The paper aims at constructing a new regional concept: “Peripheral East Asia”, by grouping Okinawa, Taiwan and Hong Kong together for future developments of the East Asian Studies.
The creation of the new concept is established on three characteristics noticeable amongst Okinawa, Taiwan and Hong Kong. To begin with, the three places were historically seen as peripheral areas in the traditional East Asian world order, according to the Huayi System (Huayi Zhixu) or Zhongyuan-Bianchui (center-periphery) consciousness since pre-modern eras. Secondly and more importantly, the three areas experienced “sovereignty change” including “returning to motherland” two to three times after entering modern times. Thirdly, identity problem becomes a grave concern in the relationship between the three areas with their old and new suzerain states particularly in recent years. The paramount issues focused on the identity crises in the “Peripheral East Asia” have been: the huge wave of “Taiwanese nationalism” against China, the appearance of the new “Hongkongese Identity” since the sovereignty handover in 1997, and the reinforcement of Okinawan identity against the mainland Japanese.
Based on the three major characteristics of the “Peripheral East Asia”, the new regional concept can be summarized into the following keywords: “peripherality”, “sovereignty change” and “identity”. The notion of “sovereignty change” should be perceived as most important in the concept in comparison with other peripheral areas in the world. In addition, the definition of “sovereignty change” does not merely refer to the formal transition of territories between two or more sovereignty countries, but also includes all political, economic and cultural problems generated due to the “sovereignty change”, as well as the related identity issue on national integration in the “Peripheral East Asia”.
Regarding my research on “Peripheral East Asia” up to now, I have been concentrating on the relationship between “sovereignty change” and the formation of identity in the' three areas. My argument is that the dynamism of identity politics with the phenomenon of “de-peripheralisation” in “Peripheral East Asia” occurs as a result of the clash between the centripetal force from the “center” and the centrifugal force from the “peripheries”. Furthermore, I believe that the centrifugal force issuing from the “Peripheral East Asia” against the “center”, their suzerain states or central governments, arises due to the repeating experiences of the “sovereignty change” in Okinawa, Taiwan, Hong Kong and even Macau since modern period.
In the paper, I suggest, in place of a rather stable state system and world system built from the “top” following the logic of the “centers” or powerful countries in pre-modern and modern periods, it is about time to rethink the worth of establishing a new state system and world system from the “bottom”; the localities or “peripheries”-based regional orders in this globalization era.

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