The island of Taiwan — which considers itself the Republic of China but which mainland China considers a renegade territory — has enjoyed a robust form of democracy in recent years, proving that democracy can flourish in a Chinese culture. Can any of its experience be translated onto the Chinese mainland, where the political system is dominated by the Communist Party?

Addressing that question on September 11 will be David J. Lorenzo, an associate professor in the College of International Affairs, National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan. He received a Ph.D in political science from Yale and teaches courses in international relations and political theory. His primary research is in the realm of political arguments, particularly the use of concepts and terms of discourse in the justification of policy positions, including those involving political freedoms like freedom of religion and democracy.

His latest book is Conceptions of Chinese Democracy: Reading Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo. The book describes how these leaders discussed democracy and compares Western and Chinese democratic traditions.

His talk titled “Can Taiwan’s democratization success be workable in Mainland China?” will focus on how different models of democracy in the Chinese tradition align with such large tasks as economic development. It draws upon discussions on those topics by both past Chinese leaders, current members of the Chinese Communist Party, and contemporary democracy activists in the People’s Republic of China.

The event will be held in the office building of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York (1 East 42nd Street, New York). The talk begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by a brief conversation between the OPC’s Bill Holstein and Dr. Lorenzo and a Q&A session. Reception will follow. RSVP to Abby Lee at abby@taipei.org