A twin-conference sponsored by College of International Studies, TKU, was held both at the International Conference Room, Ching Sheng Memorial Hall,TKU Tamsui campus and Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, on May 4 and 5 on the subject of “Far-eastern Culture vs. International Society”. Scholars from all over the world believed that Eastern culture is worth every farthing to be recommended to the international society.
Those who attended the conference were celebrities, including Mr. Lee Huan, former premier of ROC, Profs. Huang Kuo-kwang and Shih Tz-yu from Tai Ta and Pres. Chang Horng-jinh, TKU. From overseas, there came Dr. Ramon H. Myers from the Hoover Institute, Stanford University and Prof. Liang Shou-de from East and West Culture Center of Beijing University, Mainland China, Dr. George T. C. Yu, Asian & Pacific Studies Center, Illinois University and Dr. Paolo Santangelo, Director, Asian Studies Center, Orient University, Italy.
In the first-day meeting, scholars’ discussion focused upon the coordination of Eastern and Western cultures as they differentiated special features of their cultural aspects. Prof. Wei Yung of Chiao Tung University pointed out the disparity of the bureaucratic system pertaining to Eastern and Western governments, and the examples he cited are very interesting because they came from his personal experiences.
Dr. Myers from the Hoover Institute, however, raised his skepticism as to whether Taiwan can re-enter the international society because of the dubious standards taken on both sides of China, especially the deadbolt of “one China” policy upheld unremittingly by the Chinese government. His views aroused a vehement response among the attending conferees.
In the second-day meeting, the conferees tended to voice their appreciation of the Far-eastern culture in unison. For instance, both Profs. George T. C. Yu and Liang Shou-de averred that in Eastern culture Confucianism is the most representative and also authoritative one. With the change of time, however, adjustment and progression are inevitably happening at the same time. That’s why we are facing a new sect called “Neo-Confucianism” or even “Ultra Neo-Confucianism” today. Now it’s high time to propagate this traditional school of thought to the international society; the two professors advocated this idea to their compeers.
Mr. Chang Ping-huang, Deputy Director of Carrie Chang Fine Arts Center, also took this occasion to display his “dragon-fly and phoenix-dance” Chinese calligraphy to the attending conferees. Dr. Paolo Santangelo from Italy was impressed by what he saw in Taiwan. He promised on his return to Italy, he would work out a cooperation program to be carried out between TKU and his university.
