Society

FSI researchers work to understand continuity and change in societies as they confront their problems and opportunities. This includes the implications of migration and human trafficking. What happens to a society when young girls exit the sex trade? How do groups moving between locations impact societies, economies, self-identity and citizenship? What are the ethnic challenges faced by an increasingly diverse European Union? From a policy perspective, scholars also work to investigate the consequences of security-related measures for society and its values.

The Europe Center reflects much of FSI’s agenda of investigating societies, serving as a forum for experts to research the cultures, religions and people of Europe. The Center sponsors several seminars and lectures, as well as visiting scholars.

Societal research also addresses issues of demography and aging, such as the social and economic challenges of providing health care for an aging population. How do older adults make decisions, and what societal tools need to be in place to ensure the resulting decisions are well-informed? FSI regularly brings in international scholars to look at these issues. They discuss how adults care for their older parents in rural China as well as the economic aspects of aging populations in China and India.

0
Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2025-2026
eunkyeong_lee.jpg PhD

Eunkyeong Lee joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as a visiting scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year. She currently serves as Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Public Finance. While at APARC, she will be conducting research on healthcare systems and utilization among the elderly in South Korea.

Date Label
0
Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2025-2026
soo_chan_choi.jpg PhD

Soo Chan Choi joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as a visiting scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year. He currently serves as Dean and Professor of the School of Social Welfare at Yonsei University. While at APARC, he will be conducting research on the adaptation of Korean workers to overseas environments, focusing on the Bay Area.

Date Label
1
Visiting Scholar at APARC, Fall 2025
byongjin_ahn.jpg Ph.D.

Byongjin Ahn joined the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as a visiting scholar for the 2025 fall quarter. He recently served at the State Affairs Planning Committee (equivalent to the transition team as President Lee had to assume his post immediately after his election in June).

He is currently a professor at Kyung Hee University's Global Academy for Future Civilizations. He has served as the Rector of the Global Academy for the Future of Civilizations at Kyung Hee University, Vice President of Kyung Hee Cyber University, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Changwon National University, and Lecturer at the City University of New York. Born in Daegu (1967), he earned a B.A. in sociology from Sogang University and an M.A. in political science from Seoul National University. He earned his Ph.D. in American politics from the New School for Social Research, founded by John Dewey. For his dissertation, he was awarded the Hannah Arendt Award.

His main specialty is the U.S. presidency and Korean politics, and he has appeared on numerous television programs and newspapers, including a panel on the U.S. presidential election specials on MBC and SBS and an interview with the New York Times. He has been a regular columnist for the JoongAng Ilbo, Kyunghyang Shinmun, and Hankyoreh, and a guest commentator for KBS. He is a co-author of South Korea's Democracy In Crisis: The Threats of Illiberalism, Populism, and Polarization (Gi-Wook Shin and Ho-Ki Kim Eds, Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, 2022) and many other books and articles. 

Date Label
0
APARC Predoctoral Fellow, 2025-2026
isabel_salovaara.jpg

Isabel Salovaara joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as APARC Predoctoral Fellow for the 2025-2026 academic year. She is a Ph.D. Candidate in Stanford's Department of Anthropology. Her dissertation, “Engendering the State: Aspiration, Government Jobs, and the Coaching Industry in Bihar, India,” analyzes the effects of organized exam preparation systems on urban life, gender and kin relations, and the politics of (un)employment. Through ethnographic engagement with young people preparing for government recruitment examinations in India, Isabel's work investigates the social life of "shadow education" — a burgeoning industry across much of Asia. Her research complicates the common framing of shadow education as a social ill by showing how young women and members of disprivileged caste groups harness India's coaching institutes to pursue forms of security and independence for themselves and their families.

Isabel received an A.B. in History from Harvard University and an M.Phil. in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge.

Date Label
0
Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow, 2025-2026
yuli_xu.jpg PhD

Yuli Xu joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow for the 2025-2026 academic year. She recently obtained her PhD in Economics at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on Labor and Health Economics, with particular interests in how female labor force participation and fertility decisions are influenced by labor market institutions and past birth experiences.

