Lobbying is an integral part of political decision-making processes. It is a relevant way of communication, during which lobbying companies and lobbyists try to influence different policy areas for the benefit of their clients. This also applies to foreign lobbying, where a given country tries to influence the foreign policy of the target state to its advantage through lobbying companies. This tool is also used by Taiwan, for which it is one of the crucial tools to break out of international isolation and to ensure one's own security. Thus, Taiwan has invested millions of US dollars over the years, and this trend continued in the period 2017-2020, the administration of Donald Trump. The work analyzes Taiwan's lobbying activities in the U.S. between 2017 and 2020 using publicly available reports from the US Department of Justice. It evaluates the number of companies hired by Taiwanese government entities, the funds they have received for their services, and the contacts made by these companies with U.S. lawmakers. At the same time, it maps political contributions made in favor of sponsors and co-sponsors of selected laws. The thesis also deals with the activities of the American organization Formosan Association for Public Affairs, which contributes significantly to the promotion of Taiwanese issues...

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During 2000-2004 I studied the population status of the Formosan clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa brachyurus) and the ecology of its prey and other sympatric carnivores in the largest remaining lowland primary forest in southern Taiwan. My research team and I set up 232 hair snare stations and 377 camera trap sites at altitudes of 150-3,092m in the study area. No clouded leopards were photographed in total 13,354 camera trap days. Hair snares did not trap clouded leopard hairs, either. Assessment of the prey base and available habitat indicated that prey depletion and habitat loss, plus historical pelt trade, were likely the major causes of extinction of clouded leopards in Taiwan. Using zero-inflated count models to analyze distribution and occurrence patterns of Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) and 4 ungulates, we found habitat segregation among these 5 herbivore species. Formosan macaques, Reeve's muntjacs (Muntiacus reevesi micrurus), and Formosan serows (Nemorhaedus swinhoei) likely were the most important prey species of Formosan clouded leopards given their body size and high occurrence rates in lower altitudes. In contrast, sambar deer (Cervus unicolor swinhoii) tended to occur more frequently as altitude increased. Formosan macaques exhibited seasonal differences in occurrence rates and were absent at altitudes > 2,500m in winter. Only Formosan serows showed preference for cliffs and rugged terrain, while the other 4 species, except wild boars (Sus scrofa taivanus), avoided these areas. Habitat segregation in forest understory and structure were more pronounced among the 4 ungulates. Forest structure rarely affected occurrence rates of Formosan macaques on the ground. Niche relationships of the other sympatric carnivores were studied through habitat, diet, and temporal dimensions. Resource partitioning by carnivores was observed. Altitude was the strongest factor explaining the composition of the carnivore community in the local study-area scale and in the landscape scale across Taiwan. Carnivores could be divided into 2 groups: low-mid altitude consisting of Formosan ferret badgers (Melogale moschata subaurantiaca), gem-faced palm civets (Paguma larvata taivana), lesser oriental civets (Viverricula indica taivana), crab-eating mongooses (Herpestes urva formosanus), leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis chinensis), and feral cats (Felis catus), and the mid-high altitude group consisting of yellow-throated martens (Martes flavigula chrysospila), Siberian weasels (Mustela sibirica taivana), and Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus formosanus). Carnivore richness was higher at mid altitudes where these 2 groups overlapped (i.e. mid-domain effect). The low-mid altitude carnivores were more nocturnal and tolerant of human activity and forest alteration except crab-eating mongooses, which were diurnal and avoided human encroachment. Similar to crab-eating mongooses, the mid-high altitude carnivores also avoided human encroachment and were diurnal except for Siberian weasels, which were more nocturnal. Diet summary based on their major food items for all sympatric carnivores revealed 3 groups of foragers which foraged on: invertebrates, small mammals, and plant fruits. Felidae, yellow-throated martens, and Siberian weasels preyed on small mammals. Asiatic black bears and gem-faced palm civets ate mostly plant fruits. The other 3 carnivores were mainly invertebrate foragers. These 9 carnivores partitioned resource uses in the 3 niche dimensions except for some overlap in resource use by leopard cats and feral cats. Prey base for Formosan clouded leopards and the carnivore richness in Taiwan were found to be lower in areas with higher levels of human activity. On the other hand, Formosan macaques and ungulates could become over-abundant without human hunting and top carnivore predation. Mesopredator release may occur because of vanishing top carnivores, causing reduction of the lower trophic level prey species. It is important to assess the cascading impacts of the loss of the Formosan clouded leopards and Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra chinensis) and the declining Asiatic black bears and to consider reintroduction of Formosan clouded leopards, as well as active management of the other larger mammals. These results provided baseline information for reintroduction of clouded leopards and management of their prey and generated new hypotheses regarding the ecology of these large mammals for future investigation. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the agonistic behaviors and reconciliation in captive and free-ranging Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis). The dominance style of Formosan macaques was compared with long-tailed, rhesus and Japanese macaques. I have used scan, focal sampling and ad libitum on aggressions of adult macaques. I have recorded post-conflict (PC) focal samplings on victims and compared those with matched control (MC) focal samplings. Agonistic behaviors had significantly higher frequency in captive than in free-ranging Formosan macaques. The frequencies of hostile and submission were significantly higher in captive than in free-ranging Formosan macaques. The captive adult females of higher rank had higher frequency of threat and hostile, and lower frequency of submission. Threat was the most frequent aggression (52-72%) expressed by both the captive and free-ranging adult monkeys. The victims in captive and free-ranging Formosan macaques usually submitted immediately after aggression (82-89%). The proportion of counter aggression in captive and free-ranging Formosan macaques were relative low (9-16%). The aqerage conciliatory tendency for adult Formosan macaques was 14.3% to 19.6%. The affiliative contacts in PC and MC in captive and free-ranging Formosan macaques were striking that both preferred grooming. The Formosan macaques significantly reconciled more during PC than MC period both in captive and free-ranging conditions. In addition, both had significantly more attracted than dispersed PC-MC pairs. The conciliatory tendencies in captive and free-ranging Formosan macaques were similar regardless of kin and non-kin partners. This study indicated that Formosan macaques were close to the macaques of Fascicularis group. Therefore, Formosan macaques had a despotic dominance style as suggested by Phylogenetic hypotheses.

戰後在海外發展的台灣獨立運動，藉由抨擊國民黨政府在台灣的施政、質疑關於台灣地位歸屬中國的論述，對國民黨政府統治台灣的「正當性」與「合法性」構成雙重挑戰。雖然國民黨政府在公開場合中，總是強調所謂的「台獨運動」不過是「一小撮人」的「荒謬主張」，是「分裂祖國」的「險惡陰謀」，這些從事台獨的運動者甚至被稱為「叛國者」；然而，海外台灣獨立運動在1960年代快速發展乃至1970年初，美國、日本、加拿大與歐洲等地台獨組織整合成立「世界台灣獨立聯盟」（World United Formosans for Independence，W.U.F.I），將海外台獨運動帶入另一波新階段卻也是不爭的事實，如此之發展自然非國民黨政府所樂見。在反對任何形式「台獨」的原則下，國民黨政府究竟採取怎樣的因應策略來「對付」此一情勢，便是值得深究的課題，而本文將集中探討美國台獨運動的案例。 本研究將利用各單位所典藏之「外交部檔案」，輔以海外台獨團體所發行的刊物、文宣、時人的回憶錄、口述訪談等資料，試圖以較系統性的方式探討國民黨政府如何從面對突發「海外台獨」案例後，開始摸索因應原則，進而在具體案件中實踐，事後檢討成效、修訂策略，又此歷程中反映出哪一些的侷限與挑戰，國民黨政府又是如何設法（或無法）克服或跨越，乃至確立一套因應機制，整合性地運用各種手法的過程。 本文透過分析一手史料並將視野置於「島外」，不僅為海外台獨運動的發展歷史提供一個「官方觀點」的面向，也為國民黨政府在台灣的統治機制提供一個更全面的觀點。 / By criticizing the KMT rule in Taiwan, questioning the claim about Taiwan being retroceded to China, overseas Taiwan Independence Movement brings double challenges to the KMT government in Taiwan. In public, the KMT government always claims that the so-called “Taiwan Independence Movement” is just an absurd proposition claimed by merely a handful of people as well as a malicious scheme to separate Taiwan from the motherland, and participants in Taiwan Independence Movement are labeled as“seditious elements’’. However, overseas Taiwan Independence Movement grew rapidly in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, groups in the United States, Japan, Canada and Europe worked together to establish the “World United Formosans for Independence’’ (W.U.F.I), which brought overseas Taiwan Independence Movement to a new stage, a fact the KMT government doesn’t want to face. The strategies the KMT government, opposing any type of“Taiwan independence”adopts in response to the situation is a topic deserving in-depth study, and this thesis will focus on the case of the United States. This thesis consults materials such as the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, magazines, oral materials, memoirs and reminiscences of those who were involved in Taiwan Independence Movement. It resorts to a more systematic methodology to explore how the KMT government faces the challenges that the overseas Taiwan Independence Movement brings about. It attempts to uncover the strategies the KMT government adopts in different stages in the process of dealing with various actions launched by the activists. By analyzing the primary sources and focusing its perspective on events "outside the island ", this thesis not only gives an “official perspective” on the development of the overseas Taiwan Independence Movement, but also provides a more comprehensive viewpoint about the ruling mechanism of the KMT government in Taiwan.