Taiwan Studies Programme Workshop held at Ghent University

A Taiwan Studies Programme Workshop entitled “Maritime Territorial Disputes in the Asia Pacific Region: A Critical Appraisal” took place at the University of Ghent on April 20 and 21. The seminar was organized by Prof. Hwang Yih-Jye of Leiden University, the holder of the Taiwan Studies Chair at Ghent University. In 2016 the Ministry of Education in Taiwan signed an agreement with Ghent University, Groningen University, and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen to set up a Taiwan Studies Programme, inviting one Taiwan scholar each academic year to teach, do research, and hold a workshop at one of the three participating universities. International scholars from the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, mainland China, and Belgium attended this first workshop, which took place at Ghent University, and contributed to the workshop’s great success.
The workshop provided a forum for scholars and experts to discuss maritime issues challenging the Asia Pacific Region from historical, legal, political, and military points of view. The international participants included scholars from National Taiwan University, Ryokoku University, and Chonbuk National University, and European scholars from Groningen University, Leiden University, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Ghent University, the Catholic University of Louvain, the University of Antwerp, and the Group for Research and Information on Peace and Security. The papers presented at this significant gathering will be compiled and published in an academic journal.
The workshop ended with a small ceremony to honor the donation of a calligraphy work by the Taiwanese artist Kuo Tok to the Department of Sinology at Ghent University. Dr. Kuo Yu-Haey, a former professor at the university and a daughter of the artist, together with her husband, Prof. em. Ferdinand Lambein, formally presented the gift to Prof. Bart Dessein. Some of Kuo Tok’s works were exhibited at Ghent University throughout October 2016 as part of a series of Taiwan Spotlight events at the university.