In her thesis, "Gendered Impacts of Privatization: A Life Cycle Perspective from China," she demonstrates that the reduction in public sector employment has widened the gender gap in the labor market while narrowing the gender gap in educational attainment. She also finds that this structural shift has delayed marriage among younger generations.

In another line of research, Yuli examines the effects of maternity ward overcrowding. She finds that overcrowding reduces the use of medical procedures during childbirth without negatively impacting maternal or infant health. While it has no direct effect on subsequent fertility, she shows that mothers, especially those with a college degree, are more likely to switch to another hospital for subsequent births after experiencing overcrowding.

During her time at APARC, Yuli will further investigate patient-physician relationships in the Chinese healthcare system, where patients have considerable flexibility in choosing their doctors at each visit. She will explore the persistence of these relationships and examine how patients respond when their regular doctors are temporarily unavailable.

Yuli also holds a BA in Economics from the University of International Business and Economics in China.

Date Label
Authors
News Type
News
Date
Paragraphs

The Taiwan Program at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) was pleased to join the North American Taiwan Studies Association (NATSA) as a co-host of NATSA’s 2025 annual conference, Toward an Otherwise in Taiwan and Beyond. Held at Stanford University from June 30 to July 2, the conference continued NATSA’s three-decade tradition of convening Taiwan scholars across disciplines. Stanford East Asia Library and the National Museum of Taiwan Literature were the event’s additional co-hosts.

Organizing the annual interdisciplinary academic forum is a core mission of NATSA, a nonprofit organization operated by North American and overseas Taiwanese doctoral students and recent graduates studying Taiwan. This year’s conference invited participants to engage with the “otherwise,” a framework adopted by fields tied to social movements, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, and gender and sexuality studies. Using this framework, the conference aimed to recenter marginalized aspects of Taiwan and challenge conventional methodologies and narratives in Taiwan studies.

The conference opened with welcome remarks by Stanford sociologist and APARC Director Gi-Wook Shin, who also serves as the director of the Taiwan Program. The ensuing agenda explored diverse topics and included roundtables, workshops, a mentoring session, a film screening, and a book display. The conversations underscored the need for scholarship rooted in solidarity, critical inquiry, and imagination. The following are highlights from selected roundtable discussions.


Sign up for APARC newsletters to receive event invitations and highlights >


 

Reflecting on Three Decades of Taiwan Studies

Image
A presenter at a lectern and four panelists on stage in a conference room.


The opening signature roundtable, Three Decades of Taiwan Studies, brought together four scholars from different programs to reflect on the historical development of Taiwan studies in North America. It featured Howard Chiang, a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara; sociologist Ruo-Fan Liu, the 2024-26 Taiwan Program postdoctoral fellow at APARC; Richard J. Haddock, the assistant director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the George Washington University, where he is also pursuing a doctorate in public policy and public administration; and University of Washington’s Ellen Y. Chang, a film scholar and art curator/practitioner.

The four speakers traced the transformation of Taiwan studies from its roots in traditional area studies into an interdisciplinary field. They emphasized that, despite growing academic interest in Taiwan and the field’s expansion in both content and relevance, institutional support remains precarious and long-term financial commitment is uncertain.

Taiwan’s Democratic Resilience in the Age of AI


The roundtable AI, Misinformation, and Global Security examined Taiwan’s leadership role in combating digital disinformation and defending democratic institutions. Mei-Chun Lee, an anthropologist at Academia Sinica, introduced Taiwan’s civil society responses to misinformation, including initiatives such as the Fake News Cleanser program, which helps older populations navigate misinformation. She emphasized a "security and care" framework combining fact-checking and civic education networks.

Thung-Hong Lin, a sociologist at Academia Sinica, examined Taiwan’s democratic resilience amid China’s sharp power tactics, sharing findings from a large dataset that tracks cross-Strait informational networks and their influence on voting patterns in Taiwan. 

