Podcast appearances and mentions of confucius institutes

Gordon Chang, author of the just-released Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America and The Coming Collapse of China, joined The Guy Benson Show today to break down the disturbing blackmail campaign facing Chinese international students, who are reportedly being coerced by the CCP to spy in exchange for their families' safety. He explained how the now-shuttered Confucius Institutes enabled this behavior, how Confucius Institutes are being replaced, and why Chinese diplomats involved should be expelled. Chang also weighed in on how countries like Columbia are still engaging with Beijing on Belt and Road initiatives and why he believes China ultimately got the better end of the trade pause. Listen to the full interview below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Sometimes my students ask me if I worry about the future of choral music with advanced technology, AI, but I really am not concerned at all. The way that I see it, the act of making music with each other, the need to connect with each other – I don't see that going away anytime soon. To connect through honest, authentic communication that is not a digital platform – people want that. I'm excited for the future of choral music.”Dr. Michael Murphy is the director of choral activities and a professor in Stephen F. Austin State University's School of Music, where he teaches choral conducting, ensembles, repertoire and methods courses, and oversees the graduate conducting program.Before joining the School of Music faculty in 2017, Murphy was the director of choral activities and associate professor at the University of Idaho for nine years. During this time, he was founder and artistic director of the Idaho Bach Festival and was recognized with the UI Faculty Award for outstanding scholarship, teaching and engagement.He is an active clinician, adjudicator and author, and research interests include training and developing the holistic conductor, rehearsal techniques, new choral compositions and investing and creating impactful connections in our global community through music.Murphy's international conducting and teaching experiences include Austria, China, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, Germany, Norway, Panama and Sweden. The Confucius Institute awarded Murphy with the "Understanding China Fellowship" and asked him to serve as visiting scholar at Sun Yat-sen University, South China University of Technology and Guangzhou University of Foreign Studies.Murphy is the coauthor and editor of "Conducting Primer in Practice," has been published several times in "Choral Journal" and contributed to volume four of "Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir."As a passionate champion of music for all, Murphy has experience teaching all ages and levels and several auditioned and non auditioned collegiate, community, school and church choirs. His choirs have been invited to perform for several state and regional American Choral Directors Association and The National Association for Music Education conferences. He also has held several international, national and state leadership positions in International Choral Conductors Federation, ACDA, NAfME, and National Collegiate Choral Organization.Murphy received his degrees in conducting and choral music education from Florida State University and East Carolina University.To get in touch with Michael, you can email him at murphymt2@sfasu.edu or find him on Facebook or Instagram.Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

Zain Johnson in for CapeTalk’s Sara-Jayne Makwala King is joined on Weekend Breakfast by Dr Iris Wu, Co-Director for the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at the University of the Western Cape, university student Aluwani Mavhungu and high schooler Iman Barden.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Academics are calling on New Zealand universities to review their ties with the Confucius Institute after six Australian universities closed centres on their campuses. The non-profit organisations, which were originally established by a Chinese government-affiliated organisation, were set up here with the stated aim of promoting Chinese language and culture overseas. RNZ Asia's Chen Liu reports.

Violence and Threats Against Public Figures: We discuss threats and violence directed towards Elon Musk and Tesla dealerships, particularly in Austin, Texas. It highlights similar threats faced by political figures, drawing parallels with the threats against Donald Trump and other conservative politicians. Specific mention is made of a Texas House member, Jasmine Crockett, who has been accused of inciting violence and making derogatory comments about Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Political Climate and Public Reactions: The narrative portrays the Democratic Party as promoting anger and violence, with examples of public figures and supporters engaging in hostile behavior. It includes personal anecdotes from a senator about receiving death threats and hostile encounters in public spaces. The senator emphasizes responding to hostility with kindness, referencing a biblical principle of repaying hatred with kindness. Anti-Semitism and Campus Protests: We discuss anti-Semitic protests on college campuses, particularly focusing on a Cornell student, Momodo Tal, who has made anti-American and anti-Semitic statements. It details the Trump administration's actions to revoke visas of individuals promoting violence and anti-Semitism. The narrative criticizes the lack of condemnation from Democratic leaders and highlights the dangers posed by such radical individuals. Foreign Influence in American Universities: A significant portion of the text is dedicated to discussing the influx of foreign money into American universities, particularly from adversarial nations like China, Russia, Venezuela, and Yemen. It raises concerns about the potential for espionage, propaganda, and intellectual property theft facilitated by these financial contributions. We call for greater transparency and legislative action to regulate foreign funding in educational institutions. Legislative Actions and Proposals: The senator mentions past legislative efforts to combat foreign influence, such as banning Confucius Institutes funded by China. It proposes new legislation to require universities to report foreign funding and impose penalties on institutions receiving money from adversarial nations. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and the Ben Ferguson Show Podcast Wherever You get You're Podcasts. Thanks for Listening #seanhannity #hannity #marklevin #levin #charliekirk #megynkelly #tucker #tuckercarlson #glennbeck #benshapiro #shapiro #trump #sexton #bucksexton#rushlimbaugh #limbaugh #whitehouse #senate #congress #thehouse #democrats#republicans #conservative #senator #congressman #congressmen #congresswoman #capitol #president #vicepresident #POTUS #presidentoftheunitedstatesofamerica#SCOTUS #Supremecourt #DonaldTrump #PresidentDonaldTrump #DT #TedCruz #Benferguson #Verdict #justicecorrupted #UnwokeHowtoDefeatCulturalMarxisminAmericaYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#PANAMA: PRC money and influence and projects well established in Mulino government.  Confucius Institute in downtown Panama City. Michael Yon michaelyon.substack.com 1886 Isthmus of Darien (Panama)

Ken Hammond received his B.A. from Kent State University in History and Political Science. In 1982 he traveled to China and spent the next five years working with American student programs and educational delegations in Beijing. Dr. Hammond received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in History and East Asian Languages in 1994 and has taught at New Mexico State University ever since. He specializes in the history of China in the Early Modern period, especially the 16th century. He has published numerous books and articles on Chinese intellectual and political history, and his book Pepper Mountain: The Life, Death and Posthumous Career of Yang Jisheng, 1516-1555 came out in 2007. In 1999 Dr. Hammond was a research fellow at the Institute of History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, and in 2002-03 he was a visiting fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden, the Netherlands. From 2007 to 2015 he was co-director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State. Since 2017 he has been affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. He has been a lecturer for the National Geographic Society and for the Smithsonian Institution in China, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. His latest book, China's Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future was published in May 2023.Dr. Hammond's current research is on China's historical political economy, especially in the early modern period (900-1800), and on the history of market towns and urban development in China.https://history.nmsu.edu/people/faculty-staff-pages/kenneth-hammond.htmlPLEASE CONSIDER DONATING ONCE OR MONTHLY!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/5bd95...Follow me everywhere:https://linktr.ee/KyleMatovcikTiger Fitness! Use code "KYLE" at checkout!https://www.tigerfitness.com/KyleMFox N' Sons Coffee!Https://www.foxnsons.comUse code KYLE at checkoutGet DEEMED FIT clothing! Use code "SARAHM25" at checkouthttps://deemedfit.co/?ref=bihbnoap&fb...Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/in-liberty-and-health/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Motorbike enthusiast and fluent Chinese speaker James Trapp chats with ShaoLan about the Chinese words for motorbike and other types of vehicles. Listen and discover the similarities between riding a motorbike and meditating! Would you dare ride a motorbike on a 10 lane motorway in Beijing? ✨ BIG NEWS ✨ Our brand new Talk Chineasy App, is now live on the App Store! Free to download and perfect for building your speaking confidence from Day 1. portaly.cc/chineasy Visit our website for more info about the app.

ShaoLan shares with listeners how to say “scholarship” in Chinese with today's guest Charlie Hoffs. Charlie has recently won a scholarship from the Confucius Institute to compete in a Chinese speaking competition in Beijing. ✨ BIG NEWS ✨ Our brand new Talk Chineasy App, is now live on the App Store! Free to download and perfect for building your speaking confidence from Day 1. portaly.cc/chineasy Visit our website for more info about the app.

Alex Newman is an award-winning international freelance journalist, author, researcher, educator and consultant. He is Senior Editor for The New American. He is co-author of Crimes of the Educators, author of Deep State- The Invisible Government Behind the Scenes, and author of Indoctrinating Our Children to Death. He is the Founder of Liberty Sentinel.--Today's program comes as a warning. The book of Ezekiel in the Bible speaks of the watchman's responsibility to sound the alarm if a threat is approaching. That's what Crosstalk is doing today- we are sounding the alarm.--Communist China is a threat. Communist China is advancing its influence and infiltrating America. It's not just the acquisition of farm land in strategic places, though that is occurring. The infiltration of China is happening on many levels including university campuses with Confucius Institutes, technology, government offices, products made in China, and the theft of intellectual property.--Who is orchestrating all of this-- Is it the President-- Is it China's leaders-- Is it those that donate money-- Alex Newman answers this question for us.--Today's program is troubling, but let's keep our trust, hope and confidence in our Lord. He is already victorious.

Alex Newman is an award-winning international freelance journalist, author, researcher, educator and consultant. He is Senior Editor for The New American. He is co-author of Crimes of the Educators, author of Deep State: The Invisible Government Behind the Scenes, and author of Indoctrinating Our Children to Death. He is the Founder of Liberty Sentinel.Today's program comes as a warning. The book of Ezekiel in the Bible speaks of the watchman's responsibility to sound the alarm if a threat is approaching. That's what Crosstalk is doing today; we are sounding the alarm.Communist China is a threat. Communist China is advancing its influence and infiltrating America. It's not just the acquisition of farm land in strategic places, though that is occurring. The infiltration of China is happening on many levels including university campuses with Confucius Institutes, technology, government offices, products made in China, and the theft of intellectual property.Who is orchestrating all of this? Is it the President? Is it China's leaders? Is it those that donate money? Alex Newman answers this question for us.Today's program is troubling, but let's keep our trust, hope and confidence in our Lord. He is already victorious.

Alex Newman is an award-winning international freelance journalist, author, researcher, educator and consultant. He is Senior Editor for The New American. He is co-author of Crimes of the Educators, author of Deep State- The Invisible Government Behind the Scenes, and author of Indoctrinating Our Children to Death. He is the Founder of Liberty Sentinel.--Today's program comes as a warning. The book of Ezekiel in the Bible speaks of the watchman's responsibility to sound the alarm if a threat is approaching. That's what Crosstalk is doing today- we are sounding the alarm.--Communist China is a threat. Communist China is advancing its influence and infiltrating America. It's not just the acquisition of farm land in strategic places, though that is occurring. The infiltration of China is happening on many levels including university campuses with Confucius Institutes, technology, government offices, products made in China, and the theft of intellectual property.--Who is orchestrating all of this-- Is it the President-- Is it China's leaders-- Is it those that donate money-- Alex Newman answers this question for us.--Today's program is troubling, but let's keep our trust, hope and confidence in our Lord. He is already victorious.

The US Presidential debate was yet another example of average Americans struggling to combat sophisticated mis-dis-information and propaganda. In parallel, we have all watched as Amazon was caught engineering their Alexa assistant to favor one political side over the other. A federal judge has also ruled that Google will be punished for illegally monopolizing the internet search market, which furthermore includes the manipulation of accessible data, often altered in favor of corporations and zealot-ideology. Search engines like Bing promote sexual abuse content of children and Instagram connects pedophile networks, just as Google's Dragonfly program was a censorship engine for China that has, at least in concept, been employed against the American people. But it's China warning against Americans spying on Chinese citizens, a report from NBC notes. Meanwhile, Chinese agents like Linda Sun infiltrated the Governor's office of New York; Senator Diane Feinstein employed a Chinese spy for 20 years; Congressman Eric Swalwell was penetrating Christine Fang while she infiltrated him; the Chinese ran a bio-lab in California; China operates police stations in major US cities, and famously Confucius Institutes at Universities. It appears that China has infiltrated schools, local governments, and corporations across the United States. Massive corporations own politicians, foreign governments have easily infiltrated the country, and universities are nothing but programming facilities for generations of drones. Just as the movie Network pointed out in 1976: “There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today.” The only difference today is that those most opposed to these companies are nothing but PR representatives, not politicians. -FREE ARCHIVE & RSS: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-secret-teachings Twitter: https://twitter.com/TST___Radio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesecretteachings WEBSITE (BOOKS, RESUBSCRIBE for early show access): http://thesecretteachings.info Paypal: rdgable@yahoo.com CashApp: $rdgable EMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / TSTRadio@protonmail.com

Topic: The US Presidential debate was yet another example of average Americans struggling to combat sophisticated mis-dis-information and propaganda. In parallel, we have all watched as Amazon was caught engineering their Alexa assistant to favor one political side over the other. A federal judge has also ruled that Google will be punished for illegally monopolizing the internet search market, which furthermore includes the manipulation of accessible data, often altered in favor of corporations and zealot-ideology. Search engines like Bing promote sexual abuse content of children and Instagram connects pedophile networks, just as Google's Dragonfly program was a censorship engine for China that has, at least in concept, been employed against the American people. But it's China warning against Americans spying on Chinese citizens, a report from NBC notes. Meanwhile, Chinese agents like Linda Sun infiltrated the Governor's office of New York; Senator Diane Feinstein employed a Chinese spy for 20 years; Congressman Eric Swalwell was penetrating Christine Fang while she infiltrated him; the Chinese ran a bio-lab in California; China operates police stations in major US cities, and famously Confucius Institutes at Universities. It appears that China has infiltrated schools, local governments, and corporations across the United States. Massive corporations own politicians, foreign governments have easily infiltrated the country, and universities are nothing but programming facilities for generations of drones. Just as the movie Network pointed out in 1976: “There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today.” The only difference today is that those most opposed to these companies are nothing but PR representatives, not politicians. -FREE ARCHIVE & RSS: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-secret-teachingsTwitter: https://twitter.com/TST___RadioFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesecretteachingsWEBSITE (BOOKS, RESUBSCRIBE for early show access): http://thesecretteachings.infoPaypal: rdgable@yahoo.comCashApp: $rdgableBuy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tstradioSUBSCRIBE TO NETWORK: http://aftermath.mediaEMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / TSTRadio@protonmail.com

Alex Newman is an award-winning international freelance journalist, author, researcher, educator and consultant. He is Senior Editor for The New American. He is co-author of Crimes of the Educators, author of Deep State: The Invisible Government Behind the Scenes, and author of Indoctrinating Our Children to Death. He is the Founder of Liberty Sentinel.Today's program comes as a warning. The book of Ezekiel in the Bible speaks of the watchman's responsibility to sound the alarm if a threat is approaching. That's what Crosstalk is doing today; we are sounding the alarm.Communist China is a threat. Communist China is advancing its influence and infiltrating America. It's not just the acquisition of farm land in strategic places, though that is occurring. The infiltration of China is happening on many levels including university campuses with Confucius Institutes, technology, government offices, products made in China, and the theft of intellectual property.Who is orchestrating all of this? Is it the President? Is it China's leaders? Is it those that donate money? Alex Newman answers this question for us.Today's program is troubling, but let's keep our trust, hope and confidence in our Lord. He is already victorious.

The primary coordinator for London's famous UCL College James Trapp joins ShaoLan to teach how to say “student” in Chinese. Are you a good student or a bad student?! Find out how to say it in this entertaining episode!

 Lowlights from Commie Con(DNC) and examples of why Harris is a card-carrying communist. 

