Talking Points: October 7 - 21, 2009

Talking Points
October 7 - 21, 2009

China’s civilization is among the world’s oldest, but the scale and speed of changes there are unprecedented. A generation ago, more than 70% of Chinese lived in the countryside and most workers were engaged in agricultural pursuits. Today, more than half of the population lives in urban areas and two-thirds of Chinese work outside of agriculture. Migrant workers make up more than 10% of the country’s population. Their movement places great strains on them, their families, as well as the communities they leave and the places they go to.

Many of these workers make the equipment of the worldwide communications revolution. Few places have been more affected by this revolution than China. Hundreds of millions of Chinese haven’t touched a computer and rarely if ever use a phone, but China also has more internet (over 350 million) and cell phone users (almost 700 million) than any other country. Migrants and others stay in touch via text messaging and millions of Chinese regularly read and post to blogs and discussion forums.

Much has been made of China’s stunning economic rise. It will soon have the world’s second largest economy and many of its banks and companies are among the largest in the world. Some of these firms already have secured large assets abroad and the hunt for foreign bargains and strategic purchases continues. Auto firm Geely, for example, has offered $2.5 billion for Ford-owned Volvo.

Many of these firms have erected stunning headquarters, helping to make the skylines of some Chinese cities among the most diverse and interesting anywhere. China’s research institutes and universities are packed with bright, diligent, and creative researchers, many of whom carry out cutting edge research. Some of their achievements in space and military engineering were on display in the October 1st national day parade.

China’s economic progress was also celebrated last week. Construction, factory, and other jobs have improved living standards for hundreds of millions of people. Per capita gross national income has tripled since 2000. But it is still low at $2,940 in 2008 and China’s $4 trillion economy is still less than a third of America’s $14 trillion economy. Many in China remain desperately poor and the global economic downturn shuttered thousands of factories and threw tens of millions of Chinese out of work.

Polls in China routinely identify income inequality and environmental degradation as top social problems. Many know that dirty air and water takes hundreds of thousands of lives each year, but virtually every Chinese can identify ways pollution affects them in their everyday lives.

This week USC hosts five programs touching on aspects of these critical trends. Today, Jing Wang of MIT describes a project to help Chinese non-governmental organizations effectively utilize new web technologies and will share early results of the effort. On Monday, October 12 we’ll focus on an aspect of intellectual property protection, China’s new patent law, and on the restructuring and regulating of the world’s largest telecommunications market. Representatives from China’s Ministry of Commerce and the US Department of Commerce will speak along with legal experts and economists. On Tuesday, October 13, we’ll screen short documentaries produced in China last summer by pairs of USC and Communication University of China. They look at music and street theatre, orphans, rural and migrant life, and the reflections of a middle-aged man who has become a monk. On Wednesday, October 14, Micha Peled will show and discuss his award-winning film, China Blue. Peled follows a young woman from her village to a job in a blue jeans factory. A week from today, on October 15, economist and business strategist Dan Rosen will discuss China’s outbound foreign investment. Details about these USC events and events and exhibitions across North America are below and in the calendar section of our website.

China has twenty-five cities with more than three million people. The US has three. Urbanization and efforts to improve urban life is the focus of next year’s Shanghai World Expo. “Better City, Better Life” is the expo theme. Expo organizers expect seventy-million people, including top government and business leaders, to visit. The USC U.S.-China Institute is working with the USA Pavilion to select the students who will interact with these visitors, introducing exhibits and supporting the hundreds of conferences, performances, and screenings that are scheduled for the Pavilion. All American citizens or permanent residents who are currently or will be college or university students and who meet other academic and language requirements are invited to apply. The USA Pavilion will provide training, international airfare, and housing in Shanghai. Student ambassadorships are available for April 15 to July 31 or July 15 to October 31. Applicants can apply for either or both periods. The application deadline is October 30. Students will be notified of selection decisions in December. Details are available at: http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=1838.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese and smaller audiences worldwide watched the National Day celebrations on television last week. US-China Today summarizes foreign coverage of the event. Click here to read about earlier celebrations.

Please forward Talking Points and especially news about the Shanghai Expo student ambassadorships to others. We value your comments. Please send them to us at uschina@usc.edu.

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USC

10/08/2009: NGO 2.0 China: An Experiment with Social Media
University Club, Pub Room
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
MIT's Jing Wang will speak at USC on Chinese NGOs in the Web 2.0 Environment.

10/12/2009: 2009 US-China Legal Exchange
USC Davidson Conference Center, Vineyard Room
3415 South Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: $50. Free for USC faculty, staff, and students.
Time: 8:30AM - 5:30PM
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the USC U.S. - China Institute will host a senior delegation from China on October 12, 2009 to discuss China's amendments to the Patent Law and draft Telecommunications Law.

