Constructing Peaceful Development: The Changing Interpretations of “One China” and Beijing’s Taiwan Strait Policy

For rationalists, China (PRC)’s current conciliatory policy toward Taiwan is merely “calculative.” Hence, Chinese leaders must act patiently with Taiwan to dampen the “China threat theory.” This article contends that strategic considerations cannot entirely justify Beijing’s Taiwan policy. Given the PRC’s steadfast position on reunification, it is unclear why Beijing has, since the 1990s, allowed for a looser construction of the “one China” principle and even tacitly acknowledged the existence of Taiwan’s Republic of China (ROC). In line with the constructivist theory of argumentative persuasion, my position stresses that changing discourses have affected Chinese leaders’ perceptions of the Taiwan Strait problem. New identities and interests have been reconstituted to redefine the PRC relations vis-à-vis the ROC. While it is unlikely that Beijing would formally accept the ROC, the current trajectory raises hope that cross-strait ties may become more stabilized in the long run.     

Dialectics,Infant Shaking,and Perpetrator Statements in Child Maltreatment

There is little middle ground in the dispute between those who believe violent shaking to be a cause of infant mortality and those who deny any link between the two. This brief report considers, from a philosophical perspective, the state of the infant shaking debate and the potential for a future dialectical resolution based on the available evidence. It is argued that for such a resolution to become a reality it will be necessary for child protection professionals to work together to combine a more inclusive, transdisciplinary attitude to research with a more rational, civil approach to dialogue.     

Measuring Preferences for Divided Government: Some Americans Want Divided Government and Vote to Create It

Political Behavior - Tests of theories of the electoral origins of divided government hinge on the proper measurement of voter preferences for divided government. Deriving preferences for divided...     

政府失灵的又一种救治途径——一种不同于公共选择理论的分析

公共选择理论认为政治市场与经济市场一样,官员也是追求自身利益最大化的"经济人",这与官员作为公共利益的代表存在持久的冲突,并导致政府失灵,进而得出结论是:市场失灵并不是政府干预的充分条件,政府应尽量减少干预,最大限度地约束政府的权力范围。但是笔者以为,对于市场经济已经非常成熟而且官僚制业已达到极致的西方发达国家是适用的而且实践证明是成功的。但对于我国而言,减少干预只是解决问题的一个很小的方面,因为"后发外生型"国家要实现跨越式发展,没有政府的大量干预和推动是不可能实现的。解决问题的关键在于在政府利益与公共利益之间建立起一整套激励共容机制,这样政府利益不仅不会损害公共利益,反而更能促进公共利益。     

Demonstrating the Melbourne University Respirator

The First World War was a theatre for the demonstration of Australia's contribution to the Empire, and the role of science and technology. This paper explores this relationship by tracing the history of the Melbourne University Respirator, a gas mask developed by scientists at the University of Melbourne during the Great War. In the immediate post-war period, the Respirator was used as a political technology to educate citizens about the actual and potential contribution of scientific research to national and imperial defence. Scientists in this manner promoted national scientific and technological development and a more equal partnership with Britain. The political use of the Respirator was staged in the vivid medium of an exhibition, in which sentiment was conceivably used to motivate political action.