“You work to achieve power!” Find out what the Chinese characters that represent “Kung Fu” mean and why Kung Fu is related to Tai Chi. Listen in and enjoy as Chineasy creator ShaoLan talks to Tai Chi expert James Trapp.

Chinese expert and keen chef of Chinese cuisine James Trapp drops in to the studio in London to share some of the key ways to describe Chinese Cuisine. He also shares what he likes to make as his “signature dish.” This episode will almost certainly make you feel hungry!

In this conversation I discuss the Confucius Institute, cybersecurity search engines, ransomware defense evasion tactics, the GOP platform on protecting critical infrastructure, the OpenAI breach, cybersecurity concerns in the automotive industry, the White House's push for increased cyber funds, and the healthcare industry's pushback against cybersecurity reporting rules. Takeaways Augusta, Georgia is not an exciting place to visit The Confucius Institute raises concerns about its funding and curriculum Cybersecurity search engines like Greyhat Warfare can provide valuable information Ransomware attackers are focusing on defense evasion tactics The GOP platform emphasizes protecting critical infrastructure from hackers OpenAI faced a breach but did not inform law enforcement The automotive industry is increasingly concerned about cybersecurity The White House is seeking increased cyber funds for federal agencies The healthcare industry is pushing back against proposed cybersecurity reporting rules

