SOAS China Institute

Talk:  The U.S. - Taiwan Relations after the Trump-Xi Summit
Speaker: Dr Lyushun Shen  (Former Taiwan Ambassador)
Date: Tuesday, 16 May 2017, 5.00pm - 7.00pm
Location: Senate House Alumni Lecture Theatre (Room S110),  Paul Webley Wing (Senate House), SOAS University of London, North Block, Torrington Square, London WC1E 7HX.

Abstract
Dr. Shen will use insights gained in 17 years of working as a diplomat in Washington, where he represented Taiwan, to evaluate the major events that shape the trilateral relationship among Taiwan, the PRC and the USA. His starting point is the unprecedented phone call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen to the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump last December.  The call may, to a certain extent, contribute to or accelerate the Trump-Xi Jinping Summit, and indirectly lead to Taiwan's marginalisation in the trilateral setup. Taiwan can still play an indispensable role in the East Asian power equation and enlarge its international space so long as Taipei is able to manage its cross-Straits relations well.  Unfortunately, the grim stalemate in the current relationship indicates the reverse may be more likely.  The most difficult and contentious issue is, of course, Beijing's stern insistence on and the Tsai Administration's strong reluctance to accept of the "92 Consensus".  Is there any alternative to the Consensus then? Could Americans offer any help? How would the U.S.-mainland China relations be affected by the cross-Straits tension? The speaker looks forward to engage the audience in discussing the above and related issues. 

Biography
Dr Lyushun Shen is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, in Taipei.  He had previously served as Taiwan’s representative (ambassador) to the USA, the UK, and the EU, as well as deputy minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei.  A scholar-diplomat, Dr Shen has authored or edited three books or monograph, including The Issue of US Arms Sales and Peking’s Policy Toward Taiwan (1986).  He was educated at National Chung-hsing University in Taipei, and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he earned his PhD.  He had also served as a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (Philadelphia), a Research Associate at the University of Maryland School of Law (Baltimore), and a Visiting Adjunct Professor of International Studies at the University of Kansas (Lawrence).

Further details: https://www.soas.ac.uk/china-institute/events/16may2017-the-us---taiwan-relations-after-the-trump-xi-summit.html

This event is free and open to the public.  Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.



Kind regards,

Li-Sa Whittington
Executive Officer, SOAS China Institute
SOAS, University of London
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