ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2017-09-01DOI: 10.1142/S1013251117500084
Ji-Jen Hwang
{"title":"China’s Military Reform: The Strategic Support Force, Non-Traditional Warfare, and the Impact on Cross-Strait Security","authors":"Ji-Jen Hwang","doi":"10.1142/S1013251117500084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251117500084","url":null,"abstract":"In late 2015, the Chinese leadership announced sweeping reforms designed to bring the military into the modern era, signaling a departure from a traditional over-dependence on ground forces and incorporating extensive structural reorganization to create a more balanced joint command system. The reform aims to create a system suited to the modern conditions of informatization, with direct leadership from the Central Military Commission, and is bolstered by the Chinese military’s advancement in progressive information technology, space technology, and cyber security. With the creation of a new Strategic Support Force (SSF), China has clearly demarcated the operational command of traditional and non-traditional warfare within the military system, representing a strategic and tactical step forward that gives greater scope to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to dominate in non-traditional military theaters. While the military reform has the potential to affect military strategy around Asia and further afield...","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2017-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73515559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2017-09-01DOI: 10.1142/S1013251117500059
Jeremy Garlick
{"title":"An Elusive Synergy: The Quest for Cooperation on Energy Security between China and the European Union","authors":"Jeremy Garlick","doi":"10.1142/S1013251117500059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251117500059","url":null,"abstract":"In 2012, China and the European Union (EU) issued a joint declaration on energy security. It is unclear, however, what progress has been made since then in terms of applying the goals of the declaration. This paper sets out to assess the present state of China and the EU’s energy security, the potential for future cooperation, and the obstacles which stand in the way. The analysis assesses the extent to which the two actors can work together on improving energy infrastructure, diversifying supplies, and developing renewable and nuclear energy, possibly by finding synergies between China’s Belt and Road initiative and the EU’s Juncker Plan. It also includes a re-examination of the concept of energy security to take account of the urgency of addressing the collapse of the global environment. Overall, the analysis suggests that although due to geographical and other constraints there may be limited opportunity for cooperation between the EU and China on securing oil and gas supplies, there is both scope and ...","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2017-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75647214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2017-06-01DOI: 10.1142/S1013251117500011
Lu Zheng, Zongshi Chen
{"title":"Who Is More Generous? The Moderating Role of Gender and Education in Chinese Corporate Philanthropy","authors":"Lu Zheng, Zongshi Chen","doi":"10.1142/S1013251117500011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251117500011","url":null,"abstract":"Our paper draws upon the literature of corporate financial performance and ethical decision-making to examine how corporate past profits and individual characteristics work together to influence co...","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82793421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2017-06-01DOI: 10.1142/S1013251117500023
Frank C. S. Liu, Ryan Y. P. Chang, A. C. Tan
{"title":"The Spiral of Deinstitutionalization Untangled: An Observation about the Field Opinion within Kuomintang against Public Opinion during the 2016 Presidential Election Campaign","authors":"Frank C. S. Liu, Ryan Y. P. Chang, A. C. Tan","doi":"10.1142/S1013251117500023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251117500023","url":null,"abstract":"As political scientists start applying the complex-system approach to study party politics and as business scholars start to apply communication theories to study deinstitutionalization, we prospect a new possibility to study and explain politics within a political party. This study employs a systematically collected field observation data to evaluate Clemente and Roulet’s (2015) “the spiral of deinstitutionalization” framework. Based on analysis of news events and internal reports within Kuomintang from April 20 to October 17, 2015, we believe that this framework facilitates explanation about how the decision of nominating Hung Hsiu-Chu as the party’s first female presidential candidate was replaced three months before the Election Day. We interpret the whole story and provide details that contribute to enriching the framework for future organizational and political party research.","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80160872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2017-06-01DOI: 10.1142/S1013251117500047
Jessica Marinaccio
{"title":"Soft Power in a Hard Shell: The Fleet of Friendship of the ROC Navy and Taiwan’s Performative Cultural Diplomacy in the Pacific","authors":"Jessica Marinaccio","doi":"10.1142/S1013251117500047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251117500047","url":null,"abstract":"In 1967, Taiwan began dispatching a portion of its navy, the ROC “Fleet of Friendship,” on goodwill missions to allied nations to strengthen diplomatic friendships. Since that time, one of the major areas of focus for fleet visits has been Taiwan’s allies in the Pacific. In an attempt to move beyond emphasis on the China–Taiwan rivalry in the Pacific, this paper examines firsthand sources to advance three modes of contextualizing the Fleet of Friendship and reveals various layers of historical, pragmatic, and symbolic meaning that exist beyond simple competition with China. First, with specific focus on the performances presented during the fleet’s goodwill visits, this paper contextualizes fleet performances within Taiwan’s unique history, including an extended Martial Law period and tensions regarding the concept of “multiculturalism.” Second, the paper more broadly examines the fleet as a holistic entity on three levels: a hard-power superstructure in which the fleet serves as a reminder of military po...","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88688098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2017-06-01DOI: 10.1142/S1013251117500035
Arthur S. Ding
