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Events Archive – 2011

Audio recordings of selected events are available here.

Fall 2011

U.S. and Korean Perspectives on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement

Presented by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies' Rising Powers Initiative, Transnational Asia Lecture Series

Wednesday, December 14, 2011
12:00 - 12:30 Luncheon
12:30 - 2:00 Lecture and Discussion
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Yoon-shik Park
Professor of International Finance, GWU

Kim Ghee-wan
Minister for Economic Affairs, Embassy of the Republic of Korea

Commentator: Gregg Brazinsky
Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, GWU

Congress passed the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) on October 12, 2011. The United States and the Republic of Korea had signed the KORUS FTA in June 2007. In December 2010, the U.S. and Korea concluded new agreements, reflected in letters signed in February 2011 that provided new market access and leveled the playing field for U.S. auto manufacturers and workers. The Agreement is the United States' most commercially significant free trade agreement in more than 16 years.

The Sigur Center gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation for this Policy Briefing.

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Taiwan in a Shifting International Landscape

Thursday, December, 8 2011
10:00 - 2:30 PM
City View Room
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

10:00 AM Welcome
Edward McCord, Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

10:15 AM - 11:45 PM Panel I: Perspectives from Taiwan

"The Ma and Tsai Proposals for Cross-Strait Relations"
Cal Clark, Alumni Professor, Auburn University

"Taiwan Public Opinion toward the U.S. and China and Its Impact on Trilateral Relations"
Yuan-Kang Wang, Associate Professor, Western Michigan University

"The China-Taiwan Trade Deal and the Ensuing East Asian Political Economic Order"
Nancy Chunjuan Wei, Associate Professor, University of Bridgeport

12:00 PM - 12:45 PM Luncheon

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Panel II: Perspectives from the U.S. and the P.R.C.

"U.S Policy toward Taiwan: Continuities and Challenges"
Shirley Kan, Congressional Research Service

"The Taiwan Conundrum: The View from Beijing"
Michael Yahuda, Visiting Scholar, George Washington University

"The Polarization of Politics in Korea: Implications for Taiwan"
Stephen Costello, President, ProGlobal Consulting

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Japanese Diplomacy and Military Maneuvering Prior to the Attack on Pearl Harbor

Transnational Asia Lecture Series

Monday, December 5, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Takeo Iguchi
Former Ambassador and Professor Emeritus, Shobi-Gakuen University

Ambassador Iguchi will discuss U.S. economic sanctions and deadlocked negotiations between Japan and the United States in November 1941. He will also discuss Japan's ultimatum to the United States and the crucial role of Japanese military pressure.

TAKEO IGUCHI served in the Treaties Bureau and Asian Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry and held overseas posts as the Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Consul-General in Boston, and ambassador to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, Bangladesh, and New Zealand. While attached to the Japanese embassy in Washington DC, he served as a visiting professor at the University of Virginia Law School (1985-1986). Ambassador Iguchi retired from the Foreign Ministry in 1993 and has taught courses in international law and international organizations at Tokai University Law School, International Christian University, and Shobi-Gakuen Universty. He received his BA from the Tokyo University Faculty of Law (1953) and MA from St. John's College, Oxford University (1956).

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Taiwan's Technology Investments in China: A Focus on Key Sectors and New Emerging Technologies

Taiwan Forum Series

Friday, December 2, 2011
2:00 - 4:00 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Louis Ross
CEO and Co-founder, Virtus Advanced Sensors

Mr. Ross will discuss Taiwan's investment and domestic technology industrial policy strategy, which includes building up key industry sectors in China while also aiding in funding emerging technology development. He will also address the interplay between Taiwan and its two key allies, the United States and Japan, and how these relationships will be challenged as it willingly promotes its growing alliance and cooperation with mainland China in the financial, technical, political and cultural spheres.

LOUIS ROSS is the CEO and co-founder of Virtus Advanced Sensors, a leading venture start-up commercializing next generation inertial sensor technology. Prior to the establishment of Virtus, Mr. Ross founded a non-profit think tank, the Global Emerging Technology Institute. Mr. Ross was also a Managing Partner for Obsidian Capital, an Assistant Vice President at Merrill Lynch Japan, and an assistant to the Financial Attache, US Embassy, Tokyo. Prior to leaving for Asia in 1993, he was a Research Associate at the American Enterprise Institute and an Industry Analyst for NASDAQ. Mr. Ross received a BA in Economics from Rollins College, and a Masters in Finance from Johns Hopkins University. He studied at Japan's Keio University, taught at Waseda University, and was a Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo`s Graduate School of Law and Politics, Faculty of Law.

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India's Energy Security Challenges: An Insider's View

Presented by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies' Rising Powers Initiative

Thursday, December 1, 2011
12:00 - 12:30 Luncheon
12:30 - 2:00 Lecture
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Sudha Mahalingam
Member, India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board

Discussant: Llewelyn Hughes
Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs

Discussant: Robert Weiner
Professor of International Business, Public Policy and Public Administration, and International Affairs

An energy-intensive growth paradigm driven primarily by fossil fuels, notably imported hydrocarbons, is a formidable challenge to India's growth ambitions. Excessive dependence on the Middle East Persian Gulf region for hydrocarbon imports and increasing dependence on polluting coal to generate electricity exacerbates India's vulnerability. More than half of India's rural households do not have connectivity to the electric grid. India's policy makers have to grapple with the twin challenge of providing a modicum of energy security to its billion-plus population even as she does so in a sustainable and environmentally clean manner. How does India plan to cope with these challenges? Sudha Mahalingam will discuss the measures already under way, identify the gaps in policy and implementation, and outline the way forward.

SUDHA MAHALINGAM has been specializing in India's energy security for over two decades. As Member of India's National Security Advisory Board, she provided policy inputs to India's Prime Minister through the National Security Advisor. As an energy regulator, she is entrusted with the responsibility of regulating India's hydrocarbon sector. She is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at Delft University, The Netherlands. Her areas of interest include energy geopolitics, energy security, energy policy, reforms, energy markets and energy regulation. Prior to her current assignment, Sudha Mahalingam held the prestigious Senior Fellowship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Contemporary Studies, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, New Delhi, India where she contributed to shaping the country's discourse on energy security. In 2007, Sudha was awarded the first K.Subrahmanyam award for excellence in strategic studies by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, India's leading strategic studies think-tank.

The Sigur Center gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and a Centers and Institutes Facilitating Fund (CIFF) grant from the GWU Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) for this Policy Briefing.

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China, Russia, and the Existing World Order: Seeking to Overthrow the Status Quo or Merely Pursuing Advantage within It?

Co-sponsored with the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies and the Rising Powers Initiative

Monday, November 21, 2011
3:00 - 6:00 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Panel I:
"Muslim Administration in Non-Arab Peripheries: Russia, China, India, and Turkey"
Kimitaka Matsuzato, Hokkaido University

The world is de-secularizing. Today's religious revival grew out of religion's public function, not its appeal for personal faith. In contrast to Catholicism and Orthodoxy, Islam does not request a definite organizational structure of congregation, and is able to adapt itself to any political regime. In other words, comparing Muslim administration in these four countries has more significance than a mere minority study. Through this prism we may identify fundamental features of the four political regimes.

"The Power and Limitations of Dominant Party Control: United Russia, the Chinese Communist Party, and the Indian Congress in Comparative Perspective"
Atsushi Ogushi, Osaka University of Law and Economics
Yuko Adachi, Sophia University

Conventional wisdom states that political parties are essential for making a political order. In regional powers with a huge territory, massive population, diverse ethnic groups, rapidly growing economies and swiftly changing social conditions, dominant parties have been a useful mechanism  for containing the centrifugal forces. Understanding this, the panelists will discuss the functions of dominant parties in Eurasia and their limitations.

Discussants: Marlene Laruelle, IERES; Deepa Ollapally, Sigur Center

Panel II:
"Growth in the International Reserves of Russia: Implications for the World Economic System"
Shinichiro Tabata, Hokkaido University

Major regional powers in Eurasia, i.e., Russia, China, and India, accumulated substantial foreign reserves during the 2000s, which has led to the revival of the Bretton Woods international monetary system. Although the costs of this accumulation are enormous, there is a fair possibility that this system will continue in the near future.

"Comparison of Trade Liberalizations in Russia, China, and India"
Yugo Konno, Mizuho Research Institute Ltd.

Russia, China and India all introduced a broad trade liberalization  at the beginning of the 1990s. However, the paces of reform differed considerably from one country to the next. Yugo Konno will compare the trade liberalizations in the three countries through an analysis of trade performances.

Discussant: Jiawen Yang, GWU Business School

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Shadows of the Past: Diverging Views on Taiwan's Future

Taiwan Forum Series

Friday, November 18, 2011
2:30 - 4:30 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Milo Thornberry
Author, Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan's White Terror

From 1965 until 1971, Reverend Milo Thornberry was a Methodist Missionary in Taiwan. During his stay, Thornberry developed ties, and sympathy, with native Taiwanese who opposed Chiang Kai-shek's rule and sought to push Taiwan toward democracy. In his book, Fireproof Moth: a Missionary in Taiwan's White Terror (February 2011), Thornberry recounts his experiences in Taiwan, and particularly focuses on the role he and his wife played in the escape from Taiwan of Professor Peng Ming-min, a prominent opposition leader, who was under house arrest at the time.

Thornberry will give a sketch of his experiences in the 1960s, then focus on three more general topics:
1. What was the role of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan's subsequent democratization in the 1970s and 1980s? How could such a relatively small group (some 2 % of Taiwan's population) play such a key role?
2. How was Taiwan in those days perceived by the United States? Why was there not more awareness in US policy circles of the "White Terror," the lack of human rights and democracy on the island?
3. What are the implications of this part of Taiwan's history for the present? Some of the divisions that were created when the Nationalists came over from China still exist today. Taiwan has come a long way, but some of the old debates still reverberate in the discussion on how to move forward into the future.