In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack ask each other funny questions.Transcript:00:00:00JackHey, A is the English podcast listeners. It's Jack here and we just want to announce that we are now on WeChat. Our WeChat ID is A-Z English podcast that is A-Z English podcast, one word all lowercase.00:00:17JackAnd if you.00:00:18JackJoin the group. You will be able to talk with me. You'll be able to.00:00:22JackTalk with social.00:00:23JackAnd we can answer your questions. We can read your comments on the podcast. So we'd love for you to join us and be active in our we chat group. Our WeChat ID is A-Z English podcast. Thanks. See you on the app.00:00:49JackWelcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my.00:00:52JackCo-host.00:00:53JackSocial and today we're going to do some funny quiz questions. And so I'm going to ask social some questions. She's going to ask me. They're kind of silly, but I think it's it'll be fun to, you know, see what our answers are.00:01:08JackAnd so, uh, so. So the first one is.00:01:12JackIf you could teach a dog your dog duende to do 1 human thing, what would it be?00:01:21XochitlYeah.00:01:22XochitlUh, Jack. That one's hard because initially I want to say I want to teach him to speak, but I think I would get annoyed like I love him to death, but he's like he's a little puppy and he has a lot of energy, so he just be talking my ear off, like how little kids do you know?00:01:39JackWhat's this? What's this? What's this? What's this you're like?00:01:43XochitlYeah, constantly. Like, so you know.00:01:47XochitlBut you know it's between.00:01:49XochitlTeaching them how to talk and this is kind of a cheating answer, but I'd like to teach him to be self-sufficient. That way I could just like go on trips without having to worry about him. I feel like he can feed himself and get himself water and take himself out for a walk or whatever if that was possible I would.00:01:58JackYeah.00:02:08XochitlThat would be great if you could just be self-sufficient and that.00:02:10XochitlJust.00:02:10XochitlKind of that involves is kind of cheating because it involves a lot of human things under one umbrella.00:02:16JackYou know, but I I just picture him sitting on the sofa like a human with, like, the remote control in his paw.00:02:23JackIt's just kind of slipping through the channels looking for anything with dogs on TV.00:02:24XochitlYeah, he would definitely.00:02:30XochitlYeah, because there's some shoes he actually likes to watch. I think I was watching, like Sophia and the guard the other day. That's a YouTuber. And he was really intently watching the show. So he's very, yeah, there's some things he really likes. I think he likes Sophia and.00:02:41JackWow, that's weird.00:02:49XochitlI don't know. There. Yeah. There's some things to seem to like more than others. I still haven't figured out the pattern yet with my other dog. He like to with Mouse, which is a dog. But my family had before I had went to. He liked The Walking.00:03:01XochitlEd.00:03:03발표자Ohh.00:03:05JackWhat? What does that mean?00:03:05발표자 2And.00:03:07XochitlI don't know. You seem to like The Walking Dead and he like to watch the the show with like a a dog in it too. He would watch that, like, whenever we watched it, he would sit down.00:03:18XochitlAnd watch it.00:03:18XochitlThe other shows and before him really quickly. So yeah, I think if if I could teach him to be self-sufficient, that's kind of.00:03:25XochitlWhat I would do?00:03:26JackYeah. Yeah. Ohh.00:03:27XochitlJack, how for your dog. Oh, sorry. Go ahead.00:03:30JackOh, no. Yeah, Michael.00:03:31JackI was going to say the same thing that you said. I was going to say, like I wanted to teach my dog to speak, but actually I don't want.00:03:37JackMy.00:03:37JackDog to to talk because.00:03:41JackYou know.00:03:44JackYeah.00:03:45JackShe might never stop talking. You know, it's like it could be like a blessing and then it turns into a curse. You know, like you be careful what you wish for.00:03:57JackI would teach I.00:03:58JackWould love her to UM.00:04:01JackBe able to use the toilet.00:04:03XochitlI knew you were gonna say that. I was like, I knew you were going to say that because she has that issue. Like she kind of poops and.00:04:09XochitlPees all over the house, right?00:04:10JackYeah, yeah, yeah. I would just love for her to just, like, go in the bathroom and jump up on the toilet, use use the bathroom flush.00:04:20JackAnd yeah, that would be amazing. That would be amazing. So huge convenience for us.00:04:30XochitlYeah, yeah, that'd be great. That. Yeah, Blendy kind of already does that since he, like, just goes in the bathroom if he can't get outside.00:04:40XochitlWhich just makes it really easy to pick up, so I don't really have to worry about them.00:04:44JackYeah, yeah.00:04:48JackLet's let's do it. I got another one here.00:04:52JackThis one is kind of interesting. Like what's your silliest selfie face, or do you do you have a selfie face?00:05:03XochitlUmm, I don't know if I have a selfie.00:05:05XochitlFace I think one time.00:05:08XochitlWhen I was like 14 like or something, the the uh.00:05:13XochitlWhat's it called?00:05:15XochitlThe UM.00:05:17XochitlDuck lips trend was uh trending and my sister and her friend, who were like two to three years older than me. They're like 16 or 17. Wanna take a picture?00:05:20JackYeah.00:05:30XochitlWith me, and we all did like the duck lips trend. And if people don't know, you would kind of purse your lips and make this like, duck face. Kind of.00:05:38JackYou. You they think it's the idea is that it makes your lips look bigger, right?00:05:43XochitlYou know, like it's like a parodying face. It was supposed to be cute, I guess, like back in the day, I don't. I think you were making fun of the trend when we did it. So we already knew it was silly, but some people did it unironically. Like some people really thought it made them look cuter.00:05:48JackYeah.00:05:59XochitlSo I don't know, but yeah, that's probably that probably is number one for me. How about you, Jack?00:06:06JackThis is really embarrassing. I'm disclosing too much information here, but.00:06:12JackUh, I I had a period of time where I used to make a mirror face. I had a mirror face.00:06:20JackUM, where? I did something weird with my mouth every time I looked in the mirror.00:06:26JackAnd and and and I I didn't. I didn't know that I had this habit, you know.00:06:32JackUM and I don't know what I I can't explain it but.00:06:39JackBut I I someone called me out on it at one point. It gave it. It was really embarrassing for me and I and I then I realized all the time that I that I was doing this like I would. I don't know. I'd push like my.00:06:55JackBottom lip out with my tongue a little bit to maybe make my face like a little bit more.00:07:01JackWhat I thought was more attractive, more handsome or something I I don't know. Like it was. It was a very strange habit and.00:07:09XochitlLike I would do that too actually with the. Also with the with the the tongue on the bottom lip, and then I would also lose. I didn't know how doing it either. I would raise my eyebrows up.00:07:21JackOh, OK. So yeah, there's different variations of this, uh and my my friend, but the friend that called me out on it, she's.00:07:28JackLike.00:07:29JackShe caught me to I I I remember walking into an office. I remember this vividly because it's. It was so humiliating and she was on the inside of the office and I was on the outside. But the the the glass was reflective.00:07:42JackFrom my perspective, uh, my point of view.00:07:46JackAnd so when I caught a glimpse of my face in the the the window I did the mirror face just reflexively.00:07:54JackUM. And she's like, oh, you have a mirror face, you know, or something like that or whatever. And I'm like, what? What are you talking about? I didn't do anything. I just denied it, you know, and. And then she's like, I, I do this totally weird face when I look in the mirror, she told me she does the same thing, but at least she does it in the privacy of her own.00:08:15JackI was doing it in public and and I I really had to.00:08:21JackLike tamp it down, you know, like, make a conscious effort to stop doing that. And what I've realized is that we to look, look good in pictures is all about your eyes. You smile with your eyes. You don't smile with our mouth.00:08:40JackI mean, obviously our mouth does turn upward, but.00:08:46JackIt's actually the eyes is what makes it a a good smile. And so when I, when I learned that I was, I make I I make a a real point to like really.00:08:59JackReally smile with my eyes. When I take a photo and it seems to help, like the photos are better when I smile with my eye, it looks more natural, you know, as opposed to this, like weird. Basically it's just a basically. I was doing the duck lips thing, you know, a different version of it.00:09:20JackAnd yeah, it was really embarrassing.00:09:24XochitlYeah, that's funny.00:09:25JackYeah.00:09:28JackLet's see here. What's another one we got? Let's do one more.00:09:35JackYeah, what's the?00:09:38JackLet's see here. Let me find a better one. What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?00:09:43JackI I shouldn't ask you this right now because you have food poisoning as you mentioned earlier today.00:09:49XochitlRight, yeah.00:09:51XochitlThe weirdest thing I've ever eaten, though.00:09:55XochitlAh, that's a that's a really hard one. I I'm in. I'm an adventurous eater and anytime I travel to the country, I'll eat anything. So I remember when I went to China, uh, it was. It was a group of students because we were going through the Confucius Institute and whatever they would serve us, me and this other.00:10:16XochitlKid Adam, I think his name was would be the first to try.00:10:20XochitlAnything and the other students you know, they were kind of more picky, which annoyed me. I I'm I get I get kind of irritated by picky eaters. I'm like look you're.00:10:28JackThat's a pet peeve of mine as well. Like, I really hate that. It's like some people eat like children, you know? It's like you're gonna eat Mac and cheese every day for the rest of your life. I mean, come on.00:10:36XochitlYes.00:10:42XochitlYeah, it'll be, like, really rude about other cultures, food, which I don't get either. So.00:10:47발표자 2I don't. So I remember this.00:10:50XochitlOne that I tried.00:10:52XochitlWas like.00:10:54XochitlIt was Lotus Root, but it was also kind of presentation where it was cold.00:11:00XochitlAnd it tasted like it tasted like cold chapstick. I don't know if it was just the. I think it was just the the dish that I had. And the way it was prepared. I'm sure Lotus food is delicious, but it was. It was just really weird to me because it tasted it really the way that it was prepared in that specific.00:11:20XochitlPlates tasted like cold chapstick. It was very weird and.00:11:24XochitlAnd that was all.00:11:24JackOn the on the.00:11:25JackOn the positive side, your lips were.00:11:28JackSuper moist after that.00:11:30XochitlYeah, moisturize for sure. Right. So I think that would probably.00:11:36XochitlUh, kind of up there and then I guess #2 would probably be in in Mexico, lead insects, you know, some insects. So I've had things that I guess Americans would consider weird.00:11:44발표자 2Hmm.00:11:50XochitlLike uh.00:11:52XochitlWe use the worm on the McGee, which is a type of cactus used to produce alcohol. We use it to make salt like worm salt, and we eat that on orange wedges.00:12:00JackHmm, OK.00:12:05XochitlAs a, we eat that on orange wedges like kind of as a snack, I guess, or people do when they drink, like after they drink, they eat one of those. But when I was a kid, I would just my parents would order a drink and then I would just eat the orange wedges with the warm salt.00:12:18JackYeah, yeah.00:12:20XochitlYeah. And so those that was really tasty. I didn't. I had no idea that it was made with the worms at all. And it has a pretty red.00:12:27XochitlColor, which comes from the worms.00:12:30XochitlAnd then crickets, which we also eat here in Mexico. Uh, I'm not a fan of crickets. They have, like, a very herby flavor.00:12:38JackYeah.00:12:39XochitlWhich makes me not really like them, but I have eaten them multiple times because they're pretty popular to include in many dishes in the HOKA, and it's the last one I know we're just going to do one. But here I just cutting up is the chica thana mole more is is basically just a sauce and the base.00:12:59XochitlThis sauce and you can also use them in salsas or just fried.00:13:03XochitlUp. Is this these dying ants? They only come out during a certain season after like the first rains and and they kind of fall out. And I guess they're supposed to, like, hatch their eggs in the dirt or something. But some of them get lost and people harvest them up and you kind of toast them up and use them in salsas.00:13:10JackYes.00:13:25XochitlAnd the lids. And you can also just eat them with lime and salt. And I've had them in mole before and.00:13:31XochitlAgain, it's kind of a.00:13:33XochitlIt's an interesting flavor. It's very hard to explain. It's like a little earthy and a little flower and a little bit herbaceous.00:13:39JackYeah.00:13:41XochitlYeah.00:13:41JackThat's interesting because I like cricket fried crickets when I lived in Thailand that that was very common. Like they they they eat insects there in in the country.00:13:50JackUh.00:13:52JackThe Easan Province area and but they they they fry them in oil and then salt them. Is that how it's prepared and?00:14:04XochitlYeah, that's exactly how they're prepared here. If they're like, they look like bacon bins, they're really.00:14:06발표자 2Yes.00:14:08XochitlStart.00:14:09JackYeah, there's a great source of protein.00:14:12XochitlYeah, they're supposed to be really healthy. It's like the meat of the future or something. But I'm not a huge fan of them. They're a little bit herbies because they only eat like herbs, you know? So they they taste very herby. They only eat like glass and herbs. So they.00:14:24JackRight, right there. Cricket flower is a thing now. You can buy that. It's like a healthier protein flower.00:14:25XochitlHave.00:14:26XochitlFlavor strong.00:14:32XochitlYou need to use it to like.00:14:33XochitlMake pancakes and stuff I had.00:14:34JackRight.00:14:36JackYeah.00:14:36XochitlAnd worm worm flour or something too. You can use like make worm cake and worm pancakes and stuff.00:14:41XochitlWhich I haven't tried.00:14:41JackYeah, yeah. Silkworm is popular in Korea. It's called bandagi. And. Yeah, but but the smell, you know, I've never eaten it because it's just.00:14:47XochitlYes.00:14:55JackIt's not my. It's not my thing. You know, it's not my jam, but.00:15:00XochitlDoes your wife eat?00:15:01JackYeah, she loves Bandagi loves it. Yeah, but she doesn't eat it often. But if it if it, if it comes up, it's like, oh, what a surprise, you know?00:15:08JackLike if you're in a bar or something and there's a side dish and it might be bandagi and so.00:15:16JackYou can you can get that, it's.00:15:19XochitlDoes your daughter eat it?00:15:21JackMy daughter would is has such a phobia of insects that I think the idea of bandagi might just.00:15:30JackShe would need to. She would almost faint if I even brought up the idea of it to her.00:15:37XochitlThat's so crazy. I I think it's kind of easy to have a phobia of insects in Korea because when I was there, I never once saw an insect in my apartment.00:15:46발표자 2Oh.00:15:47XochitlOn the 17th floor. So I guess that's probably why.00:15:52XochitlBut I like never once saw an insect, and I saw a Roach like one time, and then there were spiders. They're really like big black spiders that were kind of scary, you know what I'm talking about, obviously.00:15:59JackYeah.00:16:02JackYeah, I think I don't know if it's like a brown recluse or they also have garden spiders that look absolutely terrifying, but they're quite innocent. They're they're not very, they're not dangerous.00:16:12발표자 2Yeah.00:16:13XochitlBlack spiders, and they only come out during a certain season and they all like flock to like the rooftop of different places like they're they were all over the 711 that was outside of my apartment building.00:16:24JackYeah, a funny, funny quick aside here. There a story.00:16:29JackUM, many times this has happened, but I'll I'll be in my office and then I hear a a blood curdling scream come from the other room and.00:16:41XochitlHuh.00:16:42JackI thought, you know, intruder, you know, someones broken into our house is attacking my family. I run over. It's my daughter. It's like there's a bug, you know, like just a tiny.00:16:54JackLittle little bug.00:16:56JackAnd I have to kill it, you know, because I'm.00:16:59XochitlOhh so you kill it for her.00:17:01JackI kill her for her. Yeah, yeah.00:17:02XochitlThat's nice. My dad was always very mean. He'd be like, uh, toughen up, you know, do yourself. No sport. I wasn't spoiled at all. So I.00:17:08JackDidn't.00:17:13XochitlI'm still scared of bugs, but you know, I kind of have to.00:17:18XochitlHave to toughen up because uh.00:17:21XochitlMy you know.00:17:21JackMaybe your dad was right. Actually, he might have. You know, for me. I'm what? What's going to happen when my daughter has to kill her own bugs? That's going to be tough.00:17:30XochitlYou know, you'll get to it eventually. I think when I moved out because my mom would still kill some bugs for me. So, like, I would see what I could get away with. And my dad wasn't around me. My mom killed bugs. But, you know, when I moved away.00:17:41XochitlAnd when I moved to Mexico especially, and they were like centipedes and all these other like tons of insects, because the weather's like more tropical. And I eventually just learned to, you know, toughen up and kill them all. The one I have a really hard time with still or Rd.00:17:53XochitlI have a phobia of roaches, but when it kills them so yeah, he just he likes to flip them over on their back and then let them die that way.00:17:57JackOh really?00:18:04JackOh, nice. OK. Yeah. Roaches are the worst. I I hate roaches. I hate them. Yeah.00:18:05XochitlAnd then once we right up.00:18:07발표자 2Yeah.00:18:10XochitlThey're so creepy.00:18:11JackOh, they're awful. They're awful with those big long antennas.00:18:14XochitlOhh yeah, because they're like big. Ohh. And some of them fly in Mexico it's like.00:18:19XochitlWorse.00:18:20XochitlWhat? What is? What is the weird thing you've ever eaten, though? Now where you know you have bugs.00:18:24JackYeah, I don't know, I.00:18:26JackMean, I think the weirdest thing I've ever eaten is probably frog legs. You know, I have eaten alligator before too, but it was like deep fried alligator, which I think is cheating. I mean, you could deep fry anything and it would taste good, you know.00:18:33발표자Would you?00:18:40XochitlYeah, that's true. I have deep fried alligator too, and I really liked it. I even think of it because it was so tasty. I made it myself and it it just kind of tasted the mix between chicken and white fish.00:18:50JackYeah, exactly that. Ohh. Nice. I I I've always said chicken, but it's not exactly like chicken. It's.00:18:56JackLike, yeah, like, yes. Exactly, exactly.00:18:56XochitlIt speaks the way that Whitefish does.00:19:01XochitlLike cod or something, it's like a mix between chicken and cod.00:19:04JackYeah, the way it kind of kind of stacks on itself like it's there's like slices or something, it's hard for you.00:19:11XochitlYeah, it's flakes. It's like flaking. Like it's it's. Yeah, it flakes like, but it has a meteor bite like.00:19:13JackFlaky, right?00:19:18발표자 210.00:19:19JackYeah. I mean, frog legs are just like little tiny wings, you know? I mean, that's that's all it is really, because those are like chicken wings. So, like, little, little tiny chicken wings. You know, there's not a lot of meat on it. But I mean there it's you get a nice little, you know, the thigh is is pretty nice. It's like the tasty little snack.00:19:25발표자Or chicken wings.00:19:38JackUM, it's not something I.00:19:41JackWould seek out again, but at the time you know when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So I I I ate it and and I enjoyed it. It was. It was fine. Yeah.00:19:55XochitlThat's cool. I've noticed fog like I have had snail, which I wasn't a huge fan of. It was just kind of chewy and bland. Yeah.00:20:03JackYeah, yeah, I mean, that's why in France they just, you know, drench it in butter and garlic sauce. You know, it's like.00:20:12JackIt it's it's, it's not something you might eat.00:20:17JackYou know, just just by itself, but if you put in garlic butter, you know then then escargot is is pretty good. It's it's not that terrible. It's a little bit rich for me. I just I it's just too.00:20:29JackMuch the.00:20:30XochitlYeah, yeah, definitely it. It can be overwhelming. Yeah. Alright. Seems well. If you would like to answer any questions that we answer today, don't be shy. Leave us an e-mail at uh. Sorry. Leave us a comment@azenglishpodcast.com. Shoot us an e-mail at azspodcast@gmail.com and make sure you join the week channel. Lots of groups.00:20:50XochitlThen.00:20:51XochitlAnd make sure that you check out our English corner Jack and I talk about questions just like these every single day. It's great practice for IELTS and it's great practice to talk to your peers and to improve your English. It's only 10 USD a month, so that gives you 20 classes Monday through Friday for one hour and it's really great positive.00:21:10XochitlCommunity. So uh yeah, I hope to see you guys there. If you have any questions or you're interested, make sure to shoot Jack A.00:21:15XochitlMessage on WeChat.00:21:16XochitlOr laptop and we'll see you guys next time.00:21:19발표자 2Bye bye bye bye.Podcast Website:Topic Talk | We ask each other funny questions – A to Z English (atozenglishpodcast.com)Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Debora by Jangwahttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Dilating_Times/single/debora/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek welcome to the podcast Maria Repnikova, associate professor in global communication at Georgia State University, to talk about China's use of so-called “soft power”. They explore the origin of the phrase and what Maria means by it, Confucius Institutes, public diplomacy, Chinese efforts to build a global media network, how the US frames these initiatives, and what kind of image China might be trying to project. Be sure to pick up a copy of Maria's book of the same name. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome to the podcast Maria Repnikova, associate professor in global communication at Georgia State University, to talk about China's use of so-called “soft power”. They explore the origin of the phrase and what Maria means by it, Confucius Institutes, public diplomacy, Chinese efforts to build a global media network, how the US frames these initiatives, and what kind of image China might be trying to project.You can find Maria's book of the same name here.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl talks about her trip to China.To become an exclusive subscriber, follow this link:https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentorWeChat: atozenglishpodcastTranscript:00:00:00JackHey, it is the English podcast listeners. This is Jack here. We are excited to offer you a new way to get even more involved with our podcast for just $10 a month, you can become an exclusive subscriber and join our private WhatsApp and WeChat groups as a member.00:00:20JackYou'll have the opportunity to ask questions and leave comments that we will address in a special weekly episode dedicated to our support.00:00:30XochitlYours.00:00:31JackYour generous donations help cover the operational costs of the podcast.00:00:36JackAllowing us to keep delivering the content you love to join, simply click the links in the description to pay via our stripe account or directly on the WeChat app.00:00:50JackThank you for your support. We can't wait to connect with you in our exclusive groups and hear what you have to say.00:00:57JackOK.00:00:58JackNow let's get on with the show. Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are doing a topic talk.00:01:16JackAnd today's topic is social's trip to China when she was 16 years old and social I I didn't know that you went to China when you were sixteen. I think this is the first time I'm learning of this and.00:01:34JackWhy did you go? Who did you go with? What did you do? You know all the WH questions? I'm so curious.00:01:41XochitlUM so.00:01:45XochitlWhat can I say about this trip?00:01:48XochitlUM, well, we went. I was learning Mandarin at the time I started learning Mandarin in the in freshman year of high school, which for our listeners that means first year of high school and in US we have four years of high school so.00:02:06XochitlMy I want to say it was my junior year. Yes, because I was 16 my junior year.00:02:12XochitlI the summer of my junior year, we went to China on a trip because as it turns out, my dad is a a university professor and his university, the Confucius Institute, holds a trip to China. And you have to pay like your ticket. But I think everything else is paid for it.00:02:29XochitlIt's like it's subsidized, so that means like they pay for a lot of your trip and.00:02:34JackSo you just buy the ticket, but they pay for like your accommodation. They pay for your food and that kind of stuff they travel.00:02:41XochitlYeah, I believe either that was the case or it's subsidized, meaning they put a lot of money towards your your accommodation and your food and your travel. And. Yeah, so it was pretty affordable. So my dad said.00:02:50JackIt lowers the price down so.00:02:53JackDon't have to pay much.00:02:55XochitlHmm.00:02:57XochitlHey, I'll pay for it. My dad found it, actually, and he said he would pay for it for me. And so I.00:03:01XochitlSaid.00:03:02XochitlYeah. OK and.00:03:07XochitlA few like only one other person who was in my class in Chinese went, and besides, that was all students from Louisville, which is the capital of Kentucky.00:03:17JackYeah.00:03:18XochitlAnd so we all went to China, and it was a a an age range from.00:03:27Xochitl1617.00:03:30XochitlPretty much and.00:03:34XochitlWe it was a really great time. I think we landed in Beijing and we went to Shanghai and Xian.00:03:41JackHmm.00:03:42XochitlAnd I really, really loved it. I think that's probably one of my favorite places that I've ever visited.00:03:48XochitlI really like the food. I liked the weather, I liked how busy it was, and there were a lot of really beautiful parks, like especially she had a really beautiful park and we spent the most time in Shannon and spent a week in Shannon. If I'm not mistaken, and went to a high school and got to meet like other kids our age. And then we went to host family and have like, dinner with them.00:03:54JackYeah.00:04:04JackYeah.00:04:13XochitlAnd we got to go shopping and we got to take the subway and like, we got to, like, eat street food and we got to go on the Great Wall. We hiked on the great.00:04:23XochitlWall of China.00:04:24JackOh cool.00:04:25XochitlYeah, we went to Shanghai, we went to like some traditional palace. I want to say.00:04:32JackYeah.00:04:33XochitlYeah, because we went to some gardens. Some like traditional gardens in Shanghai, and it was very hot and humid in Shanghai and in Beijing it was very rainy and cold. It was like.00:04:44XochitlVery because Shanghai's the South and Beijing's like the north, right? And then Shian was probably my favorite because.00:04:53XochitlThe weather was just perfect the whole time, so I really liked it there.00:04:57JackSo social you said you went to Shanghai. I I heard some quotes by a famous chef and traveler, Anthony Bourdain. And he said.00:05:00XochitlYeah.00:05:09XochitlYes.00:05:10JackShanghai makes New York City look like a.00:05:13JackThird world country.00:05:14JackCountry.00:05:15JackLike and and I I've always found that really interesting because I think the perception that Americans have of China is that it's somehow backwards or, you know, it's not developed or whatever. And if you look at some of these projects that they have and they're building.00:05:37JackAnd the things that they're doing in China, they're it looks like it looks like it's in science fiction movie like it's in the future.00:05:43XochitlYes. Yeah.00:05:46XochitlThat this was almost 10 years ago. At this point, I guess, or 10 years ago. So. But I do remember that it was really insane how tall all the buildings were, and we had a race after I think in Beijing is where we ate Peking ducks because it was a specialty. And I want to say that's from Beijing.00:05:57JackYeah.00:06:06XochitlBut he's saying.00:06:06JackYeah.00:06:07XochitlJust correct me if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure that's.00:06:10XochitlAnd so after he had pecking dunk, it was really delicious. But it's heavy because it's kind of fatty and sugary, and it's really.00:06:15JackThe duck is the duck is is wonderful, but it's so oily and so.00:06:22XochitlYou're saying it's like delicious cake buds, and then your stomachs like so. My friends and I like waist because we were staying on like the 13th floor or something. I don't think any of it. No, it was higher than that. None of us had ever been that high up and like, stayed that high up. And so I remember that we got in like an.00:06:23XochitlRich.00:06:26JackYeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.00:06:40XochitlThere and they got an elevator and my friend and I tried to.00:06:45XochitlRace him up the.00:06:45XochitlStairs. There's no way we could make.00:06:47XochitlIt you know we.00:06:48XochitlWere just like running. It isn't good, I think made it and I made it and like they were. I think they had, like stopped on the floor because of something or something. And so they we made it close to the same time.00:06:48JackYou got to like the 8th floor and.00:06:52JackYeah.00:07:02XochitlBut I like threw up after cause I ran so hard and I was like, no, I'm not taking that.00:07:09JackAmazing duck goes in Beijing. Duck goes out. Yeah.00:07:12XochitlSo it was very.00:07:15JackOhh my gosh.00:07:15XochitlYeah, and seeing how I was very beautiful, we actually I believe we stayed at a university in Shanghai and.00:07:23XochitlIt was really nice. I remember the dorms and everything and.00:07:29XochitlWe were saying some college dorms, even though we.00:07:31XochitlWere.00:07:31XochitlHigh school students, but it's because I think the university Shanghai has like some exchange program. That's what we are looking at. And yeah, it was really fascinating. I we really enjoyed it. And I would say it's a beautiful country. I think it's one of the the.00:07:39JackYeah.00:07:48XochitlThat in Seattle are two places that I went and I was like, I love it here. I I could live here. I could stay here forever, you know.00:07:55JackYeah, yeah, yeah. Shanghai is a city that I've I absolutely must visit. I'm I'm I'm more interested in visiting Shanghai than I am in visiting Beijing. Oddly enough, I know it's the capital city and everything, but I really want to visit Shanghai. It seems like such a cool.00:08:14JackVibe, like such a cool city.00:08:16XochitlYeah. And the Chinese listeners don't hate me for this. I like the Southern accent more, even though it's more improper.00:08:25XochitlThe the northern accent is more difficult for me to pronounce because it's like it's rougher and like the the tones and like the the sounds like the consonant sounds are much sharper and the Southern accent is like.00:08:38XochitlMm-hmm.00:08:41XochitlMore, it's softer and it's easier for a foreigner because it's hard to like. Enunciate those. Those like sharp consonant sounds like like that kind of for the for the north and for the South. It might be like the instead of the. And so it was just easier for me to pronounce because my first teacher was actually southern Chinese.00:09:02JackNo.00:09:02JackOK.00:09:03XochitlAnd my tutor after that was also she was from Nanjing, so she was from the South southern capital city. I guess so I was more used to that. And then when I went to college.00:09:13XochitlThe professors were from the north and it was so hard to keep up because it's like it's a more proper, supposedly I think pronunciation.00:09:21JackOK, be more formal or something like that. Like yeah, yeah.00:09:26XochitlI guess it's more. It's kind of like how in in the southern US like dialect or regional accent, we kind of slow words together or whatever.00:09:35JackYeah, there's a southern drawl. They call it, you know, which I think it would be really funny if if for like, a a Chinese student or a Korean student to go to America and study English in Louisiana or Georgia or Alabama.00:09:38XochitlYes, OK.00:09:52JackAnd so they learn, you know, English with that, like how y'all doing, you know? Hey, y'all, you know, something like that. It's it's like, yeah.00:09:58XochitlHey. Yeah. Yeah. So that's basically how I learned Chinese. So that's what I had this funny accent to them, to the Northerners. So it was fun, though. But yeah. So yeah, that was my trip to China. I have so many very fond memories, and I loved it. And I definitely, I think it's one of the number one.00:10:18XochitlCountries that I that I really want to go back.00:10:21JackOK. And what how about the people I we we I forgot to ask you about the people but.00:10:22XochitlThe one that I.00:10:26XochitlEveryone was so friendly and it was crazy because everyone was so friendly and it felt really safe and I remember I left my like wallet full of money at one of these stands and the the old lady went after me and I was like, hey, you forgot this.00:10:40JackWow, I love that.00:10:40XochitlAnd crazy cause a lot of places they'd be like, oh, I just do that in the US. Don't do that. You know what I mean?00:10:44JackHey.00:10:47JackIn the US, that money is Gonzo. Yeah. Gone for sure. Yeah.00:10:52XochitlAnd here you left your money here and I bought all this merch because I knew my dad would really like it. It was really fun. It was like these.00:11:00XochitlT-shirts Obama was president at the time, and they were called like Obama. Mao, like Mao did. The only guess, but Obama added it's like not in the Red Star. And it was really, I really. I had a fun time with that. I got my dad like a watch and AT shirt and a hat and all this stuff.00:11:07JackYeah, Obama.00:11:18JackNice. That's great.00:11:20XochitlYeah. And the people are so nice, so friendly and.00:11:24XochitlThey were, so they were.00:11:25XochitlSo, like nice and flattering to us and and like accommodating and I don't know, I really, really appreciated it. And yeah, nothing, nothing bad to say, all good things. And I really hope to come back someday and be able to see.00:11:40JackYou maybe wanna go to China. I really wanna get there so.00:11:43XochitlYou have to go. My dad also really wants to go. And I tell him, like, come on, man.00:11:48XochitlYou should go because the circus we also went to the circus. It was so cool. And The thing is really funny is that the popcorn is like sweet there. It's not salty. It's not like like.00:11:58JackYeah, it's the same in Korea too. They got, you know, yeah, the, the the sweet popcorn, the caramel popcorn. Yeah, it's.00:12:02XochitlYeah.00:12:05JackIt's it's interesting.00:12:07JackYeah, I'm. I'm definitely a savory. Over over. Yeah, yeah.00:12:10XochitlYeah. Anyway, listeners, let us know, are you too sweet or salty popcorn? Have you been to China? Are you from China? Tell us your experiences. I really love it. Definitely country that I want to go.00:12:22XochitlToo, and yeah, we'll see you guys next time. Make sure to join our WeChat and WhatsApp groups. That way we can interact with you directly if you have any money to spare, make sure that you join to see our exclusive content episodes. It really helps. I can I make more content for you guys and send us an e-mail at at ozenglishpodcast@gmail.com and leave us a comment.00:12:43XochitlAnd below at A-Z englishpodcast.com and we'll see you guys next time. Bye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-xochitls-trip-to-china/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Debora by Jangwahttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Dilating_Times/single/debora/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Join us this week as we welcome Jeff Mordock, White House reporter for The Washington Times, to delve into the latest from the Biden administration and hot-button issues such as the presidential debates, China tariffs, and Biden adopting Trump's policies. Then, stay tuned for an insightful conversation with Bernie Moreno, a U.S. Senate candidate from Ohio, as he shares his vision for protecting the American dream. But before we wrap up, don't miss Kiley's Corner where she gives an update on week 3 of the Karen Read trial and shares the story of a pod of Orcas attacking yachts off the coast of Morocco. As always, we end on a positive note with the sunshine moment from Jenna! Don't miss out on these engaging discussions that shed light on key issues shaping our nation's future.Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds-About our guestsJeff Mordock is the White House reporter for The Washington Times. A native of Newtown, Pennsylvania, he previously worked for Gannett and has won awards from both the Delaware Press Association and the Maryland Delaware D.C. Press Association. He is a graduate of George Washington University and you can follow him on X @JeffMordock.-Bernie Moreno fights for the American dream because he's lived it. Bernie was born in Bogota, Colombia. At age five, his American dream began when he moved to the United States with his family. Bernie became an American citizen at age 18.Bernie purchased his first car dealership in 2005 by investing every cent he had, and then some, and never looked back. Through his relentless work ethic and untamable entrepreneurial spirit, he turned that one dealership into one of the largest dealership groups in America.More recently, in 2016, Bernie recognized the value and transformational potential of blockchain technology, before it received mainstream attention, and moved much of his volunteer time and investment dollars into the space. In 2018 he co-founded ChampTitles, which eliminates the need for States to issue paper titles. The company has grown to be quite successful as Bernie served as Chairman of the Board.  He recently sold his entire stake in the company and is no longer Board Chair.After a long, successful career, Bernie sold most of his business to begin focusing on his calling: protecting the American dream for another generation. He saw the government calling some people essential and other hardworking Ohioans “unessential.” He saw schools shut down and China go unpunished for unleashing a virus on the world. He saw politicians afraid to take on the CCP for stealing our jobs and technology; buying our farmland; and influencing young minds via TikTok and Confucius Institutes.Solving our country's problems requires common sense. In Washington, Bernie will fight to shrink government, protect our freedoms, stop the Chinese communist party from taking our data and land, and always put America First.Ohioans are done with politicians who talk a big game and do nothing. Bernie wants to go to D.C. to get work done – just like he always has.Bernie lives in Westlake, Ohio, with his wife, Bridget, and has four adult children. Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

