Elegant Ladies or Women Warriors?
Female Intellectuals in 19th and 20th Century China

eaturing
Dr. Shana J. Brown
Director of the University Honors Program and Associate Professor of History
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Speaker’s summary:
What were the contributions of women intellectuals in 19th and 20th century China? This talk explores the ways that we can retell the story of Chinese intellectual life in the 19th and early 20th centuries by including the work of women intellectuals, including writers, artists, collectors, and teachers. This talk focuses on the work of several women of the period, including a collector of Buddhist icons, a folklore specialist, and a young archaeologist, to better understand how the experiences and perspectives of female scholars can enrich our understanding of modern China and its cultural and academic life.

Speaker’s Bio:
Shana J. Brown is Director of the University Honors Program and Associate Professor of History at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Dr. Brown is a historian of science and culture in Asia, particularly modern China. Her research and teaching bring the sciences and humanities in conversation, foregrounding the importance of Asian culture and society to world history.

---

The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect East-West Center policies or positions. Affairs

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok in 1977. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects.

The Troublemaker: 
How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic

featuring
Mark L. Clifford
President
Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation

Speaker’s summary:
Jimmy Lai, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent political prisoners, rose from poverty to become a self-made billionaire and an advocate for Hong Kong’s democracy. After escaping China as a boy, he built a fashion empire before founding Apple Daily and Next magazine—media that fearlessly criticized the Chinese Communist Party. A British citizen, he chose to stay in Hong Kong and fight for freedom, joining mass demonstrations and engaging world leaders. In 2020, after Hong Kong’s national security law was imposed, he was arrested. Since then, he has spent over 1,500 days behind bars—most in solitary confinement as a political prisoner—and now faces a potential life sentence. Join us, as Mark Clifford discusses Lai’s extraordinary journey and his new book, “The Troublemaker”.

Speaker’s Bio:
Mark L. Clifford is president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, an NGO dedicated to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law for the people of Hong Kong. Previously, he was executive director of the Hong Kong–based Asia Business Council, and a board director at Next Digital, the Hong Kong media giant founded and majority-owned by Jimmy Lai. During his twenty-eight years in Hong Kong, he served as editor-in-chief of both English-language newspapers, the South China Morning Post and The Standard, of which he was also publisher. He holds a PhD in Hong Kong history from the University of Hong Kong. Clifford has won numerous journalism, academic, and book awards, and is the author of Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World: What China’s Crackdown Reveals About Its Plans to End Freedom Everywhere.

---

The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect East-West Center policies or positions. Affairs

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok in 1977. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects.

China, Science, and Technology:
Advancing Geopolitical Aims

featuring
Charles Parton
Senior Associate Fellow
Royal United Services Institute, the Council on Geostrategy, and
MERICS in Berlin

Speaker’s summary:
The CCP is clear that it is engaged in a struggle with the leading developed countries to dominate science and certain technologies. This is the most important dimension of ‘systemic competition’. It aims to leverage science and technology to achieve its geopolitical aims. This talk will address the following questions:
1. Are the CCP’s scientific and technological objectives a threat? 
2. What are the dangers of allowing technology to flow to and from the PRC? 
3. How can free and open countries mitigate the threat while working with the CCP on other issues where there may be shared interests?

1. Are the CCP’s scientific and technological objectives a threat? 
2. What are the dangers of allowing technology to flow to and from the PRC? 
3. How can free and open countries mitigate the threat while working with the CCP on other issues where there may be shared interests?

Speaker’s Bio:
Charles Parton spent 22 years of his 37 year diplomatic career working in or on China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In his final posting, he was seconded to the EU Delegation in Beijing, where, as First Counsellor until late 2016, he focussed on Chinese politics and internal developments, and advised the EU and Member States on how China’s politics might affect their interests. In 2017 he returned to Beijing for four months as Adviser to the British Embassy to cover the CCP’s 19th Congress.

He is a senior associate fellow of three think tanks, the Royal United Services Institute, the Council on Geostrategy, and MERICS in Berlin. He was a Specialist Adviser on China to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee for its 2018-19 China Inquiries.

---

The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect East-West Center policies or positions. Affairs

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok in 1977. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects.