Special Issue on Seeking Political Reconciliation: Case Studies in Asia
Guest Editor: Mumin Chen

SEEKING POLITICAL RECONCILIATION: CASE STUDIES IN ASIA-INTRODUCTION
- Mumin Chen (pp. 7-18)

THE THREE PHASES OF JAPAN-CHINA JOINT-HISTORY RESEARCH: WHAT WAS THE CHALLENGE?
- Kawashima Shin (pp. 19-43)

In 2006 Japanese and Chinese governments initiated a joint historical project on promoting mutual understanding of World War II history. The primary purpose is to depoliticize the historical recognition issue, and to promote mutual understanding in the spirit of "agree to disagree." It can be said that both sides ultimately succeeded in this point. Yet the project remains incomplete, since the third stage of the research requires both sides to discuss and release research findings to the public. The Chinese government has consistently avoided doing so. As an outside contributor to this joint research, the author introduces how this intergovernmental history project was created and implemented at three levels-that of historians, then governments, and finally the media. New problems were created because of gaps in understanding between the Chinese and Japanese sides as well as communication problems at all three levels. One conclusion is that intergovernmental joint research may harden the shells of both sides' national histories in the end, making it necessary to encourage private institutions to conduct research on historical recognition in the future. . (Key words: historical reconciliation, Japan-China relations, media and government, judicial court and reconciliation)

COMPETING NARRATIVES, IDENTITY POLITICS, AND CROSS-STRAIT RECONCILIATION
- Yinan He (pp. 45-83)

After nearly sixty years of political confrontation, hopes for cross-Taiwan Strait reconciliation have run high since the traditionally pro-unification Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang, KMT) returned to power in Taiwan in May 2008. However, obstacles to reconciliation remain daunting, due to a fundamental disjuncture between the ideological beliefs of the two sides, in particular because China and Taiwan still lack a shared memory of Taiwanese history that can serve as the foundation for their reconciliation. This article examines a wide variety of sources from Taiwan and China over recent decades. It illustrates their conspicuous memory gap over the history of the island. Cross-Strait reconciliation needs to begin with recognizing rather than ignoring or covering up the memory gap. Dialogue and joint studies should be carried out to better understand each other's political perspective and emotional appeal associated with historical memory. (Key words: cross-Taiwan Strait relations, historical memory, reconciliation, Chinese nationalism, Taiwanese nationalism)

TAIWANESE IDENTITY AND THE MEMORIES OF 2-28: A CASE FOR POLITICAL RECONCILIATION
- Cheng-feng Shih and Mumin Chen (pp. 85-113)

This article examines how the native Taiwanese identity has been formulated in the 20th century, and how this identity affects the relations between the native Taiwanese and Mainlander minorities. During the Kuomintang's (KMT) authoritarian rule on Taiwan, Mainlanders considered themselves distinct and enjoyed more privileges than the natives. The 2-28 Massacre of 1947 and the following oppressive policies toward the natives by the KMT regime reinforced the distrust and animosity between native Taiwanese and Mainlanders. This article finds that it is very difficult to achieve reconciliation and rebuild a common identity among all groups in Taiwan, as neither the KMT nor the following government of the Democratic Progressive Party was able to build a new Taiwanese identity on the basis of ethnic reconciliation. Yet efforts by both sides to uncover the truth and seek justice about the Massacre have made progress. Taiwan's attainment of "transitional justice" appears in the later part of the article. (Key words: Taiwanese nationalism, national identity, 2-28 Massacre, transitional justice)

SUNSHINE OVER A BARREN SOIL: THE DOMESTIC POLITICS OF ENGAGEMENT IDENTITY FORMATION IN SOUTH KOREA
- Jong Kun Choi (pp. 115-138)

South Korea's "Sunshine" engagement policy during the Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun administrations (1998-2007) invited heated debates over the policy's ability to induce formidable changes within Pyongyang in terms of nuclear-weapons development and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula. Critics argued that Seoul's engagement policy would incubate Pyongyang's nuclear program, not hamper it. The policy also created coordination problems in the ROK-U.S. alliance and domestic political cleavages in South Korea. This article assesses the rationale behind South Korea's engagement policy, and argues that it initiated a politics of identity reformulation between Sunshine proponents and opponents. The two liberal administrations' Sunshine policy also contributed to changes in the South's role identity vis-à-vis North Korea by resetting the concept of national interest, the identity of North Korea, and alternative means to move away from a containment strategy. The article thus contends that the unit-level change in the state's role identity must go through a political struggle against the established security identity of a state. Reconciliation through engagement in a protracted conflictual relationship has to successfully win out over the old idea of containment. (Key words: inter-Korean relations, engagement/Sunshine policy, national identity formation, reconciliation, containment)

BUILDING CHINA-INDIA RECONCILIATION
- Shen Dingli (pp. 139-163)

China and India have had largely peaceful relations over thousands of years. However, despite having long ago agreed to coexist on the basis of peaceful coexistence, border disputes have marred their relationship. More recently, the two countries have declared a strategic partnership and strengthened their economic interaction; but they suspect each other on a range of issues besides their border, such as the Dalai Lama, nuclear proliferation, and the policies of Pakistan and the United States. This article suggests ways to moderate Sino-Indian tensions by offering some non-realist approaches. It proposes peaceful coexistence as a higher priority than national sovereignty. It suggests how Beijing and New Delhi may forge a constructive partnership, a process they have already started. (Key words: Sino-Indian relations, reconciliation, politics in East Asia, partnership)

THE INDIA-PAKISTAN DYAD: A CHALLENGE TO THE REST OR TO THEMSELVES?
- Raviprasad Narayanan (pp. 165-190)

No narrative on India and Pakistan relations, as post-colonial states, is complete without taking into account the ineptitude with which the colonial power (Britain) scuttled its responsibilities almost overnight and left in its wake two countries united only by their hatred for each other and divided by every other known variable. They continue to conduct their relations with each other through the narrow prisms of suspicion, hostility, hatred, and "otherness." It could be argued that since their very coming into being was a violent event, their existence as independent entities would involve continued violence within "manageable" levels that does not succeed in breaking up the "other." Apart from three and a half wars with each other, the India-Pakistan dyad is notorious for generating "near-war" scenarios repeatedly and for a vituperative relationship characterized by a perennial streak of crisis management. Adding a new dimension is the respective internal security problems faced by the dyad that threaten to undermine the legitimacy of both. (Key words: India, Pakistan, nuclear weapons, terrorism, Kashmir, army, institution)

NORTHEAST ASIA IN THE MULTIPOLAR WORLD-SYSTEM
- Immanuel Wallerstein (pp. 191-205)