2015 Workshop Videos and PPTs

Monday, August 3
Dr. Thomas Gold May 4th to June 4th: Youth and Protest in Modern China (PDF)
Summary: Dr. Tom Gold opens the 2015 Teachers Workshop discussing the role of Chinese youth in shaping the past, present and future of China. In highlighting the social and political contexts behind the May 4th and June 4th student-led movements, Dr. Gold shows how intellectual ferment, the Confucian ideal of “remonstrance”, student elitism, and the century of China’s humiliation all contributed to the events that shaped China’s path into and out of the 20th century.
Mary Kay Magistad The Rise of Civil society in China (PDF)
China Civil Society Version 2 (PDF)
Summary:  Mary Kay Magistad defines civil society as a “sense of shared responsibility and stewardship for a way of life people value.” Drawing upon her 15-year experience living and working as a journalist in China, Magistad tracks the changes, regulations, and transformation of China’s civil society from subject to citizen. From the Confucian influence of vertical relationships to the opening up of the economy and introduction of the internet, Magistad notes the shifts and tensions in the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese people in shaping China’s future.
David Wertime How Information moves in Chinese Cyberspace (PDF)
Summary:  David Wertime presents an insight into the significance of Social Media in Modern China.  Wertime shows how the Social Media platforms WeChat and Weibo, currently with hundreds of millions of users in China, provide a most important platform for free speech as well as a window into what is going on China.  In citing several key case studies, Wertime shows the power of Chinese Social Web in molding public opinion and how the Chinese government has recently managed the social media experience by intimating and cracking down on major online opinion leaders and by flooding the internet with their own messages.    This is a must view presentation for understanding how information moves in modern China. 
Thomas Klitgaard The Value of Vagueness as the Door to Social Change and Emerging Protests in China – Lesson Learned from Its Neighbors (PDF)
Summary: Mr. Tom Klitgaard explores the Chinese government uses vague language to institute change without losing face or power, evaluate movement, and seek pragmatic results. Quoting articles from the Chinese Constitution, Mr. Klitgaard reveals how vagueness bridges humanism and legalism and allows legal flexibility for social reform.
Dr. Gordon Chang The Long History of America-China Relations (PDF)
Summary: Dr. Gordon H. Chang, director of Stanford’s Center for East Asian Studies, explores America’s peculiar fascination with China through the lens of his book Fateful Ties: A History of America’s Preoccupation with China. From discussions of America’s age-long attraction to the Oriental market to its prevailing fear of a Chinese threat, Dr. Chang points to the inextricable influence of this Chinese paradigm in shaping American past, present, and future. As Dr. Chang duly notes in the opening in his book, “there was China before America, and it is because of China that America came to be.”
Tuesday, August 4
Special Segment on the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong
Nicole Kwan (taped interview)
Joshua Wong (taped interview)		 The Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong (PDF)
Overseas Sharing (PDF)
Dr. Thomas Gold, Dr. George Koo, Paul Cheng This video includes the taped interviews by Dr. George Koo with Nicole Kwan and Joshua Wong,  followed by the discussion and debate between Dr. George Koo, Dr. Thomas Gold, and Mr. Paul Cheng.
Summary: Mrs. Nicole Kwan describes the events leading up to the Umbrella Movement, key concerns of the protesters, and mainland-Hong Kong relationships. Dr. George Koo follows with an interview with Joshua Wong, a prominent student activist behind the Umbrella Movement, as Mr. Wong speaks on national education, universal suffrage, and the democratic process in Hong Kong. Mr. Paul Cheng, Dr. Geroge Koo, and Dr. Tom Gold recap these two interviews by further discussing concepts of political freedom and differences between US, Beijing, and Hong Kong positions on the Umbrella Movement.
Dr. Thomas Gold The Chinese Communist Party’s Quest for Harmony and Stability in the Midst of Rapid Change (PDF)
Summary: Dr. Tom Gold traces the evolution of the Chinese Communist Party from its 1950s origins to the modern day, detailing the CCP’s shift from a rigid rule and self reliance to a more open opportunity, open door expansion. Analyzing this historical trend in the present, Dr. Gold alludes to current conversations of political freedom and reform in China as the CCP is forced again define harmony, stability, and control.
Yidi Wu From Moscow to Beijing: Chinese Students Respond to Crises in the Soviet Block, 1956-57 (PDF)
Summary: Focusing on student activism in early Mao era, Ms. Yidi Wu examines the unique interaction between students and Chinese authories, political campaigns, and social movements. Ms. Wu details the impact of Krushchev’s Secret Speech and the Hungarian Revolution on Chinese politics and explores how Mao and the student responded to these Soviet crises.
Dr. Mei Gechlik Legal and Political Reform in China: How to Read the Chinese Leaders’ Mixed Signals? (PDF)
Summary: In her breakdown of 21st century Chinese e-governance policies, Dr. Mei Gechlik analyzes the legal implications of China’s open government information regulation and describes China’s shift from an emphasis on functionality to a citizen-oriented focus. Dr. Gechlik also describes her project developing an e-government development index for China.