China and the International Astronomical Union

ISBN-13: 9783031017896 / Angielski / Miękka / 2023

Thierry Montmerle;Yi Zhou

Opis

Seen from “inside the IAU,” this book tells the in-depth story of a major crisis in which China “divorced” from the International Astronomical Union in 1960  as a protest against the admission of Taiwan. This happened to all the scientific unions at the same time, and to the Olympic Games, which, unexpectedly, would serve as a laboratory for the “reconciliation” which took place following the re-opening of China to the world 20 years later.The so-called “China conflict” is the most important crisis in the post-WWII history of the IAU. Yet, many details about this conflict and its links to broader geopolitical events have long remained unsettled, obscure, or altogether absent. In particular, the book describes for the first time the “separation” period, which covered the Cultural Revolution, and in which the IAU made desperate official efforts to reach out to China, while some groups of Western and Chinese astronomers managed to keep contact at times. On the occasion of the IAU Centenary celebrations in 2019, the book revisits this painful succession of events using unpublished documents from the IAU Archives and the International Council of Scientific Unions. The book also contains supplementary typescripts of selected handwritten correspondences and the full translation of key original Chinese documents unknown to readers outside China.What emerges is a complex and fascinating story of human relations and science diplomacy under the shadow of the Cold War. Readers will learn how the 20-year “China conflict” as lived by astronomers and scientists is important not only for the history of the IAU, but also for the history of contemporary China. “This book is full of so many original documents of the IAU office, very reliable and good to open to the public readers.” Shuhua Ye, Shanghai Observatory (IAU Vice-President, 1988-1994)
This book is a companion book to "Astronomers as Diplomats," published at the same time in the same series.

Spis treści

1. Foreword                                                                                                         

2.     Historical background                                                                        

 

2.1. From a World War to the next                                                                  

2.2. Historical background in East Asia: Taiwan

2.3. Korea                                          

2.4. Mainland China                                                                                      

Note on Chinese names                                                                      

3. The divorce

3.1. From Dublin to Moscow: Taiwan appears on the scene                  

            3.2. The Moscow General Assembly (1958)                                                                

            3.3. A Cold War context: the 1960 Winter Olympics in California                    

            3.4. The new Executive Committee: a highly experienced leadership    

      3.5. Herstmonceux Castle: the 18^th Executive Committee meeting                    

      3.6. The IAU Statutes in 1958                                                             

3.7. The proposal by D. Sadler                                                            

3.8. The tumultuous withdrawal of China                                                        

            3.9. An enigmatic “radioteletype”                                                                   

            3.10. The 1961 General Assembly at Berkeley: the tortuous path to ratification 

            3.11. New Cold War challenges for the IAU                                        

4. China vs. Taiwan: a general problem for scientific unions                                 

                4.1. The International Scientific Unions and China in 1958                               

            4.2. The aftermath of the “China-Taiwan crisis”: the IAU vs. other unions        

5. Living in separate worlds

5.1. The “ice age”                                                                              

                5.2. The turning point: China admitted to the UN                                             

                5.3. A man with a mission: the Goldberg presidency                             

            5.4. The ICSU Mission to China                                                                     

                5.5. Astronomers in China: Act II                                                       

            5.6. A hopeless situation                                                                    

            5.7. Declarations and unrest at the Grenoble GA (1976)                       

6. The question of Taiwan: Pressure from UNESCO

            6.1. The UNESCO resolution of 1973                                                 

            6.2. UNESCO, Act II (1975)                                                               

            6.3. The ICSU dissidents                                                                    

7. The uncertain road to reconciliation

     7.1. “Melting the iceberg”                                                                  

     7.2. A rapidly evolving geopolitical context                                         

7.3. Speeding up: the Montreal opportunity                                         

7.4. A final, general agreement: the IAU, ICSU and other Unions         

8. Conclusions                                                                                               

            8.1. The admission of Taiwan : was it “political”?                                        

            8.2. Was it legal?                                                                                         

            8.3. Was it right?                                                                                         

            8.4. Why did the “happy ending” happen so quickly?                        

            8.5. Concluding remarks                                                                              

9. Epilogue                                                                                                       

Acknowledgements                                                                                                 

References                                                                                                            

Appendices

1.       D. Sadler’s “Personal Account” of 1976                                   

2.       Exchange of letters between Chang and Oort                                     

3.       Radioteletype transcript                                                                                

4.       Statement of China after ICSU GA in Instanbul (English/Chinese)

5.       The “Montreal Agreement”

 

Supplements

1.    Translation of Chapter 5 (Sect. 4 and 5) of the book “Under One Starry Sky: the history of the International Astronomical Union (IAU)” by Fu Chengqi, and Ye Shuhua ((In Chinese: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press, Shanghai, 2009), pp. 128-167. Translated by Yi Zhou

2.    The admission of Taiwan to membership           of the International Astronomical Union: a personal account by D.H. Sadler (typescript by TM of a handwritten document, dated 12 December 1976); 5p.      

 

Index of names

O autorze

Thierry Montmerle has been General Secretary of the IAU from 2012 to 2015. In the framework of the centenary celebrations of the creation of the IAU and four other International Unions in 1919, he and co-Editor Danielle Fauque have edited a companion book entitled “Astronomers as Diplomats”, in the Historical and Cultural Astronomy Series. Montmerle had previously written two papers on the history of the IAU in the "IAU Centenary Symposium" held during the IAU General Assembly in Vienna (2018). During his long career in astrophysics since his PhD (1975), he has edited many proceedings of international conferences (including the IAU General Assembly in Honolulu, 2015, edited by Cambridge University Press), and also contributed to books edited by Springer (Young Sun, Early Earth, and the Origin of Life, 2012; Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, 2015+), as well as popularizing books in astronomy.

Yi Zhou is a seasoned journalist/translator/researcher based in Paris, France, and a curious observer of current world events. He is passionate about contemporary history and investigative journalism. He has worked for the Chinese service of French public radio station, Radio France Internationale (RFI), since 2015. Previously, he finished his high school in Columbus, Ohio, USA.  He went on studying in France at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (“Sciences Po”) for both of his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, specializing in political and social sciences. He obtained a Master’s degree in International Affairs and Development from the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) of Sciences Po. Coming from China and having studied in the USA, France and the Netherlands, this has given him a special set of understanding, skills and rare experience in dealing with cross regional and international political and social subjects.