Resources

In our on-going effort to help Canadians learn more about China and understand it better, please find below some resources that may be of interest to the members and non-members of the Canada-China Friendship Society:

Video Resources

  1. Has China Won? – Discussion hosted by the Centre for Independent Studies in Australia.  Speakers:  Kishore Mahbubani, Singaporean diplomat and academic, and Professor John Mearsheimer, University of Chicago.
  2. Video: China and International Order: IPD’s (Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD)) panel discussion on China’s vision of international order with Victor Gao from the Center for China & Globalization, Robert S. Ross from Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University and Jeffrey Reeves from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
  3. Interview by Fareed Zakaria on his CNN show, On GPS: with Chinese Ambassador to U.S., Cui Tiankai, to discuss Sino-American relations, Hong Kong’s new security law and China’s treatment of its Muslim Uyghur minority
  4. The Present and Future of Canada China Relations: Webinar discussion on July 17, 2020 with His Excellency Cong Peiwu, Chinese Ambassador to Canada; Jonathan Calof – Member, Pearson Centre Advisory Board; and Professor of International Business & Strategy, Telfer School of Management, uOttawa.  Hosted by Pearson Centre.
  5. World Heritage Sites in China:  A short video by the Ministry of Culture in China.
    More information on China culture and tourism will be available on the Chinese Embassy site.
  6. China: Friend or Foe? : This is a live debate chaired by BBC News Presenter and the BBC’s first China Editor, Carrie Gracie.  Guest presenters are Keyu Jin, Professor of Economics at London School of Economics; Sir Malcolm Rifkind, politician and former cabinet minister; and Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times.  Hosted by Intelligence Squared, a U.K. based organization which hosts debates on global issues. 
  7. Recording of presentation by Professor Paul Evans, University of British Columbia, “What Does It Mean to Be a Friend of China?” at the CCFS webinar on June 15, 2020 and Q&A session.
  8. Intervention by Eric Li, at the Nexus Conference 2019 in the Netherlands, on “What Will Rule the World?”. Eric Li is a venture capitalist and political scientist in Shanghai. This 22-minute video clip is part of a round table discussion including Michael Ignatieff (former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada), José Manuel Barroso (former president of the European Commission), Michael Mullen (retired US Navy admiral) and Sima Samar (a renowned advocate of human and women’s rights, Afghanistan).
  9. Video interview with Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the prominent British medical journal The Lancet, on CGTN (China Global TV Network) on May 1, 2020:  “We Should Work Together with China Fighting COVID-19”  (6:46 min)
  10. Short video featuring “China’s Best Museum Exhibitions of 2019″ ,“China’s Best Museum Exhibitions of 2019”.
  11. “Discovery Channel China Time of Xi” (2017) – This is an interesting and informative Discovery Channel series consisting of 3 episodes as follows:
    • Episode 1: People’s Republic – This episode explores the following: What is the “China Dream”? What does it mean by “people-centered policy & approach”? How is the “poverty alleviation scheme” carried out in China? How to “connect” people from cities to the countryside (from infrastructure to inter-human communication, and e-commerce)? How to support the elderly? A social welfare system to enable sustainable development, importance of education, etc. (43:43 minutes)
    • Episode 2: Running China Now – This episode explores the following: Can China become a truly modern country by 2049? China’s innovation-driven economy; protecting environment for sustainable development; use of autonomous drones equipped with artificial intelligence in agriculture; free trade zones; encouraging entrepreneurs in the service industry; culture of openness; mobile payment; bike-sharing; harmony between people and nature – the “sponge city concept”; smart urban planning; integrated transport system; legal reform to better support rule of law; implementation of circuit courts to better enable access to justice; anti-corruption campaign (43:04 minutes)
    • Episode 3: All Aboard – Pursuit of a community of shared destiny and globalization; China dream is about revival and rejuvenation and a Global dream to build a harmonious world; the Belt & Road Initiative (win-win as the underlying principle in the pursuit of development, prosperity and peace); participation in multi-lateral institutions in the pursuit of a community of common destiny; AIIB; the silk road spirit; Traditional Chinese Medicine; cultural exchange; a new mindset (concept of creating and sharing knowledge, deeper understanding on our relationship with our environment);  climate change; CN in UN peacekeeping operations (43:34 minutes)
  12. Has China Won? COVID-19 and the Shifting Global Order (April 2020) – This is a 1-hour video meeting including a question and answer session with the following two distinguished speakers organized by the China Institute in the U.S.:
    • Kishore Mahbubani, Professor in the Practice of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, former Singaporean Ambassador to the United Nations and former President of the UN Security Council.
    • Graham Allison, long-time Professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
  1. What does Wuhan tell us? (April 2020) – This YouTube video from the Chinese TV news group CGTN, tells the story from the Chinese point of view, presented by Zou Yue, from Wuhan himself.
  1. Rediscovering China: Demystifying the hospital built in 10 days (April 2020) – This YouTube video from a Chinese TV news group CGTN, features Huoshenshan Hospital that is built in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.
  1. Tour of the face mask fabric production and the face mask production facilities (April 2020) – This short video features a face mask fabric production line built in response to the COVID-I9 pandemic and takes you through the face mask production process.
  2. The Coming War on China – This is a documentary film by John Pilger which is available on Youtube
  3. Will Covid-19 Change China?(April 2020) – Steve Paikin, host of TVOntario’s The Agenda, interviews Daniel Bell, Dean of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University in this 15-minute video.  Professor Daniel Bell is originally from Montreal.
  4. China’s Two Sessions Explained: China’s most important political meetings of the year (May 2020) – a short video from the SCMP (South China Morning Post, based in Hong Kong)
  5. Pupils can do math at a tremendous speed using their left hands and mentally visualized abacus – Short video from People’s Daily on YouTube.   (Related to this:  A CCFS member remembers that when he arrived in China 15 years ago to work at a school there, the secretary of the school used an abacus to calculate his first pay, which he received in cash.