A mild 4.8 magnitude earthquake briefly pounded the East Coast, with tremors felt from the Big Apple to Washington. NTD's David Lam spoke with residents in New York City. President Joe Biden is monitoring “potential impacts” of the earthquake. What did he say about it as he surveyed the site of the collapsed Baltimore bridge? Israel's military dismisses two officers involved in the mistaken drone strike that killed several aid workers. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser aims to combat truancy and juvenile crime with aggressive prosecution of violent offenders. The Universities of Texas and Florida cut their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs because of their state DEI bans. But one Seattle school cut a gifted program instead of the DEI ideology. And the Chinese Communist Party has shifted its Confucius Institutes from universities to K–12 schools. ⭕️ Watch in-depth videos based on Truth & Tradition at Epoch TV

Mike Ferguson in the Morning 04-04-24 Alex Nester from Parents Defending Education talks about the Confucius Institute and the influence of the CCP in U.S. schools. Alex's opinion article here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2942388/the-ccps-influence-is-seeping-into-us-schools/ (https://defendinged.org/) (@defendinged) MORNING NEWS DUMP:  The attorney representing Daniel Riley has filed a motion for a re-trial after being convicted in the downtown crash that cost Janae Edmondson her legs. He says that the Circuit Court committed multiple legal errors against his client. Story here: https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/daniel-riley-files-for-re-trial-following-verdict-in-janae-edmondson-crash/ Update on the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. Look for fuel prices to continue to edge upward. Crude oil is up around $90/barrel. A judge has rejected Trump's bid to delay his upcoming hush money criminal trial. Story here: https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2024/04/03/judge-to-trump-no-delay-in-stormy-daniels-hush-money-case-trial-to-start-april-15-n2172281 Cardinals lost to the Padres 3-2 in San Diego. Today is the 2024 Home Opener at Busch Stadium at 3:15pm against the Miami Marlins.  Blues are on the road tonight against the Predators in Nashville at 7pm. NewsTalkSTL website: https://newstalkstl.com/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsTalkSTL Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewstalkSTL Livestream 24/7: http://bit.ly/newstalkstlstreamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Ferguson in the Morning 04-03-24 Alex Nester from Parents Defending Education talks about the Confucius Institute and the influence of the CCP in U.S. schools. Alex's opinion article here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2942388/the-ccps-influence-is-seeping-into-us-schools/ (https://defendinged.org/) (@defendinged) NewsTalkSTL website: https://newstalkstl.com/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsTalkSTL Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewstalkSTL Livestream 24/7: http://bit.ly/newstalkstlstreamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Ferguson in the Morning 04-03-24 Alex Nester from Parents Defending Education talks about the Confucius Institute and the influence of the CCP in U.S. schools. Alex's opinion article here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2942388/the-ccps-influence-is-seeping-into-us-schools/ (https://defendinged.org/) (@defendinged) MORNING NEWS DUMP as Danny Define rejoins us in the studio for the remainder of this 8am hour: Local school board races did not go the way that conservatives and parents' rights advocacy groups had hoped.  Update on the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.  Health officials have seen a rise in Monkeypox cases. Outgoing Missouri GOP Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer endorses former state senator Kurt Schaelfer to succeed him. Both MSD Propositions S and W were approved by voters, so taxes will go up for STL city residents and for most STL County residents. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg comments on EV sales. Cardinals beat the Padres 5-2 in San Diego. They'll go for the sweep this afternoon at 3:10pm. Hillary Clinton comments on Biden and Trump. More election discussion. NewsTalkSTL website: https://newstalkstl.com/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsTalkSTL Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewstalkSTL Livestream 24/7: http://bit.ly/newstalkstlstreamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the first installment of this four-episode series HERE Kenneth J. Hammond is Professor of History at New Mexico State University. Hammond was a student and Students for a Democratic Society leader at Kent State University from 1967 to 1970. He later (1985) completed his degree in Political Science, then studied Modern Chinese language at the Beijing Foreign Languages Normal School in Beijing. Hammond received an M.A. in Regional Studies - East Asia (1989), and a Ph.D in History and East Asian Languages (1994) from Harvard University. In 2007, Hammond was appointed director of the Confucius Institute, a cultural initiative funded in part by Hanban on the NMSU campus that is dedicated to studying and publicizing China and Chinese culture. He is the editor of the journal Ming Studies.    Follow Guerrilla History on X Follow Guerrilla History on IG Subscribe to Guerrilla History on your preferred podcast app Support Rev Left Radio    

  In season 2, we kick-off with America's foremost foreign policy scholar, Dr. Joseph Nye, the former Assistant Secretary of Defense and former Dean of Harvard Kennedy School of Government, to talk about how the American Century has shaped our civilization and what lies ahead in the road.   Dr. Nye shares his profound insights on:   - His personal reflections from his latest released book   - The essence and impact of soft power, hard power and 'smart' power in shaping international relations, drawing from his extensive experience and academic work   - Analyzing the concept of the "American Century," its historical context, and its relevance in today's shifting global order   - Discussing the strategic challenges and opportunities presented by nuclear non-proliferation, with a focus on his contributions during the Carter administration   - Providing a forward-looking perspective on the rise of Asia, particularly China and India, and the implications for global economic and political dynamics   - Navigating through the complexities of U.S. foreign policy, from its triumphs to its missteps, and envisioning the path forward in an increasingly multipolar world   - His thoughts on contemporary wars: from Israel-Palestine to Ukraine-Russia   Accompanying Dr. Nye, we're privileged to have our very dear friend of the pod, Jon Cayzer who's a UK civil servant, adding depth to the conversation with his expertise and experience in public services and policy advising.   Join us as Dr. Joseph Nye artfully connects past influences with present challenges, offering a roadmap for understanding and navigating the future of international relations.   Follow our host Waheed Nabeel (@iwaheedo), for more updates on tech, civilizational growth, progress studies, and emerging markets.   Here are the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players, you should be able to click the timestamp for the episode.     (00:00) - Introduction to Joseph Nye and his seminal contributions   (02:13) - Nye's background and defining moments in global politics   (07:04) - The American Century revisited: implications for global leadership   (12:50) - The evolution and significance of soft power in the modern era   (14:47) - Is the U.S.'s current foreign policy, particularly its support for Israel's actions in Gaza, leading to a decrease in its soft power, similar to the impact of the Iraq War?   (16:46) - Is the current perceived political polarization in the U.S. truly unprecedented, or is it a return to historical levels of division experienced in past eras like the FDR presidency?   (18:36) - Can the U.S. and China avoid the Thucydides Trap and prevent military conflict?   (23:56) - Should Ukraine join NATO?   (25:14) - Is China, despite its hard power, struggling to amplify its soft power on the global stage?   (28:05) - How can a small country effectively increase its soft power—is it through cultural promotion like the British Council and Confucius Institute, or are there other strategies?   (29:46) - In light of populism and Brexit, how can the UK rejuvenate its smart power and reestablish its international standing post-EU?   (32:16) - How do advancements in technology and AI affect a country's balance of soft and hard power?   (33:36) - Does the fragmentation of media through technologies like social media endanger the consensus-building essential to democracy in the 21st century?   (35:32) - How can America, known for its innovation, adapt its foundational principles and values for future generations to bridge to the next century, moving beyond the notion of American exceptionalism?   (37:35) - Discussing the shift in American values from 1998 to 2023, how has the perception of patriotism and other core values evolved over time?   (27:20) - Analyzing Asia's rise and its global ramifications   (33:35) - The interplay of technology, AI, and international relations   (36:50) - Envisioning the future of diplomacy and international cooperation   (39:07) - Outro  

Julie outlines all of the other ways that China is trying to destroy the US: hacking, fentanyl, TikTok, buying farmland next to our military bases, putting a spy base on Cuba, harassing anti-CCP Congressional candidates, Confucius Institutes, and bribing the Biden Family.You can join Julie live Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 1p PT, call in number: 844-861-5537Check out other Julie Hartman videos: https://www.youtube.com/@juliehartman Follow Julie Hartman on social media: Website: https://juliehartmanshow.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julierhartman/X: https://twitter.com/JulieRHartmanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Links: Mandarin Retreat Survey: https://www.mandarinretreat.com/choose-your-dates Carolina's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-navarro-plata/?locale=es_ES Our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imlearningmandarin I'm Learning Mandarin blog: imlearningmandarin.com/ -- Today's podcast episode is all about Carolina Navarro, a language educator from Spain whose Chinese learning adventures saw her overcome numerous cultural obstacles on the way to reaching professional proficiency in the language. Speaking of learning adventures, if you're a Chinese learner based in Europe, listen up! This year Mandarin Retreat are planning an awesome, fully immersive five day summer camp in the UK, packed with fun Chinese learning activities. And they want your input. In order to plan the best event we possibly can, we're currently running a survey giving you the chance to register your interest and have your say on preferred dates, locations and activities: https://www.mandarinretreat.com/choose-your-dates Our last camp took place in Wales in August and saw learners flying in from three European countries to participate! Everyone had an awesome time learning Tai Chi, playing Mahjong, making Chinese dumplings, watching Mandarin movies and exploring the stunning countryside together, all under the guidance of professional tutors in a totally immersive Mandarin language environment (check out the photos!) Now back to today's guest, Carolina. Carolina first went to China in 2010 where she worked and studied for the next few years, becoming fluent in Mandarin. After returning to Spain she put her Chinese skills to use working for the Confucius Institute for nine years.  Her current focus is on aiding learners in discovering their motivation for language acquisition. She conducts talks on language learning and assists families in comprehending and supporting their children's needs in learning Chinese.

