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.

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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.

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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’s Nuclear Energy Push

featuring
Alexander C. Kaufman
Senior Energy Reporter, HuffPost

Speaker’s summary:
In recent years, China has been pursuing something altogether new — becoming the world’s first electro state. This has been done with all kinds of generating sources, but one area of growth stands out: nuclear power. Over the past decade, China has emerged as the No. 1 builder of atomic energy stations. The country is now seen as a decade or more ahead of the West on new types of reactor designs, and looks likely to begin exporting its technology in the coming years. This talk will go over how China’s nuclear energy push began and what the future holds.  

Speaker’s Bio:
Alexander C. Kaufman is an award-winning journalist and writer who has covered energy and climate change on four continents. He is currently the senior energy reporter at the news website HuffPost, and was the inaugural recipient of the East-West Center’s Melvin M.S. Goo Writing Fellowship. A fourth-generation New Yorker, he lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, with his wife. You can follow his work on X or Bluesky at the username @AlexCKaufman or subscribe to his newsletter at kaufman.substack.com.

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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.