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OAS-GCC Asian Film Series: The Beginning of the Great Revival (China)

** GWU students, faculty, and staff only

Co-sponsored with Global China Connection

Thursday, November 17, 2011
6:30 - 7:00 PM Reception
7:00 - 9:00 PM Film
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

The Beginning of the Great Revival was released in 2011 to mark the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party of China. The film is directed by Huang Jianxin and Han Sanping, both of whom also worked on the similar historical film, The Founding of a Republic, and features a star-studded cast of Chinese actors, including Andy Lau and Chow Yun-fat. The film was created by the state-owned China Film Group and depicts the formation of the Chinese Communist Party, from the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 to the Party's creation in 1921. Mandarin with English subtitles.

A reception with Chinese food will be held before the movie.

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Conversations with Scholars: "The Emotions of Justice: Gender, Status, and Legal Culture in Choson Korea, 1392-1910"

**GWU students only

Thursday, November 17, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Jisoo Kim
Korea Foundation Assistant Professor of History and International Affairs

This talk is about understanding justice in premodern and early modern Korea. By tracing a discourse of emotions and linguistic practices in the juridical field of Choson, it seeks to provide a new way of conceptualizing non-Western and early modern justice by drawing on a wide array of sources, including petitions, official documents, criminal records, legal codes, and popular literature. The talk specifically examines the role that emotions play in the practice of justice, which continues to be relevant in today's society.

Jisoo Kim specializes in the gender and legal history of early modern Korea. She is interested in a broad range of topics in Korean history with a particular focus on female subjectivity, sexuality, crime and justice, diglossia, and the history of emotions. She is currently writing a book entitled The Emotions of Justice: Gender, Status, and Legal Culture in Choson Korea, 1392-1910.

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2011 Elliott School Faculty Book Party

Sponsored by the Elliott School of International Affairs

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
6:00 - 8:00 PM
City View Room
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Please join us for a wine and cheese reception in honor of our faculty members who have published books this year. Come meet the authors and congratulate them on their recent accomplishments!

Participating authors' books will be available for sale and signing at this event.

Authors from the Asian Studies Department who have published in 2011 include:

James Hershberg - Marigold: The Lost Chance for Peace in Vietnam
Benjamin Hopkins - Fragments of the Afghan Frontier
Barbara Miller - Cultural Anthropology, 6th Edition
Henry R. Nau - Perspectives on International Relations: Power, Institutions and Ideas, 3rd Edition
John R. Schmidt - The Unraveling: Pakistan in the Age of Jihad
David Shambaugh - Charting China's Future: Domestic and International Challenge
Robert Shepherd - Partners in Paradise: Tourism Practices, Heritage Policies, and Anthropological Sites
Robert Sutter - U.S.-Chinese Relations: Perilous Past, Pragmatic Present
Emmanuel Teitelbaum - Mobilizing Restraint: Democracy and Industrial Conflict in Post-Reform South Asia
Daqing Yang - Technology of Empire: Telecommunications and Japanese Expansion in Asia, 1883-1945

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Chinese and Japanese Investments in South and Southeast Asia: Case Studies from the Automobile and Electronics Industries

Transnational Asia Lecture Series

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
3:00 - 4:15 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Eric Harwit
Professor, Asian Studies, University of Hawaii

Japan has been the traditional Asian investment leader in South and Southeast Asia for the past 50 years, but since 2003 China has made a major move to follow Japan's path. The PRC's official "Going Out" policy inspires state-owned and private companies to seek raw materials and manufacturing investments both in ASEAN countries and in a rival economic powerhouse, India. This talk, based on extensive fieldwork interviews in several of the targeted countries, assesses trends for Japanese and Chinese invested projects in the region, and focuses on the automobile and electronics sectors. It indicates that Japan, long the dominant investor in its Asian neighbors, is facing a major regional economic challenge from a resurgent China.

Eric Harwit is a Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii and an adjunct fellow at Honolulu's East-West Center. He has a B.A. from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as a diploma from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. He has lived in China for several years and speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. His most recent book is China's Telecommunications Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2008), and he is currently researching Chinese investment and expansion strategies in South and Southeast Asia. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences, and has been cited in Time, Businessweek, The Economist, Asian Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and other print and broadcast media outlets.

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Why Afghanistan is Worth It: A Conversation with the Ambassador from Afghanistan, H.E. Eklil Hakimi

Subnational Asia Lecture Series, Co-sponsored with the International Affairs Society and the Afghan Student Association

Monday, November 14, 2011
7:30 - 8:45 PM
Funger Hall 108
2201 G Street, NW
The GW School of Business

H.E. Eklil Hakimi
Ambassador, Embassy of Afghanistan

Commentator: Benjamin Hopkins
Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, GWU

The Ambassador from Afghanistan, H.E. Ekilil Hakimi will discuss the future of the American-Afghan partnership and what he expects it will look like once American troops begin to leave the country. Following his speech there will be a question and answer session with a reception where attendees can meet Afghan Diplomats.

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The Taiwan Issue in American Politics and US-China Relations

Co-sponsored with the Chinese American Student Association and Global China Connection

Wednesday, November 9, 2011
7:00 - 8:30 PM
The Marvin Center, Room 403
800 21st Street, NW

Shelley Rigger
Brown Professor and Chair of Political Science, Davidson College

Dr. Rigger will lecture on historical and modern-day relations between Taiwan, China, and the United States. Afterwards, we will have open student discussions on cross-strait relations between Taiwan and China. Refreshments will be provided.

Shelley Rigger has a Ph.D in Government from Harvard University and a BA in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. She has been a visiting researcher at National Chengchi University in Taiwan (2005) and a visiting professor at Fudan University in Shanghai (2006). She is the author of Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse (2011) as well as two books on Taiwan's domestic politics, Politics in Taiwan: Voting for Democracy (1999) and From Opposition to Power: Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (2001). She has published articles on Taiwan's domestic politics, the national identity issue in Taiwan-China relations and related topics. Her monograph, "Taiwan's Rising Rationalism: Generations, Politics and 'Taiwan Nationalism'" was published by the East West Center in Washington in November 2006. Her current research studies the effects of cross-strait economic interactions on Taiwan people's perceptions of Mainland China.

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OAS Conversations with Scholars: "Why Do Groups Kill? Understanding Khmer-Vietnamese Violence in an Out of the Way Place"

Wednesday, November 9, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Shawn McHale
Professor of History and International Affairs, GWU

Persistent digging has uncovered a string of massacres in eastern Cambodia and the Mekong delta of Vietnam from the period right after World War II, probably initiated by Cambodians against Vietnamese. These massacres gave rise to a dynamic of ethnic violence. Dr. McHale will discuss this particular case, but also, in broader terms, how individuals approach the general problem of ethnic violence in the world today.

Shawn McHale received his B.A. with honors from Swarthmore College, an M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Southeast Asian history from Cornell University (1995). He has taught courses on East and Southeast Asian history, Vietnam, history and memory, and colonialism and its legacy. His current research interests include decolonization, the First Indochina War, and ethnic conflict.

This event is an informal luncheon open to GWU students only.

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Chinese Views of China's Role in Global Governance

Subnational Asia Lecture Series - co-sponsored by the Rising Powers Initiative

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Tuesday, November 8, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Yan Xuetong
Dean, Institute of Modern International Relations, Tsinghua University

Chinese people take their country's rise as a given. At the same time, it is difficult for them to express confidence in this rise because China lacks a strong ideology with which to frame and support it. Both the government and the people agree that their country's soft power is much weaker than that of the United States, and they understand it will be more difficult for China to catch up with the United States in this area than in areas of material capability. Chinese scholars are divided into two groups on the issue of improving China's soft power. One group stresses the role of political power and the other emphasizes cultural power.

Yan Xuetong is the Dean of The Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University and the Chief Editor of The Chinese Journal of International Politics. He is Vice Chairman of the China Association of International Relations Studies and the China Association of American Studies and a member of the Consultation Committee of the Ministry of Commerce, PRC.

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Fifty Years of the Peace Corps in Asia: Voices from the Field

Transnational Asia Lecture Series

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Monday, November 7, 2011
12:30 - 2:00 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Rachel Hatch, Mongolia (2006-2008)
English Language Methodologist, Ministry of Education, Erdenet

Laura Ahearn, Nepal (1982-1985)
ESL and Math Teacher, Palpa District; Volunteer Leader and Nepali Teacher Trainer, Across Nepal

Luke Ventura, Thailand (2004-2006)
Teacher Collaboration and Community Outreach, Dankhunthot, Nakhon Ratchasima

Discussant: Robert Shepherd, Nepal (1985-1987)
English and Health Teacher, Sri Dilpeshwar Secondary School, Dipayal, Doti

Peace Corps volunteers have been serving in Asia since the agency was founded in 1961. They have been tasked with three goals: "helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served"; and, upon completing their service, "helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans."

This panel brings together three returned volunteers who served in Mongolia, Nepal, and Thailand. They will talk about the realities of volunteer life, what it means to be the "face of their nation," and the difficulties of explaining their experiences to friends and neighbors at home.

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19th Annual Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities, Staging Korea: Korean Theatre in Search of New Aesthetics

Co-sponsored with the Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures

audio iconListen to the audio for Panel I.
audio iconListen to the audio for Panel II.
audio iconListen to the audio for Panel III.

Friday, November 4, 2011
4:00 - 6:00 PM Film Screening

Saturday, November 5, 2011
8:30 AM - 3:30 PM Colloquium
The Harry Harding Auditorium, 1957 E Street, NW, Room 213
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Ah-jeong Kim
Professor of Theatre History, California State University -- Northridge

Suk-Young Kim
Associate Professor of Theatre, University of California -- Santa Barbara

Esther Kim Lee
Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana -- Champaign

Oh Tae Suk
Founder and Artistic Director of Mokhwa Repertory Company, Seoul

Chan E. Park
Associate Professor of Korean Language, Literature, and Performance studies, Ohio State University

This day-long event celebrates the beauty of Korean performance traditions and the internationalization of Korean theatre. The highlight of the colloquium includes Master Oh Tae Suk from Seoul, among other distinguished speakers. In addition, the night before the colloquium, we will screen Oh's The Tempest (Herald Angel's Award at the 2011 Edinburgh International Arts Festival), followed by a Q&A session.

