Weekly News Collection

HISTORY

Award ceremony for ‘Ri Zhi World History prize’

On Sept. 24, the first award ceremony for the “Ri Zhi World History Prize”, China’s first national academic award in the research field of world history, was held in Beijing. Research on the Feudalist Economy of West Europe, authored by Ma Keyao from Peking University, won first prize. Named after notable Chinese historian Lin Zhichun, whose pen name is Ri Zhi, the prize aims to encourage contemporary Chinese scholars to produce more globally influential academic works.

TIBETOLOGY

Changdu Archives of Thangka to be published

The working conference for the Chinese Thangka Cultural Archives project was hosted in Lhasa. The National Social Science Fund of China authorized the project, and its two sponsors are: The Chinese Folk Literature and Art Society and Tibetan Federation of Literary and Art Circles. The word Thangka comes from the Tibetan language. A form of Tibetan Buddhist painting, Thangka is an important means of illustrating and transmitting Tibetan Buddhist culture as well as documenting the social life of Tibetan people. Since the launch of the project, 11 volumes of archives have been examined. Changdu Archives of Thangka (Changdu is a county in East Tibetan) is set to be published as the pilot volume.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Non-traditional security becomes prominent

At the academic symposium National Security Governance: International Experience and the Chinese Path, attendees asserted that the overall situation of China’s national security continues to be stable while several grim challenges have arisen. Negative factors are emerging in the regions adjacent to China. Non-traditional security problems have become increasingly prominent, prompting academia to focus on these issues as a new subject of theoretical study.

PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

Social participation crucial for emergency management

From Sept. 27 to 28, the 2014 International Conference on Emergency Management and the first Academic Seminar of the China Society of Emergency Management took place at the Chinese Academy of Governance. Kristen Knutson, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), remarked that humanitarian affairs are moving to the forefront of public discourse as more problems arise in urbanization, population growth, environmental deterioration and resource scarcity. Other scholars also noted that social participation is crucial for the public security management. To make up for the “government failure,” which is inevitable sometimes, other sources of social support are needed, such as NGOs, enterprises and global institutes as well as media and citizens.

EDUCATION

Experts review education reform through global lens

The fifth World Comparative Education Forum, titled “Global Education Reform: Internationalization, Regionalization and Localization”, was hosted in Beijing. In his address to the forum, Dong Qi, the president of Beijing Normal University noted, “Both an understanding of one’s own country’s national realities and foreign countries’ cultures is a requisite for future talent.” In the context of deepening economic globalization, countries are increasingly looking to the experiences of their peers to guide educational policy, and there is growing global interaction among students and teachers. A wealth of courses and tests has become open to students from all over the world. Thus, it is a heatedly discussed issue as to how to deal with the interrelations between internationalization, regionalization and localization of contemporary education.

LAW

Scholars bemoan shortage of African law research

Currently, there is a large shortage of organizations and institutions in China dedicated to the research of African law and social development on the continent, said Zhang Mingqi, vice-chairman of China Law Society at the Conference on Legal Risks and Countermeasures of International Investment and Trade—from the Perspective of China-Africa Cooperation. Furthermore, the research is limited to introductions of the topic rather than more pragmatic policy guidance. Research on the China-Africa legal risks and countermeasures of international investment and trade should also be seen as an overture toward increasing mutual understanding and further cooperation between the two parties, concluded the attendees.

Edited and translated by Bai Le