Asialink is pleased to present former Fairfax China Correspondent John Garnaut, visiting esteemed Chinese historian Li Shengping and other expert panellists for a discussion on China’s reforms: What is happening today? How is this influenced by key figures in China’s history? And what does this mean for the future?
China’s breakneck economic development and growing international influence continue apace, but the future of its social and political structures is contested. The recent ascendancy of President Xi Jinping, and the downfall of the controversial Politburo member, Bo Xilai, have led to renewed focus on the future of China’s political reform process. | |  |
What place is there for the voice of the public in China’s reform process and what is the influence of its political past?
John Garnaut will reflect on how the writings of Li Shengping, Warren Sun and Don Xia have informed his own work, and then lead an in-depth panel discussion on China’s political reforms.
Date: Thursday 3 October
Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Location: KPMG Melbourne, 147 Collins Street, Melbourne
Registrations:Essential
Dress: Business Attire
Panellists:
- Mr John Garnaut– recently returned Fairfax China correspondent
- Mr Li Shengping (visiting from China) - Mr Li Shengping is the leading expert on Hu Yaobang, who is regarded as the Communist Party's most liberal leader and who spearheaded reforms in the post-Mao era. He is editor of the on-line journal Hu Yaobang Research, and the chief editor of the extensive documentation of Hu Yaobang’s activities during the late Mao and early reform periods, Chronicle of Hu Yaobang’s Thought, 1975-1989. Working closely with Hu Yaobang's eldest son, Hu Deping, Li is an active figure in current efforts within the PRC to keep alive Hu Yaobang’s reform orientation as a guide for Party policy.
- Dr Warren Sun, Monash University – Dr Warren Sun is one of the world's leading authorities on Chinese political history. He has written several authoritative books on elite Communist Party history with long-standing collaborator Professor Frederick Teiwes.
- Mr Don Xia - A successful businessman and consultant with deep knowledge of contemporary Chinese affairs. Don is a naturalised Australian citizen who graduated from China University of Petroleum and studied in the US, before establishing IT businesses centred in Hong Kong.