Society

FSI researchers work to understand continuity and change in societies as they confront their problems and opportunities. This includes the implications of migration and human trafficking. What happens to a society when young girls exit the sex trade? How do groups moving between locations impact societies, economies, self-identity and citizenship? What are the ethnic challenges faced by an increasingly diverse European Union? From a policy perspective, scholars also work to investigate the consequences of security-related measures for society and its values.

The Europe Center reflects much of FSI’s agenda of investigating societies, serving as a forum for experts to research the cultures, religions and people of Europe. The Center sponsors several seminars and lectures, as well as visiting scholars.

Societal research also addresses issues of demography and aging, such as the social and economic challenges of providing health care for an aging population. How do older adults make decisions, and what societal tools need to be in place to ensure the resulting decisions are well-informed? FSI regularly brings in international scholars to look at these issues. They discuss how adults care for their older parents in rural China as well as the economic aspects of aging populations in China and India.

Shorenstein APARC is delighted to announce the presentation of the first annual Shorenstein Journalism Award, a prize awarded jointly by Harvard and Stanford.

The Award goes to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stanley Karnow, and the program begins at 7:30PM, January 17th, 2002, in McCaw Hall, Arrillaga Alumni Center, 356 Galvez Street, Stanford University. The program is free and open to the public. It will open with music and a light buffet reception, followed by a formal presentation of Mr. Karnow and a review of his contributions. Mr. Karnow will then deliver an address featuring personal reflections on the state of his craft, and on fifty years of change and continuity in Asia. He will also take questions from the audience.

At 10:00AM, January 18th, 2002, in the Asia-Pacific Scholars Room on the third floor of Encina Hall, there will be a seminar discussion of Mr. Karnow's remarks. The discussants will include members of the Award Jury (Jim Thompson of the Neimann Foundation, David Greenway of the Boston Globe, and Donald K. Emmerson of Shorenstein APARC). Mr. Karnow will be therespondent.

Mr. Karnow has been hailed by Newsweek as "perhaps the best journalist writing on Asian affairs." Among his assignments, he traveled with Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson, and accompanied President Nixon to China in 1972. He was in Vietnam in 1959 when the first Americans were killed, and covered the war to its conclusion. In 1990, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "In Our Image," a history of America's dealings with the Philippines. His other prizes include six Emmys, three Overseas Press Club awards, and Dupont, Peabody, and Polk awards for his role as chief correspondent to PBS.

The Shorenstein Award, which carries a cash prize of $10,000, honors a journalist not only for a distinguished body of work, but also for the particular way it has helped an American audience understand the complexities of Asia. It is presented jointly by the Shorenstein Forum at Stanford, and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University.

McCaw Hall
Arrillaga Alumni Center

A/P Scholars Room
Third Floor, Encina Hall
Stanford University

Stanley Karnow Speaker
Conferences
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Physically aligned as they are toward Mecca, the daily prayers and lifetime pilgrimages of Muslims around the world--hundreds of millions of spokes of religious practice--surround and sustain the Arabian hub of Islam as religious practice. Yet the demographic center of gravity of the Muslim world could hardly be farther from the Middle East. For it is in the vast arc of Asia, in countries such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia, that the great majority of the world's Muslims live. How, if at all, does this striking difference between ritual focus and social fact affect the outlooks and actions of Asian Muslims? What, roughly, is the balance of militancy and toleration in this Asian context, especially in ethnically and religiously plural societies such as Malaysia? Is it realistic to think that Asian attitudes and behaviors could form the basis for a 21st-century reformation and renaissance of Islam in which the jihadist passions of Al Qaeda and the purist strictures of the House of Saud would be refuted and shunned in favor of intercultural cooperation and liberal democracy? Or has the American-Afghan crisis, on the contrary, ignited a chain reaction of sympathy for Arab (and Pashtun) resentments that will inflame Asian Muslims against unbelievers? Finally, what relevance do these questions have for the people and policies of the United States? Karim Raslan is one of Southeast Asia's leading public intellectuals. His diverse interests run from constructing fictional plots to restructuring all-too-real bankruptcies. When he is not writing short stories and newspaper commentaries, or appearing on CNN or the BBC, he partners a highly regarded Malaysian law firm, Raslan Loong. His first novel, Desire--the first of four planned volumes about a family of Malay Muslims--will be published next fall. A third collection of his short stories should be out next spring. His syndicated column, "Eye in Asia," appears weekly in newspapers in Malaysia and Singapore, and is often reprinted elsewhere in Asia and Australia. The specialties of his law firm include corporate finance, capital markets, and information technology. He is presently a visiting scholar at Columbia University. When he is not traveling, Mr. Raslan lives in Malaysia.