Herbert Chang, a computational social scientist at Dartmouth College who studies social networks and online politics, analyzed the role of generative AI in misinformation during Taiwan’s 2024 elections. While memes (including AI-generated ones) spread rapidly, his study finds that AI did not significantly shift voting behavior due to entrenched political polarization. 

Yuan Hsiao, a Yale University sociologist studying the intersection of digital media, social networks, and collective action, discussed the emotional effects of misinformation on social media, focusing on how emotional manipulation drives identification with protest movements. He also raised methodological challenges in measuring misinformation.

Imagining Alternative Futures Across Asia

Image
Participants in a discussion seated around a long table in a conference room.


The roundtable Toward Otherwise Futures in Asia brought together scholars focusing on the intersecting yet distinct cultural and political landscapes of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tibet. The conversation featured Harvard University’s political theorist Samuel Chan; Cornell University’s doctoral candidate in anthropology Yu Liang, also known as Leeve Palray; Stanford University’s political theorist and postdoctoral scholar Simon Sihang Luo; and Tenzing Wangdak, a doctoral student in anthropology at the University of California, Irvine.

Together, they explored how communities in the four distinct regions respond to cultural displacement, political repression, and transnational authoritarianism. The discussion centered on how each place navigates power asymmetries relative to China and whether there is any alternative path to democratization in China. The conversation raised questions about alternative political futures and relational frameworks for understanding different types of power dynamics in East Asia.
 

The Evolving Contours of Taiwan Studies

Image
Four panelists on stage in a conference room.


The closing forum, Working Across Differences: NATSA and 30 Years of Community-Building, invited three scholars to reflect on the overall theme of the conference, drawing on their disciplinary perspectives and rich engagement with NATSA. The conversation featured anthropologist Mei-Chun Lee of Academia Sinica; legal and public health scholar Po-Han Lee of National Taiwan University; and I-Lin Liu, a doctoral candidate in media studies at Indiana University Bloomington.

The panelists considered NATSA’s unique position as a student-led network that fosters scholarly exchange across disciplines and generations. They discussed the importance of promoting flexibility and inclusiveness as the field of Taiwan studies responds to academic and political shifts. Looking ahead, the speakers called for incorporating marginalized voices from Taiwan.

As Taiwan increasingly gains visibility on the world stage, the conference affirmed the importance of advancing Taiwan studies as an interdisciplinary, justice-oriented, and globally connected field.

Read More

Gi-Wook Shin seated in his office, speaking to the camera during an interview.
News

Sociologist Gi-Wook Shin Illuminates How Strategic Human Resource Development Helped Build Asia-Pacific Economic Giants

In his new book, The Four Talent Giants, Shin offers a new framework for understanding the rise of economic powerhouses by examining the distinct human capital development strategies used by Japan, Australia, China, and India.
Sociologist Gi-Wook Shin Illuminates How Strategic Human Resource Development Helped Build Asia-Pacific Economic Giants
Sustainability Dialogue 2025 participants gather for a group photo
News

At Mongolia Sustainability Dialogue, APARC Advances Regional Cooperation on Climate Action

The Sustainability Dialogue 2025 on “Climate Action: Billions of Trees” gathered policymakers, academics, private sector leaders, and civil society representatives in Ulaanbaatar to expedite the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 13 by strengthening Asia-Pacific regional cooperation and facilitating research-policy partnerships.
At Mongolia Sustainability Dialogue, APARC Advances Regional Cooperation on Climate Action
Group photo in the APARC office
News

The Global Influence of Japanese Content: Creativity, Innovation, and Cross-Cultural Exchange

As global audiences and digital platforms reshape cultural exchange, APARC’s Japan Program convened leading creators, producers, and scholars at Stanford to examine the creative ecosystems driving the international success of Japan’s content industries and their growing influence on innovation, fandom, and international collaboration.
The Global Influence of Japanese Content: Creativity, Innovation, and Cross-Cultural Exchange
Hero Image
Participants at the NATSA 2025 conference post to the camera at the entrance to Encina Hall, Stanford University.
Participants at the NATSA 2025 conference.
NATSA
All News button
1
Subtitle

The North American Taiwan Studies Association’s 2025 conference invited participants to embrace the “otherwise,” elevating overlooked aspects of Taiwan and reimagining the field of Taiwan studies to challenge dominant narratives and disciplinary methodologies.

