On April 11, students in Prof. Justin Jacobs’s modern Chinese history course (HIST 251) were treated to an exclusive audience with Ambassador Shen Lyu-shun of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Ambassador Shen and his attentive staff hosted approximately twenty AU students at the historic Twin Oaks estate in Woodley Park. The event began with an informative tour of the 26-room English Georgian Renaissance-style mansion, which was originally constructed in 1888 and once served as the summer residence of the founder of the National Geographic Society. Ambassador Shen personally granted access to rare works of art and explained their historical significance. After the tour, Prof. Jacobs and his students were served coffee, tea, and pastries while seated for a roundtable discussion of Chinese politics and history. Ambassador Shen was exceedingly generous with his time, spending nearly an hour and a half patiently answering questions about Taiwan’s place in world politics today and the legacies of modern Chinese history. This lively discussion touched upon the cultural identities of Taiwan and mainland China, simplified and traditional characters, Taiwan’s outsized economic footprint in the global economy, the legacy of Japanese rule in Taiwan, and the fate of antiquities in the National Palace Museum.
Reflecting on the event afterwards, Kaitlin Winterroll, a senior in political science, said that “It was especially interesting to listen to how the ambassador answered questions so candidly without much hesitation. It was an amazing experience and I thoroughly enjoyed the excursion.” John Tuttle, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, said that “events like the one today are the reason I wanted to study in DC. There is nowhere else in the country I would’ve been able to have a similar experience.”
The History Department at AU would like to thank Ambassador Shen and his staff for providing such a wonderful educational opportunity to our students, and Prof. Jacobs looks forward to taking future students in his modern Chinese history course to Twin Oaks.