Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals

Shen Yushi was born in 1978, the year when China first adopted its policy of reform and opening up. In China, we have a saying: "四十不惑" (si shi bu huo), which means "when you turn 40 you should be without doubts". From Beijing to the Silicon Valley, and then back to China's capital, does this middle-aged tech guru now have a clear picture of his life calling? Shen Yushi sat down with China Plus for an in-depth interview for our series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".

Victor Gao has many roles to play in his life: he's a current affairs commentator, a policy advisor, and a lawyer. His diverse career started back when he joined China's foreign service in his 20s as an English interpreter. That job gave him rare opportunities to work with some of the world's great leaders, including late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and veteran U.S. politicians George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, and Henry Kissinger. How did those great figures influence his vision of the world and his career? Gao shares his memories with us in our series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".

Joe Wong is a biochemist turned standup comedian. He established a name for himself in the United States before coming back to Beijing. Now in his 40s, this humble-looking man with a deadpan expression is bringing laughs to audiences from both the West and the East. How did he come to make a living from cracking jokes on both sides of the Pacific? Find out in our series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".

Yu Lizhong, the chancellor of New York University Shanghai, is one of the first university presidents who embrace the social media platforms in China. Now, he has more than 1.5 million followers on Weibo. While some educators frown at social media for being a distraction for students, why Yu Lizhong puts it high on his agenda? Click and listen to our program.

Guo Bei is the vice president of EIC Group, a Chinese company that specializes in international education. During her spare time, she has delivered more than 180 lectures in about 30 cities, in an effort to help motivate more Chinese students to reach for their goals. But Guo told China Plus that she isn't a natural born public speaker, and that this took perseverance. How did she do it? Listen to her story in this episode of our series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".

Wang Huiyao is the founder of the Center for China and Globalization, an influential think tank in China. When we asked him if he prefers to call himself a scholar or a government advisor, Wang rejected both of these labels. Instead, he prefers the term "social entrepreneur". What does that mean? Wang Huiyao explains this and much more in our series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".

Born in 1990, Zhou Yifu belongs to China's "post-90s generation", which refers to people who were born in 1990s. Unlike many of his peers who are still seeking for life goals, this young man is now leading a team to realize his Virtual Reality production dream in China. After he and his team brought their highly original virtual-reality film to the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, Zhou shared with us some of the stories behind its creation in our series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".

In 1998, Tang Min and his wife Zuo Xiaolei, both economists, wrote a three-page letter to then Premier Zhu Rongji. In it, they suggested expanding college enrollments and charging tuition fees to ease the impact of the Asian financial crisis. Twenty years later, some people are still criticizing this suggestion. Did Tang Min regret writing the letter? We ask him this and more in our series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".

In what sounds like the beginning of an unlikely adventure story, Pan Qingzhong started his first trip to the Big Apple with 30 U.S. dollars in his pocket. After moving to the United States, Pan earned a Master's degree, married the woman he loves, and started a family. He also started a company that he floated on the stock exchange. Life was good. But that didn't stop him from making the decision to return to his alma mater Tsinghua University. What was it about China that drew him back? Pan shared his story with China Plus for our new series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".

When Wu Changhua started her career as an English editor at China Environment News 28 years ago, she thought that environmental protection meant sweeping the streets and planting trees. Now, she has become one of Asia's leading scholars on climate change and a senior policy advisor. Through her journey in this field, Wu has witnessed China's role change on the international stage. She shared with China Plus some of her insights about the country's changing role in the world for our new series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".