An Opportunity to
Learn About Taiwan

A Guide to Preparing for a 20 January Think Tank Meeting

Contact & Moderator - D. Passmore, dlp@DavidPassmore.net

Most recent version of this document published on 2024-01-14

The Think Tank hosts a 20 January meeting about Taiwan. A guest from Taiwan joins the meeting. You are invited to join and participate. Introduced in a “teaser” infographic is The Think Tank Orientation to Taiwan.

Taiwan — more formally, the Republic of China — is a notable driver of U.S. international diplomacy, military strategy, and public concern. The centerpiece of what is termed the “Taiwan issue” is the question of the future for this self-ruling democracy, which the People’s Republic of China claims as its territory. Answering this question is a flashpoint between the U.S. and the People’s Republic. The purpose of this Think Tank meeting is to enrich the Think Tank’s understanding of Taiwan and the “Taiwan issue” from the view of a Taiwanese citizen.

Provided in this document are two threads of information meant to promote active preparation in this meeting:

The 20 January Meeting

Our Guest

Victor Lin, Taiwan

The upcoming 20 January meeting of the Think Tank involves a discussion with Victor Lin, virtual visitor from Taiwan. Victor shares his view as a citizen of Taiwan, not from a perspective as a country specialist in an academic sense. He is not a diplomat or an interlocutor for Taiwan politics, strategy, or tactics. Rather, frame this session as the Think Tank’s opportunity to engage with a “man on the street” from Taiwan. Read Victor’s one-page bio to discover his wide knowledge about Taiwan, China, and the United States and his significant life experiences as a student, professor, academic leader, traveler, and soldier. Full disclosure: Your moderator worked with Victor and his wife, Winnie, when they earned their PhDs at Penn State and considers them close friends.

The Venue

Zoom, 20 January, 7:00 am

The meeting with Victor Lin occurs virtually on Zoom on 20 January 2024 starting promptly at 7:00 am (EST), without a firm completion time. The Zoom meeting room opens at 6:30 am. You are encouraged to log into the room, configure your connection, test your audio (mic & speakers), and prepare to engage before 7:00 am. For security reasons, you receive the URL and entry password for the meeting via email several days before the meeting date.

Protocol

Discussion encouraged

Give everyone a chance. Our small Think Tank group is sensitive to needs for talk-time sharing during respectful, yet earnest and spirited, conversation. Enter the discussion at any time that is felt appropriate. Listen to others.

Meet opportunity with preparation

This meeting is not designed as a Q&A interview with Victor. Prepare for frank, open group discussion. Encouraged is reading and critical assessment of information in the links provided in this document. Also suggested is review of information gathered though independent research.

Assets

At minimum, a participant should display a first/given profile name on the participant’s video image, although a participant’s prosoponym word-group (first and last name) is preferred. Screen sharing is permitted. Chat and polls/quizzes are enabled. Breakout rooms and whiteboards are unavailable.

Privacy, please

The moderator does not record this meeting. A participant may not record the meeting, either. This meeting is not live simulcast on Facebook, Workplace from Meta, YouTube, Twitch, or other custom live streaming services. Privacy is requested for content and dialogue transpiring during the meeting.

Ensure sound is audible

All audio is muted when a participant enters the Zoom room. Unmute audio to speak; mute when finished. Audio is muted by the moderator/autocrat, however, if audio is inaudible or injects random noise or disruptive acoustic feedback into the meeting stream.

Introduce yourself — but briefly

Time for conversation is limited. Participants are not introduced when the meeting begins. Instead, a participant choosing to speak starts by stating their name and one or two simple sentences to identify them (e.g., “I am Dexter Gordon. I was the president of a major research university and a washboard and mobile percussion performer with a local string band.”)

Help?

Experience with Zoom meetings is common. Most participants are familiar with Zoom’s user interface and tools. If technical or workflow problems develop during the meeting, however, send questions/comments/suggestions privately to the moderator (screen name: “David L. Passmore”) via the Zoom chat tool. Guidance is available from Zoom about joining successfully and participating actively in a Zoom meeting.

hope you will participate
in this think tank meeting!