Events Archives - Dr David Zweig

sinicapodcast – the-war-for-chinese-talent-in-america

admin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 09:55:44 +0000

Click here to listen

This week on Sinica, I chat with David Zweig, a veteran China scholar who is Professor Emeritus from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. We discuss Davis’d latest book, The War for Chinese Talent in America, which looks at Chinese efforts to harness the intellectual firepower of Chinese scientists and engineers who studied abroad, especially in the United States, and bring them — or at least their knowledge —back to China. David’s book takes a balanced look at both the very real problems generated by Chinese policies as well as the overreaction by the U.S. Department of Justice in the form of the infamous China Initiative.

3:40 – Why got David interested on this particular topic

7:07 – The diaspora option

12:09 – The Thousand Talents Program/Plan

18:28 – How the talent programs operate

23:48 – Motivations for Chinese to participate in the talent programs, how geopolitics now impacts these decisions, and what the effect of the China Initiative has been on collaboration

36:29 – The China Initiative’s climate of fear and the concern for racial profiling

49:40 – The extent of the validity of U.S. security concerns

57:24 – David’s suggestions for balancing national security interests and open scientific exchange

Paying It Forward: Dan Lynch and his book, China’s Futures: PRC Elites Debate Economics, Politics, and Foreign Policy

Recommendations:

David: It’s a Wonderful World — The Louis Armstrong Musical in New York

Kaiser: The Invention of Yesterday: A 50,000-Year History of Human Culture, Conflict, and Connection by Tamim Ansary, especially the audiobook read by the author

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Duke University Forum on Chinese Innovation

admin — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 05:36:18 +0000

November 9th, 2021

Host: Dr Denis Simon
Speaker: David Zweig

Click here for the Video Link

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The Promise and Perils of Chinese Democracy: Hong Kong and Taiwan

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 22:12:49 +0000

December 11th, 2020

Speakers:
David Zweig, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
Margaret Lewis, Seton Hall University
Moderator: Joseph Fewsmith, BU Pardee School of Global Studies

Video Link: A BUCSA Forum 2020 by Boston University Center for the Study of Asia

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Chinese Politics – China and Political Science: Parts 1 & 2

admin — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 06:35:56 +0000

Dear Friends, colleagues and others interested in China,

I just passed another milestone in my career!

In 2015, at the request of my former university, HKUST, I worked for several months with a great team to video two courses on China, Part 1, on domestic politics, called “China and Political Science,” and Part 2, on “China and the World.”

Well, two weeks ago I taught my 20,000^th student! As of today, 14,564 students have heard me lecture on domestic China and 6,132 have attended China and the World.

The feedback is quite positive (83.6% rank it 5 of 5) and although some things have changed since 2015, the contours of Xi Jinping’s centralization of power, his plans related to the China Dream and the “Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation,” his Belt and Road Initiative, his problems with Southeast Asia in the South China Sea, the use of economic power to expand China’s influence, and troubles with the US, were already in play. (The biggest gap is probably Trump’s challenge to China)

There are 19 hours of lectures in Part 1 which can be found at: https://www.coursera.org/learn/chinesepolitics1 and 14 hours in Part 2, found at: https://www.coursera.org/learn/chinese-politics-2

Check it out!

David

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Webinar: America Challenges China’s National Talent Programs

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 07:12:53 +0000

Thursday, July 2, 2020

4 -5:30pm PDT
Speaker: David Zweig

Venue:
Zoom – Webinar

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__5J_q-upRqa8DyQlWM14_A. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Link to video of the event

Africa Sessions – Rethinking International Relations in Africa after COVID-19

admin — Thu, 14 May 2020 02:14:59 +0000

Saturday, May 16, 2020

5:00 PM GMT+1

View more and the video here: https://www.drdavidzweig.com/podcasts-broadcasts/video/africa-sessions-rethinking-international-relations-in-africa-after-covid-19-2/

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China’s “Reverse Migration” Strategies under Attack: A Case Study of the 1000 Talents Plan

admin — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 13:44:37 +0000

Monday, January 27, 2020

5:30 PM to 7:00 PM EST

Speaker(s):

David Zweig

Venue:

National Committee on U.S.-China Relations

New York, NY

In recent years China has been appealing to scholars who went overseas to study and remained abroad to return to China. Among its “reverse migration” policies is the Thousand Talents Plan, initiated in 2008 to encourage “strategic scientists or leading talents who can make breakthroughs in key technologies or can enhance China’s high-tech industries and emerging disciplines” to accept positions at leading Chinese universities (Recruitment Program of Global Experts). The U.S. government has taken exception to the program, claiming that it encourages economic espionage and intellectual property theft.

