Stanford Report: The First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, spoke at SCPKU today and said study abroad allows students to realize that countries all have a stake in each other's success.  Following her remarks, she held a conversation with students on the Stanford campu via SCPKU's Highly Immersive Classroom. Read more.

The 2020 US election occurred in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic, yet the voter turnout was the highest in 120 years.  After all the mail-in ballots were counted, former Vice President Joseph Biden was declared the winner of the popular vote and the Electoral College vote by a wide margin.  Yet, Donald Trump refused to concede defeat for two months after the results became clear and mounted a series of court challenges to fight the results, including taking his baseless claims of fraud to the Supreme Court.  Even more unprecedented, mobs of Trump supporters assaulted the Capitol building on Jan. 6, forcing an evacuation of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  In the aftermath of that insurrection in Washington, the US House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection and not stopping the mob action, making him the first president in US history to be impeached twice.  To help understand this historic US election and its aftermath, SCPKU on Jan. 13, 2021 convened a distinguished roundtable titled “The 2020 U.S. Election: Stress Test for American Democracy.”

The Stanford participants were Professors David Brady and Bruce Cain; Professors Pan Wei and Wang Yong joined from Peking University.  Professors Jean Oi from Stanford and Wang Dong from PKU moderated.  The event was part of an ongoing collaboration between SCPKU and Peking University.

Professor Brady analyzed the election results at the presidential level and down-ballot.  Using survey data, he highlighted the extreme divisions within the electorate.  However, the results of the election as a whole show that it was a referendum on Trump at the top of the ticket, where he failed, but down-ballot the Republicans made gains, especially in the House.  The crucial issue that drove the loss for Trump was his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.  That cost former President Trump five battleground states and the election.  Prof. Brady cautioned that the progressives and the Democratic Party would be wrong if they thought the election outcome signaled a huge surge to the left.

Professor Bruce Cain analyzed the aftermath of the election, including the decision to impeach Trump, which had happened only on the morning of our program, asking why the Democrats had chosen that route and where the Democratic and Republican parties are headed after the election.  The impact of seeing the far-right extremists breach the Capitol cannot be overstated.  Regardless of whether one calls it a coup, a riot, or an insurrection, it was traumatic for members of Congress.  This trauma made it unacceptable to do nothing, even if some Republicans were willing to go down that route.  There had to be accountability.  Impeachment was the better choice to ensure that nothing like this would ever happen again.  As for where the parties might be headed, Prof. Cain thinks we are likely to see consensus regarding the need to fix some of the problems in the electoral system and the way it is administered.  He questioned how much foreign policy would figure into the agenda of the Biden administration in the first year.  He stated that the progressives are going to force the Democratic Party into something a little bit closer to what Trump was trying to do in terms of paying attention to the implications of economic policy.  Prof. Cain further offered that there will probably be more of a renewal than was seen under the Trump administration towards human rights.

Professor Pan Wei offered his observation that three big changes are dividing Americans and undermining the basis of the American democracy.  The first is a widespread anti-intellectualism; the social respect for scientific knowledge is degrading among the ordinary people.  The second change is the rapid growth of individualism, which he sees manifest in the strong and healthy not wanting to wear a mask to protect the health of the old.  The third change Prof. Pan noted was the manipulation of the new capital of social media, where groups strengthen their political identities.  He blamed government for not regulating media platforms, allowing companies to ban individuals, including the president.  He reasoned that the cause for the three major changes is a new digital technology, which is bringing the US deep into the age of tertiary industry.  The US leads in the decentralization of digital technology, where individuals are creating innovative ideas that create rich overnight.  Prof. Pan worries about the increasing competition and inequality that will come from such developments, especially surrounding the ability to attend elite universities.  He concluded that it is America against America.  This contradictory combination of the three changes has brought about the current social and political results in the US.  He stated that President Trump catered to the anti-intellectualism, which led to the mishandling of COVID-19.  Were it not for that, Prof. Pan thinks Trump would have been reelected.

Professor Wang Yong argued that we need to go beyond President Trump to explore the reasons for the problems in the US democracy.  He focused on the effects of economic globalization and argued that the US, as its biggest beneficiary, has seen a widening wealth gap and more inequality.  In addition, he remarked that the US has overreached in international relations and expended too many resources intervening in other countries, fighting two wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan.  The consequences have manifested in the handling of COVID and the outcome of the election.  COVID changed the way people vote, which made the election more chaotic.  He submitted that the US political system had failed the stress test, and that perhaps it was a good time for people in the United States to talk about the reform of the 100-year-old tradition that is its political system.  American political division is seen by many as the world’s biggest challenge in 2021.  Prof. Wang concluded with questions and hope that the Biden administration will lead to a positive impact on US China relations.

