Talking Points, April 7 - 21, 2010

Talking Points
April 7 - 21, 2010

The Shanghai Expo opens in three weeks. The Expo theme is “Better City, Better Life.” The USA Pavilion’s contribution is “Rising to the Challenge.” Hollywood, theme park, and Silicon Valley wizardry play a large role in the image the US will present. Nonetheless, Jose Villerreal, the USA Pavilion’s Commissioner-General, wrote on April 2 at the Foreign Policy magazine website that,

“I am particularly proud that Chinese and foreign guests will be greeted by 160 Mandarin-speaking American college students working as ‘Pavilion Student Ambassadors.’ Drawn from across the United States, from schools small and large, they will add a friendly human touch to America's representation at the Expo.”

The USC US-China Institute is coordinating the student ambassador program for the

Pavilion. The first group of students fly to Shanghai this weekend. They will serve through the end of July when a second group will take over until the end of October. These students come from a variety of disciplines, but all have exemplary academic records and speak Mandarin. They have been drawn from thirty-eight states. Our website features an interactive map listing the students and their colleges. After the Expo opens, the site will feature regularly updated photos and notes about their experiences at the Expo and beyond.

These students will interact with a wide range of guests. Surveys suggest that most of the 70 million Expo visitors plan to visit the USA Pavilion. There they will take in musical and dance performances (jazz great Herbie Hancock is among the first to perform), visit multimedia exhibits on how perseverance, innovation and community building have enabled Americans to improve the places they live, and see how those traits are key to taking on the serious and shared challenges of the 21st century. The Pavilion will also host numerous conferences and VIP meetings. Student ambassadors will be a part of all these activities and will participate in organized trips as well as having plenty of time to explore on their own.

Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, Nov. 16, 2009, US Shanghai consulate photo.

It is the duration and more interactive nature of the Expo that distinguishes it from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. For China, the Games, with their astonishing opening and closing ceremonies were largely about reaching huge numbers of domestic and international television viewers. The Expo is more about direct contact and allowing the mostly Chinese visitors a chance to see how other countries present themselves and the ideas they have about improving urban life. Both the Olympics and the Expo are huge undertakings requiring the building of subways and much more. Both events permit China to showcase its rich heritage, its contemporary achievements, and its optimism about the future. Chinese audiences are reassured that the world really does like and respect China. (This is why there was such pressure on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to commit the US to showing up.) Foreign audiences, the Chinese government hopes, will be stunned by the scale and grandeur of the events and will see China as a peacefully rising and welcoming country.

Given all this attention to image-making, it is useful to consider how Chinese young people view the Chinese and American governments. Chen Shengluo 陈生洛, a professor at

Chen Shengluo, photo by Rong Yi.

China Youth University for Political Science, has systematically looked into this and on Wednesday presented his research at USC. In June 2007, he surveyed 505 undergraduates at five elite Beijing universities: Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University, Beijing Normal University, and Beijing University of Aeronautics. Among his findings:

-- most students held more positive views toward the structure of the US political system and its operation

-- students were also positive in their views of the structure of the Chinese political system and its operation, though not as positive as they were towards the US

-- students were especially appreciative of the separation of powers in the US, judicial independence, and protection of individual rights

-- students said that they were more influenced by books, parents, and the internet; the least important influences were overseas media, college courses in Marxism, and college class advisors.

Chen’s presentation and the paper upon which it was based offered many more details on the students’ knowledge of the two countries political system, how opinions varied depending on the students' university (students at Peking University had the most favorable view of the American system, those at Beijing Normal had the least favorable), their parents occupations (children of government officials and K-12 teachers had the most favorable view of China’s system) and other factors. Household income, sex, year in school, and academic major did not significantly influence student opinions.

This survey was conducted before the meltdown of the US sub-prime mortgage market triggered a global financial crisis and before Barack Obama, a first term African American senator, defeated first Hillary Clinton’s formidable political operation and then the Republican nominee, John McCain, a famous war hero and longtime senator, to become US president. It also predates the tragedies and triumphs of 2008 and 2009, including unrest in western China, the horrific earthquake in Sichuan, and the Beijing Olympics. State and foreign responses to all of this stirred strong feelings in China. It’s unclear how these developments and recent US-China tensions may have influenced student perceptions.

