Features and Prospects in Comparative Studies of Vietnam and Taiwan

Abstract

Inter-marriages, economic cooperation and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Vietnam have increased significantly in the last two decades. Hence Vietnamese studies in Taiwan and Taiwanese studies in Vietnam have gained improtance in academia in Taiwan and Vietnam. In Taiwan, for example, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (1994-2001) was established in 1994 by Taiwan.Academia Sinica under the Go-South Policy of Taiwan former president Lee Teng-hui. There are several more important institutions engaging in Vietnamese studies and/or semi-regular Taiwanese-Vietnamese academic conferences. In Vietnam, Taiwanese studies came along with the emergence of Chinese studies in the early 1990s. In September 1993, the Center for Chinese Studies at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences was approved by the Vietnamese government. The purpose of this paper is to survey current developments of comparative studies of Vietnam and Taiwan, and to provide further perspectives on the future development of this area of study.