[MIT CSSA Outreach] "US-China Relation: Olympics and Tibet?" by Ling-Chi Wang, 6pm, May 6th, 54-100

[Lu Gao]

MIT CSSA Seminar Series

"US-China Relation: Olympics and Tibet?"
Prof. Ling-Chi Wang, University of California, Berkeley
Time: 6pm, May 6th, 2008
Place: 54-100
Refreshments available

Dear friends,

Since the recent protests and counter-protests in Olympic Torch relays at
several major Western cities, there has been mounting criticism over the
Chinese authority from various perspectives in the Western public. Agendas of
the criticizers range from environmentalism, press freedom, Darfur to
skyrocketing commodity prices and global food shortage crisis, among which
China's policy in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) is in the center of the
stage. While we all agree that the Chinese authority could have made more
achievements in many areas in China's social and political development, we do
feel there might be a disconnection and misunderstanding between the East and
the West in current situation.

As representatives of the overseas Chinese students and staff at MIT, the MIT
Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) have always been active in
introducing the Chinese culture and exchanging ideas, opinions and information
between the members of our association and the MIT community. Last Wednesday we
successfully hosted Dr. Arthur Holcombe from the Tibet Poverty Alleviation Fund
to discuss the real opinions and concerns from average Tibetans based on his
first-hand experiences and studies. We are flattered to hear many positive
feedbacks from the audience, who referred to the event as a great opportunity
for everyone in our community to understand more about the situation in Tibet.

In order to further the discussion and mutual understanding in our community, we
are glad to have Prof. Ling-Chi Wang from University of California at Berkeley
to give a speech at 6pm on Tuesday May 6th. The title of Prof. Wang's talk is
"US-China Relation: Olympics and Tibet?" In his presentation, Prof. Wang will
examine recent events related to the use of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
and the torch relay to address a number China's domestic and international
issues and policies. In particular, the discussion will focus on US-China
relations and how domestic and foreign policies are shaping their dealings.
Since Chinese in the U.S. have been
directly affected by the changing US-China relations, Prof. Wang will also
discuss the emerging role of Chinese in the US.

Prof. Ling-Chi Wang became involved in both the anti-Vietnam war and civil
rights movements on campus and in San Francisco area as a graduate student in
Berkeley in 1966. In 1969, instead of his original plan to teach ancient
Semitic languages, he participated in the creation and development of a new
interdisciplinary studies on the Berkeley campus called Ethnic Studies that
entails the study of the history, culture and community of the racial
minorities in the US, including American Indians, black, Latino, and Asian
Americans. Through teaching and research in this new field, he came to
specialize in the history of Chinese and Asian minorities in the US. Since the
end of the Cold War, he extended his research interests to Overseas Chinese
studies and US-China relations.  In 1992, along with scholars from throughout
the world, he founded the International Society for the Study of Chinese
Overseas (ISSCO), which is now a leading international scholarly organization
for the advancement of Overseas Chinese studies.

For more information about Prof. Ling-Chi Wang, please visit:
http://ethnicstudies.berkeley.edu/faculty/wang/

MIT Chinese Students and Scholars Association
MIT Graduate Students Council
May 2nd, 2008