What is clear is that despite the Chinese state’s two decade-long “patriotic education” efforts, most of China’s best university students held more positive feelings toward the American political system in theory and in operation than they did towards the Chinese system. Chen’s research, however, shows that without those efforts, the opinion gap would be wider still. He determined that those with the most positive views of the Chinese political system’s structure and effectiveness were those who most liked their courses on Marxism and most enjoyed discussing politics. So while the “patriotic education” effort had limited positive impact on the majority of students, without it the overall assessment of China’s political system would have been much worse.

Chen has just completed four months as a visiting scholar at USC. His findings will be published in a forthcoming issue of Chinese Education and Society that he is editing with USC’s Stanley Rosen.

Today is the conclusion of the Visual Ethnography conference co-sponsored by USC’s Center for Visual Anthropology and the US-China Institute. This Wednesday, noted China documentarian Carma Hinton visits USC to present two of her films focusing on women in rural China. On April 21, we will screen a segment from Assignment China, our current documentary effort focusing on American news coverage of China. The segment focuses on the period after diplomatic ties were restored in 1979 and US organizations could once again station journalists in China. Elsewhere, interesting programs include George Washington University’s day-long symposium on Taiwan’s domestic and international imperatives and the ongoing exhibition of Great Wall photos in New York City. Details about these events and more are below and in the calendar section of our website.

USCI has always worked with teachers to strengthen their ability to bring China and the rest of Asia alive for their students. We continue this with our current Manhattan Beach-based seminar and with our Saturday, May 1 workshop on human rights in Asia. Teachers interested in learning more about these programs should visit the K-12 curriculum section of our website.

Thank you for reading Talking Points. We welcome your feedback. Please write to us at uschina@usc.edu.

Best wishes,
The USC US-China Institute
china.usc.edu

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Events

USC 

04/14/2010: Small Happiness: Women of a Chinese Village
University of Southern California
Taper Hall (THH) 101, Los Angeles , CA 90089
Cost: Free
Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM
The documentary by Carma Hinton explores sexual politics in rural China with segments on love and marriage, foot-binding, child-bearing and birth control. 

04/19/2010: Asia-Pacific Business Outlook Conference 2010
University of Southern California
Davidson Conference Center, 3415 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California 90089-0871
Cost: $675 (early registration), $825
The Asia Pacific Business Outlook Conference will draw entrepreneurs, experts and U.S. officials to the USC campus to discuss business opportunities in the Asia-Pacific.

California

04/09/2010: The Chan Database Project
UCLA
243 Royce Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Cost: Free
Time: 3:00PM - 4:30PM
The Asia Institute presents a Numata Colloquium Series Talk by Professor Christoph Anderl on the recently initiated Chán Database Project.  
 
04/12/2010: `Assembly` (2007): a film by director Feng Xiaogang
UC Berkeley
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM
UC Berkeley`s Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by the screening of Assembly. 

04/15/2010: "Lust, Caution" (2007): A film by Ang Lee
UC Berkeley
Townsend Center for the Humanities
Cost: Free
Time:  4:00PM
UC Berkeley`s Center for Chinese Studies presents a screening of Lust, Caution. 

04/16/2010: Signs from the Unseen Realm (Mingxiang ji): A Collection of Buddhist Miracle Tales from Early Medieval China
UCLA 243 Royce Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Cost: Free
Time: 3:00PM - 4:30PM
The UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies presents a talk by Robert Campany on the Buddhist miracle tales. 

04/16/2010: Berkeley-Stanford Graduate Student Conference in Modern Chinese Humanities
UCLA
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Time: 3:00PM - 3:30PM
The conference features innovative research on any aspect of modern Chinese cultural production in any humanistic discipline. 

04/16/2010: Madame White, The Book of Change, and Eileen Chang: On A Poetics of Involution
UCLA
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Time: 5:30PM - 7:00PM
UC Berkeley`s Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by David Wang on Eileen Chang`s two English Novels. 

04/17/2010: Interview: Along the Silk Road With Shen Wei
Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706
Cost: Members $7 / General $10 / Students $5
Phone: (714) 567-3600
Time: 11:00AM
The Bowers Museum presents an interview with Shen Wei. 

04/19/2010: Master class on Jia Zhangke`s film `Still Life`
UC Berkeley
Address: IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 6:00PM
UC Berkeley`s Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by Dai Jinhua on the film Still Life 

04/20/2010: Contemporary Chinese Migration to Central Asia: Trends, Challenges, and Responses (Case-study of Kazakhstan)
UCLA 10383 Bunche Hall
Cost: Free
Time: 12:00PM - 1:30PM
The UCLA Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by Yelena Sadovskaya on Chinese migration. 

