Mission & Vision
ORANS Lab is a group of researchers dedicated to research on ocean resilience and national strategies. Our team is committed to conducting in-depth studies to understand the complex dynamics of ocean ecosystems and to develop effective strategies for national and international stakeholders. We aim to make significant contributions to the field of marine science and policy-making by providing valuable insights and innovative solutions. Our passion for preserving the oceans for future generations drives our work, and we strive to collaborate with diverse partners to achieve our goals.
Members
Chi-Ting TSAI 蔡季廷
Dr. Chi-Ting Tsai received his J.S.D. from the Cornell Law School in 2010. Currently he is an associate professor of international law in the Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Tsai’s specialized fields mainly focuses on law of the sea and human rights issues. In the recent five years, he published peer-reviewed several journal articles both domestically and internationally on topics relevant to Law of the Sea, including East and South China Sea disputes, maritime governance and marine policy. Recently, his work includes maritime domain awareness, maritime security and supply chain, transboundary marine proteced area, biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, maritime autonomous surface ship, and greenhouse gas reduction in shipping. On top of marine environmental issues, he has also completed serveral reseach projects on submarine cables, marine scientific research. In addition to journal articles, he also published policy commentaries for U.S. think tanks like CSIS and Global Taiwan Institute on maritime security or lawfare issues.
Mandy Hsiao-chuan LIAO 廖小娟
Hsiao-chuan Liao (Mandy) is Taiwanese scholar and Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. She also serves as a member of Editorial Board of Defense Strategy and Assessment Journal. She received her Ph.D. in Department of Political Science from University of South Carolina, U.S.A.
Her research interests include international conflict, international relations theory, foreign policy and decision-making, Sino-US-Japan relations, and Indo-Pacific security studies. Her research has appeared in the referred journals such as Asian Politics and Policy, Issues & Studies, Taiwan Political Science Review, Taiwanese Journal of Political Science, and Chinese Political Science Review.
Wei-En CHEN 陳偉恩
Weien Chen is currently a doctoral candidate in the Environmental and Natural Resources Policy program at SUNY-ESF and Syracuse University. He also serves as a research associate at the National Sun Yat-sen University Center for Marine Policy Studies (CMPS). He has long been tracking international trends in marine biodiversity conservation policies and critically analyzing the legitimacy issues that emerge when these policies are implemented in democratic societies, along with the science-policy gap. In recent years, he has assisted Taiwan’s Ocean Conservation Administration in developing marine conservation and protected area policies.
His dissertation combines the perspectives of social-ecological systems (SES) and political ecology to explore the controversies surrounding the goals that marine protected area (MPA) systems should pursue. It also examines the challenges of scale politics and “institutional misfits” faced by contemporary MPA systems in Taiwan. He plans to graduate in the fall of 2024.
Research Topics: International Marine Biodiversity Conservation Policies, Area-Based Conservation (MPA and OECMs), Collaborative Environmental Governance, Adaptive Management.
Pei-Lun TSAI 蔡沛倫
Pei-Lun Tsai currently serves as Assistant Professor at Department of Diplomacy and Deputy Director at the Research Center for International Legal Studies, College of International Affairs, National Chengchi University. She obtained her LL.M. in International Legal Studies from New York University and Ph.D. in Law from University of Nottingham. She has since been engaged in research in various fields of international law, including law of the sea, environmental law, human rights law, use of force, dispute settlement, and international criminal law.
Additionally, she is Associate Managing Editor of the Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs and Executive Committee Member of the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law, the Chinese (Taiwan) branch of the International Law Association. Prior to joining National Chengchi University, she was Assistant Professor at Graduate Program in Ocean Policy at National Taiwan Ocean University.