On January 27, 2020, the National Committee hosted a program to discuss China’s “reverse migration” efforts, presenting the Thousand Talents Plan as a case study. Dr. David Zweig, professor of political science emeritus at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, shared his research findings.

Here are the five key takeaways from his presentation:

The Chinese Communist Party launched the 1000 Talents Plan (TTP) in 2008 to attract top scientists, academics, and entrepreneurs who had settled abroad.
The United States fundamentally does not understand other countries’ sensitivity to brain drain because it does not suffer from it – in general, people want to come to, rather than leave, the United States.
Security concerns have arisen primarily from TTP’s part-time component, which involves Chinese researchers residing in America.
While some Chinese scholars and entrepreneurs have abused America’s open scientific environment (“there are some bad guys”), case studies do not demonstrate significant theft of technology or intellectual property.
Securitization of the TTP by U.S. government agencies, research institutions, and media discourages scientific collaboration and threatens to accelerate U.S.-China decoupling.

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Reverse Migration and Technology Transfer in Comparative Perspective: Turkey and India in light of the China experience

admin — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 03:11:05 +0000

Overseas Cooperated Projects

Venue: India, Turkey

Beykent University (Turkey) FICCI (India) CCTR / HKUST

Abstract of Research

The brain drain robs emerging markets of entrepreneurial talent essential for generating new technologies that promote the country’s growth in the new global economy. These developing states, therefore, must find a way to regain the talent they have lost, and along with it, the technology they need. While several studies see

returnees as a vehicle for technology transfer, this project looks at how opportunities created by the possession of technology developed abroad, and that is in short supply in their home country, pulls entrepreneurs back home, creating a “brain gain.” It tests the hypothesis that, given the right conditions, market forces within some emerging economies may create a reverse brain drain and attract the technology from abroad that these countries need.

China has been a leader in generating a “reverse brain drain.” Moreover, data from 2004 show a close link between technology transfer and reverse migration, as returnees have been pulled back by business opportunities in China created by their possession of foreign technology, thereby filling holes in China’s technological landscape. Thus, beginning in the early part of the 21st century, many entrepreneurs returned to China due to their possession of a middle-range technology that was “new for China,” even though it was not necessarily “new for the world.” This middle-range technology, which was readily accessible overseas, still allowed returnees to make significant profits and establish successful firms back home, confirming this close link between possession of middle range technology and the willingness of scientists and entrepreneurs to return to their home country.

But does China’s experience reflect the situation in other Emerging Markets? Do the opportunities created by possession of technology that is in “short supply” in their home country lead entrepreneurs and scientists to return home and bring the technologies that these societies seek? Through surveys in both Turkey and India we will apply the findings of the Chinese case to see if China’s recent past reflects their current situations.

Are there ways these countries can follow the China example? Is technology indeed a major driving force of reverse migration among various countries around the world?

Project Objectives

1. Assess the extent of reverse migration underway in India and Turkey and the sectoral breakdowns of those flows.

2. Understand the forces behind the reverse migration underway in Turkey and India.

3. Assess the extent to which technology is driving reverse migration among entrepreneurs and scientists in India and Turkey.

4. Compare the case of China with those of India and Turkey to see if the Chinese example is generalizable or sui generis?

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China’s New Tide of Reverse Migration

admin — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 02:28:52 +0000

China’s New Tide of Reverse Migration

York Centre for Asian Research

18 September 2018
2 – 4 pm: Room 857, Eighth Floor, Kaneff Tower 4700 Keele St North York, ON M3J 3T8 Canada

ABSTRACT:

The number of Mainland Chinese students returning from abroad has grown by leaps and bounds. In 2017, 608,000 students went abroad and 480,900 returned, yielding a return rate of 79 percent. In 1987, the return rate was five percent and in 2007 was 30.6 per cent.

Why this turnaround? The largest group of students coming back get an MA degree – in 2015, 80.5 percent of returnees were MA students – whose chances of succeeding abroad are not that great. Their major goal is to enhance their resumes for their job search back in China rather than seek a new life abroad. But our research shows that to succeed upon returning, young people need to select the right field or major, affording opportunities back in a changing China, and some work experience abroad.

A recent questionnaire by the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG) that was posted on the website of Zhaopin, a job placement firm in China, yielded 1,700 responses. We looked at seven aspects of students’ decision to return: the time it took to find a job, how satisfied they were with their job and their lives after returning, whether the cost of studying abroad was greater than the benefits, how many years it would take to recoup the investment in their education, their actual income, and whether it was below their expectations. We found that the reason for returning—seeking opportunities back home, a sense of failure abroad, need to be near family or the draw of Chinese culture—greatly affects their life upon returning.

