I am Bennet Gessler, and currently finishing my sophomore year at Trinity College. Despite studying in the States, I grewup in Cologne, Germany. Following 17 years in Germany, I moved for 2 years to San José, Costa Rica, to study at the United World College Costa Rica, an international boarding school belonging to the global UWC movement. Being thrown into a highly political environment that focused on shared goals and motivations across borders and cultures at UWC, I decided on my major in political science and international (Asian) studies early on during my time at Trinity. Particularly by taking Prof. Reo Matsuzaki’s classes, as well as a variety of other intriguing East Asia-focused classes inthe political science and international studies departments, I got more and more involved with East Asian politics, which has evolved into my main area of interest.

Earlier this year, I started to do a research assistantship for Prof. Matsuzaki on the ‘One China’ policy, and the involvement of the distinct actors in building such a complex international diplomacy—particularly Taiwan (Republic of China), China (People’s Republic of China), and the United States. The ‘One China’ policy is the diplomatic recognitionof only one China, rather than a separate state called Taiwan and one called China. Herein, in the international order, the majority of states recognize either the Taiwanese or mainland China’s government as the legitimate leader to ‘all of China.’ Through my extensive research, I accumulated sufficient knowledge about the history of the Taiwan-China-USAtriangle after the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. I soon knew that I would like to delve deeper into this research,moving beyond the literature review I was doing to conduct my own research and explore ‘One China’ – an essentially identity-focused issue – by talking to people directly whose very identity is being affected and shaped through this policy. Therefore, I applied with Prof. Matsuzaki’s help for a CUGS research grant, so that I could follow my passion and gainfirst-hand interview knowledge about the ‘One China’ policy. I found Taiwan to be the perfect place to begin this research experience, as Taiwan’s unique position of being widely (officially) unrecognized, yet being a major player in the global economy, makes it a fascinating place to study. Furthermore, identity politics have shifted significantly over the past thirty years since Taiwan’s democratization, which allowed for a greater variety of views and perspectives in my interviews. After a few e-mails and a developed research proposal, I was very grateful to receive the notification that I was obtaining a grant to cover a full month of research in Taiwan.

To narrow down the focus of my research, I decided that I would interview Taiwanese people working in business, corporate, and trade, as well as those who have positions that make them knowledgeable within Taiwan-China dynamics. Since at the heart of my research is the ambiguity of the ‘One China’ principle, I believe that it could be best exploredthrough trade, one of the sectors where the interplay between official non-recognition and a de facto acceptance of a two-state principle becomes most evident.

One of the key issues was to find qualified interviewees, as they had to be in a high or specific enough position to be directly involved with China-Taiwan questions. While I was unsuccessful with my e-mail outreach, I was lucky to have useful connections to people who either live in Taiwan or have friends/family there. Through them, I received highly qualified interview contacts, which then directed me to their contacts (in a snowball system), allowing me to receive very insightful and further answers and impressions gained in my interviews. However, a drawback of this method was that it could have led to potential bias in the results, due to the contacts only referring individuals within their own circles. Due to the variety of political identities I encountered in my few interviews, this limitation did not significantly alter the outcomes of my research. Furthermore, Prof. Matsuzaki was a great help in both the preparation for my research and also as a guide during my stay in Taiwan (through virtual meetings). His help greatly furthered the success of my research.Lastly, Gabby Nelson was a huge help to me in all organizational and financial aspects of my research, guiding me smoothly through this experience.

My research has been incredibly meaningful to me, as the sensitivity of the interviews allowed me to build close personal relations with Taiwanese nationals, whom I hope to continue to interview in the future. It was a unique experience to be able to immerse myself in Taiwanese culture and society (where my Mandarin skills helped me), to get a more holistic impression of the intersections between culture, identity, and politics within the country. Thus, I was allowed to gain amuch deeper understanding of my academic interests than secondary research allowed for. I would recommend everyone to go on an adventure like this, as, although struggles arise from doing solo research, it allows for a whole new perspective on research and the world.

I plan to use survey data on national identity and the perception of ‘China’ in relation to profession and age of participants collected at a research institute in Taipei, along with my transcripts and interview notes, to write an academic article onmy research. This project is far from done, and I hope to be able to dig deeper into the research along the way, and have this research accompany me through my undergrad years and maybe even beyond.