Okimoto Conference Room, Encina Hall, third floor, East Wing

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Ching Kwan Lee is Assistant Professor of Sociology at University of Michigan. She is author of Gender and the South China Miracle (University of California Press, 1998). Her current research is on the transformation of the Chinese working class under market reform.

Okimoto Conference Room, Encina Hall, Third Floor, East Wing

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The East and the West have very different ideas of cultural traditions, values, and ways to maintain their traditions. Chinese women living in the Eastern tradition are increasingly exposed to the culture of the West. Because of this exposure, they often find themselves at a crossroads of the two competing value systems. Chinese women strive to maintain their traditional culture and seek to guard their values from outside influence. Yet they admire the ideas and images of freedom and individualism produced by Western culture. More and more Chinese women find themselves longing to enjoy the freedom and individualism promised by these powerful images and ideas. Professor Ma's research and talk will examine the differences that developed from these two different cultures, and attempt to draw out the significance of the influence from Western culture on Chinese women today.

Okimoto Conference Room, Third Floor, Encina Hall, East Wing

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As China is gradually integrated into the international economic, security, and politics system, the tension between technological self-reliance and the need to build its technological enhancement on what is available in international market, will inevitably increase. Reflecting this tension, China's encryption policy was thrust into the international limelight in late 1999 and the first half of 2000. The early encryption regulations were announced and later were clarified. A wide range of international media has covered controversies related to the encryption policy. For every nation in the world, encryption's multifaceted nature requires a painstaking effort balancing potentially competing interests. It is even more so for China, the country which will officially join the WTO at the end of 2001. The concerns of multiple stakeholders about the future of encryption technology and its impact have raised policy questions about the management and control of encryption technology. Among the questions Chinese decision makers face are the following: --How to evaluate China's current encryption policy from an international perspective? --How to justify the toughness of the original encryption regulations and the relaxation afterwards in China's complex and rapidly changing domestic and international context? The purpose of Dr. Yuan's study is to assist Chinese policymakers in analyzing the status quo of the policy, objectives, and factors affecting encryption policymaking and to offer suggestions for the future. It provides an integrated assessment of how encryption policy decisions can and might affect diverse military, commercial, and political interests in China and suggests how those interests might be balanced most effectively.

Okimoto Conference Room, Third Floor, Encina Hall, East Wing

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Central Conference Room, Second Floor, Encina Hall

Phil Saunders Director Speaker East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Monterey Institute for International Studies
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All-day conference on Japanese institutional reform sponsored by the Asia/Pacific Research Center, Stanford University.

  • Changes in the Political System
    Speaker: Mr. Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Member of the Japanese House of Councilors and former Vice Minister of Finance, Tokyo
    Commentator: Prof. Daniel Okimoto, Professor of Political Science, Stanford University
  • Changes in the Bureaucracy
    Speaker: Mr. Ryozo Hayashi, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Information and Machin- ery Industry, Tokyo
    Commentator: Prof. Hugh Patrick, Professor of International Business, Columbia Univer- sity, New York
  • Changes in Business
    Speaker: Mr. Taizo Nishimuro, CEO & President of Toshiba, Tokyo
    Commentators: Mr. James Abegglen, Chairman, Asia Advisory Services, Tokyo. Mr. Hiroaki Yoshihara, Senior Partner at KPMG, Mountain View, California
  • Panel Discussion on the Institutional Changes
    Prof. Hugh Patrick, Professor of International Business, Columbia University
    Prof. Tadao Kagono, Dean of the Graduate School of Business, Kobe University
    Prof. Harry Rowen, Director, Asia/Pacific Research Center, Stanford University
    Mr. Katsuhiro Nakagawa, Executive Adviser, The Tokyo Marine and Fire Insurance Co. and Former Vice Minister of MITI, Tokyo
    Mr. Dan Sneider, National/Foreign Editor, San Jose Mercury News, San Jose, CA

Bechtel Conference Center

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Destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11th changed the lives of most Americans. It seems destined also to change the lives of most Pakistanis and Afghanis. Pakistan now finds itself in the middle, being squeezed on the one side by the United States and on the other by the Taliban faction in Afghanistan. No nation would choose to have either the U. S. or the Taliban as its enemy. Unless Pakistan is extremely lucky, it will have both.

I worked in Pakistan as an agricultural advisor during much of the 1960s, trying to help improve the productivity of the immense Indus River irrigation system. My travels took me into the catchment areas in the northernmost reaches of the country and into contact with the tribal groups and clans who are residents of that region. Although I no longer focus on Pakistan, I was not totally surprised to be contacted by a local television producer who was doing a feature story on that country. During the filming I was asked the question: "What is it that Americans just don't 'get' about the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan?" What follows is what I wish I had said in reply.

