Global Passport Series: Activism and China Today

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

5:00 PM-6:30 PM

As China’s status in the world has grown economically and politically, events in China are getting global media attention. Recently, protests in Hong Kong and issues about Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are in the spotlight. This panel looks at activist activities as a reaction to China’s policies in these regions, with a consideration of the possibilities for China in the future.

Two guests have been invited to participate in a panel on ‘Activism and China Today;’ one will speak about the protests in Hong Kong, the other will speak about Uyghur activism in diaspora.

• Jacques deLisle, PhD, Director, Center for the Study of Contemporary China
  Jacques deLisle is the Stephen A. Cozen Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania.  His research and teaching focus on contemporary Chinese law and politics, including: legal reform and its relationship to economic reform and political change in China, the international status of Taiwan and cross-Strait relations, China’s engagement with the international order, legal and political issues in Hong Kong under Chinese rule, and U.S.-China relations. DeLisle is also professor of political science and Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at Penn and director of the Asia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He has served frequently as an expert witness on issues of P.R.C. law and government policies and is a consultant, lecturer and advisor to legal reform, development and education programs, primarily in China.

• Rushan Abbas, Founder and Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs
  Ms. Abbas has been an ardent campaigner for the human rights of the Uyghur people and has worked closely with members of Congress since the 1990s. Ms. Abbas was a co-founder of the California-based Uyghur Overseas Student and Scholars Association in 1993, the first such Uyghur association in the United States, and served as that organization’s first Vice-President. The charter co-drafted by Ms. Abbas later served as the blueprint and played an important role in the establishment of the Uyghur American Association (UAA) in 1998. Ms. Abbas was subsequently elected Vice President of UAA for two terms. When Radio Free Asia launched its Uyghur service in 1998, Ms. Abbas was the first Uyghur reporter broadcasting daily to the Uyghur region.  She regularly appears on media outlets to advocate for the Uyghur cause and gives public speeches in universities and thinktanks.

Moderator: Rebecca Clothey, PhD, director, Global Studies major and Asian Studies minor at Drexel University

About the Global Passport Series
The annual Drexel Global Passport Series (GPS), organized by the Department of Global Studies and Modern Languages, seeks to facilitate global conversations at Drexel and in Philadelphia to ensure rich student engagement and build strong partnerships with local communities and organizations.

Free event. All are welcome.

Co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Global Studies and Modern Languages

Contact Information

Jacqueline Rios
215-895-6910
jsr62@drexel.edu