Abstract
To analyze the short-term prospects for political relations between China and Taiwan, I will review the subjective factors and dimensions affecting those relations and the ways in which the two sides are presenting their respective peace discourses.1
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Notes
With the growth in social science/political science research in China and Taiwan, scholars in both countries are placing greater emphasis on being sdentific, objective, theoretical, and universal in their work. Taiwanese political scientists came under the influence of Western methods earlier than their Chinese counterparts, and are therefore more concerned about identifying rules, patterns, and other ‘objective’ factors when analyzing cross-Strait relations. For an example, see T. Bau and Y. Wu (eds.) (2012) Revisiting Theories on Cross-Strait Relations (Taipei: Wu-Nan Publishers). In contrast, in this chapter I will address subjective factors, based on the assumption that ‘objective reality’ depends on the subjective views of researchers and other observers. Further, the meaning of cross-Strait relations to researchers in both countries is more important than the dualistic relationship between subject and object assumed by Western scholars. Accordingly, I will address current and potential political developments between China and Taiwan as the result of specific ways of understanding, interpreting, and presenting them. The peace discourses claimed by both sides are examples.
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Wang, Hj. (2014). Subjective Knowledge Foundation of the Cross-Taiwan Straits International Peace Discourse. In: Dessein, B. (eds) Interpreting China as a Regional and Global Power. Politics and Development of Contemporary China Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137450302_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137450302_6
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