Jenny Lee, vice president for Arizona International, dean of international education, and professor of educational policy studies and practice at the University of Arizona, leads the conversation on U.S. international academic collaboration and how U.S.-China tensions are affecting higher education. FASKIANOS: Welcome to CFR's Higher Education Webinar Series. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach here at CFR. Today's discussion is on the record and the video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org/academic. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. We're delighted to have Jenny Lee with us to discuss U.S. international academic collaboration. Dr. Lee is vice president for Arizona International, dean of international education, and professor of educational policy studies and practice at the University of Arizona. She is also a fellow of the American Educational Research Association. Dr. Lee formerly served as a senior fellow of NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, as chair for the Council of International Higher Education, and as a board member for the Association for the Study of Higher Education. And she has also served as a U.S. Fulbright scholar to South Africa, as a distinguished global professor at Korea University, and as an international visiting scholar at the City University of London, the University of Pretoria, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. So, Dr. Lee, thank you very much for being with us for today's topic. I thought you could begin by giving us an overview of current trends in U.S. international academic collaboration, especially looking at what's happening with our relations with China. LEE: Sounds great. Well, thank you for the opportunity, Irina. It's a pleasure to be here and to speak with you and all those listening right now. I'll speak for about ten or so minutes, and then open it up and engage with the audience. Hopefully, you all have some good questions that will come up during my remarks. So, clearly, we're entering a very interesting and somewhat uncertain chapter in how we understand the role of higher education globally. So I will begin with some general observation so all our viewers are on the same page. Now, first and foremost, the U.S. is mostly at the top when it comes to the higher education sector. Most of us already know that the United States houses the most highly ranked institutions. And this allows the country to be the largest host of international students and scholars from around the world. According to the latest IIE Open Doors report published a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. attracted over a million students from all over the world. And we're almost back to pre-pandemic levels. We also host over 90,000 scholars. And the primary purpose for them being here is research, for about two-thirds to 75 percent of them. These international scholars, as well as international graduate students, contribute significantly to the U.S. scientific enterprise. The U.S. is also among the leading countries in scientific output and impact, and the largest international collaborator in the world. In other words, the U.S. is highly sought because of its prestigious institutions, drawing top faculty and students from around the world. And with that comes the ability to generate cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs which further secures the U.S.' global position in academia. At the same time, of course, we've seen China's economy rise significantly as the country surpassed the United States in scientific output, and more recently in impact as measured by publication citations, and is outpacing the U.S. in the extent of R&D investment. Chinese institutions have also made noticeable jumps in various global rankings, which is a pretty big feat considering the fierce competition among the world's top universities. What we're witnessing as well are geopolitical tensions between the two countries that have impacted the higher education sector. While these two countries, the U.S. and China, are the biggest global collaborators—and they collaborate more with each other than any other country—they're also rival superpowers. As global adversaries, what we are witnessing as well is increased security concerns regarding intellectual theft and espionage. I'm going to spend some time summarizing my work for those who are not familiar to provide some further context. I and my colleagues, John Haupt and Xiaojie Li, also at the University of Arizona, have conducted numerous studies about U.S.-China scientific collaboration. And what we're observing across these studies is how the scientific pursuit of knowledge, which is fundamentally borderless, is becoming bordered in the current geopolitical environment. International collaboration, long valued as positive-sum, is being treated as zero-sum. Besides the rise of China and the accompanying political rhetoric that posed China as a so-called threat, tensions also grew among accusations, as you may recall, about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and a corresponding sharp increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Public opinions about China were not favorable, and thus there was not a whole lot of public resistance when the FBI's China Initiative was launched in 2018. This initiative basically signaled that anyone of Chinese descent was a potential enemy of the state, including possible Chinese Communist Party spies in our own universities, even though there was no pervasive empirical or later judicial cases that proved such a damaging assumption. Nevertheless, world-renowned Chinese scientists were falsely accused of academic espionage and their careers and personal finances ruined. In my research that followed with Xiaojie Li, with support from the Committee of 100, we surveyed about 2,000 scientists in the U.S.' top research universities during the China Initiative. And we found that one in two Chinese scientists were afraid that they were being racially profiled by the FBI. We also observed that consequently scientists, especially those with Chinese descent, were less inclined to collaborate with China, less inclined to pursue federal grants, less inclined to even stay in the United States but rather to take their expertise to another country where they felt safer to pursue their research, including in China. In sum, the federal government's attempts to weed out possible Chinese spies was highly criticized as a damaging form of racial profiling affecting even U.S. citizens and, in the end, undermined the U.S.' ability to compete with China. Especially now, as we continue to observe Chinese scientists leaving the U.S. and taking their skills and talents elsewhere. With John Haupt and two academics at Tsinghua University in China, Doctors Wen Wen and Die Hu, we asked about two hundred co-collaborators in China and in the United States how were they able to overcome such geopolitical tensions and the challenges associated with COVID-19 during the pandemic? And we did learn something somewhat unexpected, and I hope valuable. Basically, we found that mutual trust between international collaborators helped overcome such perceived hurdles, including risks of being unfairly targeted. What this tells us is that a chilling effect is certainly real and remains possible, but in the end scientists have tremendous agency on what they study, where they study, and whether or not they seek funds, or where they seek funds. Regardless of the host or home country, international collaboration is important to all countries' scientific enterprise. Coauthors from different countries improve the knowledge being produced, its applicability, enlarges global audiences, and thereby increases the impact of the work. So considering the value, yet risks, where do we begin? Firstly, federal and institutional policies, of course, matter, for better or for worse. But policies do not manufacture trust. The formation of an academic tie does not suddenly occur over a cold call in the middle of a global meltdown, as often portrayed in Hollywood. Rather, this is a gradual process. And the longevity of the relationship helps strengthen that trust over time. According to our research, these collaborative relationships begin as graduate students, postdocs, visiting researchers. They occur at academic conferences and other in-person opportunities. Cutting short-term fellowships, for example, will impact the potential of a future scientific relationship, but its effects may not be felt for years. Same with denied visas and opportunities for travel. Fewer graduate students from particular countries or fields also means a different shape when it comes to global science. U.S. for instance, was not too long ago Russia's biggest foreign scientific collaborator, with the war in Ukraine, those research relationships, as well as much—with much of the Western world, have ceased. All of this, and my related empirical research, was conducted when I was a professor at my home institution. And since July, I've been serving, as Irina mentioned, as the dean and vice president of international affairs at my own institution. And I've been thinking a lot of, what does this mean for institutional practice? For those in university leadership positions, as mine, you know this is a tough challenge. Especially as domestic demand and state funding for higher education is generally declining. And at the same time, internationalization is increasingly central to senior leadership strategies. Universities are continuing vying to attract the world's students, even despite a decline of interest from China. And at the same time, research universities in particular are quite dependent on federal grants. We have our own research security offices that need to ensure our universities have good reputations and relations with our large federal funding agencies and taking every precaution to not be seen as a vulnerable site of intellectual theft. These units tend not to operate within international affairs. And I'm very well aware that in my role of trying to attract as many students from China and develop international partnerships, all of them can be suddenly erased if a Chinese University partner does not pass visual compliance or there is a sudden presidential executive order, as we experienced under the Trump administration. I'm also very well aware that of senior leaders have to choose between my educational offerings and partnerships in China versus risking a major grant from a federal agency, I will lose. We witnessed that with the shutting down of over 100 Confucius Institutes in the U.S., despite a lack of evidence of systematic espionage occurring through these centers. Public perceptions, informed or not, strongly affect the nature of our international work, as in the case of Florida. Such negative perceptions are not one country-sided, of course. A key concern for Chinese and other international students and their parents relate to safety. Gun violence, including on our own college campuses, anti-Asian hate crimes in surrounding neighborhoods, and unfavorable political environment in which studies might be interrupted as in the case of Proclamation 10043, or visa non-renewals are all contributing factors for the decline of interest from China, and uncertain future student exchange as well. In closing, when it comes to China these days no practices are guaranteed. However, I can recommend some while also keeping in mind geopolitical conditions can suddenly change for worse, or perhaps better. I mentioned earlier the value of mutual trust. At my university, we have long-standing relationships with university leaders at Chinese institutions. We've set up dual degree programs in China. Actually, about 40 percent of our international student enrollment are through such partner relationships throughout the world, in which we go to where they are. Hiring staff who speak the language and know the culture are also essential. And, like any relationship, these arrangements have developed over time. They are not built overnight. It takes intention. It takes effort. But in my experience, as trust is established the numbers have grown, and the positive impact is still being felt. Thank you. FASKIANOS: Thank you very much for that. That was terrific. Let's go now to all of you for your questions, comments. You can use this to share best practices and what you're doing to your universities or institutions. Please click the raise hand icon on your screen to ask a question. On your iPad or tablet, you can click the “more” button to access the raise hand feature. And when you're called upon, please accept the unmute prompts, state your name and affiliation, followed by your question. You can also submit a written question, they've already started coming in, by the Q&A icon. And if you can also include your affiliation there, I would appreciate it, although we will try to make sure we identify you correctly. So let's see. I'm looking for—no raised hands yet, but we do have questions written. So first question from Denis Simon, who's a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Many U.S. universities have curtailed their exchanges and cooperation with China. You referenced that. Officials at these universities are worried that if they appear too friendly toward China they will lose all sorts of federal funding. Are these concerns justified? Are there any regulations or legislation that actually says federal funding can be removed assuming these universities are in compliance with the export controls, et cetera? LEE: All right. Well, thanks, Denis, for your question. I know there—when I saw the list of those who signed up, I know there are many here who can speak to this directly. So I encourage those to also raise their hands and provide input in the Q&A, maybe in the form of an A instead of a Q. But in any case, going to that question, you know, it's a tough environment. And so much in my role, but what I even experienced in my research, is about that perception, that overinterpretation. So maybe signaling that we have this exchange program might draw attention in ways that might lead to suspicions that, oh, well is this, you know, somehow creating an opportunity for us to disclose military secrets? I mean, that's where we take it. A friendly exchange or visit is oftentimes now having to be scrutinized and ensuring that there is no remote violation of export controls, even in educational delivery in a non-STEM field. And what we're seeing is that this—we have our highly sensitive fields, but that kind of scrutiny we're also seeing applied to the institution more broadly. So these seemingly benign programs about language or culture, about fields that are enhanced or help promote so-called American values, are also being watched. So I believe as an institutional leader, again, as I mentioned earlier, having to deal with the possibility of unwanted or unwarranted attention versus not having that program, I think some, as Denis has pointed out, are leaning towards being more cautious. Unfortunately, China—any work with China is considered a risk, even if there is no reason for risk, as we've witnessed under—or, observed under the China Initiative. I don't know if I've fully answered that question, but please follow up if I haven't. And I know others can probably say more to that issue. FASKIANOS: Great. I'll take the next question from Peter—I don't know how to pronounce— LEE: Peter Becskehazy. Hi, Peter. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: There you go. Thank you very much. LEE: I know Peter. FASKIANOS: All right. Good. Well, I'd love if Peter asked his question directly, if he can. Oh, good. From Pima Community College. Go ahead, Peter. Q: Hello, Jenny. Nice to see you. LEE: Hi, Peter. Q: Now my question is, the University of Arizona and other universities have had an inflow of dozens of countries, adding up to the million that you mentioned. Are other countries trying to fill in slots left vacant by Chinese students and scholars? LEE: Yeah. Great question, Peter. And I think you can also share what you've observed at Pima in terms of the patterns you've witnessed. But for us, and as we are seeing nationally, we're seeing India rise. Not at the—not at higher numbers in many institutions, compared to China, but the rate is rising. It's not so simple, though, because we also have relations in India, and trying to set up agreements, and bring students. The competition in India is intense. So even though there's a relatively so-called large market, and the U.S. has been quite successful in attracting Indian students, that is perhaps where the attention is as a more, I would say—I hate to use the word “market,”—but a stable student market. There's a lot more interest in graduate-level education globally, as we've observed. These countries that formerly didn't have capacity now do have capacity. They have online offerings. They have branch campuses, dual degrees, lots of other options. And so the niche for the U.S., whereas before we didn't really have to think about a niche, is really in graduate education. Now, of course, that's not good news for Pima, that's thinking about a community college and other kinds of educational offerings. But for us, we're thinking about India a lot. Southeast Asia, of course, has always been an important partner to us. Africa continues to be a challenge. We know that when we think about population growth, Africa is the future. There's still challenges and trying to identify places where there is capacity. But also the affordability of a U.S. education is a huge challenge. So it's a great question. And, again, I'm curious to know other places in the world people recommend. Of course, Latin America, given our location, is a key strategic partner. But again, affordability becomes an issue. And again, I'm just talking about the traditional international student who would choose to come to Arizona. Not talking about research collaboration, which is less bound by affordability issues. Irina, you're muted. FASKIANOS: How long have I been doing this? OK. (Laughs.) I'm going to take the next written question from Allison Davis-White Eyes, who is vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Fielding Graduate University: We have tried to work on collaborations with European universities and African universities, and met with much difficulty. What trends are you seeing in these regions? And what are emerging global markets beyond China? LEE: Great question, Allison. I mean, if you could leave the question in the future, so because I am visually looking at the question at the same time. FASKIANOS: Oh, great. Sorry. LEE: So, Allison, I'm not sure if you're referring to academic or research. Of course, within Europe, where the government does highly subsidized tuition, it's just becomes financially a bad deal, I suppose—(laughs)—for a student in the world who would normally get a free or highly reduced tuition to pay full price at our institution. So that kind of exchange of partnership, especially when it's about—when it's financially based, becomes almost impossible from my experience. But thinking about research collaboration, it depends on the level. So if it's an institutional agreement, you know, it's—often, these MOUs tend to just be on paper. It takes quite a bit of—it's very ceremonial. You need to get legal involved. It's a whole process to get an MOU. We really don't need these non-binding MOUs for research agreements. Some countries like it, just to display that they have an MOU with a U.S. institution. But essentially, it doesn't stop me as a professor to reach out to another professor at the University of Oslo, and say, hey, let's do a study. Which we actually are doing. So, yeah, feel free to be more specific, or if you want to raise your hand or speak on—and elaborate on that question. So, again, for educational exchange, it is difficult because we are—there's already a process within the EU that makes it very affordable and highly supported within the EU, or if you're part of that bigger program. Africa, again, my challenge from my role as an institutional leader is identifying places where there is already enough mass education up through high school where one would be able to consider, first of all, being admitted to a U.S. institution, but secondly, to be able to pay the cost. FASKIANOS: Allison, do you want to expand a little bit? Q: Oh, sorry. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: There you go. There you go. Q: Right. Dr. Lee, thank you for your response. I think it was helpful, especially regarding the subsidizing of education in Europe. We've been working on some research partnerships. And we have just—you know, really, it has just been extremely difficult with European universities. And I do think part of it has to do with the way things are subsidized in Europe. I was just wondering if there were new and different ways to do it. I do appreciate your comment about the MOUs being largely ceremonial. I agree. And would like to see something with a little more substance. And that will take some creativity and a lot of partnership and work. As for Africa, we have tried to create partnerships with South Africa. I think there's some potential there. Certainly, some excitement. We've had a few students from Nigeria, extremely bright and motivated. I just would—you know, would like to hear, maybe from some other colleagues as well on the call, if there are creative ways in working with these students as well. So, thank you. LEE: Yeah, no. And just to follow up quickly, and, again, opportunities for others to share, academic collaboration, as I mentioned during my remarks, is largely built upon mutual trust. And not to say it can't happen from top down, but really does—is most successful from bottom up. And I don't mean to refer to professors at the bottom, but meaning those that are actually engaged with that work. And so just some considerations is rather than a top-down initiative or strategy, is to identify those that are visiting scholars, already from that country, have networks within that country. What's interesting, as I learned in my current role, is how little my predecessors worked with professors in these area's studies programs, because they're oftentimes treated as a separate or having different interests in mind when actually there is a lot of overlap to identify those that are actually there. Allison, by the way, I lived in South Africa for eight years. And I know it actually takes a long time. My Fulbright started off as a one year, and I had to extend it because even getting the data while I was on the ground takes time. And I'll be honest, I think part of it was taking some time just to build trust the intentions of my work, what was I going to do with that data, how is that going to be used? Was it actually going to be ways to empower them? You know, for those who study international collaboration, know this north and south divide, and I think there are places in the world that are—maybe have some guardrails up from those—not saying this is what's happening in your institution—but someone that they don't know coming from the Global North to study someone else in the Global South. And so how do we create or initiate a collaboration that is clearly, expressly mutual at the onset? And, again, this is where trust can be operationalized lots of different ways, but that even begins with that initial message. I mean, I remember when I started my work, nobody responded to me. They're like, who are you? And I don't care who you are or what your CV says. And it takes time. You know, building that relationship, and that person introducing me to that other person. Like, you know, this is how scientific networks form. And I think, to some extent, this is also how institutional collaborative relationships also form. