2023 年輕學者計畫

13:30 -15:45 August 6 (SUN)

(時間均為台灣時間)

Tu, Margaret Yun-Pu (Nikal Kabala’an/杜芸璞)

School of Law, Uni. of Washington, Seattle, USA

Ph.D. Candidate in Law

A Taiwanese Youth’s Observation in Joining the United Nations—how UNPFII hasn't Excluded Taiwan Indigenous Peoples for Political Reasons. 

Taiwan’s President Tsai visited the U.S. this month. On March 27, 2023, the Irish Times journalist, Yvonne Murray, asked Stéphane Dujarric, the United Nations (UN) Spokesperson: “why are Taiwanese people not allowed to enter UN buildings for tours or meetings?” According to the Taiwan News reporter Duncan DeAeth, Dujarric answered, “Only individuals with an ID issued by a member state of the UN may enter,” later, the French reporter Celhia De Lavarene confronted by asking, “Is China running the UN?” 

In searching the questions and their implications raised above, as well as investigating whether the position guided by the UN General Assembly’s resolution on the “One China policy” is so unshakeable, this research presents the hands-on experiences in joining the UN through the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Based on fieldwork data from two different years’ sessions, this research reveals the observations and practices in the challenging status quo. Yet, this research suggests how the interactions on Taiwan Indigenous issues with the larger international Indigenous communities globally can be a solid approach to connecting and building friendships for the ultimate goal of-- making sustainable development of Taiwan. My presentation concludes that Taiwan really matters and why the UN hasn't excluded Taiwan Indigenous Peoples for political reasons.

Ji, Dai-Yan  (紀岱延)

University of Maryland College-Park

Ph.D./Mechanical Engineering

Challenges and Opportunities in Taiwan's Electric Vehicle Industry

Electric Vehicles (EVs) have become a trending topic in recent years due to the industry's race for competitive pricing as well as environmental awareness. These concerns have led to increased research into development of both affordable and environmentally friendly EV technology in Taiwan. The presentation will clarify the existing gaps in practical applications and highlight the potential challenges and opportunities related to the current issues in EVs for the EV industry moving forward.  More specifically, I will briefly start with an overview of the fast-growing EV market,showing the urgent demand for Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) applications in Taiwan. At the component level, the issues of the major components such as the motor, battery, and charging system in EVs are elaborated, and the relevant PHM research of these components is surveyed to show the development in the era of EV expansion. Moreover, the impact of an increasing number of EVs at the system level such as power distribution systems and power grid are explored to uncover possible research in the future. The combination of existing PHM techniques and robust measurement or feature extraction methods can provide better solutions to address the motor, battery, or transformer issues at the component level. A comprehensive optimization and cybersecurity strategy will help to address the issues of the whole network at a system level. Finally, four aspects of vision in the overall charging network – battery innovation, charging optimization, infrastructure evolution, and sustainability – that cover the demands of research in new battery materials, innovative charging techniques, new architectures of the charging network, and reliable waste treatment mechanisms are outlined. 

Kao, Yu-Ting (高郁婷)

Ethnology Institute, Academia Sinica

Postdoctoral scholar

Turning the Streets inside out: 

A Case of Place/home-making in Changhua City

I show how a cohort of ‘cosmopolitan’ homecomers in Changhua City have gradually form a social network that tend to contest the conservative local society, and that they are able to do so given the sedimented spatial-materiality which I call ‘a home city of kinship.’ It is from the ‘private’ home-house that a public civic sphere can be materially and aesthetically sustained. The study is based on the on-field observation in Changhua City between 2016 until now, and in-depth interviews with those belonging to that network, many of whom are local shop owners. The case of Changhua City should inspire our further exploration into the clues for alternative ways of urban development.  