{"title":"The PLA and Taiwan Policy under Xi Jinping: One Joint Actor without Its Own Agenda","authors":"Arthur S. Ding","doi":"10.1142/S1013251117500035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251117500035","url":null,"abstract":"After the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th Party Congress was held in the fall of 2012, frequently asked questions were: Is Xi Jinping able to rein in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and what is the state of Chinese party-military relations? What are the implications of this status for the PLA in China’s Taiwan policy-making? What is the potential impact of Taiwan’s leadership transition on China’s Taiwan policy and on the PLA’s role? This author argues that through a stick and carrot approach, Xi has become the leader of China, and has been able to rein in the PLA. His proactive and assertive approach in the context of China’s growing capabilities has empowered him to control the discourse of Taiwan policy. In these circumstances, the PLA will continue to be one joint actor within the relevant apparatus executing Taiwan policy without its own agenda. Uncertainty as a result of the ruling party rotation in Taiwan is unlikely to change the PLA’s role.","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2017-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76463137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2016-12-16DOI: 10.1142/S1013251116500089
Anne Hsiu-an Hsiao
{"title":"China and the South China Sea “Lawfare”","authors":"Anne Hsiu-an Hsiao","doi":"10.1142/S1013251116500089","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251116500089","url":null,"abstract":"The strategic values of the South China Sea had long been recognized. More recently, the South China Sea has once again become an international flashpoint, as disputes take place in the context of ...","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2016-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86344597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2016-12-16DOI: 10.1142/S1013251116500065
Mei-Chuan Wei, Yao-Nan Hung, Chen-Yuan Tung
{"title":"The Economicization of the Cross-Strait Relationship: The Impact of the Cross-Strait Economic Relationship on the 2012 Presidential Election in Taiwan","authors":"Mei-Chuan Wei, Yao-Nan Hung, Chen-Yuan Tung","doi":"10.1142/S1013251116500065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251116500065","url":null,"abstract":"In comparing Taiwan’s presidential elections in 2012 and 2016, looking into the influence of the cross-Strait relationship is an important research topic. Analyses of the 2012 presidential election focusing on the cross-Strait relationship therefore serve as a useful reference for such a comparison. All comments on and analyses of the outcome of Taiwan’s 2012 presidential election point to the impact of the cross-Strait economic relationship. By drawing on economic statecraft theories, this paper explores the issue through analyzing post-election survey data. Our study shows that the concern with the impact of the negative development of the cross-Strait economic relationship on Taiwan’s economy had Ma Ying-jeou lost the election significantly influenced the decisions of those voters who were dissatisfied with President Ma’s performance during his first term and yet still voted for him in the election mainly because of Ma’s position on the cross-Strait relationship. They accounted for 5.75% of the total number of voters. Given that the winning margin in the 2012 presidential election was 5.97%, the decision made by the aforementioned voters could have changed the election result. It also shows that 73.7% of the cross-Strait relationship voters were cross-Strait economic voters. Our findings demonstrate that, although the cross-Strait relationship per se may not be the most crucial factor that determines the voting choice of the Taiwan people, it however proves the influence of the cross-Strait economic relationship over the election, hence the economicization of the cross-Strait relationship. By economicization, it is meant that the cross-Strait economic relationship appears to be a dominant issue in the cross-Strait relationship.","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2016-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76470757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2016-12-16DOI: 10.1142/S1013251116500053
Wen-hsuan Tsai
{"title":"Delicacies for a Privileged Class in a Risk Society: The Chinese Communist Party’s Special Supplies Food System","authors":"Wen-hsuan Tsai","doi":"10.1142/S1013251116500053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251116500053","url":null,"abstract":"This paper discusses the history and operation of the tegong (special supplies) system for foodstuffs operated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The system has been in existence since the Yan’an period and is still being practiced today. It was originally introduced to deal with China’s shortage economy during the era of Mao Zedong. Nowadays, the issue of food safety has made China a risk society, making it necessary for the CCP to provide its privileged class with food that is safe for consumption. We distinguish two categories of food supplies in terms of their operation: dedicated supplies for special needs and routine tegong. In addition, we believe that an alliance relationship between the government and food enterprises has emerged within the tegong system, with government officials and businesses colluding to their mutual benefit and profit. The paper concludes that the continuation of the tegong system signifies the persistence of a high degree of social inequality in modern-day China.","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2016-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86897045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ISSUES & STUDIESPub Date : 2016-12-01DOI: 10.1142/S1013251116400014
Natacha Aveline‐Dubach
{"title":"Embedment of “Liquid” Capital into the Built Environment: The Case of REIT Investment in Hong Kong","authors":"Natacha Aveline‐Dubach","doi":"10.1142/S1013251116400014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251116400014","url":null,"abstract":"Since the Global Financial Crisis, the notion of securitization has become familiar to urban scholars, though research has been limited to mortgage-backed securities. This paper attempts to delineate the distinctive urban outcomes of securitization techniques applied to real estate, taking Hong Kong REITs (H-REITs) as a case study. It examines the way through which liquid H-REIT capital anchors into the built environment, and how this process impacts the life of local communities. The study shows that the urban dynamics of REIT investment contrast with the corporate environment and asset management objectives of the initiator/sponsor groups of H-REIT structures, a set of characteristics that are captured by the notion of “management styles.” Amongst the three management styles identified in the paper, those developed by the Hong Kong family-based groups have not been sufficiently active to produce significant effects on the built environment. In contrast, the Link REIT has an aggressive value enhancement strategy that has reconfigured the social geographies of retail consumption across the whole territory, to the detriment of social housing estate residents. These results support the recognition that the financialization of the built environment tends to exacerbate social polarization and to trigger political conflicts, but they must be weighed against the contingent conditions in which real estate securitization take place.","PeriodicalId":53213,"journal":{"name":"ISSUES & STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82935098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}