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to go next to David Moore, who has a raised hand. Q: OK, thank you. I just got unmuted. FASKIANOS: Great. Q: Lee, I appreciate your comments. And I heard your reference to Florida earlier. I don't know if we have colleagues on this call from Florida, but I think they'll know what I'm about to say. I'm the dean of international education at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale. And as of tomorrow, December 1, Florida has to—all institutions in Florida, public institutions, colleges and universities, must be completely devoid of any partnerships in China. And not just China. There are seven countries of concern. And you probably can cite them, most of you would know the other six. But of the seven countries, Broward had four partnerships in China alone, none in the other countries that were active. And so we are now officially done, have to be. And I've had to notify the partners as well as our accrediting body, because these were international centers of Broward where they literally offer—we offered associate degrees, two-year degrees. And students could then transfer to an institution in the United States. Now, this didn't catch us too much by surprise because two and a half years ago our Florida legislature started in on this, really probably before that, where they isolated universities in Florida and said: You cannot do research—sensitive research, whatever, you know, engineering, computer science, et cetera—any research without notifying the state. And there's an elaborate process that had to be—you know, they had to go through to do this. But now it's not just research institutions. Now it's not just those kinds of collaborations. It is, in fact, all partnerships of any kind. We had to end our agent agreements where we were recruiting students from China that were—where the companies were based in China. And in course our programs were not research. They're just general education, two-year associate's degree, maybe some business. But we've been informed now it's completely done. And so I'm actually looking for institutions outside of Florida who might be willing to take over the role that we've had in transcripting students who later want to come to the United States. At least for the first two years in China, and then transferring to the upper division to the U.S. So I'm not sure. You're probably quite familiar with this. I don't know if you know the details of how it was worked out in practice. We were the only community college in the state that had any partnerships. So we were the ones that had to desist. So I want to—there are probably people on the call that are familiar with this, but there might be many others. And I just wanted to say that I'm looking to, you know, open that door to other institutions outside of Florida that might be willing in, yes, take a risk to go into China, but to—I've always felt that these kinds of programs were very good to build relationships, partnerships, communication. Ambassadors really. Where we feel like we were representing American education, whatever, you know, we call American values, democracy, you know, community. We thought we were doing good. But we found out we were—we were not. We were—we were doing something that went opposed to the prevailing political climate, at least in Florida. So that's my comment. I think people should know about it. And thank you for letting me speak to it a bit. Maybe someone will speak up and say they're interested in they can get in touch with me, David Moore at Broward College, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. LEE: David, thank you for sharing what you did. This is a really important example of where other states could very well head. And what's interesting, as David noted, we're talking about a community college. When we normally think about cutting ties, it's usually around the concerns about national security. Now, how this translates to a two-year degree that is solely educational based is a pretty far stretch, and yet is being impacted quite severely. So I think we should continue to follow this example—unfortunate example. And, David, yeah, your partners have reached out to my office, and I'm sure to others. But thank you for being available. Q: You're welcome. We have partners—we are also working with your Jakarta, Indonesia center there. So we have that connection. Thank you. LEE: Mmm hmm. Thanks. FASKIANOS: And if anybody wants to share contact information in the Q&A box, you can certainly do that. That would be great. There is a written question from Tutaleni Asino at Oklahoma State University: There was an article today in SEMAFOR highlighting that there are currently 350 U.S. students studying in China compared to 11,000 in 2019. Comparatively, there are 300,000 Chinese students in the United States. Is this a one-way problem, where the U.S. is not investing in international engagements as a result of being more inward looking and other countries having more options of who to collaborate with? LEE: Yeah. Tutaleni, that's—I think your question is an answer. And I think it's—I agree with your observation. So we are seeing that as there's state and public disinvestment in higher education, and including scrutiny about international higher education, we're also seeing a decline and cutting of foreign language programs in the United States. So here we are, a monolingual country whose students mostly go to Europe or other English-speaking countries to study abroad. A very limited number of international—U.S. students who pursue undergraduate degrees in a foreign country. And knowing that the future is global and international, at least in my opinion, does not set the U.S. up well to be globally competitive, even though much of its international policy is around this rhetoric of we need to compete with China. And so you raise a good point. How is this possible if U.S. citizens don't speak Chinese, or have no interest in learning about Chinese culture, or there's reduced opportunities even in our own institutions, I think is something to think about and ask more questions about. FASKIANOS: I'm going to take the next question from Zhen Zhu, chair and professor of marketing, director of faculty excellence, and director for international engagement at Suffolk University: How do you see the trend of U.S. students' interest in study abroad to China? LEE: There is actually growing interest. As many of you know, China—offering Chinese language in high schools is not as unusual as it used to be. There is growing interest as students are thinking about employability in global markets in multinational or international organizations or corporations. It would be fundamental, in fact, for someone who has any interest in international work to pick up the language if they can, and at your own institution. FASKIANOS: Great. Let's see. From—I'm going to take the next question from Jeff Riedinger: Is there a role for universities to play in knowledge diplomacy to sustain international relationships and collaborations in addressing global problems such as climate change and pandemics when national governments may be at odds with each other? LEE: Thanks, Jeff. And hi, Jeff. I'm just going to read over that question so I can kind of digest it a bit. Is there a role for institutions to play in knowledge diplomacy, such as climate change, pandemics, when national governments may be at odds with each other? Absolutely, 200 percent. It is occurring—knowledge diplomacy, science diplomacy. That one individual going on a Fulbright or coming to study here for some extended visit, having these collaborations and, ultimately, you know, science—knowledge production—I mean, there's no bounds. And when we think about the kind of research that may not occur because of these national governments are at odds when it comes to addressing climate change or other global issues, you know, the world is paying somewhat of a price when it comes to that in—when there are overarching concerns about national security. So, you know, my issue has always been with policy you overlook nuance, and with sweeping policies that overlook the disciplinary distinctions and contributions, what is lost in the pursuit of trying to stay ahead of another country in fields and areas that really have no economic or military value, right? But yet, have an important cultural value, or maybe will address something bigger, such as COVID-19. So as I mentioned, the work that I referenced earlier about U.S.-Chinese scientists coming together during COVID-19, were actually scientists who studied COVID-19 together. And again, this was not—this was fraught with risks. They were very well aware that there was a lot of scrutiny about any research about COVID-19 coming from China. There was scrutiny about, you know, where the data was held, who was analyzing it, who was funding it. And yet, these scientists took these risks in order to address how does the world deal with the pandemic. And this was based on interviews of those studies that were actually successful and published. This is where that mutual trust, as I've mentioned earlier, is so important. And without that mutual trust, these studies, I'm pretty certain, would never have been published, because it was not an easy path when it comes to that particular geopolitical climate during the pandemic. FASKIANOS: Jenny, I'm just going to ask a question. President Biden and President Xi met during APEC. Did anything come out of that meeting that could affect U.S.-China academic collaboration? LEE: Yeah. You know, this is tough. I mean, how do you analyze political statements? What do they really mean? And what is really going to change? I think what's clear is that there's an acknowledgment that we're interdependent, but we're also adversaries. Almost a love/hate codependent, in a relationship that we can't just easily separate but we do need each other. But the form that it takes, I think there's an understanding it needs to be more specific. And I don't think that has been clarified yet. I realize I missed part of Jeff's question on what can institutions do? That's such a good question. And I got more into the topic than the actual to-do. What can institutions do? Honestly—(laughs)—I'll just speak as a researcher, to back off a bit, right? To let scientists do what they want to do. Yes, we need to follow disclosures. We need to make sure there's no conflicts of interest. We need to follow all of these procedures. But what I also found during the China Initiative, there was also this chilling climate in which there's an overinterpretation that may put institutions at risk. And to my knowledge, institutions were not at risk to the extent to which their scientists, especially those of Chinese descent, felt scrutinized. FASKIANOS: Thank you. We have a raised hand from Dan Whitman. Q: OK, I think I'm unmuted. Thank you, Irina. And thanks, Professor Lee, for mentioning the Great Wall that that prevents us from dealing with even Europeans who have subsidized education or Africans who have no money. And just an anecdote, since you have welcomed anecdotes, I am an adjunct at George Washington University. But totally unrelated to that, just for free and just for fun, pro bono, nobody pays, nobody gets paid. A course that I'm giving by webinar, it's zero cost. The topic is crisis management, but it could be any topic. And in that group, which there are about eighty people who tune in twice a week, fifteen Kenyans, twenty-five Ukrainians, and forty Kazakhs. I mean, I don't know if there's ever been exchange between Kazakhstan and Kenya. Anyway, my point is things can be done. We share it for free. What motivates the students? A certificate. It's so easy to give them a certificate. And in many countries, they very highly value that, even though it's not a—there's no formality, there's no formal academic credit. But the students are very motivated. And possibly, there may be universities in the U.S. that could—that might want to give a professor a small stipendium to do an informal webinar course, which would create connections, which would be zero cost, basically, and would bridge that gap of funding that you've alluded to. Thank you. LEE: Yeah. Dan, thank you for that. And I think this leads to a kind of a spin-off comment about certificates. Absolutely. Micro-credentials or alternative forms of education, where there's maybe not a full-fledged undergraduate degree but some certificate, I think, is important niche, especially for returning adults or communities where they're not able to afford to take time off. So that flexibility, and obviously now with online education, just becomes so much more accessible and very low cost. Something else to keep in mind, though, is that, depending on the institution you're from, that will make a difference in certificates. I mean, an institution like George Washington University offering a certificate may have some symbolic or perceived value that may be higher than an institution that is lower or are not ranked at all. So this is where, unfortunately—I'm a big critic of global rankings. But unfortunately, it does play a role in how that certificate is being perceived and the attractiveness of that certificate. But absolutely, this is definitely a way to open access especially for places in the world that just cannot physically move or have the funds to support their studies. FASKIANOS: Great. There are two comments/questions in the Q&A that I wanted to give you a chance to respond to about Africa, from Tutaleni Asino and Fodei Batty. Dr. Asino talks about English is the language of instruction and governments in Africa where they're funding education to a higher degree, and thinks that there are opportunities there, but it sounds like all fifty-four countries are grouped together. And Dr. Batty talks a little bit about there are a lot of students from African countries pursuing graduate education in the United States. But South Africa is usually an exception to the higher education American norm in Africa. Most South Africans don't like to travel, especially travel to America. I thought maybe you could just clarify some—respond to those comments. LEE: Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you for sharing those comments. There's a book I edited called Intra-Africa Student Mobility. And I agree with the comments. And one of the things I didn't mention that I think is important to help us understand the broader global context is that there's actually considerable international activity within the continent. And there's actually considerable intra-Africa mobility within the continent. South Africa is the most important country player in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is globally ranked—has more globally ranked institutions than any other African country. And so South Africa then becomes an important hub. And, yes, as an English-speaking, among many other languages, country, that does attract African students to go oftentimes for a similar sense of shared culture, despite sometimes different languages and customs and backgrounds. And yet, nevertheless, South Africa is an important player within the continent. Not to say that there is no international mobility occurring, but there is increased capacity within the continent that would allow students and interested students to travel within the continent. Not the same extent, of course, as Europe. But the least we're seeing that rise over time. And so it's called Intra-Africa Student Mobility. Chika Sehoole and I coedited the book. We were able to get about eight African scholars to talk about the various reasons students would choose that particular African country, and what draw them. And what was really interesting about this phenomenon is that it goes against this prevailing notion of Africa's victim of brain drain or all going to the north. That's actually not what is happening. But that there is capacity building within the continent. So in trying to answer a different question, I skirted over a lot of the things I could go further into. But hopefully that book will shed light on what's happening within that continent, at least from the perspective of eight different countries. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. Thank you for that. I'm going to go next to Jonathan Scriven at Washington Adventist University in Maryland: What are some of the strategies universities are using to make education more affordable in the United States? If that is a challenge, are schools investing more or less in setting up campuses in foreign countries as a way to reach foreign students? LEE: I'm just going to read over that question. OK, yeah. Great question, Jonathan. So what's happening in my institution and many others is a way to attract students is we're providing considerable aid, merit aid, financial aid, aid even to international students. The majority may not even be paying the full sticker price. Now this, of course, will affect the revenue that would have otherwise been generated, but nevertheless is a way to deal with the fierce competition across U.S. institutions for these top students. So how to make it affordable? There's a lot of aid going around at the undergraduate, not just the graduate, levels. And so what are institutions doing? Well, for example, at the University of Arizona for our dual degrees, it's a fraction of the cost of what it would cost to be a student at our main campus. When you have a combination of hybrid or online delivery with a campus partner maybe providing most of the gen ed's and then we would teach most of the major courses as an example, that does significantly lower the cost where that student will still get a bona fide University of Arizona degree, just like they would at main campus. So these alternative forms of delivery certainly make it more affordable, especially for those that opt to stay in their home country and receive an online education, or a flipped classroom model, or a dual degree. FASKIANOS: Great. Denis Simon, if you can—why don't you ask your question? Q: Here I am. OK. Recently, on a trip to China in September, a number of faculty have told me they're no longer wanting to send their best students abroad. They want to keep them in China. And this is all part of the rise of Chinese universities, et cetera. And so it may not be simply the souring of Sino-U.S. relations that has causal effect here, but simply the fact that China now is becoming a major, you know, educational powerhouse. And that also could change the dynamics. For example, even the BRI countries could start to send their students to China instead of sending them to the United States. Do you see anything evolving like this or—and what might be the outcome? LEE: Yeah. Spot on, David. That halo effect of a U.S. degree is not the same as it was when I was a university student. Chinese students, as well as students in the world, are much more savvy. They have access to information. They have access to rankings. They know all universities are not the same. And they know that they have some institutions that are highly ranked and may offer better quality education than the U.S. So that the image of a U.S. degree, of course, is not as universally perceived as it may have been, I don't know, pre-internet, or without the—all sorts of rankings in which institutions are rated against one another. And absolutely, Chinese institutions are very difficult to get into, fiercely competitive, producing far more scientific output than some of our leading institutions. And there's another factor when it comes to Asian culture just more broadly speaking, is that social network tie. Sociologists refer to it as social capital. When a Chinese student, a Korean student, Japanese student decides to study in the United States, they may lose that social tie that may possibly put them in a disadvantage when they decide to come back and compete for a position when they may just have that U.S. credential, but may have either lessened or no longer have that relationship that may have allowed them to get a position at the university, or in a place where that alumni network would have been especially useful. So again, I don't want to generalize, you know, in any place to the world, but there is that component that I think sometimes is missed in the literature. Maintaining that social network is pretty key, especially as jobs, of course, global, you know, unemployment—places where students are competing for positions need to have every edge possible. So that also can be part of that reason they decide to stay. FASKIANOS: Great. The next question from Michael Kulma, who's at the University of Chicago. He's following on David Moore's comments about Florida: Do you know how many other states in the U.S. are enacting or are considering such policies against partnerships with China? LEE: I do not know the answer. So if anyone wants to raise their hand and share about their own state, or put it on the answer part of the question and answer. There are related concerns about DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Some of that may spill over to China. Hopefully, at some point at the Council of Foreign Relations will have a discussion on Israel and Hamas conflict and how institutions are dealing with that. And so we're seeing a pretty challenging political environment that is clearly spilling over to our classrooms and to our international activities, our domestic recruitment. But I'm not answering your question, Michael. (Laughs.) I'll leave it up to someone else to answer. FASKIANOS: Great. Thank you. So we don't have very much time left. I thought maybe you could, given your research and expertise, could suggest resources—recommend resources for higher ed leaders and administrators to better understand how to promote collaboration. LEE: Sure. So promoting collaboration, it really—each person at a time. You know, again, MOUs may be signed, and maybe overarching presidents will come together and have an agreement, but there's no guarantee that will ever happen. I'd love to do a study on how many MOUs never actually materialized into real action. So where do we begin? International affairs SIOs out there, identify who are your area studies experts? Who are your visiting postdocs? Who are your Fulbright scholars from other parts of the world? They all represent their own network and are certainly are valuable resources to consider. What I've sometimes have heard even at my own institution is, you know, how do we bring these people to the table? Why are they not at the table to begin with, and then how do we bring them there? And this is a relatively low-cost way to go about this, right? Like, faculty engaged in service. What kind of opportunities can your university provide for faculty service that is aligned with their area of expertise, the areas of the world they represent, the networks they have? And many of—some of you already have experienced this directly. These partnerships often begin with our alumni, international—former international students who decide to go back home. So, again, there's just a lot of exciting opportunity. I love this field because it's never boring. There's always new ways to grow, expand new partners. But it really does begin with that essential element of trust. And that often begins with our own institutions and identifying those who've already started to build that network. FASKIANOS: Wonderful. Thank you very much. Really appreciate your being with us and for sharing your expertise and background, Dr. Lee. It's been fantastic. And to all of you, for your questions and comments, and sharing your experiences as well. You can follow Dr. Lee on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, at @JennyJ_Lee. I will send out a link to this webinar, the transcript, and the video, as well as the link to the book—your book that you mentioned, and any other resources that you want to share with the group. And I encourage you all to follow @CFR_academic on X, visit CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org for research and analysis on global issues. We also—just putting in a plug for our other series, Academic Webinar series, which is designed for students. We just sent out the winter/spring lineup and we hope that you will share that with your colleagues and your students. It is a great way for them to have access to practitioner scholars and to talk with students from around the country. So if you haven't received that lineup, you can email cfracademic@CFR.org, and we will share that with you. So, again, thank you, Jenny, for being with us, and to all of you. And wishing you safe and happy holidays. And good luck closing out this semester before we get to the holidays. (Laughs.) So thank you again. (END)

