Former Premier of Taiwan to Study Political Philosophy at KSG
Bonnie Martin
Issue date: 4/6/06 Section: KSG News
Political leadership is a concept frequently discussed at KSG and in corridors of power around the world. Gong-sheng, however, is a less frequent topic of conversation.
Frank Chang-Ting Hsieh, former Premier of Taiwan, and new Senior Fellow at KSG's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, hopes to change that.
Hsieh, who was a founding member of the DPP (Democratic People's Party) in Taiwan and Premier until January 2006, is at Harvard to study political leadership in the context of gong-sheng. Gong-sheng is an eastern philosophy guided by the principles of co-existence, cooperation, and interdependence.
Hsieh likes to think of these principles in the context of "live together", meaning that, since people must live together at the same time, they should strive for peaceful co-existence. He believes strongly in the ideals of mutual benefit, mutual interest, and symbiosis.
While gong-sheng has applications in myriad fields, ranging from art to social welfare, Hsieh believes that it can be applied to politics as well.
"Many think of politics as conflict," says Hsieh, "so principles like 'live together' are often thought to be impractical." Hsieh disagrees with this contention. He believes that conflict and tension are inevitable, but that people (or political parties) can flourish together by building coalitions to work together and resolve problems for the greater good.
As a legal scholar in Japan in the 1960s, Hsieh was greatly influenced by the writings of Harvard philosopher John Rawls. Rawls was famous for his "theory of justice" and belief that rational people should try to maximize the welfare of the greater society. He also believed that mutual respect and mutual aid were natural duties.
Hsieh took Rawls' philosophy to heart. He has built his career in government around trying to improve Taiwanese society through the principles of mutual interest and benefit. He has endeavored to migrate Taiwan from what he perceived was a zero sum system to a non-zero sum system.
Frank Chang-Ting Hsieh, former Premier of Taiwan, and new Senior Fellow at KSG's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, hopes to change that.
Hsieh, who was a founding member of the DPP (Democratic People's Party) in Taiwan and Premier until January 2006, is at Harvard to study political leadership in the context of gong-sheng. Gong-sheng is an eastern philosophy guided by the principles of co-existence, cooperation, and interdependence.
Hsieh likes to think of these principles in the context of "live together", meaning that, since people must live together at the same time, they should strive for peaceful co-existence. He believes strongly in the ideals of mutual benefit, mutual interest, and symbiosis.
While gong-sheng has applications in myriad fields, ranging from art to social welfare, Hsieh believes that it can be applied to politics as well.
"Many think of politics as conflict," says Hsieh, "so principles like 'live together' are often thought to be impractical." Hsieh disagrees with this contention. He believes that conflict and tension are inevitable, but that people (or political parties) can flourish together by building coalitions to work together and resolve problems for the greater good.
As a legal scholar in Japan in the 1960s, Hsieh was greatly influenced by the writings of Harvard philosopher John Rawls. Rawls was famous for his "theory of justice" and belief that rational people should try to maximize the welfare of the greater society. He also believed that mutual respect and mutual aid were natural duties.
Hsieh took Rawls' philosophy to heart. He has built his career in government around trying to improve Taiwanese society through the principles of mutual interest and benefit. He has endeavored to migrate Taiwan from what he perceived was a zero sum system to a non-zero sum system.
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