Category: Past Events

Event Description

You are cordially invited to join The George Washington University’s East Asia National Resource Center (NRC) and the RIMS | Tibet GovLab for a special discussion on the topic of minority affairs within the Chinese state. This research is part of the China Asymmetric Governance Initiative (CAGI).

Tashi Rabgey is a Research Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School and director of the Tibet Governance Project at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies. She is currently developing as seed projects the Tibet Governance Lab (TibetGovLab) and the Research Initiative on Multi-Nation States (RIMS).

Professor Rabgey’s research focuses on governance, territoriality and the problems of contemporary statehood in the People’s Republic of China and in comparative context. Her interdisciplinary work draws on her fields of political and legal anthropology, international legal theory, contemporary Tibetan studies and comparative Chinese law.

Event Description

You are cordially invited to join The George Washington University’s East Asia National Resource Center (NRC) and the RIMS | Tibet GovLab for a special discussion on the topic of economic issues in the Tibetan areas of China. As part of its education and outreach efforts to promote the study of East Asian culture and affairs, the NRC seeks to provide learning resources to educators, scholars, and future policymakers. This event is free and open to the public and media. Light refreshments will be available.

Minghong Yang is a Professor of the Southwest Frontier Minority Research Center in Kunming, China. He is also a Senior researcher fellow at the Institute of Tibetan Studies at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China. His research focuses on Tibetan studies, especially regarding economic and social development, and international affairs of South Asia. Previously, he served as the managing director of the Institute of Social Development and Western China Development Studies at Sichuan University.

Tashi Rabgey is a Research Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School and director of the Tibet Governance Project at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies. She is currently developing as seed projects the Tibet Governance Lab (TibetGovLab) and the Research Initiative on Multi-Nation States (RIMS).

Professor Rabgey’s research focuses on governance, territoriality and the problems of contemporary statehood in the People’s Republic of China and in comparative context. Her interdisciplinary work draws on her fields of political and legal anthropology, international legal theory, contemporary Tibetan studies and comparative Chinese law.

Event Description

This year, the uncertainties in the US-Korea trade relations have been significantly mitigated by the implementation of the revised US-Korea FTA. What are the next steps to be discussed to ensure healthy economic relations between the two allies?  In which Area can the United States and Korea strengthen their economic cooperation? What are the potential implications of other trade relations in the region, including the ongoing US-China trade negotiations and the recent trade feud between Korea and Japan, for the US-Korea economic relationship and in the context of the global value chains?

Note: This event is off the record and closed to media.

Wendy Cutler joined the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) as vice president in November 2015. She also serves as the managing director of the Washington D.C. Office. In these roles, she focuses on building ASPI’s presence in Washington — strengthening its outreach as a think/do tank — and on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade and investment, as well as women’s empowerment in Asia. She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Most recently she served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, working on a range of U.S. trade negotiations and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. In that capacity she was responsible for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, including the bilateral negotiations with Japan. She also was the chief negotiator to the U.S.-Korea (Korus) Free Trade Agreement. Cutler received her master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and her bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University.

Yonho Kim is Associate Research Professor of Practice and Associate Director of GW Institute for Korean Studies. He specializes in North Korea’s mobile telecommunications and U.S. policy towards North Korea. Kim is the author of North Korea’s Mobile Telecommunications and Private Transportation Services in the Kim Jong-un Era (2019) and Cell Phones in North Korea: Has North Korea Entered the Telecommunications Revolution? (2014). His research findings were covered by various media outlets, including Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Yonhap News, and Libération. Prior to joining GWIKS, he extensively interacted with the Washington policy circle on the Korean peninsula as Senior Researcher of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Senior Reporter for Voice of America’s Korean Service, and Assistant Director of the Atlantic Council’s Program on Korea in Transition. He holds a B.A. and M.A. in International Relations from Seoul National University, and an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

This event is free and open to the public and media. To ensure enough seats, please RSVP via the link below to register for the event.
Agenda:
5:30 PM: Doors Open
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM: Event Introduction & Welcome Remarks
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM: TIPA Performance
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM: Event Reception in the Continental Ballroom, Marvin Center 3rd Floor

About the Event:
You are cordially invited to join The George Washington University’s East Asia National Resource Center (NRC), the Office of Tibet in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for “An Evening in Tibet,” a cultural performance of dance and music from across the Tibetan region.