Date Label
Paragraphs

This study examines racism “denial” in Asia through a critical discourse analysis of state reports submitted to the United Nations’ Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) by 16 Asian countries from 1978 to 2023. Our findings reveal that denial is not just a rhetorical tool for deflecting accusations but functions as a deeply embedded mechanism to justify and reinforce existing discrimination. Importantly, these state discourses are shaped by social, political, and religious values, as well as struggles for national liberation, unity, and security. By unpacking these layers in historically and comparatively informed ways, we identify and classify patterns of discursive denial—literal, interpretive, and ideological—with subcategories for each. This study not only adds to empirical inquiry into racism in often-neglected Asian contexts but also presents a conceptual framework for examining the diverse manifestations and articulations of race and racism, extending beyond the explanatory capacity of existing dominant theories of race developed through Western lenses.

This paper is an outcome of the "Nationalism and Racism" research track at the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab

All Publications button
1
Publication Type
Journal Articles
Publication Date
Journal Publisher
Critical Sociology
Authors
Junki Nakahara
Gi-Wook Shin
Authors
Noa Ronkin
News Type
News
Date
Paragraphs

Stanford student JB (Jong Beom) Lim and recent alumni Darren HallYoojung LeeE Ju Ro, and Maleah Webster all had the opportunity to work as research assistants with the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab (SNAPL). They also have another thing in common: all are heading next fall to prestigious programs where they will embark on their doctoral training in law, political studies, and sociology.

Housed at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) and led by sociologist Gi-Wook Shin, the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, SNAPL addresses emergent social, cultural, economic, and political challenges facing Asia-Pacific countries and guides effective U.S. Asia policies through interdisciplinary, comparative, and data-driven research. A core mission of the lab, which Shin founded in summer 2023, is to support and mentor the next generation of Asia scholars through its fellowship opportunities and research assistantships.

“The success of our former research assistants demonstrates exactly the kind of impact I envisioned when I launched SNAPL,” says Shin, who also serves as the director of APARC and the center’s Korea Program and Taiwan Program. “Our lab is a space where young researchers engage deeply with urgent issues in Asian affairs and U.S.-Asia relations while building the skills and networks to carry them forward as they pursue advanced academic training. I am tremendously proud of what our bright young scholars have achieved – they will be leaders in Asian studies.”

​​In its short history, SNAPL has already seen previous team members advance to graduate studies at top institutions. These include current PhD students Kelsi Caywood (sociology, University of Michigan); Sean Chen (economics, Princeton University); Haley Gordon (sociology, Stanford University); and Vineet Gupta (sociology, Northwestern University).

We spoke with Darren, Yoojung, JB, E Ju, and Maleah about their experience at SNAPL, next steps in their academic journeys, and advice for new students. The responses below were slightly edited for clarity and style. 


Sign up for APARC newsletters >


Darren Hall 

 

Portrait of Darren Hall

 

Darren Hall graduated from Stanford in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in East Asian studies. Darren received multiple department awards for his undergraduate work, including the Kung-Yi Kao Prize for Outstanding Progress in the Study of the Korean Language and the James J.Y. Liu Prize for Outstanding Writing in an East Asian Languages and Cultures Course.

After graduation, he was a research assistant for the “Nationalism and Racism in Asia” track at SNAPL. In that role, he conducted a literature review, consulted with the project team to improve research methods, and helped conceptualize and develop the foundation for the project’s eventual publication.

“SNAPL not only provided me with mentorship but also an opportunity to investigate the interplay of nationalism and racism throughout Asia,” he says.

After his time at SNAPL, Darren worked as a corporate legal assistant at BraunHagey & Borden LLP, where he supported a team of attorneys through multi-million dollar transactions.

