This book intends to examine the relationship between East Asia and Southeast Asia across three themes: historical perspectives, economic flows of capital and people, and socio-cultural connections. While a substantial number of chapters in the book focus on overseas Chinese (living in Indonesia) and their connections with China and Taiwan historically and contemporarily, they also provide in-depth knowledge of international relationship between East Asia and Southeast Asia. Part One, 'Contending Regional Approaches', consists of four chapters that help readers understand the involvement of East Asia from a historical context. The first chapter on Taiwan before 1975 is followed by a chapter on Taiwan's strategy toward Southeast Asia after the 1980s. The remaining two chapters focus on China-Southeast Asia and Japan-Southeast Asia relations. Part Two, 'Economic Flows of Capital & People', consists of six chapters that mainly examine the flow of capital and people between Indonesia and Taiwan from the colonial period to the present and how this flow changed both societies. Part Three, 'Socio-Cultural Connections', consists of three chapters. This part is a unique contribution to the scholarship that focuses on the transformation of both traditional and popular culture among Southeast Asia, China, and Taiwan by focusing on different agents.
Yumi Kitamura is currently an associate professor at the Kyoto University Library. Her research interests include contemporary Indonesian society and culture. She is been actively involved in education and research in both Japan and Indonesia. Her recent publications include the following: 1) "The Re-recognition of Confucianism in Indonesia: An Example of China's Soft Footprint in Southeast Asia," in China's Footprints in Southeast Asia, edited by Maria Serena I. Diokno, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao and Alan H. Yang. Singapore: NUS Press, 2019, 2) "Parallel Development: Southeast Asian Studies and Library Collections," in States and Societies in Motion: Essays in Honour of Takashi Shiraishi, edited by Khoo Boo Teik and Jafar Suryomenggolo. Copenhagen: NIAS, 2020.
Alan H Yang serves as a distinguished professor at Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies (GIEAS); Executive Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) and Deputy Director of the Institute of International Relations (IIR) at National Chengchi University, Taiwan; He is also the Executive Director of Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF). Dr Yang is also a non-resident senior fellow of George H W Bush Foundation for US-China Relations based in Houston since 2021 and a non-resident fellow of the China Desk of the Reconnaissance Research in Kuwait since the July of 2021.
Dr Yang's research interests cover international relations theories, international relations and regionalism in Southeast Asia, environmental governance and disaster resilience, border politics and politics of resistance in Southeast Asia, foreign policy, and soft power analysis with a specific focus on China's Confucius Institute and Taiwan's NSP.
Dr Yang's latest publications include China's Soft Footprint in Southeast Asia, co-edited with Dr Maris Diokno and Dr Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao, and Weaponized Interdependence: China's Economic Statecraft and Social Penetration against Taiwan. He is also a frequent contributor to Global Taiwan Brief, The Diplomat, PacNet Commentary, Taiwan Insight, Rappler, and East Asia Forum.
Ju Lan Thung is a senior researcher at the Research Center for Society and Culture - The Indonesian Institute of Sciences. She obtained her PhD in Sociology from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, in 1998. She has written a number of articles on Chinese and Indonesian ethnicities and various social issues, such as (1) "Agama dan Identitas Orang Tionghoa di Indonesia (Religion and Identity of Chinese Indonesians)", in Revolusi Tak Kunjung Selesai: Potret Indonesia Masa Kini, KPG (Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia) & IRASEC (Institut de recherche sur l'Asie du Sud-Est contemporaine), 2017; (2) "Confucius Institute at University Al Azhar, Jakarta: The Unseen Power of China", in Wacana Vol. 18, No. 1 (2017); (3) "Memahami Etnisitas di Perkotaan: Politik Inter-Ruang di Kota Multikultural (Understanding Urban Ethnicity: Inter-space Politics in Multicultural City", in Jurnal Masyarakat & Budaya, Vol.19, No.3 (2017); (4) "Chinese Indonesians and China-Indonesia Relations: A Juxtaposition of Identity and Politics" in Jurnal Masyarakat Indonesia, Vol.43, No. 2, Des 2017, pp. 197-206; (5) Iptek dan Masyarakat: Problematik Agrikultura di Indonesia (Science, Technology, and Society: Agricultural Problematics in Indonesia), LIPI Press, 2019; and (6) "Politics of Difference: Ethnicity and Social Class within the Indonesian Middle Class in Digital Era", Jurnal Antropologi Indonesia, Vol. 41, No.1, 2020, pp. 41-51, published online.
