Abstract: Conflict analysis in the South China Sea brings up several fundamental questions. First, can these disputes truly escalate into armed conflict among the states involved? Second, are the instruments and rules of conduct employed in the region effective in conflict management and will they enable the sides to achieve common ground – or will the conflict simmer in perpetuity? Third, will the countries involved in the disputes respect international law and act in accordance with the accepted rules and regulations, or will they take an instrumental, ad-hoc approach to them and break them at their whim and fancy? The South China Sea is a hotbed of rivalry not only among the countries of the region, but perhaps especially between China and the United States. It is important to conduct a closer examination of Taiwan's role in this geopolitical game. We find that Taiwan's unique political and legal status transforms the South China Sea dispute and the careful management thereof into a true matter of “to be or not to be.” Realizing the importance of its maritime interests, Taiwan should be more active in upholding them; however, it should also ensure that its foreign relations with other claimant and non-claimant states remain positive and its initiatives for cooperation remain feasible. Taiwan should send a clear massage reaffirming its commitment to abide by the principles of international maritime law, placing emphasis on its role as a regional peacemaker, leader in regional cooperation, and responsible stakeholder.

Keywords: South China Sea, disputes, international role, UNCLOS

Introduction

The situation in the South China Sea has been quite stable for many years. The countries that are directly involved in the long-standing dispute have turned their attention to domestic problems. The presence of the U.S. Navy in the area has also been an important stabilizing factor. Moreover, the People's Republic of China did not take any significant steps on this issue for a number of years. For a long time, the PRC was unable to successfully push for its own claims on a wider scale. Recently, however, the situation has changed – a fact that cannot be separated from recent changes in China's perception of its own security. It seems that China has shifted its attention from mostly land-based military threats to challenges to its authority at sea.

Abstract: Taiwan's external relations are ‘exceptional.’ Due to the island's contested international status and limited recognition, public diplomacy often provides Taipei with the only channel to conduct external affairs through the soft-power resources it enables. Therefore, in order to assess the island's foreign policies, it is crucial to understand its soft power capacity.

This chapter analyzes the challenges to the exercise of Taiwan's soft power as well as its effects in selected Polish dailies. First, it looks for themes that may enable and disable Taiwan's soft power in the scholarly literature and documents released by Taipei's govermental actors. Second, it examines whether these themes pertaining to the island were present in two Polish dailies – “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Rzeczpospolita” – during a one-year period from November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2017. The newspaper analysis aims to reveal narratives that are alternative to those promoted publicly and that are related to the image of Taiwan, other significant international actors, and Taiwanese governmental as well as non-state executors of public policy, all of which may contribute to an enabling or disabling environment for Taipei's soft power. It applies techniques and methods from media research and discourse analysis.

Keywords: public diplomacy, soft power, Taiwan diplomacy, newspaper analysis

Introduction

Taiwanese diplomacy is ‘exceptional’ due to the island's contested international status. Taiwan is not recognized by the majority of the states of the world and, for this reason, its international space is severely limited. Currently, it enjoys formal diplomatic relations with only 14 countries and the Holy See and cannot become a member of the foremost international organizations, particularly those where statehood is a prerequisite. As a consequence, Taipei's politicians and administrations responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs must show a great deal of ingenuity to utilize the traditional diplomatic tools of sovereign states, such as propaganda or diplomatic and economic statecraft. One must admit that Taipei has been very creative in its diplomatic endeavors by inventing “pragmatic diplomacy,” “dollar diplomacy,” “holiday diplomacy,” “academic diplomacy,” “flexible diplomacy,” “substantive diplomacy,” “medical diplomacy,” “viable diplomacy,” etc.

Abstract: In the last two decades, cluster policies have emerged as a central focus for decision- making processes related to territorial development. Additionally, tourism networks have attracted a great deal of attention and have widened the perspective of organizing for the development of economic systems. The main purpose of this study is to build on the initial work by Ritchie and Hudson on the evolution of scholarly conceptualizations of the tourism experience using aboriginal tourism in Taiwan as an illustration, with a view to further enhancing our understanding of the conceptual and theoretical foundations of the aboriginal tourism experience. This paper therefore synthesizes the literature and discusses the problem of a rationale for aboriginal (indigenous) tourism cluster formation in Taiwan as well as the impact of such clusters on the productivity of local communities and the competitiveness of different destinations.

