The C. V. Starr East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley, is now accepting applications for
grants to support research in the James Soong Archive

About the archive
In 1974, James Soong accepted an offer to serve as Chiang Ching-kuo’s personal secretary. Over the
years that followed, Soong observed Taiwan’s transition from authoritarianism to functioning democracy
from various perspectives in politics and government. The archive he compiled during that time
documents the transformation of Taiwan’s political institutions as well as interaction between government
and civic leaders; it may also offer insight to students of political systems into how a monumental shift in
government can be realized peacefully. Materials in the archive, which are chiefly in Chinese, include
printed and handwritten documents, photocopies, and published matter of both official and non-official
nature. A guide to the archive can be found at https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/soong-archive/carton-index.

About the program
The Soong Archive research grant program is intended to assist doctoral students at the dissertation stage
whose research focuses or touches significantly on Taiwan’s democratization or politics or Taiwan-China
relations. Successful applicants will receive a stipend of $10,000 to cover travel and lodging expenses in
Berkeley for a month while using the archive. They will be expected to refer to the archive in their
dissertations (or a separate publication resulting from their research) and to acknowledge the assistance of
the research grant program. The Library will award up to three grants in this initial year of the program.

Requirements by the time of application
-  enrollment in a Ph.D. program and advancement to candidacy
- a fixed dissertation topic focusing or touching on Taiwan’s democratization, politics, or relations
with China
- strong reading ability in Chinese

Application process
Applicants should submit the following no later than April 3, 2026, to director emeritus of the C.V. Starr East Asian
Library, Peter Zhou, at pxzhou@berkeley.edu:
- cover letter including proposed dates of visit
- curriculum vitae
- dissertation abstract or table of contents
- research proposal (no more than 400 words)
- two references (names and contact information only)