Symposium To Explore Future of China, Taiwan

The 72nd annual international law symposium at the University of Virginia School of Law will examine what current international strife can predict about a future conflict between China and Taiwan.

“China vs. Taiwan: Using Current Conflicts to Predict the Future” will be held Feb. 21 at 10:30 a.m. in the Purcell Reading Room. The event is hosted by the John Bassett Moore Society of International Law and the Virginia Journal of International Law, two student organizations at the school.

This year’s congregation of attorneys, scholars and government officials will examine cybersecurity’s role in conflicts, and current trends in maritime and naval conflicts.

Beth George, a partner at Wilson Sonsini, will deliver the keynote. She is a former acting general counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense and won the Secretary of Defense’s Award for Distinguished Public Service in 2021.

As tensions increase with Iran, Russia continues its aggressions in Ukraine, and the world sees a looming conflict between China and Taiwan, the student sponsors see an opportunity to discuss an almost unprecedented situation.

“Russia changed the world last year when it invaded Ukraine. Many international law scholars did not expect to ever see a conflict like this happen again,” said Rachel Dalton ’23, VJIL’s research and projects editor. “We want to look to what happened, and is still happening, with this conflict and learn from it.”

Full Schedule