Symposium on Belt and Road Initiative: Global Impacts and Local Leverages

Speaker: Prof Andy Chan; Prof Liu Weidong; Dr Michael Clarke;  Prof Jean-Marc Blanchard; Prof Shaun Breslin; Prof Stephen Morgan; Prof Zhao Shuisheng; Prof Da-Hsuan Feng; Prof Julian Henderson and Prof Neil Collins

Date: 18 - 19 September 2017

The Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS) China was proud to host the ‘Symposium on Belt and Road Initiative: Global Impacts and Local Leverages’ on Monday 18^th and Tuesday 19^th September as part of the Sir David Greenaway Distinguished Marine Lectures Series.  For this exciting series on the Belt and Road Initiative, distinguished guest speakers were invited to comment on the effects and possible outcomes of a historically important initiative proposed by the Chinese Government.

Smarter and/or Greener? International Smart Eco-cities workshop

Keynote Speaker: Dr Guowen Dai from Chinese Eco-City Academy and Professor Rob Raven from the University of Utrecht

Date: 11 - 12 December 2017

The Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS) was honoured to host the ‘Smarter and/or Greener? International Smart Eco-Cities Workshop’ on 11^th and 12^th December, 2017. The workshop brought together scholars, consultants, government officials, as well as postgraduate researchers from European countries and China, to present key considerations and challenges in promoting and constructing ‘smart’ and/or ‘eco-’ cities.

Writing for a journal, Writing for the right journal, Writing for the Journal of Contemporary Asia

Speaker: Professor Kevin Hewison

Date: 20 March 2018

On Tuesday morning (March 20^th 2018), the Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS) was honored to have Professor Kevin Hewison, the chief editor of Journal of Contemporary Asia, to give us a presentation under the title of “Writing for a journal, Writing for the right journal, Writing for the Journal of Contemporary Asia”. Starting from 2005, Professor Hewison has been working for several different journals in area studies and political science and thus has a great amount of knowledge and experience to share for this topic.

Thailand's 0.1%: Huge wealth and inequality

Speaker: Professor Kevin Hewison

Date: 21 March 2018

The Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS) was delighted to invite Professor Kevin Hewison from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to be our distinguished guest speaker, to give us a lecture on the his research about 0.001% Thailand’s capitalist class from 1980 to 2017. This research was brand new and never be published before this event, in this lecture, Professor Hewison shared his discovery of the top wealthiest families in Thailand and how they affected politics and economies system.

The opportunities and risks to environmental sustainability of BRI

Speaker: Dr. Alex Lechner and Faith Chan

Date: 21 March 2018

On 29^th Marth, IAPS held a workshop on the opportunities and risks to environmental sustainability of BRI. The workshop was host by Dr. Alex Lechner (School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, UNMC) and Dr. Faith Chan (School of Geographical Science, UNNC). Colleagues from UNNC and other universities were invited. First, Dr. Chan briefly introduced the BRI and current BRI research in UNNC. He pointed out that the environmental issues about BRI are environmental impacts of construction in relative countries, marine pollution and the use of energy.

How to Measure Global Justice

Speaker: Professor Jean-Marc Coicaud

Date: 24 April 2018

The Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS) was delighted to invite Professor Jean-Marc Coicaud from Rutgers University to be our distinguished guest speaker to give us a talk on how to measure global justice. Jean-Marc Coicaud is Professor of Law and Global Affairs, Rutgers School of Law. During the academic year 2017-2018 he is on sabbatical from Rutgers School of Law and serves as a Distinguished Fudan Scholar at the Fudan Institute for Advanced Study in Social Sciences, Shanghai, China. Prof. Coicaud introduced that the idea of this lecture came from the newly developing research by himself while coordinated with Fudan University, that was, the conceptualization of global justice derived from global justice theories and the criteria for the measurement of global justice.

Conservation on Migratory birds without boudaries

Speaker: Dr Yang LIU

Date: 11 May 2018

On Friday afternoon, the Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS) was honored to have Dr. Yang LIU, the assistant professor from School of Life Science, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, to give us a presentation under the title of “Conservation on Migratory birds without boundaries”. Dr. Yang LIU, who was raised in Beijing and grew a strong interest in bird observation, believes that bird migration is a natural wonder which linked remote areas across borders. However, in recent years, the bird migration, such as swallows in Beijing, has been largely influenced by urbanization and other human activities.

On 11th May, IAPS held the bird watching trip on campus. Under the guidance of Dr Yang LIU from Sun Yat-Sen University, participators had an enjoyable time identifying and closely watching diverse birds in UNNC.

Innovation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Paper Development Workshop

Organizer: Prof Hing Kai Chan and Prof Faith Chan

Date: 25 June 2018

The Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS) will organise a paper development workshop on the theme “Innovation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)”. The aim of the workshop is to present and discuss frontier research in the context of the BRI concerning (i) logistics and supply chain innovation; and (ii) technological innovation in support of B2B international trade.

Keynote Speakers

Prof Omair Haroon (Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan)

Prof Mingjiang Li (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Prof Xiaojun Wang (University of Bristol, UK) 

Roundtable session: Women in Academia

Speaker: Prof. May Tan-Mullins (chair), Prof. Jin Lixian, Prof. Fu Pingping, Dr. Jenny Dong

Date: 8th March 2017

On the International Women’s Day, IAPS organises a roundtable session on ‘Women in Academia’. During the session, the speakers share experiences of achievements, issues and challenges of being a women in the higher education sector, from both academic and administrative perspectives. Topics include time management, how to navigate the system, home-work balance, and resources available to support women in this sector.