04/21/2010: China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know
UC Berkeley
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 6:00PM
UC Berkeley`s Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by Jeffrey Wasserstrom on his book, which provides an invaluable window onto China’s past, present, and future. 

North America

04/09/2010: Gai Shanxi and Her Sisters
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021
Cost: $7 members; $9 students/seniors; $11 nonmembers
Phone: 212-288-6400
Time: 6:45PM - 8:45PM
Part of the "China`s Past, Present, Future on Film" series. 

04/10/2010: The Search
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021
Cost: Free admission. Limit 2 tickets per person.
Phone: 212-288-6400
Time: 3:30PM - 6:00PM
Part of the Soul-Searching in Tibet: Films by Pema Tseden (Wanma Caidan) series 

04/12/2010: From Common to Heavenly: The Changes in Daoist Ritual in Medieval China
202 Jones Hall
Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544
Cost: Free
Time: 4:30PM - 6:30PM
Princeton University`s East Asia Studies Program presents a talk by Stephen Teiser. 

04/13/2010: Blood and Self in Modern Chinese Medicine and Culture
School of Social Work Building, Room 1636
1080 South University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
Time: 12pm
University of Michigan`s Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by Professor Bridie Andrews Minehan on Chinese medicine`s connection to the concept of modernity. 

04/13/2010: China Boys, with Nicholas Platt
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021
Cost: $10 Asia Society members; $12 students with ID/seniors; $15 nonmembers
Phone: 212-288-6400
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM
The Asia Society presents a talk with Nicholas Platt on his experiences as a young foreign service officer traveling with President Nixon on his historic trip to China in 1972. 

04/15/2010: Teatime in Geordie-land: Consumption of Chinese Exports in Eighteenth Century Northeast England
202 Jones Hall
Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544
Cost: Free
Time: 4:30PM - 6:00PM
Princeton University`s East Asia Studies Program presents a talk by Jessica Hanser. 

04/15/2010: The Holy Silent Stones
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021
Cost: Free admission. Limit 2 tickets per person.
Phone: 212-288-6400
Time: 6:45PM - 8:45PM
Part of the Soul-Searching in Tibet: Films by Pema Tseden (Wanma Caidan) series 

04/16/2010: Coping with Uncertainty: Individual Challenges and Institutional Change Twenty Years after the Introduction of Market Economies
IMU Oak Room
Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana 47405-6615
Time: 9:00AM - 4:00PM
Indiana University Bloomington presents a public roundtable on the challenges of countries in the post-communist era.  
 
04/16/2010: 2009 Triangle East Asia Colloquium: Animals in East Asian History and Culture
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021
Cost: $7 members; $9 students/seniors; $11 nonmembers
Phone: 212-288-6400
Time: 6:45PM - 8:45PM
The annual Triangle East Asia Colloquium will explore the topic of animals in East Asian history and culture. 

04/16/2010: Fujian Blue
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021
Cost: $7 members; $9 students/seniors; $11 nonmembers
Phone: 212-288-6400
Time: 6:45PM - 8:45PM
Part of the "China`s Past, Present, Future on Film" series

04/21/2010: Navigating Cross-Strait Relations: Taiwan`s Domestic and International Imperatives
Lindner Family Commons, The Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University 1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington DC 20052
Cost: RSVP required by April 19, 2010
Time: 10:00AM - 3:30PM
George Washington University`s Sigur Center for Asian Studies presents a conference focusing on Taiwan`s current sources of foreign policy.

Exhibitions  

09/22/2009 - 06/30/2010: China`s Great Wall: The Forgotten Story
NYC offices of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, New York, NY
The Forgotten Story is a series of historically-based photographs of the Great Wall of China. It is a collaboration between Jonathan Ball, a California based photographer, and David Spindler, one of the world`s foremost experts on Great Wall history.

03/28/2010 - 07/25/2010: Secrets of the Silk Road
Bowers Museum
Address: 2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California 92706
Cost: Adults/$18 Weekdays; $20 Weekends/ Students & Seniors/$16 Weekdays, $18 Weekends; Children (under six) Free
The Bowers Museum presents an historic exhibition of over 150 objects drawn from the rich collections of the Urumqi Museum and the Institute of Archaeology of Xinjiang reveals surprising details about the people who lived along the ancient Silk Road.

01/01/2010 - 12/31/2010: Ancient Arts of China: A 5000 Year Legacy
Bowers Museum
2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California 92706
Bowers Museum presents a collection that portrays the evolution of Chinese technology, art and culture.

 

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