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CCG Launches Hong Kong Council

admin — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 02:37:06 +0000

Conference

The Center for China and Globalization (CCG) launched its Hong Kong Council

The Center for China and Globalization (CCG) launched its Hong Kong Council on Nov. 12, 2017. Mr. Leung Chun-ying, the vice chairman of the CPPCC and former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, addressed the ceremony. Tung Chee-hwa, the vice Chairman of the CPPCC and the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, sent a letter to congratulate the event.

In addition, over 40 distinguished guests from Hong Kong’s policy and business communities as well as members of executive committee of the CCG Advisory Council attended the meeting, including: former Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR and Chairman of the Nan Fung Group Antony Leung Kam-chung; the First Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong SAR and former Deputy Director of HKSAR Basic Law Committee Elsie Leung; Chairman of the Hang Lung Properties Ronnie Chan; former Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration of the State Council (SASAC) Li Rongrong; Chairman and CEO of CITIC Capital Zhang Yichen; CCG President and Vice President of Western Returned Scholars Association (WRSA) Wang Huiyao.

CCG Hong Kong Council is established to unit local academic, business and policymaking forces in Hong Kong to promote its role in the Chinese policy initiatives, such as the “Belt and Road”, the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area,” the internationalization of the Renminbi, China’s global talent acquisition, and China’s soft power expansion.

Supported by Hong Kong’s elites from all circles, CCG Hong Kong Council is set to leverage the thought leadership of Hong Kong as well as CCG’s capabilities to influence policy and public opinion at home and abroad. The goal is to advice the SAR and central governments on the policies regarding Hong Kong’s role in the regional integration and global governance.

At the 19th CPC National Congress, President Xi Jinping reaffirmed that policy priority for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and regional cooperation in the pan-Pearl River Delta. As China enters into the next phase of economic globalization, Hong Kong is geared to develop a more vibrant and competitive economy linked to the mainland and the rest of the world. It is vital to build a world-class think tank dedicated to the study of the opportunities and challenges facing Hong Kong at the critical juncture of its development.

Mr. Leung Chun-ying said in his address, “Hong Kong has historically served as a bridge between China and the outside world, and a “super-connector” between the east and west. Today, we hope it will continue with its role as the hub of information exchanges for China’s Belt and Road and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area programs. The founding of the CCG Hong Kong Council is a timely and welcome act marshaling the intellectual arsenal for Hong Kong to play the role of “super-connector” in the Greater Bay Area initiative.”

He further pointed out, “CCG Hong Kong Council is the region’s first think tank focused on Hong Kong and its role in globalization. The Hong Kong Council is poised to increase the nation’s prospects for leading economic globalization, thanks to Hong Kong’s unique position.” CCG will become a major intellectual force accelerating Hong Kong’s integration into the Greater Bay and the Belt and Road initiatives, he believes.

Mr. Tung Chee-hwa said in his letter, “President Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the importance of building new types of think tank with Chinese characteristics. Think tanks form a significant force of a nation’s soft power. CCG, as a leading think tank in international affairs whose public policy research and policy recommendations have been well recognized by the international community and the Chinese government. The establishment of CCG Hong Kong Council will play a positive role in fostering a deeper level of integration between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau; strengthening exchange and cooperation among the three on governance, corporate, and financial affairs; and creating new engines for economic growth.” He looks forward to CCG Hong Kong Council’s success in building an intellectual platform unifying the elites in Hong Kong and the mainland.

Mr. Ronnie Chan, CCG Co-chair and Chairman of the Hang Lung Properties, said at the ceremony that since its founding in 2008, CCG has grown into one of China’s best think tanks focused on the globalization of Chinese enterprises and other issues crucial to China’s globalization strategies. He spoke highly of CCG’s prospects of becoming China’s first home-grown world-class think tank.

CCG President Dr. Wang Huiyao pointed out that Hong Kong is a right place at a right time to foster globally-oriented think tanks. At present, CCG Hong Kong Council is building up its research capacity in the fields such as Hong Kong’s role in the Belt and Road initiative, policy collaboration and investment opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, internationalization of the Renminbi, Hong Kong’s talent acquisition strategy, etc. In the meantime, CCG Hong Kong Council aims to raise the profile of Hong Kong through a series of events such as the annual Hong Kong Forum, Forum on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and Globalization, seminars and symposiums on globalization studies, bi-monthly luncheons, premier fundraising events for charity and philanthropy, and so on.

Mr. Zhang Yichen, CCG Senior Vice Chair, Chairman and CEO of CITIC Capital, applauded CCG’s endeavors to promote China’s greater role in global affairs. He believes the CCG Hong Kong Council will be well-positioned to help Hong Kong realize the development initiatives such as the Belt and Road strategy.

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