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Evolving Property Rights and Shifting Organizational Forms: Evidence from Joint Venture Buyouts following China's WTO Ascension

Subnational Asia Lecture Series -- Co-Sponsored with the GW School of Business

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Friday, November 4, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Duques Hall 255
2201 G Street, NW
George Washington University School of Business

Fariha Kamal
Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau

Dr. Kamal will discuss the choices faced by Sino-foreign joint venture organizations following China's WTO accession. This is significant because WTO accession has reduced incentives for joint ventures while reducing constraints on wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. Concomitant with these changes has been the creation of a more liberal investment environment for indigenous investors. Dr. Kamal will analyze the current situation in terms of property rights theory.

Fariha Kamal is an economist at the Center for Economic Studies at the U.S. Census Bureau. Her research interests include international trade and investment, economic geography, and development economics. Her current research investigates the role of foreign direct investment, agglomeration economies, and market access in the process of industrial development. Dr. Kamal earned her Ph.D. in Economics from Syracuse University. She holds a M.B.A. from Clark University and a B.A. in Economics from Mount Holyoke College.

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The Ozawa Prosecution and Japanese Democracy: The 2009 Amendments to the Prosecution Review Commission Law and Turmoil in the Democratic Party of Japan

Subnational Asia Lecture Series

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Thursday, November 3, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Carl Goodman
Professorial Lecturer in Law, George Washington University Law School

Recent changes in Japan's criminal law have affected Japanese politics. Most spectacularly, it has resulted in the indictment of former kingmaker Ichiro Ozawa, presenting an interesting and troubling legal and political scenario. Ozawa's trial begins in October 2011.

Professor Goodman is a retired partner in the International Law Firm of Jones Day and is a former Professor at Hiroshima University Faculty of Law. Prior to joining Jones Day, Professor Goodman spent 15 years in government service at the Justice and State Departments ending his government service as General Counsel of the then United States Civil Service Commission. He is the author of three books on law: A Handbook of Public Personnel Law; The Rule of Law in Japan; and Justice and Civil Procedure in Japan as well as numerous legal articles in such varied fields as Japanese Law, International and Comparative Law and Civil Service Law. He received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and LL.M. from Georgetown University.

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Views from the Frontlines: First-hand Accounts from Burma's Conflict Zones

Subnational Asia Lecture Series

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Wednesday, November 2, 2011
5:00 - 6:15 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Mahn Mahn
Director, Backpack Health Worker Team

Thart Kler
Malaria Control Program Coordinator, Karen Department of Health and Welfare

Ryan Libre
Photojournalist, "Portraits of Independence: Inside the Kachin Independence Army"

Myra Dahgaypaw
Karen Human Rights Activist

Since Burma's parliament came to power in March of this year, renewed civil war has exploded in Northern Burma, adding to the existing conflicts that have been raging for decades between the military regime and ethnic minority armed groups. The military regime's efforts to control ethnic minorities' natural resources and wipe out any resistance has lead to systematic human rights abuses and an ongoing humanitarian disaster. The speakers will provide first-hand accounts of the situation as individuals who have lived and worked in Burma's conflict zones.

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FILM: This Prison Where I Live (Burma)

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Tuesday, October 25, 2011
12:30 - 1:30 PM Film

1:30 - 2:00 PM Discussion with Director
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Rex Bloomstein
Director, This Prison Where I Live

This Prison Where I Live (2010) is a documentary film about two comedians. MaungThura, better known as Zarganar, is Burma's greatest living comic and a fearless critic of the regime. He was jailed in 2008 for 59 years after speaking out against the government's response to Cyclone Nargis. Michael Mittermeier, one of Germany's leading stand-up comedians, travels with the film crew to Burma to find out more about Zarganar and the repressive state in which Zarganar lives. The film includes unique footage from an interview the film-maker conducted with Zarganar in 2007.

Rex Bloomstein is an award-winning British documentary director who has made numerous films exploring human rights, the Holocaust, and the prison system in England

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The 1911 Revolution Remembered in 2011

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Monday, October 24, 2011
12:00 - 12:30 PM Luncheon
12:30 - 2:00 PM Discussion
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

"Changing emphases in the Study of the 1911 Revolution Among American Historians of China"
Keith Schoppa
Loyola College of Maryland

"Narratives of Commemoration: The PRC Looks Back on the 1911 Revolution"
Edward McCord
The George Washington University

"The Legacy of 1911 and Democracy on Taiwan"
Steven Phillips
Towson University

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A Poet's Journey to the Yellow Mountains

Subnational Asia Lecture Series

Wednesday, October 19, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Jonathan Chaves
Professor of Chinese, The George Washington University

Professor Chaves will discuss his experience lecturing on classical Chinese poetry and painting at Shanghai University, as well as his research at the libraries and museums of Anhui Province, where he discovered previously unknown poems and other writings about the famed Yellow Mountains. His trip to the Yellow Mountains will be illustrated with personal pictures, and he will introduce the work of photographer Wang Wusheng, his traveling companion at the time.

Jonathan Chaves obtained his PhD in Chinese Literature from Columbia University. He is best known today for his translations of classical Chinese poetry, which have been nominated for the National Book Award, and have won the 1998 Japan-US Friendship Commission Prize (for work on Chinese-language poetry by Japanese authors). He has also studied the relationship between poetry and painting in China, and was invited to guest-curate the show, The Chinese Painter as Poet at The China Instituted in America (New York) in 2000.

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Implications of Emerging Space Cooperation Dynamics in Asia

Transnational Lecture Series -- Co-sponsored with The Space Policy Institute, Secure World Foundation, and Rising Powers Initiative

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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
12:00 - 12:30 PM Luncheon
12:30 - 1:45 PM Lecture
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Dinesh Kumar Yadavendra
Visiting Scholar, The Space Policy Institute

In today's world, space technology has become a crucial tool to achieve economic and national security objectives. Consequently, growing economic aspirations and national security concerns are driving greater interest in space. The three emerging Asian space powers - China, Japan and India - are entering into space cooperation agreements with more established space powers to further enhance their space capabilities, while at the same time leading their own regional space cooperation organisations to promote space technology and its application in the Asia-Pacific Region. An environment of conflict, competition, and cooperation in space in Asia has resulted in the steady increase in use of space in the recent years. Space cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region is leading to significant changes, having wide-ranging strategic, economic and space sustainability implications.

Dinesh Kumar Yadavendra was an Advisor at the Headquarters Integrated Defense Staff (HQIDS), New Delhi under the Indian Ministry of Defense, before joining the Space Policy Institute in June 2011. As an Advisor, he was involved with Policy, Planning & Force Development issues including those related to space activities. Prior to HQIDS he worked in various responsible capacities with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) where he gained wide multi-disciplinary experience. In between he also served as a Deputy Director in the Indian Ministry of Commerce, New Delhi. Mr Yadavendra holds a Master of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and a Master of Business Administration in International Business.

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OAS Film Series: Let the Bullets Fly (China)

Thursday, October 6, 2011
6:00 - 6:30 PM Reception
6:30 - 8:40 PM Film
The Sigur Center, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Let the Bullets Fly (2010) is the highest grossing domestic film in Chinese cinematic history. The film has received popular and critical acclaim for its story, dialogue, and satirical take on Chinese society. It was nominated for several Asian Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor. A reception with Chinese food will be held before the screening.

The film is set in China during the warring 1920s, when notorious bandit chief Zhang descends upon a remote provincial town posing as its new mayor. Hell-bent on making a fast buck, Zhang meets his match in the tyrannical local gentry as a deadly battle of wit and brutality ensues. Mandarin with English subtitles.

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Japanese Internment of the Jewish Community in the Dutch East Indies, 1942-1945: Survivors' Memories and Reconciliation in Present-day Israel

Transnational Asia Lecture Series

Tuesday, October 4, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Rotem Kowner
Professor of Japanese History and Culture, University of Haifa, Israel

It was only in the early 20th century that the Jews living in the Dutch East Indies began to form a substantial community. On the eve of the Pacific War it comprised a few thousands members, mostly of Dutch origin, several hundred 'Baghdadis' as well as refugees escaping Nazi persecution in Europe. The Japanese occupation of the archipelago in early 1942 triggered the disintegration of the community. Within a few months the greater part of the Jewish community was interned, together with their fellow gentiles, for being Dutch civilians. In the latter half of 1943, however, most of the Jews who remained outside the camps were also detained, now for being Jews. This presentation offers an account of the fate of the community during the war together with an analysis of the abrupt Japanese change in attitude in 1943. It will also discuss the way present-day survivors remember their ordeal, the reasons it was ignored in official histories and the way present attitudes towards Japan in Israel affect the survivors.

Rotem Kowner's current research interests concern the social and racial nexus between Japan and the West since the sixteenth century as well as wartime behavior and attitudes in Japan's modern war (with a particular interest in the issue of POWs and Indonesian non-combatant captives). His books include The Forgotten Campaign (2005), Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War (2006), and The Rise of a Yellow Race: The Japanese in European Racial Thought, 1300-1640 (Forthcoming); edited volumes The Impact of the Russo-Japanese War (2007) and Rethinking the Russo-Japanese War (2007); and co-edited volume Race and Racism in Modern East Asia: Western Constructions and Eastern Reactions (In press).

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The Annual Sigur Center Fall Reception

**Internal Event

Friday, September 30, 2011
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room

Please join us in welcoming back Asian Studies students, faculty, staff & friends
as well as a very special welcome to our new Sigur Center Director Ed McCord & Asian Studies Program Director Manny Teitelbaum

Asian food and drinks will be provided.

