USC and China in the News, May and June 2009.

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June 4, 2009: Central News Agency (Taiwan)

Central News Agency (Taiwan) quoted political scientist Stanley Rosen, a member of the USC U.S.-China Institute executive committee, about the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. The Chinese government doesn't want to engage in a discussion of the protests, said Rosen, who directs USC's East Asian Studies Center. This story was carried widely.

June 4, 2009: KPCC 89.3

Tiananmen Square 20 Years Later was the subject of a program which featured comments from Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute. Dube explained why students are preoccupied with material concerns in contemporary China and noted that while nothing on the scale of the Tiananmen protests has been mounted in China in recent years, that there are tens of thousands of significant but locally focused protests every year. 

June 4, 2009: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed for a story about how China has changed in the 20 years since the suppression of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. Dube was quoted, “It is safe to say neither students nor the government could ever have imagined China in 2009.” He went on,  "What the party said was we no longer expect you to believe in a socialist utopia, we no longer expect you to embrace a communist heaven, but we expect loyalty and obedience. And in exchange, we will give you enormous latitude in deciding your own destiny, to dress how you want, work in [the field or location that] you want.” Asked if another event similar to 1989’s Tiananmen demonstrations was possible, Dube said, “No one predicted Tiananmen Square would be as big as it was, or that the party crackdown would be as violent as it was. So I wouldn't say a new movement will happen, or that it wouldn't. One thing is certain - China always surprises."

June 3, 2009: KSCI Ch. 18

Interviews with Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute and Patrick James of the USC School of International Relations were featured in a story on China’s rising global economic profile.

June 3, 2009: U.S. News and World Report

“Flow Chart,” the magazine’s business blog, looked at the proposed sale of General Motors’ Hummer division to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company , a southwestern Chinese manufacturer of heavy construction equipment. The post drew on analysis from USC U.S.-China Institute executive committee member and Marshall School of Business economist Baizhu Chen. Tengzhong may be able to market the vehicles in Africa and elsewhere. Chen said, “It fits into government's strategy of encouraging private enterprises to go abroad.... It has bought a piece of an American legend. The government has every incentive to make Tengzhong successful.”

June 2, 2009: KSCI Ch. 18

USC School of International Relations specialist  Patrick James and Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute were interviewed in a story about how the Chinese government is handling the 20th anniversary of the crackdown on Tiananmen Square demonstrations.

June 2, 2009: Wallpaper

Wallpaper featured a development in China called Jade Valley, which includes a winery, hotel and spa designed by Quingyun Ma, dean of the USC School of Architecture. Jade Valley, the latest project from the world-renowned architect, "is an elegant encapsulation of China's revitalized creative attitude," the story stated. "With mahogany polished ceilings, glassy stairwells, smooth stone flooring and intricate jade embellishments -- Well Hall [Hotel] and the surrounding vineyards provide those with more inquisitive tastes a chance to indulge in this relatively uncharted side of China."

June 1, 2009: Bloomberg News

USC Marshall School of Business MBA graduate Nina Wu was interviewed for a story on China’s economic outlook. “The first quarter was the worst time for China,” Wu said. “The economy has since gradually improved and we expect China can achieve its 8 percent full-year GDP growth target.” Wu works for Hamon Asset Management and oversees the $711 million Dreyfus Greater China Fund.

June 1, 2009: China Daily

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed for a story about President Obama’s appointment of Chinese Americans Steven Chu and Gary Locke to his cabinet. Dube said, "[Obama] chose two supremely qualified people who happen to be Chinese [Americans].” He went on to say, “[t]he appointments show that we are less hung up about race and more focused on experience, judgment, and qualifications. That's significant progress."

May 29, 2009: LATimes.com

Quingyun Ma, dean of USC's School of Architecture, together with Jiang Yuan Cultural & Creativity Development Co. have established the Ordos Prize, the first international architecture award to come from Asia.  The prize is a commission to design a structure in Ordos, a city in Inner Mongolia, as well as $20,000 and an opportunity to exhibit works in the United States and Asia.  The Ordos Prize aims to celebrate the work of emerging young architects who engage the physical as well as the social environment in their designs.

May 9, 2009: ChinaStakes

An article drew from from testimony Nicholas Cull, a USC professor of public diplomacy, gave before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Commission on April 30, 2009. Cull noted that since 2007 China has been engaged in a large public diplomacy effort. He said, “China is doing nothing wrong in its public diplomacy drive. It is wise from China’s point of view. The wrong would be for the west to ignore it."   　

May 7, 2009: Xinhua News Agency （新华社) 

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed for a widely distributed story on foreign reaction to China's response to the hazards posed by the A/H1N1 flu virus. Dube said that Chinese authorities were right to be concerned, especially given the country's terrible experience with SARS earlier. He said the quarantine of foreign nationals, however, could have been handled differently.

May 6, 2009: Sing Tao (星岛日报)

A widely carried story, reported that USC President Steven B. Sample presented USC Trustee Ronnie Chan with the Asa V. Call Alumni Achievement Award at the 76th Annual Alumni Awards Gala held on May 2. Chan, who graduated from the USC Marshall School in 1976, is chairman of Hang Lung Properties Limited, one of Hong Kong and mainland China's most established property developers, the story noted.

May 6, 2009: Voice of America

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed for an article on an effort by individuals from Taiwan and Taiwanese Americans to get U.S. courts to recognize that people in Taiwan are legally entitled to U.S. passports. The argument the group puts forward is that Taiwan, as a Japanese colony, came under American control when the U.S. occupied Japan from 1945 to 1952. Dube noted that the U.S. government has never accepted this view, holding that when Japan surrendered, its colonial claim on Taiwan (dating from 1895) ended and the island was returned to the Republic of China. The U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, Dube noted, but in the Taiwan Relations Act establishes a framework which accords Taiwan near-country status.

May 1, 2009: Voice of America

Elizabeth Economy’s presentation at the USC U.S.-China Institute was highlighted. Economy discussed the costs of China’s economic rise in terms of environmental damage. She noted that China has become the largest producer of greenhouse gases, is pouring pollution into the Pacific, and engaging in destructive environmental practices overseas as it meets its growing resource needs. The damage within China is especially great, with the country having 20 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities. Economy noted that Chinese citizens are sometimes protesting against specific projects such as the extension of Shanghai’s Maglev train. USC postdoctoral scholar Titus Chen’s reactions to the presentation were featured in the article. Chen was impressed by stories of Chinese companies, motivated by the chance of earning a governmental green award, becoming increasingly concerned with their environmental impact. Lei Sili, a visiting scholar from Beijing, took issue with Economy’s points, noting that concern about environmental issues is spreading across Chinese society. He argued that Chinese leaders were pushing environmental protection and that the media could do more to foster wider environmental consciousness.

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