Keywords: tourism cluster, tourist destinations, sustainable tourism, indigenous tourism

Introduction

As tourism is, to a large extent, responsible for economic growth, employment, and regional balances between individual countries and across regions, numerous tourism entities are looking to reinforce their potential in the development of tourism on the local and regional level. The competition among Tourism Destination Areas (TDAs) is not centered on individual aspects of the tourist product (environmental resources, transportation, tourism services, hospitality, etc.), but on the tourist destination as an integrated set of tourism facilities and experiences. However, an individual tourism organization provides only one or several components of the total tourism product that is consumed during the complete tourism experience. That is why the best modality for objectifying the production and supply of tourism products at the level of TDAs are clusters of tourism and non-tourism entities. From both an economic and social standpoint, their development and success are dependent on cooperation and sustainability.

It is beyond doubt that the current tourism development model, which also applies to indigenous tourism, has serious spatial and social consequences. These include the transformation of settlement networks and the quality of building resources as well as extensive social changes that often prove irreversible, like waning indigenous cultures and rising social pathologies.

Abstract: The goal of this paper is to define the place of the Sunflower Movement in the context of the development of Taiwanese civil society. The movement was an informal popular mobilization that revealed the shortcomings of the existing formal channels of political participation. But was it also proof of the development and increasing maturity of Taiwanese civil society? To answer this question, the author places the Sunflower Movement in the context of mainstream civil society concepts, which helps to inform further reflection about the nature of civic activism in Taiwan. This, in turn, allows us to analyze the extent to which the Sunflower Movement fits the criteria of civic activism and the degree to which it has introduced a new quality to Taiwanese political life.

Keywords: Sunflower Movement, Taiwan, democratization, civil society

Introduction

The Sunflower Movement was an emanation of complex changes both in the relations between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China and in the internal politics of Taiwan. After March 2014, Taiwanese policymakers had to face questions concerning not only the framework of future talks with the Mainland, but also, just as importantly, the social perceptions of the government's actions. The inability of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) to adapt to changing social circumstances signaled by the protests and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)'s skillful political offensive – partly based on the momentum created by the demonstrations – gave the latter party both the majority in the Legislative Yuan and the Presidential office for the first time since the lifting of martial law (1949–1987).

However, the Sunflower Movement should not be viewed as the underlying cause of changes in Taiwan's political landscape. Regardless of how the sit-ins and occupation of government buildings are perceived, the Movement should be viewed as a reference point signaling an important change in Taiwan's contemporary political history. And regardless of whether its legacy will survive or whether it will be politically exploited and diminished, it has already highlighted some major, important characteristics of Taiwanese democracy.

First and foremost, Taiwanese democracy is too strong not to be ignored in high-level diplomacy between Taipei and Beijing. Taiwanese citizens do not accept any form of ‘managed democracy.’

Abstract: This paper argues that recognition of Taiwan's status quo and security resulting from the guarantee of triangular relations with the United States and China should not eliminate the impact of local, societal, and political factors on the respective power positions of the players involved or their embroilment in the U.S.-China-Taiwan triangle. The study explores these factors influencing the identities and interests of players with the advent of political leadership changes. We ask how policies adopted by newly elected politicians toward others in the triangle contribute to Taiwan's stability in the future.

Keywords: cross-Strait relations, triangular relations

Introduction

Today, the distinctiveness of Taiwan in the world is still shaped by the legacy of the Civil War in China in 1949, in addition to the Cold War in Asia. It is continually reaffirmed through declining international recognition for the Republic of China on Taiwan (ROC, Taiwan), amounting to only 17 states in 2018. Taiwan maintains its status quo in an atypical way, co-crafted through an intricate security mechanism of relations with profound influence from the United States (the U.S.) and the People's Republic of China (PRC, China). This phenomenon has been widely discussed within academia, regardless of the methodological assumptions in the field of international relations. It comes as no surprise that the relations between the U.S., China, and Taiwan have ultimately been captured using the well-grounded and fitting term ‘triangle.’

Various studies facilitate an understanding of the Taiwan issue by explaining triangular relations. Lowell Dittmer introduced the perspective of the ‘strategic triangle,’ operationalized as the contingency of each bilateral relation with the third power and the security dimension of that contingency. Dittmer identifies Taiwan's triangle as dependent on linkages between the U.S., USSR, and PRC – the Great Strategic Triangle during the Cold War. After this broader strategic nexus collapsed, Taiwan's triangle became ‘autonomous’ – a mini-triangle, characterized by the “imbalance of power among the three actors.” By distinguishing between positive and negative behavior between two symmetric and asymmetric players – “strongly influenced by the power ratio (strong/weak),” Dittmer outlined the possible configurations of the triangles by bilateral amity and enmity in the triad, such as ‘Stable Marriage,’ ‘Romantic,’ and ‘Ménage a trois,’ later supplemented by a fourth configuration – the ‘Unit-Veto.’

