Communication at Yonsei University, both examined communication factors and challenges likely to be present in the political issues of their respective countries.
Professor Yuko Kasuya discussed how disinformation impacted the result of the 2022 Philippines presidential election. Finally, to close this panel, Professor Ja- Rim Kim investigated the effectiveness of the war-framing strategy and its implications on health related outcomes in communication with highly suspicious individuals.
Professor Bennis So from National Chengchi University moderated this panel.