In fall 2025, Darren will begin his first year at Yale Law School. He plans to explore international conflict resolution and continue to develop his advocacy for underrepresented communities. Darren intends to become an attorney who prioritizes compassion and justice.

Yoojung Lee

 

Portrait of Yoojung Lee

 

Yoojung Lee graduated from Stanford in 2023 with a master’s degree in East Asian studies. In the coming fall quarter, she will embark on her new path as a doctoral student in sociology at Harvard University. Her research centers on a comparative investigation of political polarization through the intersecting lenses of gender, race, and ethnicity. 

Her time at SNAPL, while working for the “Nationalism and Racism in Asia” research track, and the generosity and depth of insight of the lab’s community of scholars have left a lasting imprint on Yoojung and broadened her intellectual framework. “The diversity of experiences and perspectives within the lab has profoundly reshaped how I engage with the world, not only in terms of how I think, but also in what I prioritize, whose voices I amplify, and how I approach the questions that guide my research.”

Yoojung also credits the SNAPL community for advancing her personal development. “The collaborative spirit of the lab and the dedicated mentorship I’ve received have influenced how I navigate challenges, engage with complexity, and embrace uncertainty. Within this space, I’ve learned to view setbacks as opportunities for growth and stay grounded in the deeper purpose behind my work. It is also here that the idea of pursuing a PhD, once abstract and distant, transformed into a tangible, deeply personal goal.”

The clarity, conviction, and sense of direction Yoojung feels about her academic path are inseparable from the lessons, experiences, and support she has found at SNAPL. “For all of this, I am eternally grateful: not only for the intellectual enrichment, but for the sense of belonging, purpose, and hope that SNAPL has given me. These are the gifts I will carry with me into my PhD and beyond.”

JB Lim

 

Portrait of JB Lim

 

JB (Jong Beom) Lim will graduate this spring from Stanford with a master's degree in computer science and bachelor's degrees in mathematical and computational science and international relations. He has received interdisciplinary honors from the Center for International Security and Cooperation, with his undergraduate thesis recognized by the Center for East Asian Studies and the Hoover Institution.

In fall 2025, JB will begin his doctorate as a Raymond Vernon Fellow at Harvard University's Department of Government. He will examine how economic interdependence shapes national security strategies, focusing on how domestic interest groups influence foreign policy decisions regarding technology and trade. As part of his research, JB also hopes to develop quantitative methods in machine learning and causal inference, leveraging large-scale granular data.

At SNAPL, JB assisted with the “U.S.-Asia Relations” research track. “Working at SNAPL introduced me to cutting-edge political science research and allowed me to build novel datasets on congressional speeches and scholarly networks,” he says. “This experience sharpened my methodological skills and taught me to approach complex questions creatively and with rigor.”

JB’s advice to current students? “Embrace interdisciplinary research – it opens unexpected doors and broadens your understanding of global challenges.”

E Ju Ro

 

Portrait of E Ju Ro

 

At Stanford, E Ju Ro earned her master's and bachelor's degrees in sociology, a minor in philosophy, and honors in Ethics in Society. Beginning in the coming fall quarter, she will attend New York University Law School. She is particularly interested in international human rights and critical legal studies. 

As a research assistant with SNAPL, E Ju had the opportunity to work on the “Nationalism and Racism in Asia” track, specifically on a study analyzing the discourse of state party reports submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) by 16 Northeast, Southeast, and South Asian countries.

“It was fascinating to examine the reports various Asian governments sent CERD, as I could see how their specific cultural and historical contexts shaped the ways they dealt with (or did not deal with) racial issues,” says E Ju. “While pursuing sociology studies at Stanford, I’d felt that most of my research experience and classes had focused on the United States, so this was a refreshing chance to look at the construction of race across time and borders."

Maleah Webster

 

Portrait of Maleah Webster

 

At Stanford, Maleah Webster received a bachelor's degree in international relations with honors and distinction. She concentrated on East and South Asia and social development and human well-being.

