The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Institute for National Policy Research (INPR) will co-host an international symposium on “The Rise of China: Challenges and Opportunities” on September 10 to 11, 2005, at the Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei. Taiwanese and foreign experts have been invited to jointly discuss the trends and developments in and out of China. This is aimed at gaining a better understanding of whether the “Rise of China” is an opportunity or a threat to the future of both sides of the Strait, the Asia-Pacific region, and the world.
Internationally recognized experts on China Shelley Rigger, Lowell Dittmer, Dorothy Solinger, Christopher Hughes, and Zheng Yongnian, have been invited to the two-day symposium to conduct a comprehensive investigation and assessment of the possible effects and concerns that may arise in the course of the “rise of China.” Issues to be addressed include: China’s political and administrative reforms, probable economic and financial challenges, social, environmental as well as energy problems facing China, and challenges facing military, diplomacy, and cross-strait prospects. Vice Premier Wu Rong-I has been specially invited to deliver the opening address, while Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Y.M. Kao will speak at the luncheon.
Since the rise of China will have a profound effect on the development of the cross-strait situation, stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and world peace, the process of the rise of China and its possible developments in the future have triggered extensive discussion and serious concerns in the international arena. MAC also believes that this issue deserves the utmost attention, and hopes to gather the opinions at home and abroad through such a symposium. This is aimed at gaining a deeper insight into the situation in China more objectively and comprehensively. It is hoped that this can serve as a reference for the government in formulating its policy toward China and handling cross-strait issues.