Brian recently visited China on a trip for journalists sponsored by the Committee Of 100. He and his fellow travelers will be posting reflections on the blog over the next week.
Five American journalists went on a one week trip to China sponsored by the Committee of 100, a group of prominent Chinese-Americans founded by I.M. Pei, Yo-Yo Ma and others with a foot in both worlds who are dedicated to having our two countries understand each other better. They conduct and sponsor tours like this for journalists each year. I want to start by thanking the C-100 for leading an ambitious and supremely organized trip, introducing us to so many many top people in different walks of life, and exposing us to so many different points of view about China (and us!) It was a very rich experience and I'm sure it will add great value to all our readers/viewers/listeners through the more sophisticated understanding we will now have of China (and us.)
My fellow travelers, by the way, were Clive Crook, senior editor of The Atlantic, Winnie O'Kelley, deputy business editor for The New York Times, Gary Silverman, U.S. news editor for The Financial Times, and Jonathan Tepperman, managing editor at Foreign Affairs.
We were having such interesting conversations on the bus between stops every day, a few of us thought that other people might like to eavesdrop on some of our banter and with any luck we'll say an interesting thing or too. Not everyone may be available to participate but some will, along with two of our C-100 hosts on the trip:
Angie Tang, executive director of the C-100, former director of the New York City Office of Immigrant Affairs, and former U.S. Labor Department Representative for the Northeast and Caribbean, and
Mercy Kuo, managing director of the C-100, policy expert and historian, Oxford Ph.D. in Modern History, contributor to the forthcoming book, China In The 21st Century: History, Security and International Relations (Praeger)
Below are five thoughts that may also serve as conversation starters.