Following the presentations, the participants engaged in a lively discussion and Q&A on a number of different topics.  One clear conclusion was that the Stanford participants all agreed that the US did pass the stress test, even if it was difficult, and that possibly the US may be stronger for it.  

SCPKU will continue to host similar programs in the coming months and deepen the understanding between the US and China.

“Reception Hall with Tang Ning” is one of the most popular internet interactive broadcast shows in China with a very large audience base across the nation. Mr. Tang Ning is the founder and CEO of CreditEase Group and the host of “Reception Hall with Tang Ning Show.” 

On January 26, Josh Cheng, Executive Director of Stanford Center at Peking University, was invited to make an appearance in the show with two other guests: Professor Xiao Zhixing, and Mr. Jingsheng Huang, who retired last June from the post of Managing Director of Harvard (Shanghai) Center. The issue focused on the discussion, once again, was an extremely hot topic in China nowadays…. “Pursuing studies in America.”  It was estimated by CreditEase staff, and the January 26 show attracted close to a million viewers.

In the discussion, Mr Cheng strongly advises Chinese parents that if the family had the means and capabilities, sending kids to study in America is a decision that “goes without saying.”  Cheng alluded, based on his personal experience, that education in the US had completely changed his mindset, opened up brand new horizons, and equipped with a new set of perspectives and angles that had been guiding his career life. Stanford's education has profoundly changed his life and his family life for many generations to come.

Strategically, Cheng advised, Chinese parents ought to urge their youngsters to come to North America to explore and discover new fields, a new society, new ways of thinking, and more importantly, to discover themselves. Parents should not urge and expect their youngsters to come to America by living in a very closed Chinese speaking cluster and isolated from American society at large and forget about the mission of coming to American is not only taking some courses and get some degrees but to experience a discovery process that explores humanity, society, technologies, universe and themselves.

Professor Xiao Zhixing, who taught at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), has worked with many entrepreneurs in China for a long time. Those entrepreneurs are more likely to send their kids abroad earlier; thus, their children lacked a sense of purpose and motivation. He pointed out that entrepreneurs should pay more attention to their children's cultural identity, self-identity, and sense of belonging and cultivate their creativity and leadership.

Mr. Huang commented on whether to go abroad at present: at a strategic level, education is a marathon, the same as life. It is unwise to be bound by age. Studying abroad is something that any age group can do, and it can be a lifelong plan. At the tactic level, for Chinese students who are currently facing the choice of studying abroad, they can make full use of the gap year to enrich themselves and improve their abilities in all aspects. Parents need to broaden their horizons and understand their children's wishes. Studying in Britain and the United States is not the only choice.

Watch the discussion here.

According to a local report there are more than 600,000 students from China currently studying in the US and millions of Chinese families are planning to send their kids to pursue their education in North America.

However, the deterioration of Sino US relations in recent years, combined with uncertainties from the pandemic around the globe had had a profound impact on those students who are already studying in the US and parents who are preparing to send their kids to study in America.

Stanford Center at Peking University, along of other peer institutions in China, had been approached by various groups seeking perspectives and insights on critical issues: Is it still safe and sound to send kids to study in America? Are there indications that US universities and schools are closing their doors to Chinese students?  Should parents and students start to seek other options, perhaps study in the UK or other countries?

In response to such concerns and with a desire to serve local communities, a round table panel discussion was held at the Yale Center of China in Beijing on Dec 26, 2020.   Stanford’s Executive Director, Josh Cheng, was among the nine directors of American education institutions with Centers in China who participated in the discussion.  Others (shown in the photo) participating in person were Yale, Chicago, Cornell, Notre Dame, and Columbia.  Representatives from Harvard, Wharton and Princeton participated virtually.

The directors shared with their personal experiences as well as institutional practices to directly address many concerns expressed by Chinese parents and students.  They believe US universities and schools will continue to welcome Chinese students, both in undergraduate and post graduate programs.  Having international students is an inseparable part of the global extension effort by almost every American educational institution. 

Stanford University just issued a statement in support of Stanford's international students and scholars, explicitly including those from China.

https://news.stanford.edu/today/2021/02/08/statement-president-marc-tessier-lavigne-support-stanfords-international-students-scholars/

Josh Cheng shared his perspectives on the safety and security concerns with Chinese parents. Using practices at Stanford, and other American universities, Mr. Cheng reiterated that American universities always make the safety and security of its students, staffs and faculties top priority.

