China

Reviewing the history and major texts of the early Buddhist astrology tradition in China with further elaboration of its significance in Japan and Korea. The author addresses the issue of how the history of Buddhist astrology is often neglected in Buddhist Studies as well as the modern practice of East Asian Buddhism.

        2008年馬英九總統執政後，台灣與中國的經濟關係更趨緊密。「兩岸經濟關係具有政治性質」被視為理所當然，然而其「政治性質」（political characteristic）為何卻未被明確定義。本文認為以「民族主義」（nationalism）來定義兩岸經濟關係的「政治性質」，有助於我們更精確地理解台灣與中國之間政經關係的整體圖像。
        本文重構「經濟民族主義」（economic nationalism）的概念，提出一個「手段-目標」操作型定義：經濟民族主義是一種信念，此信念企圖運用「經濟手段」以達成「民族主義目標」。若將經濟民族主義的目標依照「經濟/政治面向」與「為了保護/獨立/擴張」兩個軸線區分，在概念上可以區分出六種具有不同目標的經濟民族主義。中國內部的對台溫和派屬於PP型（「政治/保護」型）經濟民族主義，台灣的馬政府的立場也是PP型，民進黨的立場則是PI型（「政治/獨立」型）。
        本文指出：中國溫和派、馬政府、民進黨三者所抱持的經濟民族主義只有在「經濟交流」作為工具手段這點產生交集（都贊同台灣與中國繼續經濟往來），三者的民族方案（national project）皆不相同（中國溫和派追求終極統一、馬政府追求維持現狀、民進黨追求終極獨立），而且對於經濟整合的政治效果的期待也大不相同（中國溫和派期待帶來統一、民進黨慎防帶來統一、馬政府期待帶來和平不會帶來統一）。基於此分析，本文主張：兩岸密切的經濟關係其實是建立對政治效果的不同期待之上，雙方的經濟民族主義策略也許能達成暫緩緊張的表象，然而只要台灣與中國內部行動者的民族方案仍不一致，長久和平的期盼猶如「沙上建堡」一般，並不穩固。

      The economic relationship between Taiwan and China became closer after Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008. Scholars used to take the political nature of cross-strait economic relations for granted. However, the content of its political characteristic has hardly been defined clearly. This paper argues that “nationalism” appropriately defines what the political nature of cross-strait economic relations is. With the merits of this definition, we are able to capture the overall image of cross-strait political and economic relations more precisely.
        The author reconstructs the concept of “economic nationalism” and proposes a “means-end”-type operational definition: economic nationalism is a belief attempting to achieve nationalistic ends by exploiting economic means. Six types of economic nationalism with different goals could be identified and fit into a two by three table in terms of the intersection of “political/economic-oriented” and the “the pursuit of protection/independence/expansion”. According to the typology of economic nationalism, Chinese moderate and Ma administration in Taiwan hold same “PP”-type (Political/Protection) economic nationalism but with different national project, while Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pursue “PI”-type one (Political/Independence).
          With the help of the comparison above, we can further clarify the “means-end” mismatch among them: Chinese moderate, Ma administration, and DPP gradually converge on the strategy of “economic exchange” but diverge on their own national project as well as the expectation of political effects resulted from economic integration. This paper indicates that the intensive cross-strait economic exchange is built on the diverse expectations of political effects among Chinese moderate, Ma administration, and DPP. This fact arguably implies that current seemingly stable cross-strait relations is nothing but an unsustainable superficiality and that the perpetual peace could not been reached by those political actors who pursue irreconcilable nationalistic goals.

