|  China:
A Series on the World's Next Great Power
Dragon
Resurgent: China in the 21st Century
The Richard
W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership
at Furman University in cooperation with the Asian Studies Department
is proud to present China's Global Rise, a five-part series of lectures
and conferences on China's transformations and current challenges.
Over the last twenty-five years, China has undergone one of the
most remarkable and rapid successions of economic, social, and cultural
changes in world history. Its rise as a global manufacturing powerhouse
and a regional power with an increasingly influential voice in the
world has led some observers to pronounce the twenty-first century
to be "China's Century." But many experts warn that problems
of mass unemployment, corruption, an absence of political reform,
environmental degradation and an unchecked HIV/AIDS crisis could
seriously threaten China's future prospects. There has never been
a more crucial time for Americans to be informed about China and
how its transformation will affect the world.
Ambassador-in-Residence,
James R. Lilley, April 12-14, 2004
The
series began with Ambassador Lilley's visit to the Riley Institute
as Ambassador-in-Residence. He delivered a public address,
"US China Relations at the Dawn of the 21st Century."
For more information on Ambassador Lilley, click
here.
Prospects
and Challenges in China's Economic Transition, October 25-26, 2004
China's rise
to a global economic power has raised many vital questions for analysts,
policymakers, and the international business community. Will China's
accession into the World Trade Organization promote social and political
change within the world's largest nation? Will China play by WTO
rules and what will the impact be on American business interests?
Prominent speakers from within the US government, academia, and
media join counterparts from China to discuss these issues and more.
For more information on this event, click
here.
Human
Rights in China, April 10-11, 2006
Despite
China's political liberalization, human rights abuses clearly still
occur all too frequently. The United States' State Department regularly
criticizes China's human rights record and reports from dissidents
fleeing the People's Liberation Army (PRC) paint a grim picture
of continuing oppression, particularly in Tibet, against underground
Church followers, and against those willing to speak out against
the Communist Party. The Chinese Communist Party argues that the
United States is imposing a double standard and that China is making
important improvements in the human rights field. For more information
on this event, click
here.
Will
China Democratize? Perspectives on Political Reform in China, Spring
2009
Dramatic political
changes have occurred in China over the past three decades. While
many decry the crackdown in Tiananmen in 1989 and ongoing governmental
oppression of religious, minority, and other social groups, others
point to the recent progressive reforms of China's legislative branch,
the introduction of the rule of law, democratic village elections,
the recent constitutional protections of private property, and the
Communist Party's promise to represent capitalists as well as the
working class. New tensions have emerged between the government
and the people it rules. Are these new social pressures for change
or simply old groups seizing upon a more open environment to voice
their dissent? Will the government suppress dissent or allow the
democratic reforms to continue?
The
Rise of a New Power: China's Foreign Relations, Spring 2010
China's
international behavior at times can mystify even the most astute
political observers. Many of its policies seem contradictory until
the rationale behind the diplomatic maneuvers is explored. As China
struggles to become a true superpower and to play a more dominant
role in Asia, how should the United States respond? Does the rise
of China necessarily mean the fall of American power?
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