CHFA | Global Languages Senior Colloquium
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Loading...
Major
Japanese Language
Minor
International Studies, Chinese
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Jie Wu
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Lauren Masterson is a senior majoring in Japanese Language with minors in Chinese and International Studies. Her major was originally International Studies with Japanese and Chinese as minors, however, her focus and love for learning have always centered around languages, and she spent her sophomore year of college living in Japan from October of 2023 to August 2024. She loves learning the nuances of language and the culture that is intertwined, and how these features interact and affect one another. In her spare time, she likes to read mostly fantasy genre literature, go kayaking, make notebooks, and play various sports like soccer and lacrosse. She plans to pursue a second undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Southern Indiana. She hopes to be able to combine these fields to examine the various workings of language and how they affect the people speaking them versus those who don’t.
Koxinga: The Catalyst of Taiwan’s Current Geopolitical Conflict
Taiwan, an island in a strategic position in the eastern part of the South China Sea, has been struggling to define and claim its sovereignty. Many studies attribute Taiwan’s sovereignty issues to government change and conflict in China between the Chinese Nationalist Party, Kuomintang, which later fled to Taiwan, and the Chinese Communist Party centered in mainland China.
This study explores the origin of conflict between China and Taiwan over the island's sovereignty through the actions of Zheng Chenggong (1624-1662), commonly known as Koxinga, and the events that unfolded following his death. The enduring conflict between China and Taiwan is examined primarily through Koxinga’s establishment of the Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning (1661-1683) on Taiwan and the parallel of Taiwan’s occupation by the Chinese nationalist party Kuomintang in 1949. In addition, this study utilizes comparative analysis of historiographies and contrasts of Taiwanese and Chinese perceptions to define Koxinga's impact, influence, and enduring effect as a catalyst on the current conflict over sovereignty of Taiwan. This study determines the importance of examining the origins of Taiwan’s conflict through the evaluation of changing perceptions of Koxinga by Chinese and Taiwanese, in contrast to mainstream literature, which focuses on the impact and evolution of China’s government system on relations with Taiwan in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Conclusively, we assert that Koxinga’s initial claim for Taiwan set a precedent for a narrative of legitimacy that influenced subsequent territorial assertions over the island. From the establishment of the Kingdom of Tungning (1662-1683) to the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang’s escape from mainland China (1949) in a parallel to Koxinga’s own, to the counter claims of the People’s Republic of China (1949-present) leading to today's enduring disputes and geopolitical conflict over the right to rule Taiwan.
Spring Scholars Week 2025
Global Languages Senior Colloquium
Koxinga: The Catalyst of Taiwan’s Current Geopolitical Conflict
Lauren Masterson is a senior majoring in Japanese Language with minors in Chinese and International Studies. Her major was originally International Studies with Japanese and Chinese as minors, however, her focus and love for learning have always centered around languages, and she spent her sophomore year of college living in Japan from October of 2023 to August 2024. She loves learning the nuances of language and the culture that is intertwined, and how these features interact and affect one another. In her spare time, she likes to read mostly fantasy genre literature, go kayaking, make notebooks, and play various sports like soccer and lacrosse. She plans to pursue a second undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Southern Indiana. She hopes to be able to combine these fields to examine the various workings of language and how they affect the people speaking them versus those who don’t.
Koxinga: The Catalyst of Taiwan’s Current Geopolitical Conflict
Taiwan, an island in a strategic position in the eastern part of the South China Sea, has been struggling to define and claim its sovereignty. Many studies attribute Taiwan’s sovereignty issues to government change and conflict in China between the Chinese Nationalist Party, Kuomintang, which later fled to Taiwan, and the Chinese Communist Party centered in mainland China.
This study explores the origin of conflict between China and Taiwan over the island's sovereignty through the actions of Zheng Chenggong (1624-1662), commonly known as Koxinga, and the events that unfolded following his death. The enduring conflict between China and Taiwan is examined primarily through Koxinga’s establishment of the Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning (1661-1683) on Taiwan and the parallel of Taiwan’s occupation by the Chinese nationalist party Kuomintang in 1949. In addition, this study utilizes comparative analysis of historiographies and contrasts of Taiwanese and Chinese perceptions to define Koxinga's impact, influence, and enduring effect as a catalyst on the current conflict over sovereignty of Taiwan. This study determines the importance of examining the origins of Taiwan’s conflict through the evaluation of changing perceptions of Koxinga by Chinese and Taiwanese, in contrast to mainstream literature, which focuses on the impact and evolution of China’s government system on relations with Taiwan in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Conclusively, we assert that Koxinga’s initial claim for Taiwan set a precedent for a narrative of legitimacy that influenced subsequent territorial assertions over the island. From the establishment of the Kingdom of Tungning (1662-1683) to the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang’s escape from mainland China (1949) in a parallel to Koxinga’s own, to the counter claims of the People’s Republic of China (1949-present) leading to today's enduring disputes and geopolitical conflict over the right to rule Taiwan.