The directors and staff of the Pacific Cultural Foundation see their organization as playing the role of a cultural ambassador for the Republic of China. Since 1974, the foundation has been promoting international cultural exchange through academic and cultural activities. According to its president, Chang Yu-sheng (張豫生), the foundation was established in response to a national need. "At that time, the ROC was encountering a series of diplomatic setbacks, including severed diplomatic relations with many countries," he says.
To counteract a shrinking interntional profile on the official level, the Pacific Cultural Foundation was seen as an effective unofficial means to continue fostering academic and cultural exchanges between the ROC and other nations. "A number of prominent individuals raised US$360,000 to establish the foundation," Chang says. Among them were Tsiang Yien-si, former minister of education and then secretary general of the Office of the President; Hsieh Ming-shan, former president of Tunghai University; and Chou I-chen, former president of China Airlines. The first president of the foundation was Jeanne Tchong-Koei Li, now director general of the China Youth Corps.
From its inception, the foundation was guided by individuals with firsthand knowledge of national policy directions, making it easier for the organization to sponsor research and activities that would best promote the ROC's academic and cultural image. That close relationship remains true today. The foundation's board of directors consists of twenty-two leading individuals from both the private and public sectors, and the chairman of the board is former premier Lee Huan. The directors are elected for three-year terms, and they set policies, guide operations, and also donate money to the foundation.
The president, appointed by the chairman of the board, directs operations. These are divided into five sections: activities, academic, planning, administrative, and secretarial. Sixteen full-time staff members handle its day-to-day activities.
Chang took over the foundation in 1987 after years in youth affairs, working for both the KMT Department of Youth Affairs and the China Youth Corps. "When I started," Chang says, "a friend of mine said, 'under the name of culture, you can do anything.' But his joking comment actually reflects the real situation. We have no limits on the ways we introduce Chinese culture to the international community. Moreover, through the medium of culture, we can make frequent contacts with other nations, which helps counteract our diplomatic isolation."
The activities section is responsible for conducting international conferences, symposiums, and seminars. Joanna Tso (左玉苓), who heads the section, says:
"We usually hold four to five international conferences each year, ranging in size from thirty to two hundred participants." The topics vary greatly. For example, last year it jointly sponsored a conference entitled "The Current Situation and Future Development of Chinese Written Language," with the Department of Chinese Language, National Taiwan Normal University.
A primary conference goal was to examine the strengths and weaknesses of using the standard Chinese written characters - commonly used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and most overseas Chinese communities - and the simplified Chinese characters adopted by mainland China and Singapore. The use of the two systems has bred confusion and inconvenience. For example, younger people educated under the simplified writing system have great difficulty reading Chinese materials written before the 1950s.
Before the conference, six local language specialists crossed the Taiwan Straits and met with mainland scholars to discuss the possibility of unifying the Chinese written system. The results of their trip was the subject of one of the main conference panels. Professor Lee Shou-lin, one of the conference organizers, says: "Scholars on both sides of the Straits reached several areas of consensus, particularly on the urgent need for solving this confused situation."
Over the years, the foundation's conferences have covered topics such as environmental protection, social development, Euro-Asian relations, and juvenile delinquency. The environmental conference, held in 1989, took an in-depth look at Taiwan's pollution problems, and it turned out to be especially useful. "People still write letters to ask for the conference proceedings," Tso says.
One of the events scheduled for this year is an international symposium on tourism and leisure management, a topic close to the hearts of local planners. According to Tso, the planning process, from idea to execution, is indicative of how the Pacific Cultural Foundation works. In this case, the idea for the symposium came from an American scholar in a letter to the foundation president. The staff liked the idea and held a preliminary meeting with local scholars, tourism industry professionals, and government officials to evaluate the need and feasibility of the symposium. The response was very positive, because the local experts felt that such a meeting could generate suggestions that would help Taiwan solve some of its tourism problems.
In line with the foundation's policy, the theme for the symposium was cast in international terms: "Asia-Pacific Destination Development." Thus, Taiwan will be discussed as one of many tourist destinations along the rim of the Western Pacific Ocean. The symposium will last six days, beginning with a three-day field trip. "This arrangement is especially designed to offer symposium participants an opportunity to visit Taiwan's scenic spots beforehand and get a general idea of our tourism facilities before they proceed to the symposium," Tso says.
As usual, funding will come from relevant government agencies. "This time, we will apply for subsidies to the Ministry of Communications and the Tourism Bureau," Tso says. She adds that in other cases, the Ministry of For eign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Government Information Office, and the Council for Cultural Planning and Development (CCPD) are primary sources of funds for conferences.
Chang elaborates on the necessity for continued government support. "Over the years, our fund has increased to more than US$6 million, but most of the interest from this goes to staff salaries. That is why we always ask for support from government agencies."
Following the tourism symposium, the staff will handle publication and dissemination of the conference report and panel papers to the participants and to other interested parties.
The foundation's academic section focuses its attention on narrower projects. Instead of big conferences, it assists individual scholars from abroad who are looking for support to conduct research on things Chinese. Favored topics are in the areas of Chinese culture, history, and contemporary affairs. At present, the foundation offers four types of grants: basic research, writing and translation support, seminar attendance, and publication assistance. A screening committee composed of local scholars meets quarterly to review and evaluate applications. In 1990, the committee approved sixty-seven grants.
