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Asian Barometer Survey Wave 5 Planning Meeting, July 6-8, 2017

The 2017 Asian Barometer Survey Wave 5 Planning Meeting, held by the Center for East Asia Democratic Studies, was held at the College of Social Sciences, National Taiwan University between July 6-8, 2017.

How do Asians View a Rising China?

China is already seen as the most influential power in Asia by a wide margin over the United States, yet most Asians prefer the United States, Japan, or Singapore as a model for development. Despite sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea, citizens in Southeast Asia generally view the influence of China on their own country in relatively favorable terms. Unsurprisingly, given their respective histories, citizens in Japan and Vietnam are least likely to view the influence of China in favorable terms.

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Authoritarian Nostalgia in Asia

Many citizens in East Asia remain nostalgic about their authoritarian past. Despite two decades of democratic development in Mongolia, more than 60% of respondents support getting rid of parliament in favor of rule by a strong leader. Around one-third of respondents in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand express the same view. Significant numbers of respondents across the region also support army rule, most notably in Thailand, where support for army rule has climbed dramatically following the May 2014 coup.

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How do East Asians Understand Democracy?

In the chart below, we show proportions of respondents who understand democracy in terms of good governance (red), social equality (orange), norms and procedures (blue), and freedom and liberty (green). Although the essential characteristics of a democracy center around principles and procedures in the classical Western view of democracy, East Asians tend to understand the meaning of democracy in terms of substantial outcomes. In all countries except Cambodia, over 50% of respondents interpret democracy as meaning either good governance or social equality.

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Governance-Based Legitimacy in East Asia

In this paper, the authors argue that perceived quality of governance is the key to explaining why non-democracies in East Asia have garnered greater political legitimacy than democracies in terms of the general public’s support. Based on the data collected by the fourth-wave Asian Barometer Surveys that was conducted in 14 East Asian countries during 2015 and 2016, the authors present empirical evidence to corroborate the argument that East Asians develop governance-based legitimacy by the quality of governance, of which non-democracies outperform democracies.

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Asia Democracy Research Network Fourth Workshop in Taipei on February 11-12.

The Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) Fourth Workshop, organized by the East Asia Institute and co-organized by the Asian Barometer Survey (ABS) of National Taiwan University and the Institute of Political Science at Academia Sinica (IPSAS), was held in Taipei on February 11-12, 2017.

The Third Tianjian Forum was held on January 7-9, 2017

The Third Tianjian Forum, held by the School of Public Affairs and Law of Southwest Jiaotong University, China, took place in Chengdu between January 7-9, 2017. Professor Yun-han Chu, Director of the Asian Barometer Survey, Professor Min-hua Huang, Program Manager of the Center for East Asia Democratic Studies, Dr. Mark Weatherall and Dr. Hsin-hsin Pan, Postdoctoral Fellows in our Center, were invited to this important annual event.

Professor Fu Hu, Principal Director of the Asian Barometer Survey, hosted the Happy Hour Activity

The Happy Hour activity for scholars from Universities in Taiwan, held by the Center for East Asia Democratic Studies, College of Social Sciences at National Taiwan University, took place on December 30, 2016. We were honored to invite Professor Fu Hu, Principal Director of the Asian Barometer Survey, to preside over the academic reunion of team members in the ABS group of Taiwan.

Professor T.J. Pempel Deliverd the Lecture "Dismantling Developmentalism: Japan, Korea, and Taiwan Facing Global Change".

Prof T.J. Pempel, Jack M. Forcey Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, USA, visited the Center for East Asia Democratic Studies, National Taiwan University, on November 30, 2016 and prepared to give a speech.

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Japanese Scholars visited Professor Fu Hu at the Asian Barometer Survey office

Professor Masahiro Wakabayashi with some Japanese scholars from renowned universities in Japan visited ABS and had an academic discussion with Professor Fu Hu, the Principal Director of the Asian Barometer Survey and Academician at Academia Sinica, on November 3, 2016.

Asian Barometer Conference in Bangkok on Oct 22-23.

On October 22-23, 2016, the Bangkok Conference on Asia's Challenged Democracies in the Age of Globalization, Digital Revolution and Democratic Recession, was held in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference was co-organized by The Asia Foundation and Asian Barometer Survey, co-sponsored by King Prajadhipok's Institute and the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica.

Asian Barometer Conference on the Competition over Soft Power in East Asia in Brookings.

On September 29, 2016, the Brookings Conference on the Competition over Soft Power in East Asia was held in Washington D.C. The conference was hosted by the Center for East Asia Policy Studies of Brookings Institution, co-sponsored by the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica, and the Asian Barometer Survey, National Taiwan University.

2016 Asian Barometer Conference on August 9-11, 2016

The 2016 Asian Barometer Conference on New Challenges to Asian Democracies in the Age of Globalization, Internet Revolution and Democratic Recession, was held by the Center for East Asia Democratic Studies at the College of Social Sciences, National Taiwan University between August 9-11, 2016.