China Center News

Fall 1997

Chinese Delegates To Attend Yudof Inauguration

Letters of congratulations from various Chinese Universities have flooded the China Center in response to invitations to President Yudof's inauguration ceremony on October 17, 1997. In addition to wishing Yudof success in his new position, the letters express hope for continued frienship and cooperation between the University of Minnesota and our Chinese exchange partner universities.

A number of Chinese delegates will come to the University of Minnesota to participate in events celebrating the inauguration of President Yudof. Vice Minister Wei Yu of the State Education Commission of the PRC will be represented by Mr. Tang Zhonghua, Assistant Director-General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Director of American and Oceanian Affairs and by Mr. You Shaozhong, Education Counselor at the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. President Jiang Deming of Xian Jiaotong University will be represented by Professor Jiang Yongqiu. President Yang Shiqin of Harbin Institute of Technology will be represented by Professor Cai Hegao. President Chi-Fu Den of Taiwan's National Chiao Tung University will be represented by Professor Che-Ho Wei. In addition, letters of congratulations have been received from President Chen Jia'er of Peking University, Vice President Bai Chunli of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President Xie Shengwu of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, President Shan Ping of Tianjin University, President Liu Zhongshu of Jilin University, President Li Yu of Jilin Agricultural University, President Wang Jianpan of East China Normal University, President Lu Feijie of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and President Cheng-I Weng of Taiwan's National Cheng Kung University.

If you would like to make arrangements to meet with any of the delegates, please contact the China Center.

Summer Language and Culture Program

Class

The China Center recently hosted 21 students from Taiwan for a Summer English Language and Culture course. The program is coordinated with the Tze Chiang Foundation of Science and Technology, and the students come primarily from National Tsing Hua University and National Chiao Tung University.

During this intense five-week program, the students have English class in the mornings. Cultural activities to enhance exposure to and understanding of western culture are an integral part of the program. This year's highlights included Valleyfair, the Guthrie Theater, a paddleboat ride on the St. Croix River, and the Mall of America. A focus on Minnesota's history, culture and technology is provided through visits to the State Capitol, the Minnesota History Center, local companies, and the State Fair.

Interaction with Americans is critical to the students' experience. Students met with language partners for conversational exchange over lunch in the dormitory cafeteria. Additionally, a weekend with homestay hosts offered in-depth exposure to American life as well as lasting memories.

Climb

The program concluded with five days of wilderness adventure based at the Voyageur Outward Bound School in northern Minnesota. Activities included rock climbing, ropes courses, campfires, a sauna, a two-day canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and the International Wolf Center. The Outward Bound experience was the highlight of their stay in Minnesota. The return trip included a tour of the Lake Superior region with visits to Split Rock Lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls, the Duluth waterfront area, and Glensheen Mansion.

Group

A hearty thank you goes out to everyone who contributed to the success of this year's program. Call 624-1002 to find out how you can be involved next summer.

Faculty Survey Results

Last Spring, the China Center conducted a survey of past, on-going and anticipated academic collaborations between University faculty and Chinese students and scholars from the PRC,Taiwan and Hong Kong. Approximately 250 faculty responded. From the information gathered, we have created a database which will next be compiled into a resource directory to be distributed to the University community, businesses and government agencies seeking China experts for their increasing activites in East Asia. The directory will list faculty interests and experiences with Chinese student and scholars as well as the Chinese Universites/Institutes with which they have collaborated or visited. Based on the responses, 169 have traveled to Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Of them, 60 report being supported by China Center travel grants. The five universities most commonly visited or collaborated with are Peking University, Tsinghua University, National Taiwan University, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, and Fudan University.

We greatly appreciate the time and effort of the respondents. They will recieve a complimentary copy of the directory this Fall.

China Center's New Staff

The China Center welcomes Joan Brzezinski as the new Executive Assistant, the position formerly held by Joanne Laird. Prior to coming to the China Center, Joan was the business development director for a national association of businesses, where her chief responsibilities included creating new revenue streams for the association through the negotiation of marketing partnerships and enhancing communication and profitability through advanced technological solutions.