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The Unraveling: Pakistan in the Age of Jihad

audio iconListen to the audio.

Thursday, September 29, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

John R. Schmidt
Professorial lecturer at the Elliott School & senior U.S. political analyst in Pakistan in the years before 9/11

Discussant: Deepa Ollapally
Associate Director, The Sigur Center for Asian Studies

John R. Schmidt will discuss his book, The Unraveling: Pakistan in the Age of Jihad. It is the story of how a nation founded as a homeland for South Asian Muslims, most of whom follow a tolerant nonthreatening form of Islam, become a haven for Al Qaeda and a rogue's gallery of domestic jihadist and sectarian groups. Professor Schmidt places the blame squarely on the rulers of the country, who thought they could use Islamic radicals to advance their foreign policy goals without having to pay a steep price for it and were proved wrong. Today the army generals and feudal politicians who run Pakistan are by turns fearful of the consequences of going after these groups and hopeful that they can still be used to advance the state's interests. Can they save their country or will we one day find ourselves confronting the first nuclear-armed jihadist state?

During a 30-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, Schmidt served in senior positions at the Department of State and National Security Council, including as political counselor at the U.S. embassy in Islamabad in the three years leading up to 9/11. In addition to his expertise on Pakistan and South Asia, he is also one of the leading U.S. experts on NATO and the conflict in the Balkans. He has written extensively for leading foreign policy journals and online news magazines including Survival, The National Interest, The Washington Quarterly, The American Interest, Orbis and The Daily Beast. The Unraveling: Pakistan in the Age of Jihad, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, is his first book.

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OAS Conversations with Scholars: The United States, China, the Cold War & the Third World

Tuesday, September 27, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Sigur Center for Asian Studies

Dr. Gregg Brazinsky

During the 1950s and 1960s China and the United States became locked in a struggle for influence in the Third World. This struggle has been an often misunderstood and neglected part of the Cold War. Dr. Brazinsky will discuss this competition and its relevance to today.

Dr. Gregg Brazinsky is an associate professor of history and international affairs at the George Washington University. He is a specialist on U.S.-East Asian relations during the Cold War, and his work focuses on the social and cultural impact of the United States on East Asia.

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OAS: All Girls Allowed: Gender Advocacy in China

Co-sponsored with All Girls Allowed and Global China Connection

Friday, September 23, 2011
4:00 - 5:00 PM
1957 E St, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Chai Ling
Chinese activist and founder of All Girls Allowed

Chai Ling will discuss her experience fixing the gender gap and female infanticide problems in China. Her non-governmental organization All Girls Allowed works to restore value to girls in China.

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The Okinawa Question: Regional Security, the US-Japan Alliance, and Futenma

Co-sponsored by The Nansei Shoto Industrial Advancement

video icon Watch the video of Governor Nakaima's speech.

Summary of the governor's speech in English and Japanese.

Monday, September 19, 2011
09:30 - 16:00
The State Room
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

09:30-10:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast

10:00-10:10 Welcoming Remarks (Mike Mochizuki & Akikazu Hashimoto)

10:10-11:50 Panel I: The U.S.-Japan-China Strategic Triangle and Okinawa

  • Chair: Robert SUTTER (George Washington University)
  • Michael SWAINE (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
    "US-China Relations and the Implications for Japan and Okinawa"
  • Akio TAKAHARA (Tokyo University)
    "Japan-China Relations and the Implications for the United States and Okinawa"
  • Llewelyn HUGHES (George Washington University)
    "Prospects for Conflict and Cooperation on Energy & Environmental Security"

12:00-14:00 Luncheon Keynote (City View Room)

  • Governor Hirokazu NAKAIMA of Okinawa Prefecture
    "The Futenma Relocation Issue

14:15-16:00 Panel II: How Can the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station Issue Be Resolved?

  • Chair: Mike MOCHIZUKI (George Washington University)
  • Akikazu HASHIMOTO (J. F. Oberlin University)
  • Kazuhisa OGAWA (International Politics and Military Analyst)
  • Michael O'HANLON (Brookings Institution)
  • Kurayoshi TAKARA (University of the Ryukyus)

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Visiting Scholar Roundtable with Jane Cheng: Declassification Review and its Challenges

audio iconListen to the audio.

Thursday, September 15, 2011
4:00 - 5:00 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Sigur Center for Asian Studies

R. Jane Cheng
Visiting Scholar, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

Jane is a visiting scholar at the Sigur Center working on her research project Freedom of Information in Taiwan. She is from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan. Please join us for a presentation and discussion of her recent research at the Sigur Center.

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Warriors after War: Conversations with Indian and Pakistani Military BrassTridivesh

audio iconListen to the audio.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Tridivesh Singh Maini
Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi

Warriors after War is a unique endeavor consisting of interviews with retired army officers from India and Pakistan. Book editor Tridivesh Singh Maini will convey some revelations that came out of conversations with these army officers, a number of whom were witness to the conflict of 1948 and the wars of 1965 and 1971. Maini will speak about the divergence in views on important issues which have fuelled conflict in the region. He will also point to issues on which there is some agreement between individuals interviewed for this book.

Tridivesh Singh Maini is an Associate Fellow with The Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. He graduated from the University of Sheffield in Great Britain in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics (Honours). He then received an MA in International Development from The School of International Service at American University. Maini has authored 'South Asian Cooperation and the Role of the Punjabs', and co-authored 'Humanity Amidst Insanity: Hope During and After the Indo-Pak Partition' with Tahir Malik and Ali Farooq Malik. He is also one of the editors of " Warriors after War: Indian and Pakistani Retired Military Leaders Reflect on Relations between the Two Countries, Past Present and Future", published by Peter Lang (2011). Maini regularly contributes opinion pieces to The Financial world, (New Delhi) The Diplomat, and Pakistani newspapers such as The Daily Times and Friday Times.

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The Birth of the First Republic In Asia & Ju Zheng and the Xinhai Revolution: Books by Judy Lu and Mi Chu

Co-sponsored by the Organization of Chinese Americans, DC Chapter

audio iconListen to the audio.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011
12:00 - 12:30 PM Luncheon
12:30 - 1:45 PM Discussion
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Judy Lu's book The Birth of the First Republic in Asia is based on the Library of Congress' original presidential manuscripts, foreign relations documents and rare materials in the Chinese Collection of the Library of Congress that cover the period from 1840 to 1913. These documents depict a weak and powerless China under the Qing Dynasty, and describe the country's long journey to establish the first democratic Republic of China.

Dr. Mi Chu's book Chu Cheng and XinHai Revolution is based on the rich manuscript collection of her Grandfather Ju Zheng -- the revolutionary who was responsible for the "Wuchang Victory" on October 10 -- and details the 1911 Revolution.

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Reconstruction and Beyond: The Great East Japan Earthquake and its Implications

Co-sponsored by the U.S. - Japan Research Institute (USJI)

audio iconListen to the audio.

Friday, September 9, 2011
2:30 - 4:15 PM
Reception to Follow
1957 E Street, NW, Room 213
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Professor Atsushi Seike
President, Keio University

Dr. Atsushi Seike is a member of the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Design Council in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake. After serving as faculty member and dean of Keio's Faculty of Business and Commerce, Dr. Seike became President of Keio University in 2009. He is a labor economist. His books Labor Market in the Aging Society, Employment System Reform for the Aging People, and The Economics of Older Workers received prestigious awards including the Keio Gijuku Academic Prize and the Kagami Memorial Award.

Commentators:
Professor Naoyuki Agawa (Keio University)
Dr. Edward J. Lincoln (George Washington University)

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Spring 2011

 

Cross Strait Agreements: Legal, Political, and Strategic Implications

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Thursday, July 7, 2011
12:00 - 12:30 PM Luncheon
12:30 - 2:00 PM Discussion
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons: 1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor

"Ongoing Formalization of Cross Strait Relations and Legal Implications"
Su-Po Kao
Associate Professor of Shih Hsin University Department of Law, Visiting Scholar, Sigur Center for Asian Studies and The George Washington University School of Law

"Cross Strait Agreements and Taiwan's Domestic Politics"
Jacques DeLisle
Stephen A. Cozen Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania

"US Perspectives on Evolving Cross Strait Rapprochement"
Patrick Cronin
Senior Advisor and Senior Director, Asia-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security

Moderated by Shawn McHale
Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

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2011 Asian Studies Graduation Reception

Friday, May 13, 2011
1:00 - 3:30PM
Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

All Asian Studies graduates, families, faculty, and staff are invited! Indian food, Thai food, cake, and drinks will be provided.

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Taiwan and Evolving Cross Strait Relations

Monday, May 9, 2011
10:15 AM -2:00 PM
City View Room
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor

10:15 AM WELCOME

  • Shawn McHale: Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM PANEL I: DEFENSE AND SECURITY ASPECTS

audio iconListen to the audio.

  • Robert Sutter: Adjunct Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University
  • Colin Kao: First Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan
  • Nancy Bernkopf Tucker: Professor of History, Georgetown University
  • Moderator Bruce Dickson: Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, The George Washington University

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM LUNCHEON

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM PANEL II: DOMESTIC DETERMINANTS

audio iconListen to the audio.

  • Scott Kastner: Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Maryland
  • Shelley Rigger: Brown Professor of Political Science, Davidson College
  • Steven Phillips: Director of Asian Studies and Professor of History, Towson University
  • Moderator Edward McCord: Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, The George Washington University

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Asia's Internally Displaced Women and Children

Co-Sponsored with Asia Society

Monday, May 9, 2011
12:00 - 2:00 PM
Asia Society Washington
The Cinnabar Room, Whittemore House
2nd Floor, 1526 New Hampshire Ave, NW

In recent years internal displacement has become one of the most pressing humanitarian, human rights, political and security issues facing the global community. In the Asia-Pacific region there are over 4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). The economic exclusion of certain ethnic and religious minority groups, combined with competition for land and resources are at the heart of many of the region's most prevalent conflicts. However, conflict-based displacement in Asia is dwarfed by the magnitude of forced population movements caused by development projects and natural disasters, such as the March earthquake in Japan, the October 2005 South Asia earthquake and the Indian Ocean tsunami, which displaced more than 1.8 million people in Asia.

