Unpacking the 2024 Taiwan Elections
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck Clore Management Centre
Join us for an in-depth discussion on the recent 2024 Taiwan elections, where we will delve into their significance and the broader implications for and beyond Taiwan. Our expert panel will provide rigorous analysis and insights into this pivotal milestone. Our discussion will encompass an in-depth assessment of how the conclusion of Taiwan's recent elections is poised to shape future Cross-Strait relations and the broader international order. We will also scrutinize the framing of the elections by China's state media and the subsequent responses from the Chinese populace. Using the backdrop of the 2024 elections, finally, we will engage in a reflective analysis of contemporary global trends in democratic development, drawing parallels around the globe.
Dr Chao-Yo Cheng is a Lecturer in Quantitative Social Research at Birkbeck, University of London. He is also the Director of Birkbeck's Postgraduate Social Research Programmes. His work applies various computational, quantitative, and qualitative methods to address a range of topics in the political economy of development and institutions in the Global South. He received his PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Before coming to Birkbeck, Chao-Yo held fellowship positions at Tsinghua University (Beijing) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is currently working on a manuscript to explore how ethnic local autonomy and other special subnational institutions contribute to nation-state building in post-1949 China.
Dr Monique Chu is a Lecturer in Chinese Politics at the University of Southampton. With MPhil and PhD degrees in international relations from the University of Cambridge, she has conducted extensive research on semiconductors' geopolitics, sovereignty and Cross-Strait relations. Formerly at SOAS, University of London, and the University of Oxford, she is renowned for her groundbreaking monograph, "The East Asian Computer Chip War" (Routledge, 2013), and co-editorship of "Globalization and Security Relations Across the Taiwan Strait" (with Scott L. Kastner, Routledge, 2014). Her contributions extend to esteemed journals like the Journal of Strategic Studies, the China Quarterly, and China Perspectives. She's working on her second monograph, "Achilles Heel of the Dragon: Problematic Sovereignty Along China's Periphery." She has been a sought-after interviewee by major international media outlets, including the BBC, National Public Radio, and Australian Broadcasting Corporation, offering insights on the geopolitics of semiconductors, Chinese foreign policy, Cross-Strait relations and Sino-US relations.
Dr Tao Wang is a Hallsworth Research Fellow in Chinese Political Economy at the University of Manchester, where he earned a PhD in Politics in 2021. His research lies at the intersection of informal institutions, political representation and public opinion, with a regional focus on East Asia. His current work looks at constituency services in Taiwan, examining the ramifications of informal rules such as "guanxi" (a Chinese term meaning relationships and connections). He is also developing several research projects on authoritarian public opinion and foreign affairs, one of which aims to address the sources of popular support in China for Russia's war in Ukraine. Tao's research has been published in Foreign Affairs, the British Journal of Social Psychology, the Journal of Contemporary China, and World Affairs, among others.
Contact name:
Chao-Yo Cheng