USC and China in the News, September and October 2010

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October 28,  2010: South China Morning Post

Xiangfeng Yang, USC doctoral candidate in political science and international relations, published an op-ed calling for Liu Xiaobo to advance the cause of democracy in China by refusing the Nobel Peace Prize. Yang argues that since the prize is awarded by foreigners, it is easy for the government to dismiss the legitimacy of Liu’s calls for democratic reform. He concludes, “The road to China's democratisation promises to be tortuous and long, and their continued support is important in encouraging democracy-loving Chinese. But such support should be strictly limited to the moral and diplomatic levels, or take shape - through official channels - in specific programmes or projects aimed at enhancing good governance, rights protection, judicial reform, and so forth.”

October 28, 2010: Financial Times

Baizhu Chen of the USC Marshall School of Business was cited in an article about China’s plans to build a major global commodities futures exchange. Chen noted that, “One of the reasons China’s copper contract does not play the global role that it deserves is that the Chinese futures market is still closed to foreign investors.” He went on to explain that in the mid-1990s China’s experiment with a bond futures market resulted in a great deal of speculation and “many people got burnt.” As a result, regulators are being cautious in expanding trading.

Oct. 26, 2010: McClatchy-Tribune Syndicate

The work of the USC US-China Institute in organizing the student ambassador program at the Shanghai Expo’s USA Pavilion was highlighted. USCI program officer Peter Winters is the on-site program director and was quoted as saying the students make a positive and lasting impression on Chinese visitors. USC graduate student Brandy Au was quoted as well. Au, one of the student ambassadors, said the Pavilion sends a different image that many visitors likely have of the US, that is of “domineering, power-wielding” nation.

October 26, 2010: The News & Observer

The News & Observer noted that the USC U.S.-China Institute organized a group of 160 Chinese-speaking American students to serve as ambassadors at the United States pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

October 15, 2010: Singtao Daily (星岛日报)

An article discussed the USC US-China Institute’s symposium on the 1972 Nixon trip to China. The program featured three of Nixon’s top aides responsible for organizing the trip.

October 8, 2010: Voice of America

Report focused on a USC US-China Institute event featuring Chinese author Yu Jie on his book, Wen Jiabao: China’s Greatest Actor. Many people argue that Chinese Premier Wen is a reformer, but Yu Jie contends he merely pretends to be a reformer. USC political scientist Stanley Rosen and Clayton Dube of the Institute were among those raising questions at the event.

September 25, 2010: Voice of America

A USC US-China Institute presentation by an Institute visiting scholar Yang Zhongdong was highlighted. Yang argued that the 2009 riots in Xinjiang represented social conflicts driven by economic inequality and were not primarily an ethnic conflict between Uyghurs and Han. Yang is nearing the end of a one year stay during which he’s been completing a comparative study of Muslims in America and Muslims in China.

September 3, 2010: The Hollywood Reporter

An article mentioned that Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was attending an annual showcase of Chinese films in Beijing.

September 2, 2010: Radio Taiwan International

An article mentioned that the USC U.S.-China Institute’s US-China Today published an interview with Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou. The interview was carried out by Pacific Perspectives columnist Tom Plate.

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