China's image in the news media tends to take one of two extremes: either an unstoppably rising economic superpower or a fragile undemocratic regime buffeted by unrest. Protests from people affected by environmental problems, farmers and urbanites displaced from their land and homes, and unemployed workers have been augmented by the recent rioting in western China and similar events in Lhasa last year. This panel will bring together four specialists in different aspects of China to discuss the nature and importance of these issues and how the Chinese government is coping with these challenges.

Participants:

Katherine Kaup, Associate Professor of Political Science and Asian Studies, Furman University

Peter Lorentzen, Assistant Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley

Alex Wang, Director of the China Law Project of the Natural Resources Defense Council

Timothy Weston, Associate Professor of History, University of Colorado at Boulder

Wednesday, September 30, 2009
5:30 PM
Institute of East Asian Studies Conference Room, 6th Floor, 2223 Fulton Street, Berkeley, CA

This event is presented with support from the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations' Public Intellectuals Program, which is funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and the Starr Foundation.