Monday, May 15, 2017 | 5:30 PM EDT - 7:00 PM EDT
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations |, New York, NY
In 2014, Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement grabbed international headlines, shut down the city’s largest commercial districts, and generated concern about Hong Kong’s political future. Images of city streets awash in yellow, and protesters clashing with police quickly spread around the world, and many observers believed the movement heralded significant changes to Hong Kong’s political structure. Three years after calm was restored, questions remain: what is the political mood on Hong Kong campuses? Are freedoms being gradually eroded? What is the future of One Country-Two Systems under the newly elected Chief Executive Carrie Lam? David Zweig, a long time Hong Kong resident, and a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has been watching the situation closely, and on May 15, 2017 he shared his insights in a conversation with the National Committee. Dr. Zweig addressed a variety of issues including political resistance, academic freedom, reverse brain drain, and the current contradictions between the former British colony and Beijing.
David Zweig
David Zweig is chair professor for the Division of Social Science and director at the Center on China’s Transnational Relations at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is also an adjunct professor at the National University of Defense Technology’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities in Changsha (Hunan), as well as vice-president of the Center on China’s Globalization in Beijing. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Internationalizing China: Domestic Interests and Global Linkages (Cornell Univ. Press, 2002) and a new edited volume, Sino-U.S. Energy Triangles: Resource Diplomacy under Hegemony, with Hao Yufan (Routledge, 2016).
Dr. Zweig is a regular commentator on Hong Kong politics for CNN, Reuters, BBC, Al Jazeera, Radio and Television Hong Kong, and writes about Hong Kong politics in the South China Morning Post. He recently gave lectures on Hong Kong politics at Tsinghua University Law School, Fudan University, Shenzhen University, the National University of Defense Technology, East China Normal University, and the University of Toronto.
Dr. Zweig received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University.