Professional Affiliation

Assistant Professor, Institutum Iurisprudentiae, Academia Sinica

Expert Bio

Dr. Yu-Jie Chen is an Assistant Research Fellow (equivalent to Assistant Professor) at Institutum Iurisprudentiae of Academia Sinica and a Non-residential Affiliated Scholar at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute of NYU School of Law. Her research focuses on human rights and international law and relations, particularly in the context of China, Taiwan, and China-Taiwan relations. Her scholarship has developed along the following interrelated lines: legal and political controversies in China-Taiwan relations; Taiwan’s interaction with the international legal system; China’s authoritarian political and legal system; China’s influence on the international human rights regime; and Hong Kong’s changing rule of law. Her academic articles and public-facing essays have appeared in the United States, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, including, recently, the China Quarterly, New York Times, and Australian Foreign Affairs, among others.

Expertise

• Global Governance
• Human Rights

Wilson Center Project

Taiwan's International Participation and the Limits of "One China"

Project Summary

In the face of numerous challenges, Taiwan’s level of international engagement stands out as a critical issue. Despite transitioning into a democratic nation, the Republic of China (Taiwan) has been persistently excluded from international organizations since its U.N. displacement in 1971, a condition largely enforced by the People’s Republic of China. Taiwan’s exclusion not only hampers the global representation of its 23 million citizens and complicates its international status, but also carries broader implications for global governance. This research, using various case studies, examines Taiwan's difficulties within U.N. and non-U.N. entities. It further highlights potential breakthroughs, evaluating the Global Cooperation and Training Framework as a promising model for bolstering Taiwan's international ties. Moreover, this research illuminates the political pressures Beijing applies in international settings and offers relevant recommendations. These aim to amplify Taiwan's global contributions, underscore the essential role of collective support among democracies that share Taiwan's values, and reaffirm the principles of a rule-based international order.

Major Publications

• Yu-Jie Chen, Sept. 2022, “‘One China’ Contention in China-Taiwan Relations: Law, Politics and Identity”, China Quarterly, 252, 1025-1044.
• Yu-Jie Chen, Sept. 2022, “The United States, China and the European Union at the UN Human Rights Council: Trilateral Dynamics over International Human Rights Norms, Institutions and Politics”, editor(s): Chien-Huei Wu, Frank Gaenssmantel, Francesco Giumelli, Multilateralism in Peril: The Uneasy Triangle of the US, China and the EU, pp. 36-52, UK: Routledge.
• Yu-Jie Chen, Aug. 2022, “I’m Taiwanese, and I Want to Thank Nancy Pelosi”, The New York Times.