This coming fall, Maleah will begin a doctorate in sociology at Stanford. Her research investigates how migrant communities navigate identity, belonging, and access to resources in contexts where ethnic homogeneity is closely tied to national identity. She focuses on institutions as key sites where integration is negotiated and contested, whether through policy, discourse, or lived experience. Currently, she conducts fieldwork in South Korea, using interviews, surveys, and policy analysis to decipher how multiculturalism is defined and experienced in real-world settings.

Maleah describes her experience working as a research assistant with SNAPL as a highly valuable part of her time at Stanford. She, too, worked on the lab’s “Nationalism and Racism in Asia” research track. “It gave me a real sense of how cross-national research can inform policy in nuanced and meaningful ways. Being part of SNAPL helped me see how institutions don’t just implement policy – they help define who counts, who belongs, and who gets overlooked.”

Her tip for new students is to “take the initiative to get involved with research early, especially in interdisciplinary spaces like SNAPL. You never know what opportunities (or career trajectories) it might open up.”

Read More

Gi-Wook Shin, Evan Medeiros, and Xinru Ma in conversation at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
News

Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab Engages Washington Stakeholders with Policy-Relevant Research on US-China Relations and Regional Issues in Asia

Lab members recently shared data-driven insights into U.S.-China tensions, public attitudes toward China, and racial dynamics in Asia, urging policy and academic communities in Washington, D.C. to rethink the Cold War analogy applied to China and views of race and racism in Asian nations.
Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab Engages Washington Stakeholders with Policy-Relevant Research on US-China Relations and Regional Issues in Asia
Two young scholars in conversation on a background of Encina Hall arcade.
News

Rethinking Health and Innovation in Aging Societies: Mai Nguyen and Jinseok Kim Explore Asia’s Health Policy Crossroads

As Asian economies grapple with aging populations, rising healthcare demands, and rapid technological change, APARC’s 2024-25 Asia Health Policy Program Postdoctoral Fellows Mai Nguyen and Jinseok Kim study large-scale health care structural and policy challenges from the lens of individual decision-making.
Rethinking Health and Innovation in Aging Societies: Mai Nguyen and Jinseok Kim Explore Asia’s Health Policy Crossroads
Photo of Stanford Main Quad and logos of APARC and media outlet Netra News, winner of the 2025 Shorenstein Journalism Award.
News

Bangladesh-Focused Investigative Media Outlet Netra News Wins 2025 Shorenstein Journalism Award

Sponsored by Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, the 24th annual Shorenstein Journalism Award honors Netra News, Bangladesh's premier independent, non-partisan media outlet, for its unflinching reportage on human rights abuses and corruption in Bangladesh and its efforts to establish and uphold fundamental freedoms in the country.
Bangladesh-Focused Investigative Media Outlet Netra News Wins 2025 Shorenstein Journalism Award
Hero Image
Collage of headshots of Stanford students
All News button
1
Subtitle

A Stanford student and four recent alumni who served as research assistants at the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab will begin doctoral studies at top institutions in fall 2025. At the lab, which is committed to rigorous, policy-relevant research and student mentorship, they gained hands-on experience and honed skills valuable for the next stage of their academic journeys.

Date Label
1
Visiting Scholar, March 2025-March 2026
Jun_Akabane.jpg PhD

Jun Akabane joined the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as visiting scholar beginning spring 2025 through winter 2026. He currently serves as Professor at Chuo University in the Department of Economics. While at APARC, he conducted research analyzing business strategies in the era of economic security from the perspective of global value chains, environmental and human rights issues, with a particular focus on companies in the U.S. and Asia.

Date Label
-
Flyer for the conference "Taiwan Forward." Image: aerial view of Taipei.

We have reached capacity for this event and registration has closed.


