The Ninth Annual Nancy Bernkopf Tucker Memorial Lecture on US-East Asia Relations

Wednesday, Apr 12 // 4–5:30 pm (ET)

Strait to the Point: Current Challenges for Taiwan and US-Taiwan Relations

Taiwan’s always-difficult quest for status and security has reached a new inflection point, as have US-Taiwan relations. China launched military exercises following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan—by some assessments the “fourth cross-Strait crisis” since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. In recent years, US-China relations have deteriorated—on some accounts, verging on a new Cold War. Congress has passed an unprecedented raft of “pro-Taiwan” legislation since 2016. President Biden and his administration have taken positions that arguably diverge significantly from traditional US formulations of “strategic ambiguity.” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as US and PRC assessments of each other as security threats, have raised anew the specter of aggression by—and conflict among—great powers. Concerns are rising about an increasingly powerful and assertive China’s possible impatience with a lack of progress on reunification of Taiwan. Taiwan’s impending presidential transition is creating uncertainties not seen in nearly a generation.

Amid these developments, and in the context of international institutional and normative orders that are under stress and fracturing, will the multifaceted strategies that Taiwan has pursued successfully to secure international space and support still work? How will they need to adapt to the challenges of our moment? What are the implications for US policy and US-Taiwan relations?

Still To Come This Week

The Brazil 100 Conference: A Look Into Lula’s First 100 Days

Monday, Apr. 10 // 12–1:30 pm (ET)

Join the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute and The Brazilian Report for the final “Brazil 100” dialogue, a virtual conversation with leading Brazilian and US experts on Lula’s first 100 days in office and what lies ahead.

China’s Climate Security Vulnerabilities

Tuesday, Apr. 11 // 9:30–11:00 am (ET)

In an era increasingly defined by climate change, the United States and China stand out as the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases—but neither country is immune to its impacts. China, home to nearly 20% of the world’s population and 6.5% of the Earth’s land surface, faces a number of climate security challenges.

Book Launch: COVID and Gender in the Middle East & North Africa

Tuesday, April 11 // 12–1:15 pm (ET)

The Wilson Center’s Middle East Program is pleased to host the book launch of COVID and Gender in the Middle East. Edited by feminist and scholar Rita Stephan, this book includes a compilation of articles from MENA scholars, activists, and policy experts. The book zooms into the COVID-19 pandemic in MENA and its impact on the region’s economy, security, and human rights through a gendered lens.

Book Talk: Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion

Wednesday, April 12 // 1–2:00 pm (ET)

American University Professor and former Wilson China Fellow Dr. Joseph Torigian explores in Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion the politics of succession in the Soviet Union and China. He argues that the power struggles following the deaths of Stalin and Mao respectively were shaped by a "politics of personal prestige, historical antagonisms, backhanded political maneuvering, and violence,” not a triumph of collective leadership as previously believed. This argument is important for understanding Chinese politics today.

Ukraine’s Cultural Response to War | A Collaboration with PBS’s Culture Quest

Wednesday, April 12 // 1–2:30 pm (ET)

In response to Russia's war in Ukraine, Ukrainian artists from across the country have used their work to protest the conflict and to show the world the beauty of their nation's threatened culture. The Kennan Institute will welcome Ian Grant, the host of PBS's Culture Quest, for a screening of clips from his recent special episode on Ukraine's artists at war followed by a discussion with Wilson Center Distinguished Fellow Blair Ruble.