Duke-China relations could benefit from hoops

I strongly believe it is for the benefit of China, the prospective students and all the Chinese students and scholars here, as well as Duke University, to enhance Duke's connection with China.

However, I'd like to point out a few small things regarding some historical facts.

First, Chiang Kai-Shek was the President of the Republic of China, not to be confused with People's Republic of China. Chiang vehemently opposed the idea of Taiwan's independence, though he was the ruler of the island for almost three decades. During his time, advocates of Taiwanese independence were prosecuted as severely as the Communists. Not until Chiang's death in 1975 did Taiwan start to end the military dictatorship and begin the journey toward democracy. So Chiang wouldn't have liked to be called as "leader of Taiwan," as the Chronicle article called him.

If the above is more about opinion, the second mistake is about fact. Sun Yat-Sun was the founder of Republic of China, which was established in 1912. His regime was driven out of mainland China to the island of Taiwan in 1949 by the Communists, who started the People's Republic of China.

Those are just small mistakes. But given the sensitive situation across Taiwan Straight, it is important to get the facts right-both to have a better understanding of the situation, and to have a more effective communication with people from East Asia. This is particularly true while we are talking about establishing the China connection.

When I was admitted to graduate school in 1996, none of my friends or family even heard of Duke-except for my younger brother, an NBA fan who worshiped Grant Hill. Duke is more popular now, but it's still safe to bet that more Chinese knew about other schools such as Ohio State University and-gasp!-UNC than about Duke. Basketball is very popular in China, and NBA games are followed by millions of young people. So while I am all for increasing the academic and educational exchange with China, I also think Duke should use its strong basketball program to maximize its visibility. With Coach K being the leader of Team USA and the 2008 Olympics happening in Beijing, Duke could become a household name in China.

Weihua Fan, Ph.D

Post-doctoral Research Associate,