ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

The Technological Transfer and Collaborative Implications of the Sino-Saudi Medical Mission

• In Event: ‘Beyond Bandung: Histories of Scientific, Technological and Medical Assistance between Decolonising Nations during the Cold War’ 2

English Abstract

In this paper, the two principal investigators will present their preliminary findings, which are based on oral history interviews with participants in the 11-year cooperative relationship between Taiwan and Saudi Arabia during the final phase of the Cold War. The investigators aim to reconstruct the complex landscape of Taiwan's health diplomacy within the broader history of global health and international relations. In official accounts, the 'Sino-Saudi Medical Mission' was portrayed as a glorious humanitarian medical saga and a source of pride for those engaged in this challenging endeavour. However, its history has remained unexplored by historians of science, technology and medicine, as well as by scholars of international relations. In the immediate post-war period, the country's medical conditions improved significantly and sustainably, thanks to various factors including assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Thereafter, Taiwan transitioned from aid recipient to provider. In the 1960s, Taiwan began carrying out medical humanitarian work in Libya, a newly allied country, thereby laying the foundation for its health diplomacy model, which included its engagement with Saudi Arabia in the 1970s.

Drawing upon the principal investigator's expertise in medical history and international relations, this study aims to chart the pivotal moments in Taiwan's development of health diplomacy. As well as elucidating its significance within the histories of medicine, science and technology, and global health, this study examines Taiwan's role in international relations and diplomacy. It clarifies the dynamic interplay between the ideals of medical humanitarianism and diplomatic strategy during the late Cold War era, when geopolitical crises reshaped the practices of science and technology, medical diplomacy and the technological infrastructure underpinning these endeavours, as well as the realities of power politics. Crucially, the project will also examine the mutual interests exchanged by both nations beyond their respective national discourses within this 'cooperation' framework.

Authors

• Harry Yi-Jui Wu, National Cheng Kung University

• Lai Hsinyen, University of St. Andrews