Hsieh, Tsung-Yun (謝宗運)

Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center/ Chinese Medicine Department, Tri-service General Hospital

PhD student / Visiting Staff

Epidemiological Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Body Constitution Combined with Precision Medicine

Ever since the launch of the Precision Medicine Initiative by President Obama in 2015, the study of precision medicine has become popular. Scientists have gradually found the causative genes of various diseases, but many diseases remain difficult to prevent and treat. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) places great emphasis on the evaluation and adjustment of individual body constitutions in clinical treatment. In TCM theory, the onset of many diseases is related to the weakening of the body constitution. Previous studies have also observed different types of body constitution weakening in patients with different diseases. However, previous studies have not correlated body constitution weakening with genetic variations.

In this study, the TCM body constitution questionnaire in the Taiwan Biobank will be used to screen for three types of body constitutions: Yang deficiency, Yin deficiency, and Phlegm-stasis. The findings will then be linked with large health databases such as the Taiwan Precision Medicine Project and the National Health Insurance Database to understand the correlations between body constitution weakening and the occurrence of diseases. This study will also identify whether patients with the same disease but with differences in body constitution weakening have different expressions in single nucleotide polymorphisms. In addition, this study will also analyze social environmental factors affecting patients' body constitution weakening (marital status, level of social isolation, place of residence, etc.) and lifestyle habits (frequency of smoking, alcohol, betel nut, exercise, tea, coffee, vegetarianism, dining out, late-night snacks, nutritional supplements, etc.). Speculations will then be made about whether we may further use body constitution and genotype to predict certain clinical manifestations and prognosis of diseases. Furthermore, we also hope to find evidence of the molecular mechanisms related to body constitution weakening and the onset of diseases in the future.

Hsu, Hsiangpi  (徐祥弼)

National Taiwan University, Department of History

M.A. Program

Straddling Democracy and Anti-Communism: Free China Fortnightly Magazine and The Asia Foundation in the Global Cold War

The Free China Fortnightly（《自由中國》）, a politically oriented publication, received a nine-year grant from The Asia Foundation（亞洲基金會） commencing in February 1953, under the guise of "publication distribution." This financial support played a pivotal role in alleviating the fiscal shortfall resulting from the Kuomintang Government's withdrawal of funding for the publication in 1952, prompted by a speech controversy. However, compelled by the KMT government, The Asia Foundation was obliged to terminate the grant when the "Lei Chen Case" surfaced. Previous studies on the Free China Fortnightly have predominantly centered on the political advocacy conducted by Lei and his editorial team during the 1950s, with little attention given to the benefactors who provided substantial financial backing to the publication. This prompts an inquiry into the rationale behind The Asia Foundation, a Cold War organization supported by the CIA, sponsoring a politically oriented periodical like the Free China Fortnightly. This report aims to examine the grant bestowed upon the Free China Fortnightly by The Asia Foundation, thereby facilitating a more profound comprehension of the Foundation's role in the Cold War and the tensions between democracy and anti-communism within U.S. foreign policy towards the Third World. Furthermore, it sheds light on how The Asia Foundation adeptly navigated between the U.S. government, the Kuomintang government, and private citizens in Taiwan to advance its Cold War objectives.

Chang, Yin-Yen (張尹嚴)

National Taiwan Normal University, 

Graduate Institute of Taiwan History

Taiwan Youth Association for Transitional Justice and Kiōng-Seng

Master of Arts

臺灣監獄島：特殊份子考管制度的建置及運作

主要釐清1950年至1990年間，國民黨政府如何對於一般被稱為政治犯的「特殊份子」進行監控。除討論制度發展脈絡、情治分工、成效與人權侵害之外，也會說明在情治體系的重層結構與過度追求國家安全的情況下，將執法責任不斷推卸給基層情治單位，反而使得基層執法者因不堪負荷而被迫背離原本應當秘密監控的初衷，藉由戶口查察騷擾、或至工作場所刁難政治受難者，以此說明監控壓迫的成因。另外也從受難者的角度接入，說明在面對情治單位的監控與騷擾時，受難者如何透過虛應、逃避乃至於團結抵抗的方式進行應對，從此檢視國家體制與個人之間的互動關係。