page_title: Fang Chih
section_title: Ryukyu
hierarchical_section_title: Fang Chih / Ryukyu
caption_attribution_description: English: University of the Ryukyus in 1960s 日本語: 1960年代の琉球大学
context_page_description: Fang Chih or Fang Zhi, courtesy name: Xikong, was a politician, provincial governor, diplomat, author and a high-ranking Kuomintang official of the Republic of China.
context_section_description: In 1958, Fang Chih founded and became the president of the Sino-Ryukyuan Cultural and Economic Association, an organization dedicated to maintaining cultural and economic dialogue between the people of Taiwan and Ryukyu-Okinawa.
  Following the Japanese surrender at the end of World War Two, the island of Okinawa was administered directly by the U.S. occupation forces from 1950 until May 1972 when the island was turned over to the Japanese government. The severance of official diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of China in September 1972 forced the association to effectively become the de facto embassy of the Republic of China in Okinawa. Fang's position at the Association demonstrated the importance the Republic of China placed on Okinawa / Ryukyu which hosted the largest U.S. military presence in the region. The military buildup on the island during the Cold War saw a dramatic increase in the strategic importance of the islands. Under the 1952 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, the USFJ have maintained this large military presence.
  A contemporary US Civil Administration report from 1965 described Fang as follows:
  ...Actually he is one of the greatest brains of the Republic of China, serving as a national policy advisor to the President of the Republic of China and also as chief secretary for the Association for Relief of Compatriots in the Chinese Mainland (FCRA). The fact that he is concurrently serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the China-Ryukyu Cultural and Economic Relations Association shows the importance being attached by the Republic of China...
  — United States Civil Administration, Office of Public Information, Ryukyu Islands (1965)
  The office continues in its function under the same name despite politically motivated attempts in 2006 to rename the office under the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office system.
  In October 1985, Fang Chih convened the first Taipei-Naha Symposium which occurs annually alternating between Tokyo and Naha. The meetings were inaugurated after Professor Katsutaro Shimajiri (jp: 島尻勝太郎) of Okinawa University visited Taiwan in October 1983 for the purpose of a cultural exchange.
caption: Portrait of the University of the Ryukyus from the 1960s.
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