Her direct experience in China began in 1982 when, by way of an academic exchange at Hamline University, she studied for a year at Beijing University. Throughout the years following her graduation, she worked as a tour director and later as a business consultant in China. In addition to many trips to China, she has also traveled to much of Asia and Southeast Asia. She received a master's degree in international management from the University of St. Thomas.

Also joining the China Center staff is a new Graduate Administrative Fellow, Jian Ma, a.k.a. "Chuck". He is a graduate student in Health Infomatics in the Medical School. Previously, while a student at Peking University, Chuck worked as a translator for Chinese Science News.

Sincere thanks and best wishes to our three departing graduate students, Meiching Hu, Gaofeng Pan and Xiaoyun Yu.

Hong Kong Transition

DongThe China Center and USCPFA-MN sponsored a well-attended event addressing Hong Kong's return to China. The program was designed to appeal to business leaders, educators and the general public interested in better understanding the background, issues, politics and procedures involved in Hong Kong's transition.

The event included a photographic exhibition of Hong Kong's transition with special guest Consul General Huang Dongbi, a luncheon, and a lecture entitled "The Hong Kong Transition: The U.S. Exporter's Perspective" by Nelson G. Dong, a partner with Dorsey & Whitney LLP.

Hong Kong

Special thanks to all who contributed to make this event a success.

Upcoming Event

China expert Kenneth Lieberthal returns to Minneapolis on Friday, October 17 to keynote an luncheon forum, "Forging a Cooperative US-China Relationship". The presentation will follow a two-hour round table discussion, "Resolving Conflicting Views Toward US China policy", with labor, business, media and human rights representatives. For information, registration and credit payment call the Minnesota International Center (MIC) at 625-4421.

Recent Visitors

Members of the Chinese Association for International Understanding visited the University in July. They met faculty from the Humphrey Institute, History and Political Science departments.

In July, a delegation from Peking University's Department of International Economics met with faculty in the Industrial Relations Center, CSOM and the Center for Development of Technological Leadership, IT.

In September, a delegation from the National Natural Science Foundation of China visited with Institute of Technology faculty.

Travel Grants Available

The China Center provides grants to support work-related travel of faculty to the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Partial travel grants toward international airfare are offered to tenured and tenured-track faculty and equivalent level professional/academic staff with official invitation for research, lecturing or teaching. Conference travel is considered for funding when it is combined with lecturing or collaborative research activites. The deadline for applications is November 17 for travel in January, February and March. Contact the China Center for more information and application materials, or visit the world wide web site at http://www.isp.acad.umn.edu/isp/funding/travelinfo.html

Travel Grant Recipients

Summer '97

Chun Chang (Finance) lectured at PACAP Finance Conference and conducted research at Fudan University.

Sun-Wei Guo (Epidemiology) conducted research at Shanghai Medical University.

Tahirih Lee (Law School) conducted research at Hong Kong University.

Gary McLean (Work, Community & Family Education) participated in the International Management Development Association Conference.

Diane Rulke (Strategic Management & Organization) conducted research in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Yimin Yang (Science & Math, UMM) conducted research at the Institute of Mathematics, Academia Sinica, Beijing.

Mark Umbreit (Social Work) conducted research at the Law School of Renmin University of China.

Fall '97

Rosita Albert (Speech Communication) will lecture at the Lam Institute for East-West Studies, Hong Kong.

Robert Carr (Chemical Engineering & Material Science) will lecture at the Beijing Conference and Exhibition on Instrumental Analysis and conduct research in Beijing and Shanghai.

William Li (Operations & Management Sciences) will conduct research at Tsinghua University.

Move to Mayo

Due to deteriorating environmental conditions, the China Center and International Student & Scholar Services have relocated their offices to the Sixth Floor of the Mayo Memorial Building. Phone numbers remain the same. Our campus address is Box 264 Mayo. Stop by to visit our new home!