Current Affairs Discussion Group: The Rise of China and the Challenge to Western Values

Many of our perceptions of China echo Edward Said’s sentiment that Europeans in particular constructed romantic and exotic narratives around countries of the “orient” such that the difference between their representation of these countries and the current reality is all the more stark. These narratives may have contributed to our mistaken belief that the cultural past of China would steer the country in a direction “approved” of by the west. It is therefore no surprise to witness the West’s utter dismay at modern China’s seeming disregard for western values. As one of the articles in the reading material asks, can the Western world accept or respect the rise of China?

We will be discussing different attitudes towards China.

THOSE WISHING TO JOIN US SHOULD RSVP AT phyllisbarrantes@gmail.com.  PARTICIPATION WILL BE LIMITED TO 25 MEMBERS.

Please read the following introductory text and background material on which the discussion will be based:

• Introductory Text on China

• China denies Uighurs' Turkic descent and says 'hostile forces' trying to split country

• 'Our souls are dead': how I survived a Chinese 're-education' camp for Uighurs

• No American election will change China's mind

• How the West got China wrong

• China’s social credit scheme

• Becoming more Chinese

Longer reads:

• The world's most technologically sophisticated genocide is happening in Xinjiang

• China's influence on the global human rights system

• China's country as platform strategy for global influence

Coordinated by: Phyllis Barrantes