Department of Asian Studies | Capstone Lecture

Capstone Lecture

Taiwan Democracy and the Chinese Humanistic Tradition

with Dr. Josephine Chiu-Duke, Chinese Intellectual History, Asian Studies 

Taiwan’s peaceful transformation from authoritarian rule to a liberal democracy in the early 1990s has been praised as a remarkable political achievement. This achievement, despite the many challenges it has faced and still confronts, has been thriving in the face of China’s claim of sovereignty over the island and its constant threats of serious coercion. To be sure, Taiwan’s production of the world’s most sought for semiconductor chips has already made Taiwan a pivotal link in the world supply chain.

What should be noted is that Taiwan today is also the only place where Chinese culture, especially with regard to the values embedded in the Confucian humanistic tradition, has been best preserved since 1949 without being deliberately destroyed as it was during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

In her talk, Dr. Chiu-Duke will discuss why Taiwan’s successful search for liberty and democracy has yet to bring about a consensus on Taiwan’s dealing with China. She will also discuss how Confucius’ innovative re-interpretation of the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven laid the foundation for the Chinese humanistic tradition. This tradition was the key reason for China being identified as one of the “Axial civilizations.” However, it has never being able to make an institutional breakthrough in its pursuit of the Confucian ideal of a humane government, not even during the 1915 May Fourth New Culture movement when liberal democracy and science were advocated as the necessary goals for China’s path to modernity.

The establishment of the People’s Republic of China has left no room for liberal democracy, but it is precisely in this respect that Dr. Chiu-Duke will argue that if China today is genuinely serious about its 2023 projected “global civilization initiative”, it should see Taiwan and its democracy as a most viable reference for the success of this project instead of as a target for annexation. Only in this way can Taiwan democracy continue its support for the healthy development of the Chinese humanistic tradition with the values of this tradition continuing on to serve as a source for elevating the civility and quality of Taiwan democracy. Perhaps, only in this way can Taiwan democracy and the Chinese humanistic tradition also make a contribution to the twin goals of world peace and stability.

Josephine Chiu-Duke is Professor of Chinese Intellectual History in the Department of Asian Studies where she has taught for over thirty years.

She is the author of To Rebuild the Empire: Lu Chih’s Confucian Pragmatist Approach to the Mid-Tang Predicament (2000), and In Search of Liberty: Lin Yusheng’s Life and Thought (2023).

This talk is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged for planning purposes.