Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The Chinese cultural feature, known as guanxi, has been pegged as the reason strong ties, and not weak ties, are instrumental for the job matching process in Chinese society. Interviews with human resource managers in Taipei show that invoking guanxi, to match a candidate with a position, is overwhelmingly a unidirectional process. Managers used guanxi to target specific candidates, but when the managers themselves were targeted by less-than-qualified job seekers, they usually refused to make the hire. Job seekers preferred to search through strong, guanxi ties because such ties allowed them to obtain privileged information about a prospective company; then, once hired, allowed them to have power and influence on the job. For low-level positions, using guanxi through the firm’s other employees helped managers to quickly fill a large number of positions and trust that operations would run smoothly. For high-level positions, managers used their own guanxi to secure highly demanded, qualified candidates, who could be trusted. In both cases, managers additionally noted that using guanxi was less expensive compared with other formal search methods. For middle-level positions, however, this paper asserts that hiring through guanxi is de-emphasized, as manager’s expressed that strongly tied, middle-level employees can informally unite in practices, which are counterproductive to management objectives.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Beijing and Taipei experienced an uneasy and even turbulent period of bilateral relations after the mid-1990s, particularly during the period 2000-08 when the pro-Taiwan independence party, DPP, was in office. With the KMT, which has a very different perc

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper introduces the basic features of the Cross-Strait Interactions Databank (CSID) and reports a number of findings of a preliminary analysis of these event data. The CSID data set was recently created by the present author and a group of gradu

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In recent year, there have been significant developments in the peace and stability in cross-Strait relations, which is critical to the international relations in East Asia. In addition, the interaction among mainland China, US, and Taiwan is increasing as they are becoming more active in regional multilateral institutions. This situation raises the puzzle that whether institutions, economic interdependence can facilitate peace and stability among China, Taiwan and the United States. If the answer is yes, what are these causal mechanisms? Liberal theories of international relations emphasize the role of international institutions on fostering cooperation by reducing obstacles_ such as uncertainty and transaction costs__ that stand in the way of mutually beneficial agreements between states. In addition, they also hold that interdependence decreases the incentives for conflict and war because states become reluctant to disrupt or jeopardize the welfare benefits of open economic exchange. This paper unifies these theoretical insights to explore the role of economic interdependence, institutions on the stability and cooperation between mainland China, Taiwan, and the U.S.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper provides a psychological explanation of the Taiwan Strait crisis within the framework of trust and distrust in international relations. The author also discusses the implications of the case in political psychology and Asian security