To encounter the rising international political order in the Cold War period, the Taiwanese government struggled with the competition for the ‘One China’ reputation with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The worldwide attention on China’s acupuncture anaesthesia posed the Kuomintang (KMT) government in an awkward position. The high profile of China’s acupuncture anaesthesia not only demonstrated the progress of technology in China while also undermining the image of the orthodoxy of Chinese Culture and Chinese medicine that the KMT claimed for Taiwan. This article focuses on how the Taiwanese government tackled the stimulus of China’s acupuncture anaesthesia and how the KMT government used Chinese medicine to symbolise its version of Chinese civilization. US President Nixon’s 1972 visit to mainland China stirred a parallel development of Chinese medicine policies in Taiwan. Thus, in 1973, the Taiwanese government announced a national research project to develop acupuncture anaesthesia and analgesia procedures at the National Taiwan University Hospital, Tri-Service General Hospital, and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The government recruited Chinese scientists back from the US to work on the neurophysiological studies of acupuncture for anaesthesia and analgesia. In 1980, these scientists also participated in the establishment of the first postgraduate program of neuroscience in Taiwan. This article aims to argue that the KMT government applied neurophysiology from the US as a technology to mitigate the challenge of China’s acupuncture anaesthesia to Taiwan’s nationhood, import the new research method to acupuncture studies, and propagate the scientization of Chinese medicine in Cold War Taiwan.

The purpose of this paper is to review the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) project in the context of Japan-US diplomacy.
The SSC project was a project to construct a gigantic particle accelerator in the U.S.
Although the project was endorsed by U.S. President Reagan in 1987, in the late 1980s, however, the project was questioned by the U.S. Congress. The problem was the repeated cost increases. The U.S. strongly urged Japan to cover the cost (about $1.6 billion). However, in 1993, the U.S. Congress killed the project.
Thus, the SSC project has been discussed from various perspectives, most of them, however, question why the SSC project had to be cancelled, and there is little perspective on the Japan-U.S. relationship. Riordan et al., Tunnel Visions, The Univ. of Chicago Press, 2015, is based mainly on interviews with those involved.
The reason for this is that they are concerned with the question of why the SSC project was cancelled. So, their perspective will be on the U.S., on the other hand, the perspective on Japan as a “periphery” is absent. But around 1990, Japan was being asked by the U.S. to make international contributions. Therefore, it was difficult to refuse to participate in the SSC project. Given this background, the SSC project must be read in the broader context of diplomacy and international relations. This paper uses newly obtained primary documents from the Japanese governments to clarify some aspects of how Japan, as a “peripheral” country, responded to the SSC project.

Science Diplomacy (SD) has gained traction in last fifteen years. However, its practice is not new. Its theoretical and practical understanding, and case studies are limited to the Global North. There is a need for balanced and inclusive understanding of theory and practice of SD. In this context, the paper traces the practice of science diplomacy in India from the late eighteenth century. During Man Singh's reign, exchanges and circulation of knowledge with foreign counterparts are seen for astronomical observatories in India. Further, the paper delves into science as a channel for communication between Indians and the colonial rulers during India's struggle for Independence. Several Indian scientists were appointed as liaison officers and A V Hill (FRS) visited India in 1942 and wrote the significant report on scientific research in India. Efforts with the United States and Germany continued vis-a-vis, Indian institutes of Technology, Green Revolution, nuclear reactors, etc. More recently, the foundation of International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, International Solar Alliance Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, and participation in mega science projects are some examples of SD initiatives in building S&T capability and global cooperation in tackling common challenges. The paper is based on archival research and rely of exchanges between Indians and their foreign counterparts. Providing a Global South perspective on SD, the paper also studies the element of influence/soft power that India could leverage due to its S&T capability in space and nuclear related R&D. Therefore, the paper provides an overview of SD in India.

This paper is to explore the roles of the Asiatic Society of Japan (ASJ) in the process of constructing an international meteorological network in the early Meiji Era.
ASJ, founded in 1872, is Japan's oldest learned society. ASJ collected and published “information on subjects relating to Japan and other Asiatic Countries." At first, foreigners were primarily interested in Japan's history, culture and geography, but in response to the International Meteorological Congress held in Vienna in September, 1873, meteorological phenomena also began to attract more attention.
On the other hand, in Japan, before establishing the Central Meteorological Observatory under the central government, various departments, such as ministries and agencies, made observations, where foreigners from various countries worked as advisors. They were the members of ASJ. Apparently, ASJ “by itself cannot undertake the work of making such observations, nor could a mere amateur be expected to do so”. They considered how ASJ would become “an intermedium” between the Japanese and Foreign Governments upon a very important scientific matter”. In such a process, for instance, an Englishman sent his data to London; an American introduced a letter from Professor Abbe of Washington, pointing out “the value of the results of these observations to commerce, agriculture, and fishing”. They needed “harmonizing the efforts” of observers at each department.
Eventually, the data collected by an American professor Veeder, belonging to the institution, later the University of Tokyo, first appeared in the Bulletin of International Simultaneous Observations (January, 1877).