Title: UNHCR in China and its Global Mandate

Speaker: Mr. Francis Teoh, Representative a.i.; Ms. Sangu Li, Liaison Officer

Date: 2nd March 2017

Mr. Francis Teoh and Ms. Sangu Li introduce UNHCR’s work in China, and how young students can engage in refugee work. They also introduce possible opportunities like internship, volunteers work, and career development and welcome all young students to devote passion to refugee work.

Title: "One Belt, One Road" and China's Neighbouring
Diplomacy Thoughts

Speaker: Professor Zhiyong Hu , Institute for International Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

Date: 22nd February 2017

In this talk, the speaker focuses on how The Belt and Road Initiative and China’s Neighbouring Diplomacy are related and any parallels that can be drawn. By examining changes experienced by China’s neighbouring countries, the talk explores these countries’ strategies in establishing ties with China and the impacts on the Asia Pacific region. The Belt and Road Initiative has the potential to significantly strengthen ties between China and neighbouring countries.

16/17 IAPS New Year Dinner Event

Date: 13th January 2017

The Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS) held a New Year dinner event at Arabica on 13th January 2017. Around 85 academics and postgraduate students joined the event. It created a platform where people from different departments and with various research interests come together to network and establish inter-disciplinary research collaboration.

Title: Energy Transitions in Historical Perspective: Some Thoughts

Speaker: Dr Martin V. Melosi, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen University Professor of History and Director of the Center for Public History, University of Houston.

Date: 7th December 2016

As a historical tool, the energy transition has much to recommend it. The concept can provide a focus for understanding human material culture, economic growth and development, the utilization of resources, and social organization. Used too narrowly, it is simply a convenient tool for developing a one-dimensional chronology for energy history. The best use for the energy transition is to view it as a process rather than as a simple narrative separating energy eras.

Title: Flood Resilient Cities: the Blue-Green Advantage

Speaker: Professor Colin Thorne, Chair in Physical Geography at the University of Nottingham, a Concurrent Professor at Nanjing University and an Affiliate Professor at Colorado State University.

Date: 24th November 2016

The talk presents the findings of the research consortium, ‘Delivering and Evaluating Multiple Flood-risk Benefits in Blue-Green Cities’, funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland. The consortium’s research, conducted in the UK, USA and China, indicates that cities cannot rely solely on increasing the capacity of grey infrastructure (such as sub surface piped drainage and storage) to cope with climate change and continued urban growth.

Title: China and the Regulation of Outbound Investment: Norm internalization and the emergence of a 'responsible investment' policy framework

Speaker: Dr Pichamon Yeophantong, Lecturer in International Relations and Development, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia.

Date: 31st October 2016

The talk examines China’s evolving policy framework and regulatory system for outbound investment. Parallels are drawn between emerging trends in the international investment policy landscape and China’s policy attitudes toward ‘responsible investment’, whereby recognition is afforded to the importance of ‘environmental, social and governance factors’ to ‘long-term sustainable returns’. In so doing, the talk advances an analytical framework to make sense of how ‘responsible investment’, as both concept and practice, has become internalized in the Chinese regulatory environment and with what implications for state policies and corporate conduct. Employing a socialization perspective, it posits that China is currently in the middle stages of norm internalization, with a distinctive language of responsible investment having gradually filtered into Chinese political discourse. This, in turn, has given rise to an investment policy and regulatory framework that is increasingly attuned to the nexus between responsible business conduct, legitimacy, and firm performance.

Title: A Keen Observer of the International Rule of Law? International Law in China’s Voting Behaviour and Argumentation in the United Nations Security Council

Speaker: Dr Phil C.W. Chan

Date: 26th September 2016

Given the centrality of law in the creation, decision-making, and impact of the United Nations Security Council, the deliberative discourses among Security Council Members, and the necessity for China to articulate its reasons publicly for its actions within the Security Council, the roles that China plays within the Security Council illuminate and clarify its approaches to the current international legal order. The seminar explains how law serves as a constitutional–normative framework within which the Security Council must function, followed by a discussion of how the Security Council in turn may serve as a locus of deliberative discourses that delineate, influence, and constrain its members’ state behaviours. It challenges the view that law plays a limited role on matters of international security by exploring China’s voting behaviour in the Security Council and the arguments that it has proffered. It also discusses how China may respond to a draft Security Council resolution aimed at its conduct other than simply by vetoing it, and how it has taken a proactive role in the maintenance of international peace and security through the Security Council.

Title: The rice theory of culture: Evidence of China (and India's) two cultures

Speaker: Dr Thomas Talhelm, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science, University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Date: 7th September 2016

Cross-cultural psychologists often contrast East Asia with the West, but this study shows large psychological differences within China. We propose that a history of farming rice makes cultures more interdependent, while farming wheat makes cultures more independent, and these agricultural legacies continue to affect people in the modern world. We tested 1,162 Han Chinese participants in six sites and found that people who grew up in rice-growing southern China are more interdependent and holistic-thinking than people from the wheat-growing north. To control for confounds like climate, we tested people from neighboring counties along the rice-wheat border and found differences that were just as large. We also show that modernization and pathogen prevalence theories do not fit the data.