Organized by the Taiwan Program at Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC)
Co-sponsored by National Taiwan University's Office of International Affairs

As Taiwan looks to develop comprehensive strategies to promote national interests, it faces challenges shared by other advanced economies. How can Taiwan leverage AI innovation and its semiconductor prowess to drive resilience and continued growth while promoting entrepreneurship and forging advantages in emerging industries? What regulatory and policy measures are needed to scale Taiwan’s role as a global leader in biomedical and healthcare advancements while ensuring patient trust and safety? How can it address the gaps posed by rapid family changes and population aging? And how do its historical and linguistic legacies shape present narratives and identities, within Taiwan and among the Taiwanese diaspora?

Join us for a conference that explores these questions and more, featuring panel discussions with scholars from Stanford University, National Taiwan University, and other universities in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Singapore, alongside Taiwanese industry leaders. We will examine Taiwan’s strategies for navigating modernization in a shifting global landscape — bridging technology, industry, culture, and society through interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives.

 

8:45 - 9:10 a.m.
Opening Session

Welcome Remarks

Shih-Torng Ding
Executive Vice President, National Taiwan University

Gi-Wook Shin
Director, Shorenstein APARC and the Taiwan Program, Stanford University

Congratulatory Remarks

Chia-Lung Lin
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan

Raymond Greene
Director, American Institute in Taiwan 


9:10-10:40 a.m.
Panel 1 — Advancing Health and Healthcare: Technology and Policy Perspectives     
    
Panelists 

Kuan-Ming Chen
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, National Taiwan University

Lynia Huang
Founder and CEO, Bamboo Technology Ltd.

Ming-Jen Lin
Distinguished Professor, Department of Economics, National Taiwan University

Siyan Yi
Associate Professor, School of Public Health, National University of Singapore

Moderator
Karen Eggleston
Director, Asia Health Policy Program, Shorenstein APARC, Stanford University


10:40-10:50 a.m.
Coffee and Tea Break


10:50 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Panel 2 — Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Leadership

Panelists 

Steve Chen
Co-founder, YouTube and Taiwan Gold Card Holder #1

Matthew Liu
Co-founder, Origin Protocol

Huey-Jen Jenny Su
Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Former President, National Cheng Kung University

Yaoting Wang
Founding Partner, Darwin Ventures, Taiwan

Moderator
H.-S. Philip Wong
Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell Professor in the School of Engineering, Stanford University


12:30-1 p.m.

Perspectives from Stanford and NTU Students

Tiffany Chang
BS Student in Engineering Management & Human-Centered Design, Stanford University

Liang-Yu Ko
MA Student in Sociology, National Taiwan University


1-2 p.m. 
Lunch Break


2-3:30 p.m.  
Panel 3 — Interwoven Identities: Exploring Chinese Languages, Taiwanese-american Narratives, and Japanese Colonial Legacies in Taiwan

Panelists 

Carissa Cheng
BA Student in International Relations, Stanford University

Yi-Ting Chung
PhD Candidate in History, Stanford University

Jeffrey Weng
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University

Moderator
Ruo-Fan Liu
Taiwan Program Postdoctoral Fellow, Shorenstein APARC, Stanford University


3:30-3:45 p.m. 
Coffee and Tea Break


3:45-5:15 p.m.    
Panel 4 —  The Demographic Transformation: Lessons from Taiwan and Comparative Cases

Panelists

Yen-Hsin Alice Cheng
Professor, Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica

Youngtae Cho
Professor of Demography and Director, Population Policy Research Center, Seoul National University

Setsuya Fukuda
Senior Researcher, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan

Moderator
Paul Y. Chang
Tong Yang, Korea Foundation, and Korea Stanford Alumni Association Senior Fellow, Shorenstein APARC, Stanford University


5:15-5:30 p.m.    
Closing Remarks

Gi-Wook Shin
Director, Shorenstein APARC and the Taiwan Program, Stanford University

THIS CONFERENCE IS HELD IN TAIPEI, TAIWAN, ON SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2025, FROM 8:45 AM TO 5:30 PM, TAIPEI TIME

International Conference Hall, Tsai Lecture Hall
College of Law
National Taiwan University

No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road
Taipei City, 10617
Taiwan

Conferences
Date Label
Subscribe to Society