10/13/2009: USC Global Exchange: Summer 2009
USC, Speilberg Room 110, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: Free
Time: 7:00PM
USC School for Cinematic Arts presents seven documentary films by USC students who where in Beijing as part of the USC Global Exchange program.

10/14/2009: China Blue
USC Leavey Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: Free
Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM
USCI presents a screening of the award winning documentary, China Blue, followed by a Q&A session with director Micha X. Peled.

10/15/2009: China’s Changing Outbound Foreign Direct Investment Profile
USC Davidson Conference Center, California Room, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
USCI presents a talk with Daniel H. Rosen.

California  

10/08/2009: Substitution and Convergence: Correlative Mode and the Literary Tradition
UCLA
11377 Bunche Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1487
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
UCLA Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk on literary tradition, including its background and construction.  
 
10/08/2009: Capitalism without Democracy: The Private Sector in Contemporary China
UC Berkeley
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor, Berkeley, CA
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 6:00PM
UC Berkeley's Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by Kellee Tsa on the growth of the private sector in modern China. 

10/09/2009: A Roundtable on the Chinese Literary Tradition
UCLA
10383 Bunche Hall
Cost: Free
Time: 1:00PM - 2:30PM
Join Professors Chang Su-Ching and Cheng Yu-Yu of National Taiwan University on a discussion on the ancient Chinese literature. 
 
10/09/2009: Shangri-la Chinese Acrobats
Beckman Auditorium, Caltech
332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, CA
Cost: $29, $24, $19 / $10 youth
Time: 8:00PM
The Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats' multi-faceted and multi-cultural production features dazzling acrobatic displays, formidable feats of daring and balance, explosive energy, brilliant costumes, with a touch of Chinese comedy.  
 
10/11/2009: Authors on Asia
Pacific Asia Museum
Address: 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101
Phone: (626) 449-2742 ext. 20
Time: 2:00PM
The Pacific Asia Museum presents the opportunity to meet photographer Don Farber, who has followed His Holiness the Dalai Lama for 30 years. 
 
10/13/2009: Romance, Insularity, and Representation: Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love
UC Berkeley
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor, Berkeley, CA
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 6:00PM
UC Berkeley presents a talk by Giorgio Biancorosso on the predicament and reactions of a female character in the 2000 film "In the Mood for Love."  

10/14/2009: A Tribute to Robert Scalapino
UC Berkeley
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM
UC Berkeley's Institute for East Asian Studies pays tribute to founder Robert Scalapino as he celebrates his 90th birthday.  
 
10/16/2009: Intellectuals, Professions, and Knowledge Production in Twentieth-Century China
UC Berkeley
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor, Berkeley, CA
Time: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
UC Berkeley presents a conference on the transformation of China's literati into modern professionals and intellectuals in the twentieth-century. 

10/17/2009: Festival of the Autumn Moon
California Club
538 South Flower Street Los Angeles, CA
This year, the festival celebrates the arts of China with Special Guest, Consul General Zhang Yun of the People’s Republic of China.

North America

10/13/2009: Book Discussion: "Distorted Mirrors: Americans and Their Relations with Russia and China in the Twentieth Century"
Woodrow Wilson Center
6th Floor Auditorium, Washington, DC 20004-3027
Time: 12:00PM - 1:00PM
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars presents a book discussion led by Eugene Trani.  
 
10/13/2009: Strait Talk: United States-Taiwan Relations and the Crisis with China
Woodrow Wilson Center , Washington, DC 20004-3027
Phone: (202) 691-4000
Time: 4:00PM -5:00PM
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars presents a talk by Nancy Bernkopf Tucker on how the key leaders from all sides have affected cross-Strait issues.  

10/15/2009: Representations and Uses of Yue Identity Along the Southern Frontier of the Han, ~200- 111 BCE
University of Pennsylvania
Stiteler B21
Cost: Free
Time: 4:30PM
The Center for East Asian Studies presents a talk by Erica Brindley on the Yue identity during ancient China.  
 
10/20/2009: Chinese cartoonist and caricaturist Ding Cong
Conference: 8: 30 a.m. - Noon
Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Bldg. Library of Congress,
Washington, DC
Exhibition: 1:45 p.m.  4: 30 p.m.
Mason Art Gallery, School of Visual and Performing Arts, George Mason
University, Fairfax, VA
The Library of Congress and George Mason University are sponsoring a one day symposium and exhibition showing Ding Congs life and work.

Exhibitions 

09/17/2009 - 10/22/2009: China's Great Wall: The Forgotten Story
3A Gallery
Address: 101 South Park, San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: 415.543.3347
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.

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. 

09/18/2009 - 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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