Can Free Speech on American Campuses Withstand Chinese Nationalism?

A ChinaFile Conversation

By Yifu Dong, Edward Friedman & more on May 25, 2017

Earlier this week, Kunming native Yang Shuping, a student at the University of Maryland, gave a commencement speech extolling the “fresh air” and “free speech” she experienced while studying in the United States. Video of her speech spread on the Internet, and Yang and her family found themselves under attack by fellow Chinese students in the U.S. and a chorus of critics on Chinese social media, who argued—at times viciously—that she had betrayed her country. Yang then apologized for the speech and asked for “forgiveness from the public.” Why was she attacked? What do her speech and the reaction it engendered reveal (or obscure) about the experiences of Chinese students on American campuses, and what do they portend for the future of academic freedom in the U.S.? To what extent is Chinese nationalism reshaping university life in America?

Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

on May 25, 2017

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., is University Distinguished Service Professor, and former Dean of the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He received his Bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Princeton University, won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, and earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard. He has served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Chair of the National Intelligence Council, and Deputy Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology. His most recent books include The Power to Lead; The Future of Power; Presidential Leadership and the Creation of the American Era; and Is the American Century Over? Nye is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the British Academy, and the American Academy of Diplomacy. In a recent survey of international relations scholars, he was ranked as the most influential scholar on American foreign policy, and in 2011 Foreign Policy named him one of the top 100 Global Thinkers.

The China-Russia Summit Will Focus on North Korea – but It’s Really about Western Influence in the Region

on May 25, 2017

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi makes an official visit to Russia on Thursday and Friday for meetings with key officials, including his counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The timing, which coincides with the Nato and G7 summits of Western powers, underlines that Beijing and Moscow have an alternative cooperation agenda on multiple issues, including the Korean nuclear stand-off and the Syrian conflict.

Politics
Wang Yi, China-Russia Relations, NATO, Syria, Nuclear Disarmament, Ukraine

Anti-Gay Faith-Based Groups in Taiwan Vow to Take Fight against Same-Sex Marriage to next Level

By KENNETH TAN on May 25, 2017

On Wednesday afternoon, cheers rang out in the streets of Taipei as Taiwan’s top constitutional court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, but not everyone present was so overjoyed. The ruling has left anti-gay groups on the island in shock, with one prominent activist likening the decision to the September 11th terror attacks of 2001.

Urban Life
Homosexuality, Marriage, Protests, Tsai Ing-wen, Taipei