Most Americans do not know of, much less understand, the 2500 years of (unsuccessful!) invasions that have taken place in that part of the world. They cannot fathom the roughness of the terrain in the undefined border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan or the incredible fearlessness and toughness of the people of the region. Very few Americans understand the traditions, rights, and obligations within and among the local clans, many of whom migrate back and forth with the seasons across an invisible border. Nor can they really imagine the extent of poverty, especially in Afghanistan, where life expectancy is still only about 45 years.

At the regional level, most Americans do not understand the depth of the tensions that still exist between India and Pakistan, the continuing problem of Kashmir in that key south-Asia relationship, and the presumed military alliance between Pakistan and the Taliban in continuing scrimmages against India in Kashmir. They further do not understand the problems of governing Pakistan, a country with incredibly divisive regional tendencies, within the aegis of an Islamic Republic.

Finally, American do not grasp how the "on again-off again" nature of U.S.-Pakistan-Afghanistan relationships appears to many people on the other side--people who are literally born with inherited friends and sworn enemies. Within my professional lifetime, U.S. relationships have ranged from genuinely close cooperation, which prevailed during the time of Presidents J. F. Kennedy and Ayub Khan; to more distant cold-war relationships that generally pitted the U.S. and Pakistan against the U.S.S.R. and India; to the widespread American military and economic support given both Afghanistan and Pakistan during the U.S.S.R. invasion of Afghanistan in the late 1970s; to a post Cold War move away from Pakistan and toward India; to the virtual stoppage of all support following the recent atomic tests by both countries. In short, many Americans are ignorant about the culture and history of the region, and many Pakistanis and Afghanis are totally confused about America's loyalty.

I do not know whether the U.S. and its allies will "invade" this region in search of Osama bin Laden, or if that happens, whether the "war" will be massive or surgical. I hope, however, that the U.S. has distilled several lessons from the region's ancient and modern history.

First, the Afghani people will not be frightened into doing anything. They would not even understand the concept. The tribal customs and obligations with respect to enemies are unbending. The tribesmen are both fearless and patient--ask the British, who were defeated three times over the last two centuries, or the Russians who most recently met a similar fate within the past 20 years. No one should underestimate the Afghani's skills as fighters, especially on their home turf--which is mainly rocks and caves and hills and mountains. The dozens of foreign monuments honoring the dead along the Khyber Pass Road from Peshawar, Pakistan to Kabul, Afghanistan are a grim reminder of just how ferocious the frontier people have been to those whom they regarded as outsiders.

Second, the extreme fundamentalist groups within Islam are a minority that challenge moderate Muslims in the region even more than they challenge outsiders. Nevertheless, the U.S. and its allies will have only the narrowest range of military options against the extremists lest these actions put moderate Muslims into the camp of the fundamentalists.

Third, U.S.-Pakistan relations have never been more delicate than at this moment. By virtue of location, information, and capacity to infiltrate, Pakistan's potential contribution to a "bin Laden solution" cannot be overemphasized. How the U.S. gets Pakistan's cooperation without at the same time pushing the moderates into the welcoming arms of the extremists is a diplomatic, economic, and military problem of unbelievable proportions. Unfortunately, history provides no ready-made answer to this dilemma, and that is what truly worries me - not only for the U.S., but also for moderate Muslims throughout the world.

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Shorenstein APARC
Encina Hall E301
616 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford, CA 94305-6055
(650) 724-8480 (650) 723-6530
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Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Professor of Sociology
William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea
Professor, by Courtesy, of East Asian Languages & Cultures
Gi-Wook Shin_0.jpg PhD

Gi-Wook Shin is the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea in the Department of Sociology, senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and the founding director of the Korea Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) since 2001, all at Stanford University. In May 2024, Shin also launched the Taiwan Program at APARC. He served as director of APARC for two decades (2005-2025). As a historical-comparative and political sociologist, his research has concentrated on social movements, nationalism, development, democracy, migration, and international relations.

In Summer 2023, Shin launched the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab (SNAPL), which is a new research initiative committed to addressing emergent social, cultural, economic, and political challenges in Asia. Across four research themes– “Talent Flows and Development,” “Nationalism and Racism,” “U.S.-Asia Relations,” and “Democratic Crisis and Reform”–the lab brings scholars and students to produce interdisciplinary, problem-oriented, policy-relevant, and comparative studies and publications. Shin’s latest book, The Four Talent Giants, a comparative study of talent strategies of Japan, Australia, China, and India to be published by Stanford University Press in the summer of 2025, is an outcome of SNAPL.

