Panel discussion on "What does the Taiwan 2016 Election Signify?"
Series: Seminar on Taiwan in Comparative Perspective
Date: Tuesday 9th February 2016, 2–4pm
Venue: Seligman Library, 6th Floor, Old Building, LSE
Chair: Professor Stephan Feuchtwang (LSE)
Panellists: Dr Fang-long Shih (LSE), Dr Kent Deng (LSE), Dr Jinghan Zeng (Royal Holloway), Professor Chris Hughes (LSE)
All are welcome to attend
LSE is proud that an alumna, Dr Tsai Ing-wen (PhD in Law, 1984), has become president-elect of the Republic of China/Taiwan. As such, she will be the 37th LSE alumna/alumnus to serve as either the President or Prime Minister of a nation. This panel event will discuss the significance of last month's election.
Professor Christopher Hughes (LSE International Relations) said: "It has been widely recognised that she is the first woman to secure this position and the first time a woman has achieved presidential status in the Chinese-speaking world. This reflects the accumulation of experience through an impressive career since she left LSE with a PhD in Law."
Dr Fang-long Shih (LSE Taiwan Research Programme) said: "This result demonstrates the success of Dr Ing-wen Tsai’s new strategy for overcoming divisions in Taiwan: consolidation and self-confidence. Her campaign managed to bring together a majority of voters (about 56% of votes cast) through a shared vision for Taiwan's future. Previously, there has been a tendency to define Taiwan solely in relation to the rise of China, whereas Dr Tsai's victory suggests a new self-confidence in Taiwan on its own terms: as geopolitically significant, as embodying a democratic project that reflects a diverse culture, and as characterized by world-class small and medium-sized enterprises and by thriving creative industries."