Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Larus
Elizabeth Freund Larus, Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs, on Dec. 6, 2022, offered a presentation on Taiwan’s foreign policy to the Pacific Forum, a foreign policy research institute based in Hawaii. Professor Larus analyzed Taiwan’s foreign policy making since the island became a democracy in the year 2000, indicating that Realist Theory does not explain why Taiwan’s diplomatic allies chose the island over relations with mainland China. She claimed that China’s lack of transparency on the origins of COVID-19 was a gift to Taiwan, but that factions among the two dominant political parties in Taiwan unnecessarily complicate foreign policy making.
- She offered commentary to the Financial Times on U.S. restrictions on travelers from China. Professor Larus stated that the measures highlighted a “lack of trust” in Xi’s administration. “U.S. officials believe that the Chinese government has been less than forthcoming about the origins of Covid-19 and less than truthful about the number of positive Covid cases in China … The Chinese government allowed millions of tourists to travel domestically and abroad for lunar new year in 2020 knowing that there was a new coronavirus infecting the population. When the mortality and infection rate became evident . . . it was already out of control in the U.S. Washington is not going to make the same mistake twice.” Read the article.
- She spoke to WION for a segment titled “George Santos rejects calls to resign, refuses to step down.” In the clip, Larus says, “He is a Republican seat in the House of Representatives that the Republicans need very much now. The Republicans have only about a ten-seat majority and so they really don’t want to lose that seat,” said Elizabeth Larus. Watch the segment.