USC and China in the News, March and April 2014

April 30, 2014: The Corsair

USC students were among those who participated in a flash mob protest to support Yue Yuen workers on strike in Dongguan, in southern China. The factory produces shoes for Adidas, so the group gathered in front of an Adidas store in Santa Monica. USC student Mickey Chin said, “We’re trying to show people what’s going on. Adidas has basically not given workers their pay and they have been keeping money away from them. We’re telling Adidas hey, pay your workers what you should.”

April 25, 2014: Philadelphia Inquirer

An article about a conference on the 25^th anniversary of the suppression of student protests in China noted that the USC U.S.-China Institute released a documentary about media coverage of those protests and their suppression. That documentary is Assignment: China – Tiananmen Square.

April 23, 2014: Business Standard

The US-China Commission report Building US-China Trust released at USC on April 22, 2014 was the focus of this article. It quoted the report, "Moving forward on tough issues such as cyber security, market access, and regional disputes requires building a much stronger foundation of mutual understanding that we have been able to achieve."  

April 17, 2014: Keqiao Daily 柯桥日报

Dong Qing, a well-known Chinese television personality for twenty years, announced that she would become a visiting scholar at USC. This story was widely circulated (e.g., People's Daily).

April 16, 2014: ArchDaily

A story featured a project undertaken by fourteen architecture students studying under Lee Olvera. They were asked to design and construct, using two materials, a Sun Yatsen jacket (called in the article a Mao jacket). The story included video and photos of the students’ work.

An article focused on the USC U.S.-China Institute's discussion of U.S.-Taiwan and cross-strait issues. Taipei Economic and Culture Office Director General was among those speaking after a video presentation from Taipei by Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou. Chinese Daily USA 环球通讯社 Radio Taiwan International, Want China Times, United Daily News, China Times， New Tang Dynasty TV, The Epoch Times, and Singtao 星岛日报 also reported on the event noting that USC's Clayton Dube, Patrick James, Stanley Rosen, and Daniel Lynch also spoke. Dube was cited as having said Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou had effectively conveyed his argument that Taiwan is a reliable and security partner for the U.S. Dube introduced comments from Taiwan's Sunflower Movement and Democratic Progressive Party, saying it was not to endorse the occupation of the legislature, but to ensure Americans were aware of dissenting Taiwanese voices. Lynch and Rosen both said that the U.S. would respond to an attack on Taiwan by China.

An article noted that Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute spoke told an Asia Society audience that the World Journal had one of the better Chinese language news apps available and that he regularly used it. The article also noted that Annenberg Prof. Daniela Gerson said that World Journal stories were essential background reading to understand overseas Chinese society. 

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was quoted as saying that to enter the Chinese market, films had to offer a positive view of China. China is increasingly important to America-based filmmakers.

March 19, 2014: CCTV

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was interviewed about Hollywood-China collaboration. Rosen said, "What China wants out of these deals and what the US companies want are not quite the same thing. From the American point of view, It’s China and the source of capital. What the Chinese side is looking for is a global footprint, technology transfer."

March 18, 2014: LA Weekly

Clayton Dube of USC US-China Institute was quoted in an article about the Shen Yun music and dance tour. Dube said this tour was large and elaborate, noting that "When the Los Angeles Times Sunday edition is wrapped in Shen Yun advertising and they have billboards adjacent to the 405, alongside Sony and Apple, targeting the most trafficked highway in America, you know they're looking to fill seats with a mass audience." Dube said that Falungong, the religious group behind Shen Yun argues that there is a moral crisis in contemporary China. He said that many people in China, including leaders, agree, but that there's wide disagreement on the cause of the crisis and potential solutions to the problem.

March 10, 2014: The Ubyssey

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was quoted in an article about Chinese students studying in democratic countries. Rosen noted that the Chinese government initially worried about a brain drain, but ultimately began to see that having students study and work in the U.S. was a potential benefit to China. “Most people who study abroad who do go back understand very well the nature of the political system,” Rosen said. “They don’t try to make any waves politically, but simply try to build a good life for their families.”

March 7, 2014: CCTV

The USC U.S.-China Institute's Clayton Dube was interviewed about the war on pollution announced by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

March 6, 2014: Global Times 环球时报 via Sina.com

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed about how the current generation of Chinese students in the U.S. differ from those who came earlier. Dube noted that they are younger and quicker to raise questions or express themselves in class. What they have in common with earlier arriving students is a willingness to embark on an uncertain adventure in a distant and unfamiliar place.  

March 5, 2014: Los Angeles Times

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist and Chinese film specialist, was quoted about the passing of famed director and studio head Wu Tianming. Wu was in California when the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations broke out. He stayed in the U.S. for five years among other things running a video store in Monterey Park. Wu’s best known films are Old Well and King of Masks. 

March 3, 2014: People’s Daily 人民网

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen explained that it wasn’t a surprise that the Hong Kong film The Grandmaster did not win an Oscar for best cinematography, because it didn’t have the stature of Gravity. He said that relatively few Academy members had probably seen it and he noted that for many Americans director Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love is a better film.

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