Join our panel of experts in a discussion of the major challenges facing IDPs, including spotlights on Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan, Burma and the Philippines.

Dawn Calabia, Senior Advisor, Refugees International
At Refugees International (RI), Dawn Calabia follows legislative and executive branch developments, works to increase RI's impact in Congress, provides special assistance on issues of statelessness and Burmese advocacy. She served as Acting Director of the United Nations' Washington Information Office, and worked for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Prior, she was the Director of Refugee Policy and Development for the US Catholic Conference Migration office, worked for the House International Relations Committee specializing in refugee issues, and was one of the founders of the Women's Refugee Commission. In 1996, she was honored at the White House for her human rights work with refugee women and children.

Roberta Cohen, Nonresident Senior Fellow and Senior Adviser, The Brookings Institution
Roberta Cohen co-founded and for more than a decade co-directed The Brookings Institution Project on Internal Displacement. She also served as senior adviser to the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons from 1994-2010, and now serves as senior adviser to the Brookings Project. Together with Francis M. Deng, Cohen co-authored the first major study on internal displacement, Masses in Flight: The Global Crisis of Internal Displacement (Brookings, 1998), organized and participated in the process leading to the development of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, and was co-recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order (2005).

T. Kumar, Director, International Advocacy, Amnesty International USA
T. Kumar has worked in several Asian and African countries and served as a human rights monitor in many Asian countries as well as in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Guatemala, and South Africa. He has also been the director of several refugee camps.

This series has been underwritten by LEO A DALY with additional funding provided by Henrietta Holsman Fore.

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15th Annual Gaston Sigur Memorial Lecture with Mani Shankar Aiyar

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
5:30 - 6:00 PM: Reception
6:00 - 7:00 PM: Lecture
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor

Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar is a current Member of the Indian Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (Council of States). He was thrice elected to the Lok Sabha (1991-96; 1999-2004; 2004-2009) and served as Minister of Panchayat Raj (2004-09) and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas (2004-06), Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (2006-08) and Minister for Development of North-Eastern Region (2006-09). In 2006, he was conferred "Outstanding Parliamentarian Award" by the President of India. He began his career as a diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service from 1963-89.

He is a widely published columnist with several newspapers and magazines in India and abroad and has authored numerous books including Remembering Rajiv; In Rajiv's Footsteps: One Year in Parliament; Mani Shankar Aiyar's Pakistan Papers; Knickerwallahs, Silly-Billies and Other Curious Creatures; Rajiv Gandhi's India (in 4 volumes) (ed.); Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist; and A Time of Transition: Rajiv Gandhi to the 21st Century. He is a frequent commentator on poverty alleviation, foreign policy and nuclear disarmament in India and abroad.

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Worldviews of Rising Powers: Domestic Foreign Policy Debates

Presented by The Sigur Center for Asian Studies' Rising Powers Initiative

video icon Watch the CSPAN video.

audio iconAudio available below under each individual panel

Monday, April 25, 2011
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
City View Room
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor

8:30-9:00- Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00-9:30 am- Welcome and Introductory Remarks

audio iconListen to introductory remarks.

  • Speakers: Henry R. Nau (GWU) and Deepa Ollapally (GWU)

9:30-10:30 am Session I: Domestic Foreign Policy Debates in China

audio iconListen to China panel.

  • Chair: Evan Medeiros, Director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council
  • Presenters: Professor David Shambaugh (GWU)
  • Discussant: David Lampton, Johns Hopkins University

10:30-11:30 am Session II: Domestic Foreign Policy Debates in Japan

audio iconListen to Japan panel.

  • Chair: Michael Schiffer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia
  • Presenters: Professors Richard Samuels (MIT) & Narushige Michishita (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan)
  • Discussant: Sheila A. Smith, Council on Foreign Relations

11:30 am -12:30 pm Session III: Domestic Foreign Policy Debates in India

audio iconListen to India panel and keynote luncheon.

  • Chair: Robert O. Blake Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
  • Presenters: Professors Deepa Ollapally (GWU) & Rajesh Rajagopalan (Jawaharlal Nehru University)
  • Discussant: Daniel Markey, Council on Foreign Relations

12:30-2:00 pm Keynote Luncheon: Foreign Policy Schools of Thought: Relevance in US and Rising Powers

audio iconListen to India panel and keynote luncheon.

  • Keynote Speaker: Walter Russell Mead, James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College and Editor-at-Large of The American Interest magazine

2:00-3:00 pm Session IV: Domestic Foreign Policy Debates in Russia

audio iconListen to Russia panel.

  • Chair: Jim Hoagland, Washington Post
  • Presenters: Dr. Andrew Kuchins, Director and Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS; Dr. Igor Zevelev, Director, Moscow Office, MacArthur Foundation
  • Discussant: Thomas Graham, Kissinger & Associates

3:00-4:00 pm Session V: Domestic Foreign Policy Debates in Iran

audio iconListen to Iran panel.

  • Chair: Barbara Slavin, The Atlantic Council
  • Presenters: Professor Farideh Farhi, Affiliate Graduate Faculty, University of Hawai'i-Manoa
  • Discussant: Gary Sick, Columbia University

4:00-4:15 pm Coffee/Tea Break

4:15-6:00 pm Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy

audio iconListen to implications panel.

  • Chairs: Professors Henry R. Nau (GWU) and Deepa Ollapally (GWU)
  • Keynote Discussants: Thomas R. Pickering, Hills and Company and Career Ambassador; David Sanger, New York Times

The Sigur Center gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation for this Policy Briefing.

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Live From Tokyo: Documentary Screening and Director Q&A

Thursday, April 21, 2011
6:30PM - 8:00PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, Room 602

Live From Tokyo is a 2010 documentary film about the independent and underground music culture in Tokyo, Japan. The film looks at Tokyo's music culture as a reflection of Japanese society and in relation to international music culture. The production team spent six months covering over 100 artists to capture the essence of the city's independent music scene.

Director Lewis Rapkin has worked on documentaries for HBO and PBS. He's edited television series for Discovery Channel and produced live concert video series for Manhattan New Music Project. Live From Tokyo is his directorial debut for a feature film. He will be on hand to answer questions after the film.

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GW Diaspora Seminar: Comparative Diaspora Politics: The Cases of China and India

Thursday, April 21, 2011
12:30PM - 2:00PM
The George Washington University School of Business
Duques Hall, Room 553

Nikola Mirilovic (Ph.D.): Postdoctoral Research Associate and Professorial Lecturer at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, GWU

Why do some countries institutionalize political and economic links with their diaspora populations while others ignore or even persecute them? I propose a parsimonious theory of diaspora engagement with significant cross-national and cross-temporal explanatory scope. The theory combines political economy and ideological determinants of diaspora engagement: international economic strategy, regime type, and nationalism. This analysis also helps us answer larger theoretical questions about the role of democracy and of nationalism in international relations. I test my claims using the comparative case study method. The theory explains the key turning points in diaspora engagement policymaking in China and in India; it also explains the variation in diaspora engagement policies between China and India.

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Conversations with Scholars: The Rise of India and China: A Comparative Perspective with Deepa Ollapally

Wednesday, April 20, 2011
12:30PM - 2:00PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

This event is an informal luncheon and Q&A session open to OAS members and GW students ONLY with Dr. Ollapally.

Deepa M. Ollapally is Research Professor of International Affairs and the Associate Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. She also directs the India Initiative, launched by the Sigur Center in 2007.

Her areas of research and teaching are: Asian regional security; comparative politics of South Asia; identity politics in the international system; nuclear nonproliferation; terrorism; gender and international security. She directed the South Asia program at the U.S. Institute of Peace from 1998-2003, and taught at Swarthmore College from 1990-1997. Dr. Ollapally took a leave from Swarthmore to be Head and Fellow of the Strategic Studies Unit at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore, India during 1996-1998. She is the author of the book The Politics of Extremism in South Asia, published in 2008 by Cambridge University Press, and Confronting Conflict: Domestic Factors and U.S. Policymaking in the Third World. She is currently preparing a manuscript for a co-edited volume tentatively titled Worldviews of Aspiring Powers: Exploring Foreign Policy Debates with Henry R. Nau. She has published extensively in journals such as Foreign Affairs, Asian Survey, The National Interest and Political Science Quarterly.

She served on the Board of Directors of Women in International Security, Washington D.C., and is an Advisory Council Member for Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace, Delhi. She is a frequent commentator in the media, including appearances on CNN, BBC, CBS, Reuters TV and the Diane Rehm Show. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.

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Transnational Advocacy Networks and Combating Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia

Co-sponsored by Asia Society

audio iconListen to the lecture.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor

Andrea Bertone: Visiting Assistant Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University

Advocacy networks against human trafficking in Southeast Asia formed long before the movement to combat trafficking in the U.S. gained ascendancy. This talk will illuminate some of those progressive movements in Asia and identify what the west can learn from them.

Andrea M. Bertone (Ph.D.) has been working on issues of gender equity, child protection, and human rights and human trafficking since the mid 1990s. Dr. Bertone is the Director of http://HumanTrafficking.org, the first comprehensive, publicly available, Internet-based information resource on human trafficking in Asia and the United States and selected global hotspots. Most recently, she has been managing a portfolio of girls' education projects at the Academy for Educational Development in five countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Her academic research has focused on transnational advocacy networks in Southeast Asia to combat human trafficking. She currently has a teaching appointment at the George Washington University's Elliott School for International Affairs. Dr. Bertone received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park. She has published several book chapters and articles in peer reviewed journals.