The panel discussion was well attended, and it was agreed that if the pandemic policy of limiting visitors by PKU is lifted in near future, the Stanford Center at Peking University could serve as next host of the continuing discussion on US China Education.

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The past few months have been the strangest time. It was additionally peculiar for me in that, since I was learning remotely in China, most of my classes took place from midnight to morning. Sitting in front of my laptop each night while the world slumbered around me was difficult. But I also remember the way, from time to time, glimmers of conversations on zoom would absorb me entirely and make me forget I was alone and in the dark. Having met those wonderful people saved me from the coldness of seclusion, and made my quarter so much better:’) 

-2024, ALICE

I thought online college would be a disaster, but luckily, I was wrong. The teaching teams made lots of efforts to accommodate to the challenges in online instruction, so the learning experience was still of great quality despite being a different format. Moreover, the communities are amazing! My classmates and the student orgs I joined, especially the Gaieties team, always made my day in the past quarter. Can't wait to continue my journey at Stanford! 

-2024, SHAWN

This was definitely not how I expected college to start. The empty abyss of those Zoom squares with cameras off, those awkward moments of silence in breakout rooms, those bookmarked school events I didn’t attend: all things that made up my first quarter in college scream “human_interaction == 0”. Added on to my FOMO was the decreasing motivation to talk to people online. Therefore, when I went to Beijing to see my friends for the first time, I felt relieved. “They went through the same struggles I did.” I thought, “I’m with them.” There is a silver lining after all. 

-2024 RACHEL

I always thought that waking up at 5:00am would be the biggest challenge of online learning. But that becomes trivial when I face the real challenge --- lack of partnership. I remember the many hours stuck on a coding problem, alone; the many days spent looking for online studying buddies who could match my time zone; the many weeks of struggle to keep myself energized by my sheer curiosity of knowledge. It is at the freshman in-person gathering in Beijing that I truly feel my draining energy become to restore by the laughter, compassion, and wittiness of my classmates. It is people who makes Stanford attractive. 

-2024 DAVID

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On September 29, the APARC China Program hosted Thomas Fingar and Stephen Stedman for the program “Rebuilding International Institutions.” The program, which was moderated by China Program Director Jean Oi, examined the future of international institutions such as the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO), and World Health Organization (WHO) in our evolving global political landscape. While Fingar and Stedman acknowledged that such institutions facilitated attainment of unprecedented peace and prosperity after WWII, they also asked difficult questions: Are these institutions still adequate? And if not, how will we change them?

Shorenstein APARC Fellow Thomas Fingar kicked off the session by asking whether or not US-China tensions would impede cooperation on major global challenges, or if those challenges were so serious as to render such rivalries immaterial. Perhaps the most obvious example of such a crisis is the current COVID-19 pandemic. The efforts to curb the virus’ spread not only by individual countries, but also by international organizations like the WHO, have proven largely inadequate. According to Fingar, our existing institutions need to be reformed or supplemented to deal with these types of threats. However, such an overhaul of our international systems will be difficult, he says.

How, then, will we go about such a massive project? Stephen Stedman, Deputy Director at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), responded by explaining that the current failure of international cooperation makes such undertakings tough. Globalization has been a double-edged sword: On one hand, more contact, perhaps inherently, leads to increased tension. The resurgence of traditional notions of sovereignty in 2010, kickstarted by the opposition of countries like Russia and China to what was seen as UN overreaching, has led to a reduction of international cooperation overall. On the other hand, Fingar posits that our interconnectedness may force us toward cooperation despite rivalries as we face more and more transnational threats. International institutions create rules to organize and manage our many interconnected relationships so that we can deal with our problems effectively and reduce friction.

Stedman also pointed to the upcoming US elections and the major impact their outcome will have on how these problems are addressed—or not. In the last four year, the United States has pulled back significantly from international institutions and agreements, leaving a gap that China has started to fill. Furthermore, despite the US’s retreat from international responsibility, the country still remains a critical actor in global initiatives. China’s embrace of a global leadership role is not inherently negative, but its future relationship with the US will need to be “managed in a way that you get greater cooperation and not just paralysis.” Stedman says that it is likely that progress will need to be made on a bilateral front in order to have productive conversations about international issues with China.

Concluding on an optimistic note, Fingar voiced his hope that the current tensions and negative perceptions between rivals might ultimately “be mitigated by success in dealing with a common problem,” because “experience does shape perceptions.”

A video recording of this program is available upon request. Please contact Callista Wells, China Program Coordinator at cvwells@stanford.edu with any inquiries.