Time:2008/7/19 

On June 1, the Center for International & Strategic Studies of Peking University hosted the second "East Asian security Roundtable Dialogue" at the School of International Studies. The theme for the 2008 Roundtable was “Election Year, Domestic Factors and Security Dynamic in East Asia”. 

Twenty-four leading scholars and experts who attended the roundtable were from various well-known institutions such as Tsinghua University, Fudan University, the China Foreign Affairs College, the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, the University of Hong Kong, Harvard East Asian Fairbank Center, the University of Oklahoma, Tokyo University, Keio University, and Yonsei University. 

In his opening remarks, Professor Wang Jisi, Chair of the SIS and Director of the CISS, addressed the objectives and administrative aspects of the newly established Center. As Professor Wang stated, the Center aims to enhance academic and policy research in the fields of international politics, security, and national strategies. Its emphasis is to provide analysis of China’s changing international environment and the major powers’ international strategies, and to publish or submit policy-relevant, future-oriented works based on such analysis. 

In his welcoming address, Vice President of Peking University, Professor Zhang Guoyou, extended his sincere welcome to everyone participating in the symposium on behalf of Peking University and its affiliated Center for International & Strategic Studies. Professor Zhang stated that the main objective of Peking University in establishing the Center was to build a high-quality think tank, capable of generating reliable international strategic studies that will provide a strong intellectual basis of support for the Chinese government to develop better diplomatic relations, and to commit to greater responsibility as a respected member of the international community. 

During the day-and-a-half roundtable, respective participants engaged in in-depth academic topics, which included “Changing Domestic Politics in East Asian Countries”, “Election Politics in the US, Taiwan, and South Korea and Their Strategic Implications”, “Power Relations under New Domestic Dynamics in East Asia”, “Nationalism, Competing Political Ideas, and Diversified Identities and Their Security Implications”, and “Regional Security in East Asia: Changing Domestic Landscape and Unchanged Security Skyline?”. 

In his concluding remarks, Professor Wang Jisi pointed out that the two-day conference was very thought provoking and touched on many flash points of the region. Specific and detailed discussion content will be issued in article format by the CISS.