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Asian Film Series: Kekexili (Mountain Patrol) (India)

Monday, April 18, 2011
6:30PM - 8:00PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Kekexili depicts the true story of volunteers who fought to protect endangered antelope against poachers in the remote Tibetan region of Kekexili. Most of the cast are Tibetan amateur actors. In 2004, Kekexili won Best Picture at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Festival and the special Jury Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival. This film had a significant impact in China by bringing attention Kekexili and the plight of its inhabitants and endangered species. The film will be shown in Tibetan and Mandarin with English subtitles.

This event is hosted by Machik, a student organization and NGO dedicated to strengthening communities on the Tibetan plateau.

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Identity and Rising Asian Powers: Implications for Regional Cooperation

Presented by The Sigur Center for Asian Studies' Rising Powers Initiative

audio iconListen to the lecture.

Thursday, April 14, 2011
12:00 - 12:30 PM: Reception
12:30 - 2:00 PM: Lecture
Lindner Commons
The Elliott School of International Affairs
6th Floor, 1957 E Street, NW

Allen Carlson
China
Associate Professor of Government, Cornell University

Mike Mochizuki
Japan
Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Associate Professor of Political Science & International Affairs, The George Washington University

Deepa Ollapally
India
Associate Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

Moderator: Shawn McHale, Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

The Sigur Center gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation for this Policy Briefing.

Light refreshments will be served at the reception prior to the event!

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Conversations with Scholars: Xinjiang or East Turkestan? Thoughts on the Uyghur Homeland with Sean Roberts, Alim Seytoff and Nury Turkel

Wednesday, April 13, 2011
12:30PM - 2:00PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

This event is an informal luncheon and Q&A session on Xinjiang/East Turkestan and the Uyghurs with Sean Roberts, Alim Seytoff, and Nury Turkel for OAS members and GW students.

Professor Sean Roberts is a sociocultural anthropologist, the Director of the International Development Studies Program and Associate Professor of International Development and International Affairs at The George Washington University. Having conducted ethnographic fieldwork among the Uyghur people of Central Asia and China during the 1990s, he produced a documentary film on the community entitled Waiting for Uighurstan (1996). He also has published extensively on this community in scholarly journals and in collected volumes, including "A 'Land of Borderlands': Implications of Xinjiang's Trans-border Interactions" in Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland (ME Sharpe, 2004) and "Imagining Uyghurstan: re-evaluating the birth of the modern Uyghur nation" (Central Asian Survey, 2009). He holds a B.A. in history and Russian from Bowdoin College and a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from University of Southern California.

Mr. Alim Seytoff is the president of the Uyghur American Association, the director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, and special assistant to the President of the World Uyghur Congress, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer. He frequently appears in the media and his articles on the Uyghurs have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Asia Times, and The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst (a publication of Johns Hopkins University). Mr. Seytoff holds a B.A. in Chinese Studies from Xinjiang University, a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Southern Adventist University, an M.A. in Political Science from the Robertson School of Government at Regent University, a Certificate of Graduate Studies in International Politics from Regent University, and a J.D. from Regent University.

Mr. Nury Turkel is a Uyghur-American lawyer and activist, the co-founder of the Uyghur Human Rights Project and former president of the Uyghur American Association. He writes and speaks frequently to advocate for Uyghur human rights. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Northwest A&F University in Xianyang, Shaanxi, China, an M.A. in International Affairs from American University, and a J.D. degree from American University.

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The Rise of China: Faculty Panel

Co-sponsored by the Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Global China Connection, and the Organization of Asian Studies

Tuesday, April 12, 2011
6:45PM - 8:00PM
Marvin Center Ballroom
800 21st Street, NW, 3rd floor

Bruce Dickson
Expert on Chinese domestic politics, East Asian politics, and U.S.-China relations

Derek Scissors
Expert on China's economy and broader Asian economic trends

Michael Yahuda
Expert on the international politics of East Asia and Chinese foreign relations

Robert J. Shepherd
Expert on tourism, cultural heritage issues, and the effects of market changes in China

We will be hosting four esteemed experts in different areas of China studies to discuss China's increasing international influence and its political, economic, and cultural impacts on East Asia.

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Michael Yahuda Book Release: The International Politics of the Asia Pacific

audio iconListen to the lecture.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor

Michael Yahuda is Professor Emeritus at the London School of Economics and Visiting Scholar at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, the Elliott School, GWU. Having taught at the LSE for thirty years, Michael Yahuda retired in 2003. He has been a visiting professor at universities in Australia, the US, Singapore and most recently in China, where he taught a course on Chinese foreign policy. He enjoys an international reputation as a specialist on the international politics of the Asia-Pacific and on China's foreign relations. He has contributed to the international media in several countries and is the author and editor of 8 books and over 200 scholarly articles and chapters in edited books.

This fully revised third edition of Michael Yahuda's extremely successful textbook brings the region fully up-to-date, introducing students to the international politics of the Asia-Pacific region since 1945. As well as assessing the post-Cold War uncertainties that challenged the balance and power within the region, Yahuda also examines the first decade of the new millennium which includes no let up on the 'war on terror', new political administrations in all the key player-states and increased cooperative security between some nations, polarised by volatile relationships between others.

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Asian Film Series: The 10 Conditions of Love

Monday, April 11, 2011
6:30PM - 7:30PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

The 10 Conditions of Love is the story of Rebiya Kadeer, China's nightmare, the woman it accuses of inciting terrorism. It is also the story of the other Tibet, the Muslim Tibet - the country its people call East Turkestan, but which the Chinese call Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

It is a big story: a story of the ruthless oppression of millions of people; of the geopolitics of energy; of Super Power politicking over the War on Terror; and of the pain of a deeply loving family torn violently apart. Exiled in the US, Rebiya Kadeer is fighting for the human rights of her people, the Uyghur (pron. wee-ger), China's oppressed Muslim Turkish minority. But Rebiya Kadeer's campaign condemns her sons to on-going solitary confinement in a Chinese prison. Having done six years of solitary confinement herself, she understands the appalling consequences for them of her actions - but she will not relent. Twice nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, once the richest businessperson in China, Rebiya Kadeer is a remarkable woman who pays daily a terrible price for patriotism. To view a preview, please visit the Uyghur Human Rights Project at http://www.uhrp.org/articles/2344/1/THE-10-CONDITIONS-OF-LOVE/index.html. This event is open to the public.

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Sino-Russian Relations in the Northeast Asian Regional Context

Co-sponsored by the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) and Asia Society

Wednesday, April 6, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor

Gilbert Rozman: Musgrave Professor of Sociology, Princeton University and Woodrow Wilson Center Fellow

Gilbert Rozman will assess Sino-Russian relations in triangular contexts. He will consider the Korean peninsula, Japan, and regionalism in Asia as well as examine Central Asia and South and Southeast Asia. Stress will be placed on Chinese reasoning and how Russia is responding.

Gil Rozman is the Musgrave Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and a Woodrow Wilson International Center Fellow. He specializes on China, Japan, Korea, and Russia, and has recently concentrated on comparing national identities. In addition, he works on sociological factors in international relations, emphasizing mutual perceptions and barriers to regionalism. He received his PhD from Princeton in Sociology and has been on the faculty there for 40 years. His recent publications include: Chinese Strategic Thought toward Asia, U.S. Leadership, History and Bilateral Relations in Northeast Asia, and East Asian National Identities: Commonalities and Differences.

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Visting Scholar Roundtable with Masaki Hirata: The Japan Peace for Vietnam Committee (Beheiren), American deserters, and the US response, 1967-1968

Visiting Scholar Roundtable: Internal Event

Tuesday, April 5, 2011
3:00 - 4:00 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Masaki Hirata: Fulbright Scholar and Associate Professor, Nagoya City University

Major historians on the American anti-Vietnam war movements agree that peace advocates raised the social costs of US intervention in Vietnam and were the catalyst and driving force for US withdrawal. In contrast to these positive interpretations of the US peace movements, the impact of the movements in Japan is underestimated. Although recently there has been academic research on anti-war activities by the Japan Peace for Vietnam Committee (Beheiren), they focus on discussing this group's ideological and philosophical character in the context of the history of leftwing activism in Japan. Beheiren activism was unique in introducing various international approaches. Yet there is no serious analysis under this perspective. As a diplomatic historian, I will explore Beheiren's political and military impact in the context of international relations. Beheiren leadership recognized the importance of resistance among American servicemen and for years carried on an extensive program of aiding deserters and leafleting servicemen on leave from Vietnam. In this presentation, I will describe what I have found from declassified US military investigative records on Beheiren's assisting American deserters.

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Asian Film Week: 3 Idiots (India)

Friday, April 1, 2011
6:30PM - 9:10PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Two friends embark on a quest for a lost buddy in this 2009 Indian comedy. Along the way, they encounter a long forgotten bet, a wedding they must crash, and a funeral that goes impossibly out of control. 3 Idiots is the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in India, and it has won six Filmfare Awards, including best film and best director, ten Star Screen Awards, and sixteen IIFA awards.

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Asian Film Week: The Battle of Narayama (Japan)

Thursday, March 31, 2011
6:30PM - 8:40PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

In a small village in a remote valley, everyone who reaches the age of 70 is banished to the top of Mt. Narayama to die, so as not to be a burden on the village and bring disgrace upon their family. Old Orin is 69, and despite being in good health, in the coming winter it will be her turn to leave. But first, there are a few things that need doing. The Battle of Narayama won the 1983 Palm d'Or and is one of the most important works of celebrated Japanese filmmaker Shohei Imamura.

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Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Lecture-Concert

Co-sponsored by Asia Society

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Thursday, March 31, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was an Indian poet, philosopher, academician, composer, visionary and much more. He wrote 12 Novels, 3000 poems, 2025 songs, innumerable short stories, essays, letters and plays. He was the first Asian to win the Noble prize in 1913.

