USC and China in the News, March and April 2011

Click here for other "USC and China in the News" pages. 

April 30, 2011: Voice of America

The International Mission Photography Archive, part of USC’s Digital Library and organized by the USC Center for the Study of Religion and Civic Culture was featured in a story. The archive’s China were highlighted by center director Donald Miller.

April 21, 2011: Reuters

Clayton Dube of the USC US-China Institute was quoted in a story about expanding Chinese language study in the U.S. and about a program at Broadway Elementary, a school in downtown Los Angeles.

April 8, 2011: Bloomberg

An article noted USC Viterbi School of Engineering alum Fu Chengyu is stepping down as chairman of China National Offshore Oil Corporation to take on the chairmanship of SinoPec, a still larger Chinese oil giant.

April 5, 2011: Agence France Presse

Fu Chengyu, USC Viterbi School of Engineering alum and head of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, spoke to reporters at USC about his company and the overall outlook for the oil industry. Fu said, "For the short term nobody can expect that oil price will be lower," in part because of demand from rapidly growing economies such as China and India. KSCI Channel 18 also covered Fu’s press conference.

March 31, 2011: China Daily USA

 Clayton Dube of the USC US-China Institute was quoted in an article about rising interest in Asian studies in American schools. Dube noted that for years there had been a tendency to only bring Asia into the history classroom only when there was impact on the United States. Now students in California are mandated to study Chinese history from middle school on. At the university level, Dube noted, “We're seeing an integration of Asian studies into other subjects. Now if you're studying sociology, not all of the examples are from Europe. You cannot study cinema without knowing something about Japanese cinema. You cannot study these subjects without knowing something about Asia, and that's the true triumph."

March 30, 2011: Xinhua News Agency

An article covered a presentation USC political scientist Stanley Rosen made at the Asia Pacific Business Outlook conference held at USC. Rosen noted that China now has a large number of middle class consumers and that these individuals prefer brand name goods. He argued that China’s youth are often engaged in conspicuous consumption of American products, but are also often upset at what they perceive to be negative depictions in the American news media.  Rosen also said that many Chinese are critical of America’s containment policy toward China. Rosen said that China is both a partner and a competitor.

March 30, 2011: Xinhua News Agency (via China Radio International)

A presentation by US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at USC was the focus of an article. Locke spoke at the Asia Pacific Business Outlook conference sponsored by the USC Marshall School of Business and the US Department of Commerce. Locke noted that exports to China were rising and that the administration had a goal of doubling overall exports over the next five years.

March 28, 2011: The China Post

An article discussed a new film, Suspended Duty – Taiwan Military Training Regiment (軍教男兒─台灣軍士教導團的故事), by USC alum Kuo Liang-yin (郭亮吟). This is the second film Kuo, a graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, has made on military matters. Suspended Duty traces the stories of 4,000 soldiers thrown into limbo in 1955 when their leader was arrested and charged with trying to overthrow Taiwan President Chiang Kaishek. They were not discharged from the military but told to go home and wait for the government to assign new duties, a call which never came. They were officially discharged in 1988. (Kuo’s film received a Golden Harvest award for best documentary earlier this month.)

March 20, 2011: Los Angeles Times

Warren Christopher, who was U.S. Secretary of State and held many other important government positions, died on March 19. This obituary and others noted that Christopher completed the Naval Office Program at USC, graduating in 1945. As Deputy Secretary of State under President Carter, he was involved in the normalization of relations with Beijing and working out continued “unofficial” relations with Taipei. He also dealt extensively with China as President Clinton’s first Secretary of State.

March 18, 2011: South China Morning Post

An upcoming presentation on ethics in local communities by Terry Cooper of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development was highlighted. Cooper will speak at Hong Kong’s City University.

March 18, 2011: Forbes

The “China Wealth” blog covered a presentation Baizhu Chen of the USC Marshall School of Business made to the Shanghai Foreign Correspondents Club. Chen noted that labor costs for China-based businesses are likely to rise three to four times over the next decade. Moving to inland cities won’t allow companies to avoid such wage increases, but Chen said it could bring them closer to customers.

March 8, 2011: Voice of America

 Mike Chinoy, senior fellow at the USC US-China Institute, was interviewed about the appointment of US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as ambassador to China.

March 8, 2011: CNBC

An article about the impact of China’s family planning policy and what changing that policy might bring included comments from Clayton Dube of the USC US-China Institute. The article also cited data presented in the Institute’s Talking Points.

 March 8, 2011: Bloomberg

An article noted that Alexander Lui studied at USC and is executive director of Hong Kong-based property developer K Wah International Holdings Ltd.

March 4, 2011: Voice of America

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was quoted in an article about human rights groups request for Congress to continue funding Chinese language Voice of America broadcasts. Dube said that the VOA provided Chinese listeners with news and viewpoints they could not otherwise get. He noted that while Chinese media have become more pluralistic, censorship still limits coverage in important ways. Dube also pointed out that while 500 million are using the internet and could access VOA and other news organizations that way, there are 900 million Chinese who are not on the net. 

March 3, 2011: CNET

Andrew Lih of the USC Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism was quoted in an article about the Chinese government’s plans to use cell phones to track the movement of people around Beijing. Lih said, "In Beijing, where [I'm from], the traffic is a nightmare… They are going from the 1930s to the 1980s in one-fifth the time.... It's a genuine announcement and there's a real need for it, but it seems creepy in American eyes." 

March 2, 2011: Peninsula Press

Recent USC graduate Jonathan Ross Shriftman was featured in an article about Chinese e-commerce. Shriftman used Alibaba, a Chinese business to business site, to create his Solé Bicycles firm. Inc. magazine also reported on Shriftman’s effort, noting that he partnered with fellow USC grad Jake Medwell to start the company. 

Click here to view other "USC and China in the News" pages.