Talking Points, November 11 - 25, 2009

Talking Points
November 11 - 25, 2009

"We believe this is a big event in Sino-US relations. It is of particular importance for the growth of Sino-US relations in a new era…. Bilateral relations are now at a new historical starting point."
          -- PRC Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, Nov. 6, 2009

“I see China as a vital partner, as well as a competitor. The key is for us to make sure that that competition is friendly, and it's competition for customers and markets, it's within the bounds of well-defined international rules of the road…. [O]n critical issues, whether climate change, economic recovery, nuclear non-proliferation, it's very hard to see how we succeed or China succeeds in our respective goals without working together. And that is, I think, the purpose of the strategic partnership and that's why this trip to China is going to be so important.”           -- US Pres. Barack Obama, Nov. 9, 2009

Presidents Obama and Hu Jintao will meet in Beijing next week. Talking Points reviewed the issues they’ll focus on last week. To see our documentary segment on “Obama and China” as well as other videos and text resources on key issues in the US-China relationship, please click here.

China has an enviable record in poverty alleviation. An April 2009 World Bank study reported that, using the international standard of $1.25 (purchasing power parity)/day, China reduced the share of its population living in poverty from 85% in 1981 to 27% by 2004. But, even assuming continued progress since 2004, more than 200 million people continue to live in desperately poor conditions. At the same time, income inequality has widened. The biggest gap remains that between urban and rural households and those in the more prosperous coastal provinces and the poorer interior regions. Even within urban areas, though, income inequality has doubled since 1989. And the World Bank also found that income now has a much bigger impact on whether or not a family’s baby survives or teenager goes to high school.

Some of the urban poor used to work in state enterprises and were among the millions (or depended on the millions) of workers laid off when these enterprises began restructuring in the 1990s. In 1999, the Chinese government launched the dibao system 低保制度 to provide the urban poor with a guaranteed minimum living standard. On Thursday, Nov. 12, UC Irvine political scientist Dorothy Solinger will speak on the program’s design and its impact. We hope you can join us.

Many readers found the “Obama BlockBerry” ad in last week’s Talking Points of interest. Of course, he’s not the only American political figure utilized by Chinese marketers. “Clinton” condoms remain on sale in China. In 2004, a pitch in a Shanghai pearl shop to live a science-guided life featured recently elected California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  An image of an energetic corn-eating George Bush was featured by both a street vendor and by a corporation. A Xi’an housing developer was recently taken to task for billboards featuring Obama (and billionaires Warren Buffet and Bill Gates). Such use of political figures also occurred earlier in China. A 1927 newspaper ad implied Generalissimo Jiang Kaishek favored a particular brand of cigarettes. Presumably no Chinese company would dare present Hu Jintao in this fashion.
 

Outside of China, at least two restauranteers have borrowed Chairman Mao’s name and image. In Los Angeles, Mao’s Kitchen now has two branches, and in Melbourne, Australia, one is offered the chance to sample the Chairman’s secret recipes.

West Hollywood photo by anarchosyn.

Melbourne photo by Carsten Keßler (Flashfonic).

The application deadline for the USA Pavilion student ambassador program is Sunday. No late applications for this remarkable opportunity can be accepted. Next week, famed Taiwan director Tsai Ming-liang will be screening his first feature, 1992's Rebel of the Neon Gods at USC. Martin Jacques will also be here to speak on his controversial new book, When China Rules the World.

We welcome your comments and hope you'll pass Talking Points on to friends and colleagues.

Best wishes,
The USC U.S.-China Institute
http://china.usc.edu
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 USC

11/12/2009: China's Urban Poorest and their Program: Anti-Emblem of Municipal Modernization
USC University Club, Pub Room, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
USCI presents a talk with UC Irvine's Dorothy Solinger.

 
11/18/2009: "Rebels of the Neon God" Film Screening and Q&A
University of Southern California
Address: School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) 108
Cost: Free
Time: 5:15PM - 9:00PM
The USC East Asian Studies Center and School of Cinematic Arts present a screening of the movie "Rebels of the Neon God." 

11/19/2009: When China Rules the World: The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of Western Civilization
USC University Club, Banquet Room, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
The US-China Institute presents a talk by Martin Jacques on his new book, which argues that the twenty-first century will be different with the rise of China and the end of Western dominance. 

California 

11/12/2009: Red-Headed Mummies and Indo-European Languages: The Archaeology and Linguistics of Migration in 'Chinese' Eurasia
UCLA Faculty Center, Sequoia Room
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 6:00PM
The Asia Institute presents a panel presentation with Elizabeth Barber and Melanie Malzahn on the discovery of red-haired mummies and an Indo-European language within the territory of modern China.

11/12/2009: The Elvera Kwang Siam Lim Memorial Lecture in Chinese Studies: Chinese Reforms in Historical and Comparative Perspective
UC Berkeley
Address: Heyns Room, Faculty Club, Berkeley, CA
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 6:00PM
UC Berkeley presents a talk by Prasenjit Duara on the last 30 years of reform in China. 

11/12/2009: Taiwan Culture in the New Millennium: A Conversation with Two Cultural Figures
10303 Bunche Hall, UCLA
Cost: Free
Time: 5:00PM - 6:30PM
The UCLA Center for Chinese Studies presents a roundtable with screenwriter and novelist Chu Tien-wen, and novelist, poet, and naturalist Liu Ke-shiang. 

11/13/2009: Wartime Culture and Economy
UC Berkeley
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor, Berkeley, CA
Time: 9:00AM - 5:30PM
UC Berkeley presents a one-day conference on the various aspects of culture and economy that pertain to the daily lives of the Chinese people during times of war.  

