Timothy Lane, an American neuroscience researcher who recently gained Republic of China (ROC) citizenship, said that he hopes his field of study can flourish in Taiwan and eventually become a source of pride for the nation.
Lane, the founder of the Brain and Consciousness Research Center at Taipei Medical University (TMU), is one of eight foreign professionals who were recently granted ROC citizenship without having to relinquish their original citizenship.
Lane said on Wedensday last week said that he first visited Taiwan in the 1980s to find participants in a study for his doctoral thesis.
Photo: CNA
He wanted to study the brainwaves of people who believed an external force was speaking through them to prove a theory on consciousness proposed by Princeton University professor Julian Jaynes, Lane said.
At a friend’s suggestion, he visited Taiwan to study jitong (乩童), spirit mediums who claim to be possessed by deities, he said.
When he first arrived in Taiwan, he faced many challenges, such as the language barrier and obtaining the expensive equipment needed for his research, Lane said.
He said he also realized that not all jitong were open to working with him.
“It was very difficult to persuade the jitong to participate in these experiments, so I had to find those who were younger, more open, and curious about what was happening to them,” he said.
Lane said that he eventually finished his thesis and obtained his doctorate in the US, but that he returned to Taiwan to teach in the 1990s and has remained here ever since.
Over the years, Lane said that he has had the valuable experience of witnessing Taiwan’s transformation into a democratic nation, where people enjoy freedom of speech and value human rights.
As a professor at the university, he hopes to continue his research and encourage more young people to join the field, with the goal of making neuroscience a point of pride for Taiwan, Lane added.
Since December 2016, when an amendment was passed to allow dual nationality for foreigners in special cases, 141 foreign nationals have gained ROC citizenship without relinquishing their own, Ministry of the Interior data showed.
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