Sozialwissenschaftler aus Tschechien, der Slowakei, aus Ungarn, aus Lettland, Litauen, Polen und Taiwan kamen auf Anregung des Bonner Büros des taiwanischen nationalen Wissenschaftsrates sowie der tschechischen Akademie der Wissenschaften im Mai 1999 in Prag zu einem Symposion zusammen, um die sich im Umbruch befindlichen gesellschaftlichen Systeme Taiwans und Osteuropas zu vergleichen. Inhalt: I. The Formation of Civil Society: Jenn-hwan Wang: Civil Society, Democratization, and Governance in Taiwan (19-36); Éva Kuti: Contribution of Nonprofit Organizations to the Societal Transformation in Hungary: Achievements and Challenges (37-50); Pavol Fric: The State and Nonprofit Sector Development in the Czech Republic (51-62); Ladislav Machácek: Creation of Civil Society in Slovakia (63-71). II. Modernization of the Political and Legal System: Jiunn-rong Yeh: Constitutional Change, Constitutionalism and Rule of Law in Taiwan: The Role of Council of Grand Justices (75-88); Yun-han Chu: Taiwan's Unique Path to Democracy (89-108); Vladimír Krivý: Slovakia: Political Development in the 90s (109-118); Michal Illner: The Protracted Reform of Territorial Government in the Czech Republic (119-138); Dace Jansone: Some Reflections about the Relationship between Central, Regional and Local Governments in Latvia (139-142). III. Issues of National Identity: Chia-lung Lin: Taiwan's Emerging Civic Nationalism (145-175); Aivars Tabuns: Globalization and National Identity (177-191); Joanna Kurczewska: Nationalism in New Poland: Between Culture and Politics (193-208); Zuzana Kusá / Andrej Findor: Universal and Particular in Slovakian Troubles with National Identity Construction (209-223). IV. Transformation of Family Structure and the Role of Women: Chin-Chun Yi: The Transition of Family Structure and Female's Domestic Status in Taiwan (227-250); Anna Titkow: Women, Family and Paradoxes of Transformation (251-263); Magdalena Piscová: Changes in Family Patterns and Family Structure in the Context of Population Trends in Slovakia (265-278); Ludmila Fialová: New Phenomena in the Reproductive Behaviour of Young People in the Czech Republic in the 1990s (279-283). V. Social Equity and Social Welfare: Pau-Ching Lu / Wan-I Lin: Social Welfare Policy in Taiwan: Past, Present and Prospects (287-307); Martin Potucek: The Czech Social Reform after 1989 - Concepts and Reality (309-327). VI. Agricultural Development and Policy: Gejza Blaas: Transformation of Agriculture in Slovakia (331-351); Ming-chien Chen: Taiwan's Agricultural Development and Policy Options (353-369); Vera Majerová: The Development of Czech Agriculture and Countryside from 1989 to 1999 (371-377). VII. The Emergence of Small Businesses and the Upgrading of Industry: Talis Tisenkopfs: Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Latvia (381-416); György Lengyel: Forms of Capital and Entrepreneurship in Hungary (417-428). VIII. Privatization of State-dominated Economic Activities: Soushan Wu: Lesson and Experience of the Recent Socio-Financial Activities in Taiwan - Privatization and BOT (431-441); Éva Voszka: Privatization in Hungary 1988-1998 (443-456); Michal Mejstrík: Privatization, Foreign Investment and Corporate Governance in the Czech Republic (457-474). IX. Educational Reform: Jong-Tsun Huang: Educational Reform in Taiwan: Egalitarianism vs. Elitism (477-491); Lenka Rovná: European Dimension of the Reform of the Higher Education in Preaccession Period in the Czech Republic (493-509).