The Sigur Center will host a memorial concert featuring traditional Indian music in honor of the 150 years since Rabindranath Tagore's birth.

Featuring:
Sudeshna Basu (Vocal and Harmonium)
Debu Nayak (Tabla)
Jeff Bauer (Piano)
Nistha Raj (Violin)

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Asian Film Week: Mongolian Ping Pong (Mongolia)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011
6:30PM - 8:10PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

A ping pong ball, found floating in a stream, becomes the source of wonderment for three young boys who live in the remote grasslands of Mongolia. Bilike, the ball's discoverer, assumes it's a bird's egg. His wizened grandmother proclaims it a magic pearl. Unconvinced, the boys take the ball to the monastery, but even the grasslands' most knowledgeable inhabitants are stumped. When a television show reveals that the object is the "national ball of China," the determined young scouts decide to embark upon a journey to return the precious talisman to the Chinese capital.

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Asian Film Week: Love of Siam (Thailand)

Tuesday, March 29, 2011
6:30PM - 9:00PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

A groundbreaking teen love story, Love of Siam is a moving gay romance that took Thailand by storm. When childhood neighbors and friends Mew and Tong are reunited after several years, they must decide if their feelings for one another are as friends, or something more. The film dominated Thailand's 2007 film awards season, winning the Best Picture category at all major national film award events, including the Thailand National Film Association Awards.

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Asian Film Week: Homerun (Singapore)

Monday, March 28, 2011
6:30PM - 8:20PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Homerun is a drama about two poor siblings and their adventures over a lost pairs of shoes. Set in 1965, the year Singapore separated from Malaysia, the film satirizes political relations between the two countries, which lead to its banning in Malaysia. It was nominated for two awards at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards; Megan Zheng, then 10, became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse.

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After the Earthquake & Tsunami: Japan's Nuclear, Economic, and Political Challenges

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Monday, March 28, 2011
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Linder Family Commons
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St., NW, 6th Floor

Analysis of the Nuclear Threat
Dr. Philippe Bardet
Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, GWU

Prospects for the Japanese and Regional Economies
Dr. James Kilpatrick
Adjunct Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GWU

Political Implications for the Japanese Government
Dr. Llewelyn Hughes
Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GWU

Moderated by Dr. Shawn McHale
Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

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Visting Scholar Roundtable with Yufang Fan: The Impact of the Korean War on the PLA's Officer Education

Visiting Scholar Roundtable: Internal Event

Tuesday, March 22, 2011
3:00 - 4:00 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

The Korean war of 1950–1953 was the first modern international war the PLA ever fought. Its impact on China's international and domestic affairs could not be overemphasized, as well as its impact on the PLA's education system. This presentation seeks to discuss how the Korean war influenced the PLA's officer education in the context of its greater impact on China's politics, diplomacy, economy and military.

Dr. Yufang Fan is an Associate Professor at the National University of Defense Technology, China. She is now a visiting scholar at the Sigur Center, researching the history of military education and comparative military education.

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Remembering Indonesia's War of Independence: Identity, Politics, and Military History

Sigur Center Faculty Lecture Series

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Wednesday, March 9, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor

Ronald Spector: Professor of History and International Affairs

Professor Spector received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins and his MA and Ph.D. from Yale.

He has served in various government positions and on active duty in the Marine Corps from 1967-1969 and 1983-1984, and was the first civilian to become Director of Naval History and the head of the Naval Historical Center. He has served on the faculties of LSU, Alabama and Princeton and has been a senior Fulbright lecturer in India and Israel. In 1995-1996 he was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Strategy at the National War College and was the Distinguished Guest Professor at Keio University, Tokyo in 2000.

At the Elliott School, Spector offers undergraduate and graduate courses on US-East Asia Relations, World War II, and the Vietnam War as well as a graduate seminar on Naval history and one on strategy.

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Asian Film Series: Founding of a Republic

Monday, March 7, 2011
6:30PM - 8:30PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Join Global China Connection and The Organization of Asian Studies for a screening of Founding of a Republic, the epic 2008 film depicting the founding of modern China, portraying the Chinese Civil War and the struggles of Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Zedong to found a new republic. Founding of a Republic captures the massive struggles experienced by the Chinese people, on both sides of the conflict, who sought to establish a modern Chinese state after centuries of conflict and division.

Note: Bubble tea and Chinese food will be provided.

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Environmental Cooperation in Northeast Asia: Challenges and Prospects

Co-sponsored with the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) and the Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University

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Friday, March 4, 2011
2:00 - 3:45 PM
Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, 5th Floor

Frenemies? Russia-China Interactions on Energy and Environmental Issues
Dr. Elizabeth Wishnick
Associate Professor of Political Science and Law, Montclair State University

Governing Russia's Forests: When Are Transnational Initiatives Effective?
Dr. Laura A. Henry
Associate Professor of Government and Legal Studies, Bowdoin College

Environmental Conservation of the Amur River and the Sea of Okhotsk:
Regional Cooperation between China, Japan and Russia?
Dr. Yasunori Hanamatsu
Visiting Scholar, IERES, George Washington University

Moderated by Dr. Henry E. Hale
Director, IERES, George Washington University

Joint monitoring, cooperative research, and harmonization of standards and processes can serve the dual function of resolving common environmental problems and improving relations among states. On the other hand, it is pointed out that in most issue areas, the states of Northeast Asia have not yet developed a shared understanding of common environmental problems. Our panelists will discuss how we can evaluate the emerging environmental cooperation in the region, what is needed to promote further regional cooperation among states of the region on environmental issues.

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Foreign Policy Debates within Rising Powers: Current Implications for the US

Presented by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies' Rising Powers Initiative

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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
12:00 - 12:30 PM: Buffet Luncheon
12:30-2:00 PM: Briefing
State Room
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor

Andrew Kuchins, Director and Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Russia

Deepa Ollapally, Associate Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies
India

David Shambaugh, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director, China Poliy Program, The George Washington University
China

Moderator: Henry R. Nau, Professor of Political Science & International Affairs

The Sigur Center gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation for this Policy Briefing.

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OAS Conversations with Scholars: Thoughts on US-China Relations with Bruce Reynolds

Informal luncheon and Q&A session on US-China relations with Bruce Reynolds for OAS members and GW students -- Lunch provided.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011
12:30PM -2:00PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Dr. Reynolds is a professor of economics at the University of Virginia and a visiting scholar this year at the Elliott School of International Affairs Institute for International Economic Policy. He first visited China in 1973, was a visiting scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences from 1980-1981, and has visited China almost every year since 1988. In the 1980s, Dr. Reynolds was one of the first American economists to study Chinese economic reform and published articles such as "Choosing a Strategy for China's Economic Reform" (American Economic Review, 1988). He edited the book Chinese Economic Reform: How Far, How Fast? (Academic Press, 1988) and his articles on the Chinese economy have been published in dozens of scholarly journals and books. His main research interest is inequality, development and institutional change in transition economies. Dr. Reynolds received his BA from Yale University and his PhD from the University of Michigan.

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Asian Film Series: Memories of Matsuko (Japan)

Monday, February 28, 2011
6:30PM - 8:40PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

The greatest musical about a hot-as-hell dead bag lady ever filmed! An unlikely cross between Moulin Rouge, Citizen Kane and Amelie, Memories of Matsuko is a magical realist descent into the suppressed history (both farce and tragedy) of the most unfortunate woman you've ever seen on screen, enriched by the one-of-a-kind visual style of director Tetsuya Nakashima, who truly makes this epic/musical/melodrama sing like no other. Miki Nakatani was awarded Best Actress by the Kinema Junpo Awards, Mainichi Film Concours, Asian Film Awards and the Japanese Academy for her astonishing multifaceted performance in this film.

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OAS General Body Meeting

Monday, February 28, 2011
5:30PM - 6:30PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Come learn more about OAS, meet other members, socialize with your peers who share an interests in Asian studies, and share your ideas for upcoming events with us.

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OAS Film Series: Trading Women (Burma, China, Laos, Thailand)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Trading Women enters the worlds of brothel owners, trafficked girls, voluntary sex workers, corrupt police and anxious politicians. Filmed in Burma, China, Laos, and Thailand, this is the first film to follow the trade in women in all its complexity and to consider the impact of this "far away" problem on the global community. Narrated by Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, this unforgettable documentary explores the international community's response to the issue.

Note: Thai food and soda provided.

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Updating the China Model: New Challenges for a New Decade

Sigur Center Faculty Lecture Series

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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, 6th floor

Bruce Dickson, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, The George Washington University

Dramatic changes are underway in China's approach to development and governance. A growing middle class is replacing the low-skill, low-wage labor that drove China's export-oriented economy. "National champions" receive more government support to create internationally recognized brands. After dismantling the "iron rice bowl," the state is now devoting more resources towards other types of public goods in order to improve the quality of local governance. This presentation will analyze the rationale behind these changes and the prospects for their success.

Bruce Dickson is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at GW. His research and teaching concentrate on China's political dynamics, in particular how economic reforms are changing the Chinese Communist Party's control over China's political system and its relationship with society. His most recent book (co-authored with Jie Chen) is Allies of the State: China's Private Entrepreneurs and Democratic Change.

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India in US-Asia Relations: A View from Washington

Presented by the GW Office of International Alumni Relations and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies

February 22, 2011
6:30 - 8:30 PM
The Taj Mahal Hotel
Diwan-I-Khas
Number One Mansingh Road
New Delhi 110 011 India

A reception and faculty panel hosted by Dean Michael E. Brown and Dr. Deepa Ollapally, Associate Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the Elliott School.

Cocktail Reception: 6:30 PM
Faculty Panel: 7:30 PM
Dessert Reception: 8:15 PM

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Identity and Asian Powers: What Does it Mean for Regional Cooperation?