As part of its education and outreach efforts to promote the study of East Asian culture and affairs, the NRC is pleased to host dancers and musicians from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) in Dharamsala, India. The troupe will present a performance to honor the cultural vision of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, as well as celebrate His Holiness’ 84th birthday. TIPA was founded by His Holiness in 1959 to preserve the rich performing arts of Tibet, and its artists have performed throughout Europe, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and Asia.

The event will take place on Tuesday, July 23, 2019, from 6:00 PM. to 8:30 PM. Audience members will be invited to learn more about Tibetan culture by speaking with the performers and director at a reception immediately following the performance. Light refreshments will be served and all will be invited to celebrate His Holiness’ birthday with cake.

The Sigur Center for Asian Studies, East Asia National Resource Center, and the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs invite you to a panel on women’s economic empowerment featuring new and unique efforts by Taiwan and the United States.

Please RSVP by 5pm on Sunday, June 9th for any dietary restriction accommodations for the luncheon.

About the Event:
The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) has been a strong foundation for Taiwan-U.S. relations for forty years. Since 2015, the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) has served as a high profile joint U.S.-Taiwan vehicle to provide training and capacity-building to third-party countries on critical, emerging challenges including women’s empowerment. Following the recent GCTF workshop held in Taiwan on women’s economic empowerment, speakers will provide an update on efforts underway and their broader context.

Attendees are also invited to view an exclusive photo exhibit documenting the 40th Anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act on the second floor of the Elliott School.

This event is part of the Sigur Center’s Taiwan Roundtable Series and affiliated with the East Asia NRC’s Current Issues in East Asia Series.

Agenda:
12:00 PM
Lunch

12:45 PM
Welcome remarks: Benjamin D. Hopkins, Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies; Associate Professor of History and International Affairs

Opening remarks: Christine M. Y. Hsueh, Deputy Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S.

1:00 PM
Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment

This event is free and open to the public.

Katie Kaufman, Managing Director for Global Women’s Issues, Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Eugene Cornelius Jr., Senior Director of International Relations and Strategic Alliances, International Council for Small Business

Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Special Representative on Gender Issues, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security

Deepa Ollapally (moderator), Associate Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies; Research Professor of International Affairs

We are honored and pleased that Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering will be the keynote speaker at this year’s U.S. Foreign Policy Colloquium (FPC). The annual event will take place Thursday, May 30, at 6:30 p.m. at The George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium.

National Committee Chair Carla A. Hills and representatives from the Elliott School of International Affairs, the Chinese Embassy, and Chubb, one of FPC’s sponsors, will make brief welcoming remarks prior to Ambassador Pickering’s remarks and Q&A. A reception for guests and participants will follow. We hope you will join us to hear this distinguished speaker, as well as to meet the terrific Chinese graduate students who make up this year’s FPC cohort.

FPC brings together some of China’s best and brightest graduate students to help them develop a more nuanced understanding of the American foreign policy-making process. Now in its sixteenth year, the Colloquium provides opportunities for Chinese students in a variety of disciplines at universities across the United States to interact with current and former administration officials, members of Congress, and representatives from academia, business, think tanks, the military, and the media through lectures and site visits. These provide a firsthand look at how ideals, interests, history, institutions, and individuals influence U.S. foreign policy.

The keynote program and reception is co-sponsored by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and The George Washington University’s Sigur Center for Asian Studies and East Asia National Resource Center. This event is free and open to the public and media. However, as seating is limited, all attendees must RSVP by Monday, May 27th to be able to attend the event. We cannot admit participants without a completed RSVP. Registration begins at 6:00 PM. If you have any questions, please contact Madeline Bauer at (646) 781-8485 or mbauer@ncuscr.org

This event is free and open to the public and media.

Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering is vice chair of Hills & Company, an international consulting firm providing advice to U.S. businesses on investment, trade, and risk assessment issues abroad. Ambassador Pickering holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the U.S. Foreign Service, having served as undersecretary of state for political affairs under President Clinton and as U.S. ambassador to Russia, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, Jordan and the United Nations. Other senior positions included assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Oceans, Environmental and Scientific Affairs, and special assistant to secretaries of state William Rogers and Henry Kissinger. After government service, Ambassador Pickering joined The Boeing Company as senior vice president for international relations and led its transition internationally to a global organization. He chairs or serves on many not-for-profit boards, including The International Crisis Group and the American Academy of Diplomacy. Ambassador Pickering speaks French, Spanish, and Swahili fluently, and has working knowledge of Arabic, Hebrew, and Russian.

Dr. Lee Seong-hyon, Director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Sejong Institute, and Dr. Jisoo M. Kim, Director of the GW Institute for Korean Studies, at “China’s Envisioning of North Korea’s Future, Inferred by the Summits between Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un” on May 20th, 2019.

Event Description:

During its negotiations with North Korea, Washington has urged Kim Jong-un to choose denuclearization that will allow North Korea to enjoy prosperity on par with South Korea. The U.S. helped South Korea to become a prosperous and democratic state. In the U.S. history of foreign intervention, South Korea is the most successful case of ‘democratic transition.’ Since South Korea achieved both democratic transition and economic prosperity, it has been frequently referred to as the ‘poster child’ of a successful U.S. foreign policy. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping is known as an ardent proponent of socialism and Marxism. President Xi said that the CPC’s decision to adhere to political theories of Karl Marx this March was ‘totally correct’ (Xinhua News Agency, May 4, 2018). During the second summit with Kim Jong-un in Dalian, Xi said, “both China and the DPRK are socialist countries, and their bilateral relations are of major strategic significance.” (Xinhua News Agency, May 8, 2018). Naturally, this poses the question of whether President Xi’s outlook on North Korea is compatible with that of the Trump administration. Even though both the U.S. and China desire North Korea’s denuclearization, this question needs attention as the two have different views on North Korea’s future and its political system.

LEE Seong-hyon, Ph.D., is Director, Center for Chinese Studies at the Sejong Institute in Seoul. A native of Seoul, he lived in Beijing for 11 years out of his 22-year study and research career on China. Previously, he was Director, Department of Unification Strategy at the Sejong Institute. He has written extensively on the relations between the U.S., China, and Korea. He is the author of the 2019 bestseller, “The U.S.-China Competition: Who will Rule the World?” Seoul: Books Garden (ISBN: 979-11-6416-009-9) and the academic article, “Why Did We Get China Wrong? Reconsidering the Popular Narrative: China will Abandon North Korea” International Journal of Korean Unification Studies, vol.25, no.1, pp. 65-93 (2016). He gave lectures and talks at Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford University, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, University of Pennsylvania, Seoul National University. He was also invited to The Shangri-La Dialogue, Boao Forum, and Salzburg Global Seminar. His comments and columns appeared at CNN, BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, The Korea Times, Chinese CCTV, the Straits Times, Hong Hong Phoenix TV, among others. He is a graduate from Grinnell College, Harvard University, and Tsinghua University (Ph.D. in political communication and global communication). He was the 2013-14 Pantech Fellow of Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC). Currently, he is also Senior Research Fellow (non-resident) at the Center for Korean Peninsula Studies at Peking University.

Jisoo M. Kim is Korea Foundation Associate Professor of History, International Affairs, and East Asian Languages and Literatures and Director of the Institute for Korean Studies at GW. She received her Ph.D. in Korean History from Columbia University. She is a specialist in gender and legal history of early modern Korea. Her broader research interests include gender and sexuality, crime and justice, forensic medicine, literary representations of the law, history of emotions, vernacular, and gender writing. She is the author of The Emotions of Justice: Gender, Status, and Legal Performance in Chosŏn Korea (University of Washington Press, 2015), which was awarded the 2017 James Palais Prize of the Association for Asian Studies. She is also the co-editor of The Great East Asian War and the Birth of the Korean Nation by JaHyun Kim Haboush (Columbia University Press, 2016). She is currently working on a new book project titled Suspicious Deaths: Forensic Medicine, Dead Bodies, and Criminal Justice in Chosŏn Korea.