Jasper Roctus

Associate Fellow

+32 (0)472 21 59 07

Jasper.Roctus@ugent.be

Modern Politics and Philosophy of China; Political Status of Taiwan; EU and Cross-Strait Relations

Biography

Having gotten infected with the “research bug” during a BA and MA in Sinology at Ghent University, Jasper Roctus decided to pursue a PhD on Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925), the enigmatic founding father of the Republic of China. Jasper’s mandate titled Narrating Sun Yat-sen. Explaining the People’s Republic of China and Republic of China’s (Taiwan) developments concerning Leninism, Christianity, and Democracy started in November 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Bart Dessein. After being the recipient of the BOF (Ghent University – Special Research Fund) grant during the first year of his research, Jasper successfully applied for the FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders) fundamental PhD research endowment, which he will receive until October 2025.

Branching out from his research on Sun Yat-sen, Jasper Roctus is also engaged with topics such as the Chinese Party-State, cross-Strait relations, and the European Union’s (desired) approach to these matters. Jasper already worked on similar themes during his internship at the Egmont Institute under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Sven Biscop (2020), which culminated in a literature study and policy brief on the European Union’s engagement with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (Remolding China’s ‘Empty’ Belt and Road Initiative: An Opportunity for the EU).

Publications