11/17/2009: Chinese Play Reading of Adeline Yen Mah's "Falling Leaves"
Julianne Argyros Stage, South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Phone: (714) 708-5555
Time: 7:30PM
South Coast Repertory presents a staged reading of Chinese American author Adeline Yen Mah’s best-selling book entitled Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter. 

11/18/2009: Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World's Prosperity Depends on It
Milken Institute
1250 Fourth Street, Santa Monica
Time: 4:30PM - 6:00PM
The Milken Insitute Forum presents a talk by Zachary Karabell on his book on US-China relations. 

11/19/2009: From Mao to Mozart: Issac Stern in China
Bowers Museum
Phone: 714.567.3600
Time: 2:00PM
The Bowers Museum presents a screening of Academy Award-winning "From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China," a 1980 documentary film about Western culture breaking into China.

11/19/2009: Indigenous Knowledge? The Politics of Traditional Chinese Medicine
UCLA
Address: 10383 Bunche Hall
Cost: Free
Time: 4:30PM - 6:00PM
UC Berkeley's Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by Judith Farquhar on the tradition of medicine in China and its Western engagements. 
 
11/20/2009: The Transformation of China during the 1990’s
314 Royce Hall, UCLA
Time: 10:00AM - 5:30PM
The China Studies Graduate Student Colloquium presents Baizhu Chen, Associate Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics at USC, and R. Bin Wong, Professor of History at UCLA, for talks on the transformation of China that occurred during the 1990's.  
 
11/20/2009: When China Rules the World: the End of the Western World and the Rise of a New Global Order
Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main Street , Santa Ana, CA 92706
Time: 1:30PM
The UCLA Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk with Martin Jacques on China's rise. 
 
11/21/2009: Beyond the Surface: Bronze Mirrors from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection
314 Royce Hall, UCLA
Time: 10:00AM - 5:30PM
Two-day symposium hosted by the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology to showcase Lloyd Cotsen’s mirror collection from early China.

11/22/2009: Silver Spear
Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main Street , Santa Ana, CA 92706
Time: 1:30PM
The Bowers Museum presents a screening of "Silver Spear," a digital opera film. 
 
11/22/2009: Authors on Asia
10383 Bunche Hall, UCLA
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
The Pacific Asia Museum presents Lisa See, author of the bestselling Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love. 
 
11/23/2009: Civil Society with Chinese Characteristics
10383 Bunche Hall, UCLA
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
The UCLA Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by Song Qinghua on Chinese civil society.
 
11/24/2009: Yuja Wang and The Shanghai Symphony
Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, at Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Phone: (949) 553-2422
Time: 8:00PM
The Philharmonic Society presents a performance by Yuja Wang, led by conductor Long Yu. 

North America 

11/13/2009: Rebels of the Neon God
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY
Cost: $7 members/students/seniors; $11 nonmembers
Time: 6:45PM - 8:30PM
Part of the Citi Series on Asian Arts and Culture. 

11/15/2009: Face
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY
Cost: Free
Time: 2:00PM - 5:00PM
Part of the Citi Series on Asian Arts and Culture. 

11/15/2009: Conversation with Tsai Ming-Liang (with Special Guest Actor Lee Kang-Sheng)
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY
Cost: $7 members/students/seniors; $11 nonmembers
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Director Tsai Ming-Liang discusses his films and creative process. 
 
11/17/2009: Vive L'Amour
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY
Cost: $7 members/students/seniors; $11 nonmembers
Time: 6:45PM - 8:45PM
Part of the Citi Series on Asian Arts and Culture. 

11/20/2009: 2nd Annual Conference on China's Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations
Lindner Family Commons, The Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University 1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC
Phone: 202-994-5886
Time: 9:00AM - 4:00PM
George Washington University presents their annual conference on U.S-China economic relations that will include discussions of current issues.

Exhibitions 

08/16/2009 - 11/29/2009: Steeped in History: The Art of Tea
Fowler Museum
Cost: Free
The Fowler Museum at UCLA presents an exhibition on the history of tea in Asia, Europe, and America through art. 

09/11/2009 - 12/05/2009: Pearl of the Snowlands: Buddhist Printing at the Derge Parkhang
The Center for Book and Paper Arts
1104 S. Wabash Avenue, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60605
This exhibit will present photographs, interviews and artifacts collected in Derge Parkhang. 

 

09/18/2009 - 01/09/2010: Imagining China: The View from Europe, 1550-1700
Folger Great Hall
201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
Cost: Free
Phone: (202) 544-7077
Celebrate the opening of the latest exhibition at Folger Shakespeare Library.

 
09/17/2009 - 01/17/2010: Calligraffiti: Writing in Contemporary Chinese and Latino Art
Pacific Asia Museum
46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101
Phone: (626) 449-2742
Calligraffiti: Writing in Contemporary Chinese and Latino Art addresses issues of power, culture, and universality. 

11/03/2008 - 11/03/2009: 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. 

11/14/2008 - 11/14/2009: Chinese Art: A Seattle Perspective
Seatle Asian Art Museum
1400 East Prospect Street , Volunteer Park , Seattle, WA 98112–3303
The Seattle Asian Art Museum presents an opportunity to see a collection with representative works from each dynastic period. 

11/15/2008 - 11/15/2009: Masters of Adornment: The Miao People of China
Bowers Museum
2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California 92706
The Bowers Museum presents a collection of exquisite textiles and silver jewelry that highlights the beauty and wealth of the Miao peoples of southwest China. 

02/12/2009 - 02/12/2010: Art of Adornment: Tribal Beauty
Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main, Santa Ana, CA
Cost: $5
An exhibit featuring body adornments from indigenous peoples around the world 

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