One of the recipients is Nathan Jones, an Ed.D. candidate at Washington State University. His research topic, "Teaching English to Taiwan's Junior College Students: A Study of Different Methods," is viewed not only as a potential theoretical contribution to educational methods, but also as being of great practical value. English-language study is already integrated into Taiwan's educational system, but much needs to be done to upgrade the teaching methods used by local teachers and by foreigners.
"What Americans assume as a very effective teaching method may not be a good one for foreign students because of cultural differences," Jones says. He is conducting field research for his dissertation at Yuan Pei Medical Junior College in Hsinchu, central Taiwan, where approximately two hundred students are involved in his survey. "The Pacific Cultural Foundation is the first organization to express interest in supporting my study," Jones says. "Although the grant is only US$2,500, it is very helpful."
Typically, the grants are small, because the foundation usually expects scholars to receive support from other sources as well. "We usually receive around one hundred applications a year," says Chan Yi-hsuan (陳怡璇), chief of the academic section. "All but a quarter pass the screening evaluation. The maximum award is US$7,500."
Avron A. Boretz, a Ph.D candidate at Cornell University, also received a grant in 1990. The US$3,500 award will help him gather material for his dissertation on "Warrior-gods, Shamans, and Strongmen: History and Social Reproduction in a Chinese Frontier Community." Boretz explains the idea behind his study: "Military power and martial prowess, and their symbolic representation in Chinese histories, religion, and popular culture, as well as their role in everyday Chinese community life, have been largely overlooked by anthropologists who study Chinese society."
Boretz is contrasting the "martial" and "civil" categories of Chinese thought by looking into history, religion, and everyday social life. He says that the interplay of these two categories helps explain how Chinese have traditionally ordered and explained reality. As part of his research, he regularly visits five temples in Taitung, a small town in southeast Taiwan. "For example, I try to explore the function of the 'martial' concept in the contemporary Taiwanese religious belief system," he says.
Josephine Hsu, a staff member in the academic section, says: "Basically, we have no set criteria for our applicants. They can be any nationality, and they can suggest any topic. We usually invite individual professors and scholars from institutions like Academia Sinica and the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research to review and evaluate the applications, then we convene a screening committee to make the final selections."
The foundation is also an active supporter of performing arts groups, both local and international. Each year, the planning section invites foreign performing groups to give concerts or performances throughout the island. Last year, it sponsored Taiwan tours by the Nancy Hauser Dance Company and the Oklahoma Festival Ballet from the U.S., and the Ballet Olivia Geerolf from Belgium.
"When we first established the foundation, we focused on cultural exchange between Taiwan and Pacific Rim countries," Chang Yu-sheng says. "But as the international scene has changed, such as the democratization in Eastern Europe, we have actively established exchange programs with other parts of the world.
Choosing cultural groups to visit Taiwan and arranging for their visit is often a complex process, but the foundation has help from abroad. "Through the recommendation of our cultural councilors around the world, we invite many outstanding artistic groups to come to Taiwan," Chang says. And there is not just one-way traffic; the foundation also arranges for local cultural groups to go abroad. For instance, in 1989, it set up a two-month tour by the Hsiao Hsi Yuan Hand-Puppet Troupe to Germany, France, and South Africa. And last year, at the request of the National Arts Club in New York City, it supported Huang Chun-pi (黃君璧), a master in Chinese painting, to hold an exhibition there." Huang has been painting for over sixty years, and his works are found in collections around the world. He is especially noted for his landscapes.
"The National Arts Club is considered as one of the most prestigious art clubs in New York City, and it was the first time the club had ever invited a Chinese painter to hold an exhibition," Chang says. "His exhibition was very successful, and this year the club invited Au Ho-nien (歐豪年), another eminent local painter, to hold another exhibition."
As a service to Taiwan academic and cultural circles, the foundation sponsors overseas cultural tours for school teachers during the summer and winter vacations. Reflecting recent government initiatives, last year it organized two cultural tours to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Locally, it has established a Center for Chinese Culture and Art Studies, which offers courses in Chinese pottery, classical music, painting, and calligraphy.
The foundation is also expanding its work. Recently, it borrowed US$1.1 million as a down payment on a 3,600 sq. ft. lot in downtown Taipei. On the site, which costs US$2.6 million, will be the foundation's future headquarters, an eleven-story building (including three basement levels) containing exhibition halls, conference rooms with simultaneous translation facilities, workshops for ceramics and painting, and administrative offices.
The Pacific Cultural Foundation is expanding abroad as well. Its British Taiwan Cultural Institute was inaugurated in London on April 23, 1990. "We have to concentrate more of our efforts on Europe," Chang says. "Previously, we were restricted by limited funds and manpower. But with the new cultural institute, this situation can be greatly improved." In addition, the foundation spent US$1 million on Villa Cathay, a 120-acre camp site in San Mateo County, California. The camp will provide accommodation and services for conferences and recreation. At present, there are twenty-two cabins, two conference rooms, and a large dining room. Chang adds, "Many California groups like to hold their training programs or recreational activities there."
According to Chang, the overseas expansion programs are a natural expansion of the foundation's mission of promoting international cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the ROC and other nations. "Now that we are approaching the age of maturity," he says, "we feel that the bridge we are attempting to build across the oceans is more than a sketch; indeed, it has become concrete."