Shin is also the author/editor of twenty-seven books and numerous articles. His books include The Four Talent Giants: National Strategies for Human Resource Development Across Japan, Australia, China, and India (2025)Korean Democracy in Crisis: The Threat of Illiberalism, Populism, and Polarization (2022); The North Korean Conundrum: Balancing Human Rights and Nuclear Security (2021); Superficial Korea (2017); Divergent Memories: Opinion Leaders and the Asia-Pacific War (2016); Global Talent: Skilled Labor as Social Capital in Korea (2015); Criminality, Collaboration, and Reconciliation: Europe and Asia Confronts the Memory of World War II (2014); New Challenges for Maturing Democracies in Korea and Taiwan (2014); History Textbooks and the Wars in Asia: Divided Memories (2011); South Korean Social Movements: From Democracy to Civil Society (2011); One Alliance, Two Lenses: U.S.-Korea Relations in a New Era (2010); Cross Currents: Regionalism and Nationalism in Northeast Asia (2007);  and Ethnic Nationalism in Korea: Genealogy, Politics, and Legacy (2006). Due to the wide popularity of his publications, many have been translated and distributed to Korean audiences. His articles have appeared in academic and policy journals, including American Journal of SociologyWorld DevelopmentComparative Studies in Society and HistoryPolitical Science QuarterlyJournal of Asian StudiesComparative EducationInternational SociologyNations and NationalismPacific AffairsAsian SurveyJournal of Democracy, and Foreign Affairs.

Shin is not only the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, but also continues to actively raise funds for Korean/Asian studies at Stanford. He gives frequent lectures and seminars on topics ranging from Korean nationalism and politics to Korea's foreign relations, historical reconciliation in Northeast Asia, and talent strategies. He serves on councils and advisory boards in the United States and South Korea and promotes policy dialogue between the two allies. He regularly writes op-eds and gives interviews to the media in both Korean and English.

Before joining Stanford in 2001, Shin taught at the University of Iowa (1991-94) and the University of California, Los Angeles (1994-2001). After receiving his BA from Yonsei University in Korea, he was awarded his MA and PhD from the University of Washington in 1991.

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Director of the Korea Program and the Taiwan Program, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Director of Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab, APARC
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Ms. Christine Loh is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, and the Founder of Civic Exchange, a non-governmental organization. She was a popular politician but decided not to run again for re-election to the legislature of Hong Kong last year. She now heads Civic Exchange in Hong Kong. She is one of the most insightful commentators on Hong Kong affairs.

Christine will speak on "Hong Kong: Its Contribution to 'One Country'."

A brief biographical sketch of Christine's is enclosed:

"Thinking gets better when we think often. Thinking is fun because it creates new possibilities in the way we live our lives, Research helps to drive thinking. Thinking in groups helps leverage our collective intelligence and can lead to breakthroughs. I want the Civic Exchange to produce pragmatic solutions to public policy problems. I also want to be able to synthesize and publicize other people's good ideas."

Education

  • University of Hull, England
  • Bachelor of Law City University of Hong Kong
  • Masters of Law in Chinese & Comparative Law

Awards

  • Outstanding Young Persons Award 1988 Stars of Asia, Business Week 1998
  • Stars of Asia, Business Week 2000

Affiliations

  • Chairperson, Friends of the Earth (HK) - 1988-1990- and 1990-1992.
  • Board of Directors, Rocky Mountain Institute, Colorado, USA, 1998-2001
  • Council Member - Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 1999-2002

Experience

Christine Loh is well known for her wide-ranging intellect and ability to find practical solutions to problems. Her background in law, business, politics, media and the non-profit sector has given her considerable knowledge and insight about how they work and has helped her to become a leading voice in public policy in Hong Kong.

Loh has authored numerous papers, articles and public policy recommendations in a large number of local and international publications. The Economist described her in April 2000 as "perhaps LegCo's most gifted member". Business Week named her in 1998 and again in 2000 as one of Asia's Stars. Trained as a lawyer, Loh did not practise law but enjoyed a highly successful 12-year career with a multinational as a commodities trader from 1980-1991, rising to the position of managing director, before spending another 2 years as a director of business development with a Hong Kong company, responsible for putting together the LoFt retail stores, and an international consortium to bid for Container Terminal No. 9.

Appointed to the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 1992, running in two elections subsequently, Loh had a popular career as a politician until 2000 when she chose not to seek re-election. Her legislative successes were many, the most high profile being amending the law to enable the indigenous women of the New Territories to inherit rural land, restructuring the controversial section 30 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, and sponsoring the historic Protection of the Harbor Ordinance.

From 1991, Loh has anchored public affairs radio programs at various times. She has also presented a variety of TV programs apart from being the subject of many more. She is a much sought after public speaker. With Lisa Hopkinson she founded Civic Exchange in September 2000. Loh is responsible for charting the Civic Exchange's long-term course.

Daniel and Nancy Okimoto Conference Room

Chritine Loh Former member, Legislative Council of Hong Kong Speaker Founder, Civic Exchange
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