China News Service, Xiamen, March 18 (Reporter Yang Fushan) "As the first academic institution on the mainland that specializes in Taiwan issues, the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University ("Xiamen University" for short) has now developed into a major southern center for Taiwan studies on the mainland. A well-known and important Taiwan-related think tank at home and abroad." Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean of the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency recently.
The Xiamen University Taiwan Research Institute, established in 2004, was the first Taiwan research institute established in the mainland. The predecessor was the Xiamen University Taiwan Research Institute established in July 1980.
After more than 40 years of trials and hardships, it has gradually grown into a comprehensive Taiwan research institution covering politics, economy, law, history, literature and other fields.
Zhang Wensheng said that the establishment of the Xiamen University Taiwan Research Institute was one of the milestones in the development of the mainland's research on Taiwan, marking the first substantial step in the mainland's research on Taiwan in the new era; the Xiamen University Taiwan Research Institute publishes more than 10 monographs every year. With more than 100 papers, both the level of Taiwan-related research and the results of exchanges with Taiwan are at the forefront of the mainland. "Xiamen University has the most comprehensive disciplines in Taiwan studies, with 6 research institutes, which is unique among mainland universities."
It dates back to January 1, 1979, when the mainland's "Letter to Compatriots in Taiwan" was published, opening a new historical chapter in the development of cross-strait relations.
The establishment of a dedicated Taiwan research and academic institution has become a top priority for mainland China’s work with Taiwan.
Zhang Wensheng believes that there may be many factors for the mainland authorities to set up the Taiwan Research Institute in Xiamen University, but the most important factor is that Xiamen University has a deeper historical relationship with Taiwan than other universities and research institutions. In terms of research on Taiwan It also has unique advantages and long-term accumulation of foundation.
Throughout the past 100 years of development, Xiamen University has earned many “firsts” in the mainland’s education and cultural exchanges with Taiwan and Taiwan studies.
As early as 1929 and 1935, Lin Huixiang, the first student and anthropologist of Xiamen University, went to Taiwan twice to collect cultural relics, brought back more than 100 specimens of cultural relics, and wrote the book "Taiwan Fan Clan's Primitive Culture".
In 1945, Taiwan opened exchanges with Xiamen University after the restoration, and Xiamen University was one of the first universities to enroll Taiwanese students.
From 1946 to 1949, Xiamen University enrolled nearly 100 Taiwanese students; and more than 300 graduates from 1941 to 1946, Xiamen University graduated to Taiwan, which became the backbone of Taiwan's restoration and reconstruction.
In the 1980s, the first generation of cadres of the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University devoted themselves to the cause of Taiwan research, collating and publishing "Taiwan Information Series" and other collections of archives, providing valuable historical data for the study of the history of Taiwan in the mainland.
In particular, "Taiwan Local History" by Chen Bisheng published in August 1982, as the first monograph of great academic significance and influence produced by the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University, has become one of the landmark achievements in the study of mainland Taiwan history.
In 1981, Xiamen University's Taiwan Research Institute enrolled the first batch of 4 postgraduates. This was the first batch of graduate students specializing in Taiwan in the mainland.
In January 1987, the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University published and distributed the academic journal "Taiwan Studies Collection", which studied Taiwan's politics, economy, society, history, and literature, which filled the gap of academic journals on Taiwan studies from the mainland at that time.
With the improvement of cross-strait relations, exchanges and cooperation between the academic circles on both sides of the strait are gradually unfolding.
In August 1988, the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University and the Taiwan History Research Association jointly organized the "Taiwan Studies Academic Exchange Conference". This was the first academic exchange between scholars from both sides of the strait in the mainland.
A related person from Xiamen University stated that as a key university in the frontier region of exchanges with Taiwan, the university has been at the forefront of the mainland in terms of establishing cooperative relations with Taiwanese universities and research institutions.
As early as December 1988, Xiamen University cooperated with Stanford University in the United States and the Institute of Ethnology in Taiwan’s "Academic Research Institute" to carry out the "Comparative Study on the Customs and Habits of Fujian and Taiwan Provinces". After the program was launched, many Taiwanese scholars were invited Come to Fujian for cooperative research.
According to Xiamen University, as of now, Xiamen University has developed inter-school cooperation with more than 30 colleges and universities in Taiwan. Every year, more than 1,000 teachers and students go to Taiwan to carry out exchanges of visits and exchanges, scientific research cooperation, academic conferences, field surveys and other substantive cooperation. 28 colleges and universities in the region carry out inter-school exchange programs, sending more than 300 long-term and short-term exchange students to Taiwan every year, and at the same time accepting more than 200 students from partner universities in Taiwan to exchange and study at the school each year, forming a "Summer Camp for College Students on Minnan Culture Study on Both Sides of the Strait" A group of activity brands such as "Student Forum".
(Finish)