For years, Koryo Group has ferried people into North Korea, working with a variety of North Korean organizations and individuals in tourism, sports, and culture. The reality of working on the ground can be very different than the general assumptions Westerners hold regarding the Hermit Kingdom and its autocratic ruling family, the Kims. Koryo’s general manager walks us […]
While many countries are cautiously opening their borders and relying on high vaccination rates, China is one of the few to persist with a ‘zero Covid’ policy. How long can it hold out given the high socioeconomic costs of such a method and the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant? ABOUT OUR SPEAKER: Ivan […]
The Communist Party’s newest “historical resolution” is a crucial step towards consolidating Xi Jinping’s power and status to equal that of Mao and Deng. In his new book Professor Shambaugh surveys China's leaders and their times from Mao through Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping. He will speak about his book and these […]
Darren Byler spent years living in Xinjiang and befriending the Uyghur communities there. Soon after leaving the region to continue his doctoral studies, Chinese authorities began a massive detention and incarceration campaign in the region. Byler became one of the earliest scholars to monitor and analyze the latest crackdown in Xinjiang. He joins the club […]
’Tis soon the season of good cheer That joyful happy time of year To lift a mug of tea (or beer…?) Our Winter Party’s drawing near! December 18th is the date That we will meet to celebrate. Don’t push your luck and don’t tempt fate. We’ll sell out fast, so don’t be late! The venue […]
On February 4 the XXIV Olympic Winter Games will open in Beijing, marking the first time a city will host both the summer and winter Olympic Games. Politics -- both within China and the Olympic movement more broadly -- have been a major point of discussion, when the International Olympic Committee selected China to host the […]
In his studies of Chinese politics, Indian researcher Manoj Kewalramani felt that national reportage and discourse often overlooked the analysis of primary source materials and open source Chinese language materials. This was the impetus behind his work on reading the People’s Daily and putting it in the public domain in the form of a daily […]
《冰上时刻》/ BURNING ICE Synopsis: Ice hockey has been professionalized gradually in China since Beijing had successfully bid for the Olympic Winter Games. Qu Ruichen (Richard), Yu Lifan (Steven), and Zhai Zinan (Jason) are three nine-year-old strikers for a Beijing junior ice hockey team. While the three strikers are clenching their teeth and giving their […]
Since the end of the Cold War, Olympic Games have entered a new era in which governments see the games as a form of “public diplomacy” and non-governmental organizations target the games in publicity campaigns. The Chinese leadership intended the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to serve the pursuit of “soft power.” In the leadup to […]
Join the fellow FCCC members for drinks at the Jing-A microbrewery in the Kerry Center from 6:30 pm this Thursday, January 27th. This event is also open to friends and colleagues of FCCC members, no need to register.
As Beijing prepares to become the first city in history to host both a Summer and a Winter Olympics, the eyes of the sporting world—and beyond—will be on China come February 2022. Despite international calls for a boycott due to human rights violations, Beijing is determined to show that it has conquered COVID-19 and can […]
Chinese leaders talk a big talk on the world stage, but its interior world is more subtle. Our speaker, David Ownby, lays out the landscape of China’s marketplace of ideas, introducing us to public intellectuals who talk past the Communist Party to advance alternative agendas. He will discuss the "republic of letters" in China that exists alongside Party-State propaganda organs. Genuine […]