Presented by the Rising Powers Initiative, Co-sponsored by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

February 21, 2011
10:00 AM -6:00 PM
India International Centre
New Delhi, India

February 22, 2011
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Panel at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses

The SIgur Center gratefully acknowledges the MacArthur Foundation's Asia Security Initiative for support of this conference and the project on "Power and Identity in Asia: Implications for Regional Cooperation."

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Popular Uprisings in Southeast Asia: Is there an Egypt or Tunisia in the Region?

Sigur Center Faculty Lecture Series

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Friday, February 18, 2011
12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505

Catharin Dalpino is currently the Joan M. Warburg Professor of International Relations at Simmons College; Visiting Scholar in Southeast Asian Studies, John Hopkins/SAIS; Adjunct Professor, Ellliott School, GWU; and Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Atlantic Council of the United States.  A former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, she has also been a Fellow at the Brookings Institution; a Resident Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and a career officer with The Asia Foundation.  She specializes in political development and security in Southeast Asia, and is a frequent media commentator and editor of several articles and op eds on US policy in Southeast Asia.

Although there are striking differences between Southeast Asia and the Middle East/North Africa, the two regions also share some similarities: authoritarian and semi-authoritarian governments of long duration as well as the presence of some Islamist groups.  Moreover, some popular uprisings in Southeast Asia, such as the "People Power" revolution in the Philippines in 1984, might be seen as prototypes for the current unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.  Catharin Dalpino, GWU Adjunct Professor and a longtime Southeast Asia watcher, will consider the similarities and critical differences between these two vibrant regions with the aim of assessing political development and stability in Southeast Asia in the next few years.

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OAS: Human Rights Watch Film Festival "Enemies of the People"

Sponsored by the Organization of Asian Studies

Wednesday, February 16, 2011
7:00PM - 8:30PM
2301 M St NW
(23rd Street between M & N Streets)

OAS sponsored a group trip to West End Cinema to watch a powerful documentary on Cambodia, Enemies of the People, as a part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Winner of the 2010 Sundance World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize, Enemies of the People follows the project of Thet Sambath, whose parents were among the approximately two million people who perished under the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s. With unprecedented access and groundbreaking confessions from the notorious "Brother Number Two," Nuon Chea, and from numerous grassroots killers, Sambath uncovers terrifying personal explanations for the genocide by allowing the perpetrators to speak for themselves.

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Justice and Journalism: Islam and Journalistic Values in Indonesia and Malaysia

Sigur Center Faculty Lecture Series

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505

Janet Steele received her Ph.D. in history from the Johns Hopkins University, and is interested in how culture is communicated through the mass media. Her most recent book Wars Within: The Story of Tempo, an Independent Magazine in Soeharto's Indonesia focuses on Tempo magazine and its relationship to the politics and culture of New Order Indonesia. She is a frequent visitor to Southeast Asia, and writes a weekly newspaper column called "Email from America" for Surya daily in Surabaya, East Java.

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OAS: Reception with Tsinghua University Delegation

Co-sponsored by the Organization of Asian Studies and US-China Global Connection

Sunday, February 13, 2011
7:00PM - 9:00PM
Lindner Commons
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 602

Global China Connection and the Organization of Asian Studies are honored to welcome a visiting delegation of student leaders from Tsinghua University, one of the most respected institutions of higher education in China. The delegation will include the leadership of the Tsinghua University Student Union, as well as several Tsinghua faculty members. Guests at the reception will have the chance to meet the visiting delegation, as well as fellow GW students who share an interest in international relations and Asian studies.

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OAS Film Series: Take Off (Korea)

Monday, February 7, 2011
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

This week's movie, Take Off, is a Korean drama that won the Blue Dragon award for best director in 2009. This movie is about a small Korean town undergoing a large-scale construction in preparation for Winter Olympics bid. In the middle of the construction, the local committee receives a report that they do not have sufficient athletes to compete in the games. The town residents conclude to form a national ski jump team in order to represent the event.

Note: Korean food and soda provided.

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Visting Scholar Roundtable with Gao Fei: Is "Big Triangle" Still Strategic? China, the United States, and Russia's Triangle Relationship in the Post-Cold War Era

Visiting Scholar Roundtable: Internal Event

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011
3:00 - 4:00 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Dr. Gao Fei: Fulbright Scholar and Associate Professor, China Foreign Affairs University

The concept of the "Strategic Triangle" has been conventionally applied to the relationship among the United States, the former Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China during the Cold War period. Since the end of the Cold War, great changes have taken place in China, the US, Russia and even the whole world. What have the three countries learned from history? What are the major problems among their current relations? What is the impact of the contemporary Big Triangle Relation? This discussion will to try to answer these questions.

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Tourism, Heritage, and Sacred Space in China

Sigur Center Faculty Lecture Series

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Monday, February 7, 2011
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor

Bob Shepherd holds a B.A. in political science and history from the University of Delaware, an M.A. in history from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from George Mason University. He began to teach courses at George Washington University in 2003, and was appointed an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Honors in 2006.

Although the Chinese government has become one of the most prominent supporters of the UNESCO-led World Heritage movement, the economic, political and bureaucratic reasons for this are often at cross-purposes with the preservationist goals of UNESCO. This presentation will examine the relationship between heritage projects, tourism, and economic development in China by focusing on the Buddhist pilgrimage destination of Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province, which was added to the UNESC World Heritage list in 2009.

Dr. Shepherd's work on tourism, cultural heritage issues, and the side effects of market changes in China has appeared in Southeast Asia Research, Consumption, Markets, and Culture, the International Journal of Cultural Studies, and the Journal of Contemporary Asia, among other publications. His book, When Culture Goes to the Market: The Politics of Space, Place and Identity in an Urban Marketplace (Peter Lang) was published in 2008.

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China's Development Cooperation in Africa

Co-sponsored by GW-CIBER and the Institute for International Economic Policy

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Thursday, February 3, 2011
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505

Dr. Yan Wang is Research Coordinator, OECD-DAC-China Study Group and Senior Economist at WBI, World Bank Office Beijing. She has authored /coauthored a number of publications including" Corporate Governance among China's Stock-holding Companies," "The Quality of Growth: Fiscal Policy for Better Results" 2008, "Sources of China's Economic Growth 1952-2000" and "The Quality of Growth (2000)." She has received several awards including the SUN Yefang Award in Economics (the highest award in economics in China). In the past few years, a key focus of her work has been on South-South learning. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University, and taught economics as an assistant professor before joining the World Bank.

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Habit of a Foreign Sky by Xu Xi

Co-sponsored with Asia Society

Tuesday, February 1, 2011
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Asia Society Washington
The Cinnebar Room
Whittemore House, 2nd Flr.
1526 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036

What happens when a high-powered female executive relinquishes all responsibilities?

For Gail, a mixed-race, single mother who loses her only child and her mother in the span of two years, the only thing that keeps her barely afloat in this world is her hard-earned career at a global investment bank. Her life goes into a rapid free fall, enduring her complicated past as she was once so sure of her direction in life. Set in the midst of the Asian financial crisis, Habit of a Foreign Sky is Xu Xi's latest book, which was short-listed for the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize.

Author Xu Xi will read from and discuss her latest novel, Habit of a Foreign Sky. The discussion will be moderated by former Beijing correspondent and current BBC Washington correspondent, Adam Brookes.

Books will be for sale. Light refreshments will be served.

Xu Xi is author of seven books of fiction and essays and is currently faculty chair at Vermont College of Fine Arts and a full time writer-in-residence at the City University of Hong Kong. She has received many awards, including the 2006 O. Henry Prize Stories collection, and was also writer-in-residence at Chateau de Lavigny, University of Iowa and the Kerouac Project. Before becoming a full-time writer, she spent 18 years in international marketing and management, including posts at Federal Express, Leo Burnett Advertising and The Asian Wall Street Journal.

Adam Brookes is BBC's Washington correspondent and reports for BBC TV, radio and online on American politics, economics and national security. Prior to moving to Washington, he served as BBC's correspondent in Beijing, and in Jakarta. His assignments have taken him to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, Myanmar and many other countries. Brookes is a visiting scholar at Harvard and holds a degree in Chinese from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.

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OAS Film Series: Blue Gate Crossing (Taiwan)

Monday, January 31, 2011
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

This week's movie, Blue Gate Crossing, is a Taiwanese drama that was nominated for Best Asian Film at the 2004 Hong Kong Film Awards. This is-she-or-isn't-she gay comedy focuses on a Taiwanese teen named Meng, a 17 year-old high school student who often laments that she is no longer a carefree soul. She is been carrying one secret for too many years. One day, she decides to reveal her secret to Zhang, a fellow 17 year old. Zhang, a blithe spirit, is the guileless one. His two dearest wishes are to win the swimming championship and to become Meng's sweetheart. He is so utterly unprepared for what she is about to tell him. Meng's secret scorches them both.

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Turning Economic Doldrums into Opportunities

Presented by the GW Hong Kong International Society and the Organization of Asian Studies

Monday, January 24, 2011
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM
Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW

Donald Tong, JP is the Hong Kong Commissioner for Economic and Trade Affairs, USA, the most senior representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in North America. He directs the Hong Kong government's efforts in promoting U.S.-Hong Kong economic and trade ties and constituency-building activities in the U.S. He also oversees the work of the three Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in Washington, New York and San Francisco.

Mr. Tong will discuss job opportunities in Asia, U.S.-Hong Kong economic and trade ties, and government and policy-making in Hong Kong.

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The Impact of the American Welfare System on American Power and on China's Welfare Reform

Visiting Scholar Roundtable: Internal Event

Thursday, January 20, 2011
3:00 - 4:00 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Yabo Meng: Research Fellow, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR)

Background: Financial Crisis incited discussions about whether or not American power is declining. Under such circumstances, the healthcare reform conducted last year became a controversial issue, and some argued that the American welfare system is a burden on the federal budget and the American middle class. China is conducting welfare reform now and can learn a lot from the American welfare system.

 

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