USC and China in the News: January and February 2018

Click here for earlier media pieces on USC and China.

February 28, 2018: Deadline

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist and specialist on the Chinese film industry, was cited in an article about censorship in China. The question arises as iQiyi, a Chinese video streaming service files for an IPO.

February 27, 2018: CNN

USC U.S.-China Institute's Clayton Dube was interviewed about the move China's Communist Party has made to break with 36 years of constitutional limits on how long a state president may hold the position. The change will allow Xi Jinping to continue as president beyond his 2023 term limit. His more important positions as Communist Party general secretary and chair of the CCP's Central Military Commission do not have any term limit.

February 16, 2018: Hollywood Reporter

Stanley Rosen was quoted in an article about China's tech giants bailing out entertainment/real estate giant Wanda. Rosen, a USC political scientist specializing in the film industry said, "It does make sense for them to be partners, given the importance of online ticketing in China and the brick-and-mortar cinema network Wanda has."

February 13, 2018: Deadline

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was quoted in a story about the popularity of Indian actor Aamir Khan in China. He said, “Aamir Khan’s popularity in China is subject to the same constraints as the South Korean actors discovered when China wanted to punish South Korea over the THAAD missile issue. If the border boundary dispute heats up, the Chinese government will not approve any Indian films for China. Politics will always come first and the import of films is a carrot China is offering to India. But it can be withdrawn at any time, depending on the overall relationship. Aamir Khan’s popularity is useful for both countries but it cannot override the larger issues in the relationship.”

January 29, 2018: Xinhua

Ben Lee, USC Annenberg professor, was quoted in an article about Chinese being the largest group of overseas students in U.S. universities. He said, "The Chinese market and its employers can now distinguish overseas students with strong experiences from strong programs from those who are just there from a mediocre program and not working hard to benefit from their stay abroad."

January 27, 2018: China Daily

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was mentioned in an article about Tencent's investment in Skydance Media, the Hollywood firm behind The Terminator and other films. Rosen noted that some Chinese firms want to make action blockbusters for the Chinese market and are seeking Hollywood expertise.

January 22, 2018: Xinhua

A report on university diversity focused on USC and included interviews with current students, including Joyce Wang from China. She said, "I've learned a lot about all different cultures in the U.S., because I got the chance to meet different people like Americans or Europeans, even other Asians." [The article mistakenly says that foreign students pay more than California residents to study at USC. That's true at California state schools, but not for private schools such as USC.] Professor Ben Lee noted, "The stream of very talented graduates from good universities grow across the industries. Certainly, tech start-ups in whichever field benefit from having access to those who have strong skills, whether it's in engineering, communication or business."

January 19, 2018: The Hill

USC Marshall School of Business professor Greg Autry was interviewed about the Trump Administration's consideration of trade sanctions against Chinese solar power producers. He said, “The Chinese are predatory when it comes to markets... When the Chinese go into a market, whether it’s toys or personal computers or solar, they take the whole thing. They’re monopoly operators, that’s their strategy. Trump is clearly aware of this.”

January 18, 2018: Reuters

David Carter of the USC Marshall School of Business was interviewed about the National Hockey Leagues efforts to enter the Chinese market. He said, ”I guess they [NHL] are a little late to the [China] party but better to do it right than do it fast. They would more likely look back and rue the day they didn’t figure this thing out than looking back and saying it was a wise move to forego the [Olympic] Games."

January 17, 2018: Nature

Raymond Stevens, professor of chemistry and director of The Bridge Institute at USC, was interviewed about science research in China. He is also director of the iHuman Institute at Shanghai Tech University. “I wanted to get a refreshing perspective,” he said. “I was curious about science in China, what drug discovery was like, and wanted my three children to experience life in China since I felt it might open opportunities for them later in life... Science is culturally well appreciated in China, perhaps comparable to sports in the United States. Students are filled with incredibly strong desire and sense of curiosity about science. For me this is the most exciting reason to be working in China today.”

January 9, 2018: China Global Television via ECNS

USC engineering professor Lucio Soibelman was among those issued China's certificate for "foreign high-end talent." The certificate entitles him to apply for a 10-year multiple entry visa, permitting stays of up to 6 months. Two others were presented with the certificate, Sajualumootil George of Microsoft and Chong Gu of Purdue University. Soibelman was previously invited to Tsinghua University as part of China's "Thousand Talents" program.

January 4, 2018: KPCC

The USC Pacific Asia Museum exhibition on links between Mexican artists and China was highlighted.

January 3, 2018: Engadget

The USC Shoah Foundation's project to create a digital rendition of a survivor of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre was described in an article. Utilizing technology that was first developed to record Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter's testimony, the Foundation created a digital interface to allow visitors to "question" massacre survivor Xia Shuqin. Xia was eight at the time of the invasion of Nanjing by the Japanese army. The digital rendition was launched at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in December (the 80th anniversary of the massacre). The system uses IBM Watson's computing power to allow Xia's digital image to respond to questions.

January 3, 2018: Bloomberg

Jason Squire of the USC School of Cinematic Arts was quoted about the Star Wars movie franchise in China. He said, “They are hoping for a number higher than ‘Rogue One... They won’t say that. Disney has been working very hard on doing that.”

January 2, 2018: Sixth Tone

An article about Americans helping to preserve shadow puppetry from China noted the key role played by Jo Humphrey, who studied drama at USC.