Weatherhead East Asian Institute: Events Archive

The Fourth Annual China Symposium:
"Defining Chinese Modernity: Information, Economy, and Environment"

Presented by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the Columbia Center for Chinese Economy and Society in conjunction with the Earth Institute of Columbia University and the Columbia Law School Center for Chinese Legal Studies

Friday, April 25, 2008
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Altschul Auditorium
School of International and Public Affairs
Columbia University, Morningside Heights Campus
420 West 118th Street, New York, NY 10027
Please click here for a map of SIPA's location on campus

Rapid expansion of the Chinese economy is associated with transformations in Chinese society, governance, urban infrastructure, media, and environmental practices. How this continuously ambitious and often startling set of changes can lead to sustainable and beneficial growth has become a matter of importance for China and across the world. This year, the China Symposium will explore how a modern China is defining itself and how it is being defined under the scrutiny of ever-increasing global attention.

To explore these complicated and fascinating issues, this year’s Symposium will focus on three primary topics:

Regulating Economy and Society
Environment and Quality of Life
Covering China—The Battle for the Story

Introduction
Keynote
Panel One
Panel Two
Panel Three
History of the China Symposium
About the Columbia Center for Chinese Economy and Society

Introduction
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Welcome remarks and an introduction to the day’s discussion provided by Myron L. Cohen, Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and
Lee C. Bollinger, President of Columbia University

Keynote
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM

The Honorable C. H. Tung, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, delivered the keynote address.

Keynote Questions and Answers | continued

Panel One:
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Regulating Economy and Society

Moderated by
Madeleine Zelin, Professor of History and East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University

Xiaobo Lü, Professor of Political Science, Barnard College
Dali Yang, Director of the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore
Sharon Hom, Executive Director of Human Rights in China (HRIC)
Mark Cohen, Intellectual Property Rights Attaché, American Embassy, Beijing

Economy and Society Questions and Answers

Panel Two:
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Environment and Quality of Life

Moderated by
Steven A. Cohen, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Earth Institute, Columbia University

Orville Schell, Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations, Asia Society
Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine
Michael Zhao, Multimedia Producer, The Asia Society Center on US-China Relations

Environment and QOL Questions and Answers

Panel Three:
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Covering China - The Battle for the Story

Moderated by
Benjamin Liebman, Director of the Center for Chinese Legal Study, Columbia University

Ye Weiqiang, Assistant Managing Editor of CAIJING Magazine
Jeremy Goldkorn, Founding Editor and Publisher, Danwei.org
Xiao Qiang, Director of the China Internet Project, University of California, Berkeley
Aryeh Neier, President of the Open Society Institute

Covering China Questions and Answers | continued

Closing Remarks

History of the China Symposium

Since 2004, The Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the Columbia Center for Chinese Economy and Society, along with several co-sponsoring organizations, have presented annual international symposia featuring international leading experts on contemporary China. With an aim to educate the public on the global and domestic impacts of China’s economic emergence, each symposium highlights a current and pertinent issue in today’s China. This issue is explored through the lens of different panels, each consisting of exemplary representatives from the international business, nonprofit, academic, and public policy communities. Past symposia include “ China’s Economic Emergence: Progress, Pitfalls and Implications at Home and Abroad,” “Feeding the Giant: The Global and Domestic Impact of China’s Energy Needs,” and “Becoming a Stakeholder: China in International Affairs.”

The Columbia Center for Chinese Economy and Society

Founded in 2004, the Columbia Center for Chinese Economy and Society builds on the university's strengths in research and teaching on China to create a physical and virtual site for transpacific exchange, global dialogue, and the study of contemporary China. The Center provides a forum for timely discussion and information about China for business, government, NGOs, students, scholars, and the general public, not only in the United States but around the world. Among other programs, the Center sponsors the Annual China Symposium and the Next Generation Network research fellowship for mid-career Chinese scholars, professionals, and public intellectuals.

Past China Symposia

The Third Annual China Symposium: "Becoming a Stakeholder: China in International Affairs"
(April 20, 2007)

The Second Annual China Symposium: "Feeding the Giant: The Domestic and Global Impact of China’s Energy Needs" (April 21, 2006)

The First Annual China Symposium: "China’s Economic Emergence: Progress, Pitfalls and Implications at Home and Abroad"
(April 7-8, 2005)