Two lectures were organized by the Asian Studies Program of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of the Faculty of Arts and Letters. One was on Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and the other was about the history of Christianity in Korea.
The first lecture, held at the Miguel de Benavides Library Auditorium, was delivered by Dr. Richard Q. Turcsany of Mendel University Brno, Prague, Czech Republic. In his lecture on “Chinese Assertiveness in the South China Sea,” which is also the title of his recently published book, Turcsany explained that “China builds a comprehensive and multidimensional model
of power, which includes three levels, namely, international, state, domestic models; and eight sources of power, which are military, economy,
national performance, international institutional setting, geopolitics, position in the international economy, domestic legitimacy, and soft power.
Turcsany argued that although China’s power has been growing, it has not reached the threshold vis-à-vis the U.S. and there is still a considerable gap between the two, particularly in terms of the military, and also the geopolitics and soft power.
As for the Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, it is argued that in most assertive cases which are found in 2011-2016 period, the increasing power of China was not the main driving force of Chinese behavior. Instead, it is shown that China mostly reacts assertively to actions of other actors. Chinese domestic politics was found to play at most complementary role in the development.”
Richard Q. Turcsany, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Mendel University in Brno and Associate Research Fellow at Institute of International Relations Prague. He is also a director of STRATPOL – Strategic Policy Institute and Deputy Director of Institute of Asian Studies, both in Bratislava. In the past, he conducted a long-term study and research stays at University of Toronto, Peking University, National Chengchi University in Taipei, and European Institute for Asian Studies in Brussels. In his academic research, he focuses mostly on Chinese foreign policy and China’s relations with Central Europe.
His research appeared in the Journal of Chinese Political Science, Energy Policy, Czech Journal of Political Science, and The Diplomat.
Turcsany’s visit to the Philippines was facilitated by Ms. Jana Peterkova, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in the Philippines. She paid a courtesy call on Faculty of Arts and Letters Dean Prof. Michael Anthony C. Vasco, Ph.D., and discussed the possibility of
faculty members and students of both countries to visit their respective universities for benchmarking purposes.
Prof. Arlen A. Ancheta, Ph.D., coordinator for Internationalization and Linkages of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, accompanied Ms. Peterkova.
The second lecture was held at the Central Laboratory Auditorium with Dr. Leighanne Kimberly Yuh of Korea University as guest lecturer. In her
lecture on “Christianity, Imperialism, and a New World Order: The History of Christianity in Korea from the 18th to 20th Centuries,” Yuh discussed
that Christian missionaries activities and the propagation of the religion are largely responsible for the spread and expansion of Christianity in
East Asia. Korea is an exception. Her lecture examined the historical context of the introduction of Christianity (Catholicism) to Korea in the 18th
century, the reasons for the various reactions, and the eventual success of Protestant Christianity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also
addresses the religion’s effect on the social status
of the Korean people, including that of women.
Dr. Leighanne Yuh is a professor in the Department of Korean History and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Korean History published by the Center for Korean Studies at Korea University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on the Late Choson, early modern and modern periods. She received her Ph.D. f
