2006 Sunset Cinema Series – Perhaps Love (China)

Perhaps Love (China, 2005) A director (played by Jacky Cheung), his star (played by Xun Zhou) and her co-star (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro) enact a romantic triangle in a film-within-a-film, a musical about the making of a movie which is full of wit, humor, pathos, and heart in Peter Chan’s delightfully devious concoction. Workshop Instructor: … Read more

Inside the Chinese Basket: Is China Manipulating the Currency Exchange Rate?

“Everybody is talking about China. In fact, everybody should be talking about China. According to the Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University, China is today experiencing “the most remarkable economic transformation in history.” But this “most remarkable economic transformation in history” has come with its cost, and this cost could be huge. Economists … Read more

The Changing Communist Party and the Rise of China

China’s domestic political arrangements often fuel misgivings about the rise of China in the West. While liberals are optimistic about the effects of China’s economic change on long-term political liberalization, realists remain skeptical of China’s illiberal political institutions and see aggressive deterrence as the best strategy to confront an ascending China. Central to the perception … Read more

“What! A Labor Shortage in China?”

Is it even conceivable that there could be a labor shortage in China? Knowledgeable people have diametrically different views. The question itself operates like a Rorschach inkblot: the answer tells more about the presumptions of the respondents than the reality facing them. But there is a reality and there is an answer, and the implications … Read more

The Reception of Einstein and His Theory of Relativity in China (1917-1979)

This lecture will explore China’s reception of the celebrated physicist and his theory of relativity between 1917 and 1979. It will introduce the pioneers who introduced and disseminated the revolutionary theory in China; explain why relativity was introduced and swiftly absorbed by the Chinese. The lecture will emphasize the significant role of the May Fourth … Read more

The Resurgence of China’s Criminal Underworld: Assessment and Explanation

Based upon a database compiled by the author, this presentation provides an overview of the development of China’s criminal underworld during the past two decades and a quantitative assessment of its current state. Through examining the organized criminal groups, this presentation assesses the hardcore of China’s criminal underworld mafia-style criminal syndicates and its greater base, … Read more