Taipei School of Economics and Political Science - TSE

The stage is almost set. ✨ As we finalize preparations for the TSE graduation ceremony, we want to congratulate our cohort on reaching the finish line of their degree programs. We cannot wait to celebrate this milestone achievement alongside your peers, mentors, and families.

TSE Graduation Celebration for the Class of 2026
📅 Saturday, May 30th
🕒 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
📍 TSE Common Area

Honoring our future global leaders. 🌍 We are just days away from the TSE graduation celebration. This event marks the transition of our outstanding students into the global professional and academic arena. We look forward to honoring your dedication to understanding and shaping international economic systems.

Peru Cultural Day was a wrap—and what a journey it was✨

From the very first moments of our opening showcase to the final closing remarks, we set out to bring a piece of Peru to campus, and thanks to all of you, it became something truly special.

A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible: our incredible team, performers, and all the friends and supporters who helped behind the scenes. Your energy, creativity, and commitment turned this into more than just an event, it became an experience. ❤️

We had the chance to explore Peru through in so many ways:
🎬 a powerful short film that captured the depth of Peruvian storytelling
🍽️ a vibrant cuisine and dessert showcase featuring some of Peru’s most iconic flavors
🎶 a live music performance that brought tradition to life
🧠 and a trivia session that challenged what we think we know about culture and even political economy 👀

Seeing the room come alive: people engaging, learning, laughing and connecting, was the highlight of it all. The response we received meant a lot, and it reminded us how powerful cultural exchange can be when it’s done with intention and passion.

We’re incredibly proud of what we built together, and this is just the beginning.

Thank you for being part of it.

📍TSE in Thailand Bangkok!

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all the institutions for the warm hospitality during our recent visit to Bangkok, including TDRI, TECO, Thammasat University, Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University, and Mahidol University.

It was truly an honor to meet with distinguished faculty members, researchers, and students, to introduce more about TSE.

We look forward to receiving your applications and sincerely hope to welcome you in Taiwan in the near future.

Professor Elvin Ong’s “Public Opinion Towards Democratic Reforms and Compromise in a New Democracy” examines how public attitudes in multiethnic societies shape democratic consolidation. Using Malaysia as a case study, Ong finds that elite framing significantly affects support for reforms.

“Negative ethnic grievance” frames, which highlight threats to Malay dominance, reduce support among the majority, while appeals emphasizing general democratic gains have limited effect. In contrast, compromise solutions (negotiated agreements balancing competing group interests) can increase support, particularly for reforms lacking broad backing. Malays, the dominant constituency, are less supportive overall but respond positively to compromise approaches.

Ong highlights the ethnic security dilemma, showing how elite framing can either stall or facilitate democratic reforms. His findings underscore that consolidating democracy in multiethnic new democracies is complex and gradual, requiring careful negotiation, compromise, and strategic communication to reconcile competing group interests and overcome entrenched privileges.
Composed by: Nicole Richi (TSE senior student)

In “AI-Centered Industrial Revolution and the Institutional Race,” Professor Chenggang Xu argues that the AI-driven industrial revolution is historically unprecedented, transforming intelligence rather than physical power. He reframes the often-discussed US–China competition as an institutional race, where political, legal, and economic systems determine societies’ ability to generate and sustain disruptive innovation.

Historical patterns show that industrial revolutions consistently emerged in democracies with constitutionalism, rule-of-law, and market-based incentives. Such institutions fostered “0-to-1” breakthroughs, while totalitarian regimes could only scale existing technologies (“1-to-N”). Applying this framework, Xu shows that US democracy benefit from venture capital, open scientific exchange, and market-driven AI adoption. China, despite strategic planning, faces structural constraints, including limited domestic demand and deflation, restricting the development of original AI breakthroughs.

Ultimately, Xu concludes that institutional quality, more than geopolitics, will determine leadership in the AI-centered industrial revolution, offering a clearer lens to understand and contextualize the US-China AI race.

Composed by: Nicole Richi (TSE senior student)

Dean Yves Tiberghien’s lecture, “Global Order Transition in Real Time,” analyzes how Asian summits and new leadership in Japan are reshaping the global order. He highlights ASEAN’s growing convening power, institutional depth, and emphasis on regional peace, which rival traditional platforms like the G20. Korean soft power and intra-ASEAN dynamics, such as frustrations with Malaysia’s perceived US alignment, illustrate the importance of regional actors beyond the US–China “G2” axis.

Japan’s new Prime Minister, Takaichi, the first woman in office, represents a potential disruptor in economic and hard security domains. Though conservative, she is expected to moderate her policies to maintain power.

Tiberghien underscores that understanding Asia’s influence requires moving beyond US–China-centric frames. In a period of rapid change and volatility, he emphasizes strategic mindfulness, reflection, and patience, captured in his mindfulness guidance of taking a message from the whale to navigate complex regional and global dynamics.
Composed by: Nicole Richi (TSE senior student)

🏆 TSE takes home a trophy in only our second year at the university sports games!
Watching your hard work and team spirit during all those after-class practices truly makes us proud.

💪 Third place in the university tug-of-war!
Congratulations, TSE team — you made history! 🎉

TSE was privileged to organize a lecture, “[Informal] Empires of Forestry Revisited: Taiwan in 20th-Century East Asia”, featuring our very own visiting professor Julia Strauss, a scholar of Chinese politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. She discussed how Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the East Asian region became fields for modern forestry, examining the interconnection between scientific systems, economic targets, and local phenomena.

Professor Strauss pointed out the complicated heritage of Japanese forestry in Taiwan, including economic initiatives that are insufficient, native inhabitants transferred to the uplands, and new levels of imperial rule. Her observations tell much about how forests turned into grounds of thought, science, and interpersonal dialogue, showing TSE students a striking context on environmental governance in East Asia.

For those inspired in learning more about her academic profile and the classes she instructs at TSE, please visit: https://bit.ly/JuliaStraussTSE
Composed by: Lorraine Rodriguez Yu (TSE PhD student)