Abstract: Among many species of fish, sharks are distinctive in the Chinese cultural environment due to the tradition of consuming shark-based products in countries inhabited by ethnic Chinese. Offering dishes based on shark meat to guests was traditionally perceived as a sign of hospitality and was thought to bring happiness, health, and wealth. Currently, the attitude towards the use of these species in Taiwan is changing; increasingly, many people decide to actively protect them. Consequently, numerous educational campaigns on sharks have been launched, followed by growing demand for tourist services related to sharks, especially watching these animals in their natural habitat.

The goal of this study is to analyze the unique conditions for the development of shark-related ecosystem services in Taiwan, especially ecotourism. The key variables analyzed are the rising level of environmental awareness, support by formal and informal institutions, and the contributions of role models for sustainable business. The paper presents a case study of a company offering shark diving, the social and institutional conditions for its operations, and their consequences for various stakeholders. Research methods applied in this paper include a case study supported by document analysis as well as individual interviews. The results show that Taiwan has favorable conditions to develop this niche market and shape a new ecosystem service from an ancient tradition. However, there are still major social challenges to overcome.

Keywords: sharks, ecotourism, marine tourism, embeddedness, environmental awareness

Introduction

Taiwanese society is a melting pot of different cultures. Its history involves a rich heritage of native aborigines, migrations from various continents (Europe, Asia, the Americas), and the influence of well-known faiths and schools of thought such as Confucianism or Buddhism. All these factors have shaped modern Taiwanese society in its attitudes toward the most pressing societal problems. One of them is a shift towards green consumption.

The concept of green consumption, which prioritizes responsibility for the environment, emerged in Western countries at the end of the 20th century. Taiwan is in an exceptional cultural position, as it lies at the intersection of Western and Eastern cultural circles. Similarly, the idea of green consumption attracts a growing number of Taiwanese citizens.

Chapter 9 concludes Mobilizing for Elections by reiterating the volume’s core arguments and contributions, then by exploring the potential extension of its framework to other cases, including the possibility of expanding the typology of electoral mobilization regimes. Next, it reviews the implications of the book’s findings for democratic governance and discusses the opportunities for and limits of reform measures with potential to curtail patronage politics and improve the quality of democracy, including electoral-system reform to help shift polities from a candidate-centric to a party-centric focus. Additional reforms are also important, whether promoting bureaucratic capacity and autonomy or creating a more level electoral playing field.

Chapter 6 focuses on macro-particularism – the hijacking of programmatic policies. It highlights the difficulty of drawing a clear line between programmatic and patronage politics. It explains three forms of macro-particularism: credit-claiming (when a politician claims their individual intervention was critical to delivering a benefit to an individual or group); facilitation (when the politician actually does intervene to ensure delivery); and morselization (when the politicians breaks a program into bite-sized chunks and allocates them according to political criteria). The chapter explains that the three case-study countries present different mixes of these forms. Hijacking under Malaysia’s party-dominated system lacks incentives to allow morselization and so hijacking mostly involves credit-claiming and facilitation of benefits provided by the dominant party. The deeply entrenched local machines of the Philippines represent a system founded on discretion, hence, more morselization. Indonesia is mixed: some politicians, notably regional executives, enjoy discretion in allocating resources; legislators are still trying to expand access to state resources for hijacking.

Chapter 4 focuses on micro-particularism: distribution of money, goods, or services to individual voters and households in hopes of obtaining their electoral support. The chapter finds this practice is extremely common in Indonesia and the Philippines but is not entirely absent in Malaysia (especially East Malaysia). The micro-particularistic practice given the greatest attention in the literature is cash handouts; the chapter confirms that candidates in the Philippines and Indonesia devote much attention to how to distribute cash effectively. Despite the ubiquity of the term “vote buying,” the chapter finds that micro-particularism rarely involves straightforward market transactions, either in how disbursement is expressed culturally or in anticipated outcomes: these payments are generally not contingent patronage. The chapter reveals that candidates find cash handouts most valuable as a means of signaling that they are serious contenders (a process the chapter calls credibility buying) and protecting their presumed turf; most voters being targeted have, at best, tenuous loyalties to the candidates targeting them.