While colonies are obtained mostly by force, ruling indigenous peoples requires very effective communication. For colonial rulers, communication is a two-way problem. From the top-down, they need to ensure that their people know what the government is doing, and what the government wants them to do. From the bottom-up, they need to know what is happening among the people, and what the people are talking and thinking about. However, the language barrier makes the problem almost insurmountable, and the rulers can only rely on one thing: translation. In fact, the success or failure of colonial rule is very much dependent on the effectiveness of translation.

This programme studies the role played by translation in the establishment and administration of colonial rule in various Asian countries and regions. It explores such issues as government structure, personnel, language and education policies, and censorship issues in relationship to colonial rule. Initially, four projects have been set up within the programme to focus on the role of translation in colonial Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. The possibility of expanding the scope of the programme to include other Asian countries and regions will be explored.