Recently, China has made remarkable economic progress. In the academic world, however, we are unable to see similar progress. Among the scholars whom I have been indebted to, there have been some who have been communicating with scholars in China. Their essays, which were scheduled to be published in China, were sometimes prohibited from publication because of censorship. However, owing to the persistent endeavors of their friends in China, these essays were published with certain parts blacked out.<\/p>\n
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When I talked with a professor about this phenomenon, he pointed out that if an essay has been partially censored, we cannot say that it is the same essay. He then explained about the spirit of \u201cacademic independence\u201d in Waseda University. As a graduate of Waseda University, and from the standpoint of \u201cacademic independence\u201d, I do find some agreement with his uncompromising spirit. However, I did feel some conflict over it. If not for censored publication, there might be a possibility that they cannot dispatch any information at all or that they have to give up on contributing their essays under the threat of censorship. Dispatching information under any difficult circumstances would be a different form of \u201cacademic independence\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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In Taiwan, my native country, there is no such censorship. However, \u201cacademic independence\u201d is being challenged in a different way. When we talk about Taiwan overseas, we are asked if we support independence or unification. Actually, there are considerable supporters for both independence and unification in Taiwan. If we are allowed to have our own thoughts, siding with either independence or unification would be a form of \u201cpersonal freedom\u201d. It is in a \u201cdemocratic country\u201d that we can respect each other although we may have different opinions.<\/p>\n
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However, confrontation in political ideology in Taiwanese society has taken a serious turn. Some researchers \u201cwork-out\u201d their research in order to create a logical backing to assert their thoughts. One typical example is the \u201cTaiwanese heritage dispute\u201d which was based on the doctrine that \u201c85% of Taiwanese have the heritage of Taiwanese aborigines\u201d, which was published by Professor Lim M, National Taiwan University College of Medicine. Such a doctrine was hard for me to understand given that I am a researcher of modern history. A famous jurist, Santaro Okamatu, who crafted the Taiwanese Private Law in the colonial period of Taiwan, gave a statement which said that \u201call people in Taiwan have Chinese ethnicity, and do not belong to the primitive race. People have their own special cultures and characteristics.\u201d There are some discriminatory terms in this statement, but we get the impression that Taiwan, in the colonial period under Imperial Japan before the war, consisted of Chinese (Han) people who had a specific culture and characteristics. There were some who had marital relations between such Chinese race and aborigines. But, such relations were very few. Moreover, they were not hostile against each other, but rather were not interested in the other and lived in \u201cdifferent worlds\u201d. We can find this account in many historical documents.<\/p>\n
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Before the war, we used the term \u201cGo-yo (\u5fa1\u7528)\u201d to preface words which related to the Office of the Government of Formosa, like \u201cGo-yo newspapers\u201d, \u201cGo-yo merchants\u201d or \u201cGo-yo scholars\u201d. However, according to recent studies, even newspapers which were known as \u201cGo-yo newspapers\u201d carried many articles which criticize government policies. \u00a0According to my research, professors of Taiwan Imperial University, who have been labelled \u201cGo-yo scholars\u201d were engaged in working for the government and practiced their \u201cacademic independence\u201d despite the harsh environment, keeping their dignity and fulfilling their responsibilities.\u00a0 Another example is the \u201cPreservation of Historical and Scenic Spots and Natural Monuments\u201d which was initiated by the Office of the Government -General in the 1930s. \u00a0There were many \u201cnew\u201d historical spots possessed by Taiwan under Imperial Japan which implied their political intentions. On the other hand, there are also other spots which were designated variously while under the Netherlands, the time of Koxinga or the Qing dynasty. These spots which were designated before Imperial Japan are precious and valuable for Taiwan today and are linked to Taiwanese identity.<\/p>\n
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The three cases mentioned above differ in time and the place. Yet, from them we can realize the importance of \u201cacademic independence\u201d. In recent years, historical revisionism has become an issue. I, as a researcher of history, think it is my mission to convey historical facts to people without any bias. And, as a graduate of Waseda University, I will conduct my research with \u201cacademic independence\u201d in mind.<\/p>\n
However, I do not think that \u201cacademic independence\u201d only belongs to graduates of Waseda. \u00a0Rather, \u201cacademic independence\u201d should be shared with researchers of all fields and from different countries and universities.<\/p>\n
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That is why I decided to write this column. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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