Thursday, May 9, 2024 5:00pm – 7:00pm Hale Hālāwai (1633 East-West Road), East-West Center RSVP to Deanna O’Brien
Please join us for a talk session with East-West Center’s YSEALI Fellows as they share ideas for their community projects. They look forward to your feedback and thoughts on their projects for their home countries. You do not have to be a subject matter expert in environmental issues to participate. An ability to listen and keep an open mind are the only requirements. If there are family members or acquaintances that you think would like to share in this experience, feel free to bring them with you.
The hope is that this informal exchange allows all participants to learn more about how environmental issues affect one another in different communities and potentially develop relationships between the participants of the session. Light refreshments will be served.
The Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellowship on Environmental Issues at the East-West Center is a five-week experiential academic program with lectures, panels, seminar discussions, competitions, debates, and site visits.
Wedging and Binding: Beijing and Russia in China’s Diputes with India and Vietnam
featuring Dr. Shuxian Luo Assistant Professor, Department of Asian Studies University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Speaker’s summary: Is Russia becoming a Chinese “vassal” as many Western politicians and pundits claim? Will or can Beijing leverage its growing influence over Moscow to gain stronger Russian backing in China’s territorial disputes with India and Vietnam, both of which have close partnerships with Russia? This study challenges these prevailing views and instead argues that China has adopted a bifurcated approach toward Russia’s role in the context of China’s territorial dispute with India and Vietnam in the post-Cold War era. Driven by a logic of indirect wedging, China has exercised caution in seeking Russia’s support in its dispute with India. In contrast, the logic of binding has made Beijing less reluctant to pressure Moscow regarding the maritime dispute with Vietnam. This study contributes to the existing literature on wedging and binding, and sheds new light on how the US Indo-Pacific strategy could more effectively safeguard America’s interests.
Speaker’s Bio: Dr. Shuxian Luo is an assistant professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and a non-resident China Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Her primary research interests include Chinese foreign and security policies, maritime security in the Indo-Pacific, and crisis management in US-China relations. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Asian Security, Contemporary Southeast Asia, Journal of Contemporary China, among others, as well as in policy publications such as War on the Rocks and The Diplomat. Dr. Luo has briefed officials and staff at the State Department, US Congress, and UK Cabinet Office. She received her BA in English literature from Peking University and PhD in international relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok 46 years ago. 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. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.
The Evolution of Chinese Bankruptcy Law from 1980s to Present
featuring Professor Charles D. Booth Michael J. Marks Distinguished Professor of Business Law Director, Institute of Asian-Pacific Business Law William S. Richardson School of Law University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Speaker’s summary: Professor Booth will discuss the evolution of the Chinese bankruptcy law over the last four decades, from the enactment of the PRC Enterprise Bankruptcy Law in 1986 to the promulgation of the new Enterprise Bankruptcy Law in 2007 and the establishment of new bankruptcy courts in 2016-17. He will explore the ongoing saga of the collapse of the Chinese real estate market and explain why the China Evergrande Group, which defaulted on its debt in late 2021, has not yet been subjected to bankruptcy proceedings in the Chinese mainland.
Speaker’s Bio: Professor Charles D. Booth is the Michael J. Marks Distinguished Professor in Business Law and Director of the Institute of Asian-Pacific Business Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
Professor Booth’s primary research interests are comparative and cross-border insolvency and commercial law, with a focus on Hong Kong and China and the development of insolvency and commercial law infrastructures in Asia. He has authored/co-authored more than 70 publications including co-authoring A Global View of Business Insolvency Systems (2010; republished in Chinese, 2018).
He has served as a consultant on insolvency and commercial law reform and training projects for the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the IMF, the EBRD, and the OECD. Recently, he has participated in World Bank projects contributing to a new insolvency law in the Lao PDR Law and a draft insolvency law in Bhutan. He has also co-designed and co-delivered training courses for insolvency judges and insolvency administrators in Laos, Cambodia and Beijing (the first such training of its kind in China).
Professor Booth holds a BA from Yale University and a JD from Harvard Law School.
The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok 45 years ago. 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. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.
Friends of the East-West Center 