"        以中國作為「他者」、「對立面」，是戰後台灣民族主義論述的隱微框架。這個論述框架（discursive framework）的形成，有其歷史脈絡與內在邏輯的必然性。本文將戰後台灣民族主義「與中國對抗」的論述框架，分成三階段來分析：威權統治時期（1949~1988）、民主化時期（1988~2000）、政黨輪替後（2000~2008），檢視「中國」與「中國人」作為台灣民族主義論述中的他者，其定義如何隨著具體歷史情境而演變。
        然而，時至今日，台灣民族主義論述以二元性概念進行民族主體的追尋與塑造，其二元對立的架構在論述上或實踐上都已陷入困境。本文提出三個標準：理論的有效性（theoretical effectiveness）、策略的可行性（strategic feasibility）、道德的可欲性（moral desirability），分析台灣民族主義現今的困境，說明以「與中國對抗」作為論述框架的台灣民族主義，已經很難在新的時代環境中對內團結國民，對外指引國民奮鬥的目標。
        最後，本文從行動層次（agent level）出發，提出一個指引行動的思考方向：台灣的民族建構無須也不能繼續建立在與中國對抗的基礎之上，論述框架必須超越「台灣是與中國對抗的台灣」（Taiwan is the Taiwan Fight against China）進入「台灣是世界中的台灣」（Taiwan is the Taiwan within the World）。

      China has been treated as “the Other” or “the Opposite” in the discursive framework of Taiwanese nationalism after WWII. The formation of such discursive framework was natural and unavoidable in terms of historical contexts and internal logic. This paper examines how had the definitions of “China” and “Chinese” within the discourses of postwar Taiwanese nationalism changed over three historical stages, i.e. Authoritarian Regime Period (1949~1988), Democratization Period (1988~2000), First Power Rotation Period (2000~2008).
Such dichotomous discursive framework do not serve the goal of nation-building well neither theoretically or practically nowadays. Hence, this paper proposes three criteria, including theoretical effectiveness, strategic feasibility, and moral desirability, for analyzing the predicaments of Taiwanese nationalism nowadays as well as elaborating its failures to unite a nation domestically and commit a nation to contributing the world in this new era.
        Finally, this paper suggests a new guiding direction at “agent level” for Taiwanese nationalism: Taiwanese nation-building already need not and should not base on the “against China” discourses. In other words, the discursive framework must go beyond “Taiwan is the Taiwan Fighting against China” and into “Taiwan is the Taiwan within the World”.

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"Private tutoring has become a global phenomenon in the 21st century (Bray, 2009; Mori & Baker, 2010; Aurini et al., 2013) and is now one of the fastest growing industries in many developed countries (i.e., Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, United States, United Kingdom) (Baker & LeTendre, 2005; Dang & Roger, 2008). However, little research has investigated the determinants of private tutoring in developing countries, and its implications to student academic performance on national college entrance examination. The purpose of this critical review seeks to examine the implications of academic achievement in shadow education activities on family expenditure and family income inequalities between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India. More specifically, this report begins by exploring the expansion and prevalence of high-stakes testing and college test preparation for understanding shadow education, social stratification and educational mobility in China and India. A special attention to this report investigates the extent of private supplementary tutoring that is delivered in-person, and not tutoring delivered by relatives, teachers, or friends. The following section examines student perceptions on the effectiveness of private tutoring on national college entrance examination preparation, as well as students’ motives (e.g., prestige-oriented views) to attend an elite higher education institution in China and India as a result of private tutoring participation. The report concludes that students’ desire to attend an elite higher education institution in China and India are influenced by parents’ spending on shadow education, in addition to student achievement, test preparation, and school quality in high school. The ultimate goal of this review seeks to raise serious concerns on the social stratification effects and inequity of private tutoring, to assist policymakers and planners of identifying appropriate measures of shadow education activities on college entrance examination achievement, and to offer practical direction of further research within the prodigious growth of the shadow education industries in China and India."

In 1911 the last imperial dynasty in China was overthrown by the Republic of China (ROC: often referred to as "Nationalist China"). Shortly thereafter, a civil war ensued between the forces of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, and Communist leader Mao Zedong. This conflict came to a pause when the Japanese invaded the mainland in force during World War II. With the defeat of Japan in 1945, and its withdrawal from the mainland, the struggle between Chiang and Mao resumed. In 1949 the Communists defeated the nationalist Kuomintang and established the People's Republic of China, while the Nationalists relocated the ROC to Taiwan and the surrounding islands. After the death of Mao in 1976, and the start of market-oriented economic reforms in 1978, China has become one of the world's fastest-growing economic powers. It has become the world's second-largest economy as measured by nominal total GDP and purchasing power.