Re: China the Hegemon again? Hall response 1

K. S. Tso,

You have a plethora of questions, mostly focused on Taiwan, about which I
have only passing knowledge.  [plus I have a plane to catch in the next
day].

But I think you are miss-reading nonstate society.  By that I mean what
generally used to be called "tribal".  As I understand it that label --
vague as it is -- has not applied to Taiwan and its residents for quite
some time.  The idea of state here is NOT the formal U. N. issue of having
its own government recognized by the UN, but having, many or most of the
markers of a state:  non-kinbased government, some degree of independence
of action viz other states, ability to police within itself.  Now what is
problematic, to me, and to many, is/was Taiwan independent of the
governing structures of mainland China?  Is it a [somewhat rebellious]
province?  Is it an internal colony of China? Is it a colonial, or
neo-colonial outpost of "the west"?  And if so  what are its functions in
the world-system?  The usual as a source of cheap labor for assembly
plants? A thinly veiled military outpost for observing mainland China? A
symbolic thumbing of the nose at Communist China?  If the latter is that
relevant after the collapse of the Soviet Union?  Or what I would guess,
all the above in some sort of shifting mixture over this century.

I do not know if this clarifies anything, or muddies it worse.

Chris Chase-Dunn has several more recent articles on these issues, several
are in the WS archive.  He recently published in American Sociological
Review 65:1 Feb 2000 an article on trade globalization.  Terry Boswell &
Chase-Dunn have a book coming out this month on the spiral of socialism
and capitalism that is germane to a number of your questions.  Early
drafts of these are in the archive.

I don't know if any of this helps.

If not re-ask your questions, but I suggest breaking them down into
smaller segments--to answer everything you asked would take a book or
more.

Let's see what others say.
tom hall