Articles

  1. Ambassador Cong Peiwu’s Keynote Speech on China-Canada Relations at the September 10, 2020 CCFS Webinar
  2. Full Transcript of Q&A Session with Ambassador Cong Peiwu at the September 10, 2020 CCFS Webinar
  3. China’s US$68 billion Greater Bay Area rail plan for faster, easier city links to link Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province.  From South China Morning Post, Hong Kong.
  4. U.S. companies looking to return home from China face significant problems.  From South China Morning Post, Hong Kong.
  5. Respect History, Look to the Future and Firmly Respect History, Look to the Future and Firmly Safeguard and Stabilize China-US Relaitons, by Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee.
  6. America’s unholy crusade against China.  Opinion piece on China Global Television Network by Professor Jeff Sachs, Columbia University.
  7. Hostile new cold war imperialist narrative needs factual vaccine – This article is an excerpt of Max Blumenthal’s lecture from a webinar themed No to the Cold War.  The webinar was organized by scholars and activists from 49 countries.  Max Blumenthal is editor and founder of the Grayzone, a US-based independent news outlet.
  8. The Truth About the US-China Thucydides Trap by George Friedman, Chair of Geopolitical Futures, a U.S. think tank.
  9. On June 8th, 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a press briefing for Chinese and international media outlets. Mr. FU Cong, Director General of the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament, elaborated China’s position on current international arms control and disarmament issues.  China’s position on current international arms control and disarmament issues.
  10. China ready to improve ties if US is willing, says Foreign Minister Wang Yi –  Foreign Minister Wang Yi suggests drawing lists to identify areas where the two countries can cooperate, disputes that could be resolved and ones that cannot.  SCMP (South China Morning Post, Hong Kong), July 9, 2020.
  11. Canada can – and should – facilitate release of the two Michaels : This is an opinion piece in Canadian Lawyerby Michael Spratt, son-in-law of Former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Louise Arbour.
  12. New poll reveals Chinese-Canadians experiences with racism : This is an item on CBC News.
  13. U.S.-China talks between Pompeo and Yang Jiechi in Hawaii, SCMP (South China Morning Post, Hong Kong), June 18, 2020.
  14. China forgives the interest-free loans to Africa coming due, SCMP, June 18, 2020.
  15. Fighting COVID-19 Through Solidarity and Cooperation, Building a Global Community of Health for All (May 2020) – Statement by Xi Jinping, at the Opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly, Beijing, 18 May 2020, a virtual event.
  16. Premier Li sets out China’s plan to overcome COVID-19 challenges (May 2020) – Delivered at the third session of the 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing. A CGTN news article.
  17. Interview with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on wide range of topics of interest (China, Trump, Covid-19, Hong Kong, etc.) – This is an article from the Ottawa Life Magazine.
  18. Chinese Ambassador Cong comments on new legislation for Hong Kong (May 2020) – This is an article from the Ottawa Life Magazine.
  19. Chinese Government’s Three Key Priorities for 2020 (May 2020) – This is authored by Mark Kruger.
  20. China is committed to responsible and sustainable growth (May 2020) – This is an opinion piece by Matteo Giovannini, finance professional at ICBC and a member of the China Task Force at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development
  21. How next-generation information technologies tackled COVID-19 in China – This is an article in the World Economic Forum.
  22. Lessons from China: Ensuring no one goes hungry during coronavirus lockdowns (April 2020) – This is an article in comthat analyses China’s food resilience.
  23. Protecting Seniors During COVID-19: What Canada Can Learn from China (April 2020) – This is an article from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
  24. S. Military Hellbent on Trying to Overpower China (May 2020) – An opinion piece in the Asia Times.
  25. Why shutting down Chinese ‘wet markets’ could be a terrible mistake (January 2020) – The term ‘wet market’ originated in Hong Kong and Singapore as markets for fresh fish, meat and other produce, to distinguish them from ‘dry’ markets which sell packaged and durable goods such as textiles. Lumping together an enormous variety of different kinds of market has caused confusion in the discussion about ‘wet markets’ and the livelihoods of rural smallholder farmers. This is an article in The Conversation which is an independent, international source of news and views, from the academic and research community, delivered direct to the public.
  26. Apparent racially motivated attack on a 92 year old man in Vancouver (April 2020) – This is a CTV news report with video dated April, 2020.
  1. COVID-19 Anti-Racism Group (CARG) formed in the U.K. (April 2020) – Read the interesting press release of April 6, 2020 mentioned in a newsletter of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding in the U.K.  Abundant information is available on the website about this very active organization.  The newsletter is sent to its members.
  1. China’s newest cultural centre (December 2019) –Another architectural masterpiece by Zaha Hadid