Jenny Lee, vice president for Arizona International, dean of international education, and professor of educational policy studies and practice at the University of Arizona, leads the conversation on U.S. international academic collaboration and how U.S.-China tensions are affecting higher education. FASKIANOS: Welcome to CFR's Higher Education Webinar Series. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach here at CFR. Today's discussion is on the record and the video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org/academic. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. We're delighted to have Jenny Lee with us to discuss U.S. international academic collaboration. Dr. Lee is vice president for Arizona International, dean of international education, and professor of educational policy studies and practice at the University of Arizona. She is also a fellow of the American Educational Research Association. Dr. Lee formerly served as a senior fellow of NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, as chair for the Council of International Higher Education, and as a board member for the Association for the Study of Higher Education. And she has also served as a U.S. Fulbright scholar to South Africa, as a distinguished global professor at Korea University, and as an international visiting scholar at the City University of London, the University of Pretoria, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. So, Dr. Lee, thank you very much for being with us for today's topic. I thought you could begin by giving us an overview of current trends in U.S. international academic collaboration, especially looking at what's happening with our relations with China. LEE: Sounds great. Well, thank you for the opportunity, Irina. It's a pleasure to be here and to speak with you and all those listening right now. I'll speak for about ten or so minutes, and then open it up and engage with the audience. Hopefully, you all have some good questions that will come up during my remarks. So, clearly, we're entering a very interesting and somewhat uncertain chapter in how we understand the role of higher education globally. So I will begin with some general observation so all our viewers are on the same page. Now, first and foremost, the U.S. is mostly at the top when it comes to the higher education sector. Most of us already know that the United States houses the most highly ranked institutions. And this allows the country to be the largest host of international students and scholars from around the world. According to the latest IIE Open Doors report published a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. attracted over a million students from all over the world. And we're almost back to pre-pandemic levels. We also host over 90,000 scholars. And the primary purpose for them being here is research, for about two-thirds to 75 percent of them. These international scholars, as well as international graduate students, contribute significantly to the U.S. scientific enterprise. The U.S. is also among the leading countries in scientific output and impact, and the largest international collaborator in the world. In other words, the U.S. is highly sought because of its prestigious institutions, drawing top faculty and students from around the world. And with that comes the ability to generate cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs which further secures the U.S.' global position in academia. At the same time, of course, we've seen China's economy rise significantly as the country surpassed the United States in scientific output, and more recently in impact as measured by publication citations, and is outpacing the U.S. in the extent of R&D investment. Chinese institutions have also made noticeable jumps in various global rankings, which is a pretty big feat considering the fierce competition among the world's top universities. What we're witnessing as well are geopolitical tensions between the two countries that have impacted the higher education sector. While these two countries, the U.S. and China, are the biggest global collaborators—and they collaborate more with each other than any other country—they're also rival superpowers. As global adversaries, what we are witnessing as well is increased security concerns regarding intellectual theft and espionage. I'm going to spend some time summarizing my work for those who are not familiar to provide some further context. I and my colleagues, John Haupt and Xiaojie Li, also at the University of Arizona, have conducted numerous studies about U.S.-China scientific collaboration. And what we're observing across these studies is how the scientific pursuit of knowledge, which is fundamentally borderless, is becoming bordered in the current geopolitical environment. International collaboration, long valued as positive-sum, is being treated as zero-sum. Besides the rise of China and the accompanying political rhetoric that posed China as a so-called threat, tensions also grew among accusations, as you may recall, about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and a corresponding sharp increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Public opinions about China were not favorable, and thus there was not a whole lot of public resistance when the FBI's China Initiative was launched in 2018. This initiative basically signaled that anyone of Chinese descent was a potential enemy of the state, including possible Chinese Communist Party spies in our own universities, even though there was no pervasive empirical or later judicial cases that proved such a damaging assumption. Nevertheless, world-renowned Chinese scientists were falsely accused of academic espionage and their careers and personal finances ruined. In my research that followed with Xiaojie Li, with support from the Committee of 100, we surveyed about 2,000 scientists in the U.S.' top research universities during the China Initiative. And we found that one in two Chinese scientists were afraid that they were being racially profiled by the FBI. We also observed that consequently scientists, especially those with Chinese descent, were less inclined to collaborate with China, less inclined to pursue federal grants, less inclined to even stay in the United States but rather to take their expertise to another country where they felt safer to pursue their research, including in China. In sum, the federal government's attempts to weed out possible Chinese spies was highly criticized as a damaging form of racial profiling affecting even U.S. citizens and, in the end, undermined the U.S.' ability to compete with China. Especially now, as we continue to observe Chinese scientists leaving the U.S. and taking their skills and talents elsewhere. With John Haupt and two academics at Tsinghua University in China, Doctors Wen Wen and Die Hu, we asked about two hundred co-collaborators in China and in the United States how were they able to overcome such geopolitical tensions and the challenges associated with COVID-19 during the pandemic? And we did learn something somewhat unexpected, and I hope valuable. Basically, we found that mutual trust between international collaborators helped overcome such perceived hurdles, including risks of being unfairly targeted. What this tells us is that a chilling effect is certainly real and remains possible, but in the end scientists have tremendous agency on what they study, where they study, and whether or not they seek funds, or where they seek funds. Regardless of the host or home country, international collaboration is important to all countries' scientific enterprise. Coauthors from different countries improve the knowledge being produced, its applicability, enlarges global audiences, and thereby increases the impact of the work. So considering the value, yet risks, where do we begin? Firstly, federal and institutional policies, of course, matter, for better or for worse. But policies do not manufacture trust. The formation of an academic tie does not suddenly occur over a cold call in the middle of a global meltdown, as often portrayed in Hollywood. Rather, this is a gradual process. And the longevity of the relationship helps strengthen that trust over time. According to our research, these collaborative relationships begin as graduate students, postdocs, visiting researchers. They occur at academic conferences and other in-person opportunities. Cutting short-term fellowships, for example, will impact the potential of a future scientific relationship, but its effects may not be felt for years. Same with denied visas and opportunities for travel. Fewer graduate students from particular countries or fields also means a different shape when it comes to global science. U.S. for instance, was not too long ago Russia's biggest foreign scientific collaborator, with the war in Ukraine, those research relationships, as well as much—with much of the Western world, have ceased. All of this, and my related empirical research, was conducted when I was a professor at my home institution. And since July, I've been serving, as Irina mentioned, as the dean and vice president of international affairs at my own institution. And I've been thinking a lot of, what does this mean for institutional practice? For those in university leadership positions, as mine, you know this is a tough challenge. Especially as domestic demand and state funding for higher education is generally declining. And at the same time, internationalization is increasingly central to senior leadership strategies. Universities are continuing vying to attract the world's students, even despite a decline of interest from China. And at the same time, research universities in particular are quite dependent on federal grants. We have our own research security offices that need to ensure our universities have good reputations and relations with our large federal funding agencies and taking every precaution to not be seen as a vulnerable site of intellectual theft. These units tend not to operate within international affairs. And I'm very well aware that in my role of trying to attract as many students from China and develop international partnerships, all of them can be suddenly erased if a Chinese University partner does not pass visual compliance or there is a sudden presidential executive order, as we experienced under the Trump administration. I'm also very well aware that of senior leaders have to choose between my educational offerings and partnerships in China versus risking a major grant from a federal agency, I will lose. We witnessed that with the shutting down of over 100 Confucius Institutes in the U.S., despite a lack of evidence of systematic espionage occurring through these centers. Public perceptions, informed or not, strongly affect the nature of our international work, as in the case of Florida. Such negative perceptions are not one country-sided, of course. A key concern for Chinese and other international students and their parents relate to safety. Gun violence, including on our own college campuses, anti-Asian hate crimes in surrounding neighborhoods, and unfavorable political environment in which studies might be interrupted as in the case of Proclamation 10043, or visa non-renewals are all contributing factors for the decline of interest from China, and uncertain future student exchange as well. In closing, when it comes to China these days no practices are guaranteed. However, I can recommend some while also keeping in mind geopolitical conditions can suddenly change for worse, or perhaps better. I mentioned earlier the value of mutual trust. At my university, we have long-standing relationships with university leaders at Chinese institutions. We've set up dual degree programs in China. Actually, about 40 percent of our international student enrollment are through such partner relationships throughout the world, in which we go to where they are. Hiring staff who speak the language and know the culture are also essential. And, like any relationship, these arrangements have developed over time. They are not built overnight. It takes intention. It takes effort. But in my experience, as trust is established the numbers have grown, and the positive impact is still being felt. Thank you. FASKIANOS: Thank you very much for that. That was terrific. Let's go now to all of you for your questions, comments. You can use this to share best practices and what you're doing to your universities or institutions. Please click the raise hand icon on your screen to ask a question. On your iPad or tablet, you can click the “more” button to access the raise hand feature. And when you're called upon, please accept the unmute prompts, state your name and affiliation, followed by your question. You can also submit a written question, they've already started coming in, by the Q&A icon. And if you can also include your affiliation there, I would appreciate it, although we will try to make sure we identify you correctly. So let's see. I'm looking for—no raised hands yet, but we do have questions written. So first question from Denis Simon, who's a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Many U.S. universities have curtailed their exchanges and cooperation with China. You referenced that. Officials at these universities are worried that if they appear too friendly toward China they will lose all sorts of federal funding. Are these concerns justified? Are there any regulations or legislation that actually says federal funding can be removed assuming these universities are in compliance with the export controls, et cetera? LEE: All right. Well, thanks, Denis, for your question. I know there—when I saw the list of those who signed up, I know there are many here who can speak to this directly. So I encourage those to also raise their hands and provide input in the Q&A, maybe in the form of an A instead of a Q. But in any case, going to that question, you know, it's a tough environment. And so much in my role, but what I even experienced in my research, is about that perception, that overinterpretation. So maybe signaling that we have this exchange program might draw attention in ways that might lead to suspicions that, oh, well is this, you know, somehow creating an opportunity for us to disclose military secrets? I mean, that's where we take it. A friendly exchange or visit is oftentimes now having to be scrutinized and ensuring that there is no remote violation of export controls, even in educational delivery in a non-STEM field. And what we're seeing is that this—we have our highly sensitive fields, but that kind of scrutiny we're also seeing applied to the institution more broadly. So these seemingly benign programs about language or culture, about fields that are enhanced or help promote so-called American values, are also being watched. So I believe as an institutional leader, again, as I mentioned earlier, having to deal with the possibility of unwanted or unwarranted attention versus not having that program, I think some, as Denis has pointed out, are leaning towards being more cautious. Unfortunately, China—any work with China is considered a risk, even if there is no reason for risk, as we've witnessed under—or, observed under the China Initiative. I don't know if I've fully answered that question, but please follow up if I haven't. And I know others can probably say more to that issue. FASKIANOS: Great. I'll take the next question from Peter—I don't know how to pronounce— LEE: Peter Becskehazy. Hi, Peter. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: There you go. Thank you very much. LEE: I know Peter. FASKIANOS: All right. Good. Well, I'd love if Peter asked his question directly, if he can. Oh, good. From Pima Community College. Go ahead, Peter. Q: Hello, Jenny. Nice to see you. LEE: Hi, Peter. Q: Now my question is, the University of Arizona and other universities have had an inflow of dozens of countries, adding up to the million that you mentioned. Are other countries trying to fill in slots left vacant by Chinese students and scholars? LEE: Yeah. Great question, Peter. And I think you can also share what you've observed at Pima in terms of the patterns you've witnessed. But for us, and as we are seeing nationally, we're seeing India rise. Not at the—not at higher numbers in many institutions, compared to China, but the rate is rising. It's not so simple, though, because we also have relations in India, and trying to set up agreements, and bring students. The competition in India is intense. So even though there's a relatively so-called large market, and the U.S. has been quite successful in attracting Indian students, that is perhaps where the attention is as a more, I would say—I hate to use the word “market,”—but a stable student market. There's a lot more interest in graduate-level education globally, as we've observed. These countries that formerly didn't have capacity now do have capacity. They have online offerings. They have branch campuses, dual degrees, lots of other options. And so the niche for the U.S., whereas before we didn't really have to think about a niche, is really in graduate education. Now, of course, that's not good news for Pima, that's thinking about a community college and other kinds of educational offerings. But for us, we're thinking about India a lot. Southeast Asia, of course, has always been an important partner to us. Africa continues to be a challenge. We know that when we think about population growth, Africa is the future. There's still challenges and trying to identify places where there is capacity. But also the affordability of a U.S. education is a huge challenge. So it's a great question. And, again, I'm curious to know other places in the world people recommend. Of course, Latin America, given our location, is a key strategic partner. But again, affordability becomes an issue. And again, I'm just talking about the traditional international student who would choose to come to Arizona. Not talking about research collaboration, which is less bound by affordability issues. Irina, you're muted. FASKIANOS: How long have I been doing this? OK. (Laughs.) I'm going to take the next written question from Allison Davis-White Eyes, who is vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Fielding Graduate University: We have tried to work on collaborations with European universities and African universities, and met with much difficulty. What trends are you seeing in these regions? And what are emerging global markets beyond China? LEE: Great question, Allison. I mean, if you could leave the question in the future, so because I am visually looking at the question at the same time. FASKIANOS: Oh, great. Sorry. LEE: So, Allison, I'm not sure if you're referring to academic or research. Of course, within Europe, where the government does highly subsidized tuition, it's just becomes financially a bad deal, I suppose—(laughs)—for a student in the world who would normally get a free or highly reduced tuition to pay full price at our institution. So that kind of exchange of partnership, especially when it's about—when it's financially based, becomes almost impossible from my experience. But thinking about research collaboration, it depends on the level. So if it's an institutional agreement, you know, it's—often, these MOUs tend to just be on paper. It takes quite a bit of—it's very ceremonial. You need to get legal involved. It's a whole process to get an MOU. We really don't need these non-binding MOUs for research agreements. Some countries like it, just to display that they have an MOU with a U.S. institution. But essentially, it doesn't stop me as a professor to reach out to another professor at the University of Oslo, and say, hey, let's do a study. Which we actually are doing. So, yeah, feel free to be more specific, or if you want to raise your hand or speak on—and elaborate on that question. So, again, for educational exchange, it is difficult because we are—there's already a process within the EU that makes it very affordable and highly supported within the EU, or if you're part of that bigger program. Africa, again, my challenge from my role as an institutional leader is identifying places where there is already enough mass education up through high school where one would be able to consider, first of all, being admitted to a U.S. institution, but secondly, to be able to pay the cost. FASKIANOS: Allison, do you want to expand a little bit? Q: Oh, sorry. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: There you go. There you go. Q: Right. Dr. Lee, thank you for your response. I think it was helpful, especially regarding the subsidizing of education in Europe. We've been working on some research partnerships. And we have just—you know, really, it has just been extremely difficult with European universities. And I do think part of it has to do with the way things are subsidized in Europe. I was just wondering if there were new and different ways to do it. I do appreciate your comment about the MOUs being largely ceremonial. I agree. And would like to see something with a little more substance. And that will take some creativity and a lot of partnership and work. As for Africa, we have tried to create partnerships with South Africa. I think there's some potential there. Certainly, some excitement. We've had a few students from Nigeria, extremely bright and motivated. I just would—you know, would like to hear, maybe from some other colleagues as well on the call, if there are creative ways in working with these students as well. So, thank you. LEE: Yeah, no. And just to follow up quickly, and, again, opportunities for others to share, academic collaboration, as I mentioned during my remarks, is largely built upon mutual trust. And not to say it can't happen from top down, but really does—is most successful from bottom up. And I don't mean to refer to professors at the bottom, but meaning those that are actually engaged with that work. And so just some considerations is rather than a top-down initiative or strategy, is to identify those that are visiting scholars, already from that country, have networks within that country. What's interesting, as I learned in my current role, is how little my predecessors worked with professors in these area's studies programs, because they're oftentimes treated as a separate or having different interests in mind when actually there is a lot of overlap to identify those that are actually there. Allison, by the way, I lived in South Africa for eight years. And I know it actually takes a long time. My Fulbright started off as a one year, and I had to extend it because even getting the data while I was on the ground takes time. And I'll be honest, I think part of it was taking some time just to build trust the intentions of my work, what was I going to do with that data, how is that going to be used? Was it actually going to be ways to empower them? You know, for those who study international collaboration, know this north and south divide, and I think there are places in the world that are—maybe have some guardrails up from those—not saying this is what's happening in your institution—but someone that they don't know coming from the Global North to study someone else in the Global South. And so how do we create or initiate a collaboration that is clearly, expressly mutual at the onset? And, again, this is where trust can be operationalized lots of different ways, but that even begins with that initial message. I mean, I remember when I started my work, nobody responded to me. They're like, who are you? And I don't care who you are or what your CV says. And it takes time. You know, building that relationship, and that person introducing me to that other person. Like, you know, this is how scientific networks form. And I think, to some extent, this is also how institutional collaborative relationships also form. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to go next to David Moore, who has a raised hand. Q: OK, thank you. I just got unmuted. FASKIANOS: Great. Q: Lee, I appreciate your comments. And I heard your reference to Florida earlier. I don't know if we have colleagues on this call from Florida, but I think they'll know what I'm about to say. I'm the dean of international education at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale. And as of tomorrow, December 1, Florida has to—all institutions in Florida, public institutions, colleges and universities, must be completely devoid of any partnerships in China. And not just China. There are seven countries of concern. And you probably can cite them, most of you would know the other six. But of the seven countries, Broward had four partnerships in China alone, none in the other countries that were active. And so we are now officially done, have to be. And I've had to notify the partners as well as our accrediting body, because these were international centers of Broward where they literally offer—we offered associate degrees, two-year degrees. And students could then transfer to an institution in the United States. Now, this didn't catch us too much by surprise because two and a half years ago our Florida legislature started in on this, really probably before that, where they isolated universities in Florida and said: You cannot do research—sensitive research, whatever, you know, engineering, computer science, et cetera—any research without notifying the state. And there's an elaborate process that had to be—you know, they had to go through to do this. But now it's not just research institutions. Now it's not just those kinds of collaborations. It is, in fact, all partnerships of any kind. We had to end our agent agreements where we were recruiting students from China that were—where the companies were based in China. And in course our programs were not research. They're just general education, two-year associate's degree, maybe some business. But we've been informed now it's completely done. And so I'm actually looking for institutions outside of Florida who might be willing to take over the role that we've had in transcripting students who later want to come to the United States. At least for the first two years in China, and then transferring to the upper division to the U.S. So I'm not sure. You're probably quite familiar with this. I don't know if you know the details of how it was worked out in practice. We were the only community college in the state that had any partnerships. So we were the ones that had to desist. So I want to—there are probably people on the call that are familiar with this, but there might be many others. And I just wanted to say that I'm looking to, you know, open that door to other institutions outside of Florida that might be willing in, yes, take a risk to go into China, but to—I've always felt that these kinds of programs were very good to build relationships, partnerships, communication. Ambassadors really. Where we feel like we were representing American education, whatever, you know, we call American values, democracy, you know, community. We thought we were doing good. But we found out we were—we were not. We were—we were doing something that went opposed to the prevailing political climate, at least in Florida. So that's my comment. I think people should know about it. And thank you for letting me speak to it a bit. Maybe someone will speak up and say they're interested in they can get in touch with me, David Moore at Broward College, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. LEE: David, thank you for sharing what you did. This is a really important example of where other states could very well head. And what's interesting, as David noted, we're talking about a community college. When we normally think about cutting ties, it's usually around the concerns about national security. Now, how this translates to a two-year degree that is solely educational based is a pretty far stretch, and yet is being impacted quite severely. So I think we should continue to follow this example—unfortunate example. And, David, yeah, your partners have reached out to my office, and I'm sure to others. But thank you for being available. Q: You're welcome. We have partners—we are also working with your Jakarta, Indonesia center there. So we have that connection. Thank you. LEE: Mmm hmm. Thanks. FASKIANOS: And if anybody wants to share contact information in the Q&A box, you can certainly do that. That would be great. There is a written question from Tutaleni Asino at Oklahoma State University: There was an article today in SEMAFOR highlighting that there are currently 350 U.S. students studying in China compared to 11,000 in 2019. Comparatively, there are 300,000 Chinese students in the United States. Is this a one-way problem, where the U.S. is not investing in international engagements as a result of being more inward looking and other countries having more options of who to collaborate with? LEE: Yeah. Tutaleni, that's—I think your question is an answer. And I think it's—I agree with your observation. So we are seeing that as there's state and public disinvestment in higher education, and including scrutiny about international higher education, we're also seeing a decline and cutting of foreign language programs in the United States. So here we are, a monolingual country whose students mostly go to Europe or other English-speaking countries to study abroad. A very limited number of international—U.S. students who pursue undergraduate degrees in a foreign country. And knowing that the future is global and international, at least in my opinion, does not set the U.S. up well to be globally competitive, even though much of its international policy is around this rhetoric of we need to compete with China. And so you raise a good point. How is this possible if U.S. citizens don't speak Chinese, or have no interest in learning about Chinese culture, or there's reduced opportunities even in our own institutions, I think is something to think about and ask more questions about. FASKIANOS: I'm going to take the next question from Zhen Zhu, chair and professor of marketing, director of faculty excellence, and director for international engagement at Suffolk University: How do you see the trend of U.S. students' interest in study abroad to China? LEE: There is actually growing interest. As many of you know, China—offering Chinese language in high schools is not as unusual as it used to be. There is growing interest as students are thinking about employability in global markets in multinational or international organizations or corporations. It would be fundamental, in fact, for someone who has any interest in international work to pick up the language if they can, and at your own institution. FASKIANOS: Great. Let's see. From—I'm going to take the next question from Jeff Riedinger: Is there a role for universities to play in knowledge diplomacy to sustain international relationships and collaborations in addressing global problems such as climate change and pandemics when national governments may be at odds with each other? LEE: Thanks, Jeff. And hi, Jeff. I'm just going to read over that question so I can kind of digest it a bit. Is there a role for institutions to play in knowledge diplomacy, such as climate change, pandemics, when national governments may be at odds with each other? Absolutely, 200 percent. It is occurring—knowledge diplomacy, science diplomacy. That one individual going on a Fulbright or coming to study here for some extended visit, having these collaborations and, ultimately, you know, science—knowledge production—I mean, there's no bounds. And when we think about the kind of research that may not occur because of these national governments are at odds when it comes to addressing climate change or other global issues, you know, the world is paying somewhat of a price when it comes to that in—when there are overarching concerns about national security. So, you know, my issue has always been with policy you overlook nuance, and with sweeping policies that overlook the disciplinary distinctions and contributions, what is lost in the pursuit of trying to stay ahead of another country in fields and areas that really have no economic or military value, right? But yet, have an important cultural value, or maybe will address something bigger, such as COVID-19. So as I mentioned, the work that I referenced earlier about U.S.-Chinese scientists coming together during COVID-19, were actually scientists who studied COVID-19 together. And again, this was not—this was fraught with risks. They were very well aware that there was a lot of scrutiny about any research about COVID-19 coming from China. There was scrutiny about, you know, where the data was held, who was analyzing it, who was funding it. And yet, these scientists took these risks in order to address how does the world deal with the pandemic. And this was based on interviews of those studies that were actually successful and published. This is where that mutual trust, as I've mentioned earlier, is so important. And without that mutual trust, these studies, I'm pretty certain, would never have been published, because it was not an easy path when it comes to that particular geopolitical climate during the pandemic. FASKIANOS: Jenny, I'm just going to ask a question. President Biden and President Xi met during APEC. Did anything come out of that meeting that could affect U.S.-China academic collaboration? LEE: Yeah. You know, this is tough. I mean, how do you analyze political statements? What do they really mean? And what is really going to change? I think what's clear is that there's an acknowledgment that we're interdependent, but we're also adversaries. Almost a love/hate codependent, in a relationship that we can't just easily separate but we do need each other. But the form that it takes, I think there's an understanding it needs to be more specific. And I don't think that has been clarified yet. I realize I missed part of Jeff's question on what can institutions do? That's such a good question. And I got more into the topic than the actual to-do. What can institutions do? Honestly—(laughs)—I'll just speak as a researcher, to back off a bit, right? To let scientists do what they want to do. Yes, we need to follow disclosures. We need to make sure there's no conflicts of interest. We need to follow all of these procedures. But what I also found during the China Initiative, there was also this chilling climate in which there's an overinterpretation that may put institutions at risk. And to my knowledge, institutions were not at risk to the extent to which their scientists, especially those of Chinese descent, felt scrutinized. FASKIANOS: Thank you. We have a raised hand from Dan Whitman. Q: OK, I think I'm unmuted. Thank you, Irina. And thanks, Professor Lee, for mentioning the Great Wall that that prevents us from dealing with even Europeans who have subsidized education or Africans who have no money. And just an anecdote, since you have welcomed anecdotes, I am an adjunct at George Washington University. But totally unrelated to that, just for free and just for fun, pro bono, nobody pays, nobody gets paid. A course that I'm giving by webinar, it's zero cost. The topic is crisis management, but it could be any topic. And in that group, which there are about eighty people who tune in twice a week, fifteen Kenyans, twenty-five Ukrainians, and forty Kazakhs. I mean, I don't know if there's ever been exchange between Kazakhstan and Kenya. Anyway, my point is things can be done. We share it for free. What motivates the students? A certificate. It's so easy to give them a certificate. And in many countries, they very highly value that, even though it's not a—there's no formality, there's no formal academic credit. But the students are very motivated. And possibly, there may be universities in the U.S. that could—that might want to give a professor a small stipendium to do an informal webinar course, which would create connections, which would be zero cost, basically, and would bridge that gap of funding that you've alluded to. Thank you. LEE: Yeah. Dan, thank you for that. And I think this leads to a kind of a spin-off comment about certificates. Absolutely. Micro-credentials or alternative forms of education, where there's maybe not a full-fledged undergraduate degree but some certificate, I think, is important niche, especially for returning adults or communities where they're not able to afford to take time off. So that flexibility, and obviously now with online education, just becomes so much more accessible and very low cost. Something else to keep in mind, though, is that, depending on the institution you're from, that will make a difference in certificates. I mean, an institution like George Washington University offering a certificate may have some symbolic or perceived value that may be higher than an institution that is lower or are not ranked at all. So this is where, unfortunately—I'm a big critic of global rankings. But unfortunately, it does play a role in how that certificate is being perceived and the attractiveness of that certificate. But absolutely, this is definitely a way to open access especially for places in the world that just cannot physically move or have the funds to support their studies. FASKIANOS: Great. There are two comments/questions in the Q&A that I wanted to give you a chance to respond to about Africa, from Tutaleni Asino and Fodei Batty. Dr. Asino talks about English is the language of instruction and governments in Africa where they're funding education to a higher degree, and thinks that there are opportunities there, but it sounds like all fifty-four countries are grouped together. And Dr. Batty talks a little bit about there are a lot of students from African countries pursuing graduate education in the United States. But South Africa is usually an exception to the higher education American norm in Africa. Most South Africans don't like to travel, especially travel to America. I thought maybe you could just clarify some—respond to those comments. LEE: Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you for sharing those comments. There's a book I edited called Intra-Africa Student Mobility. And I agree with the comments. And one of the things I didn't mention that I think is important to help us understand the broader global context is that there's actually considerable international activity within the continent. And there's actually considerable intra-Africa mobility within the continent. South Africa is the most important country player in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is globally ranked—has more globally ranked institutions than any other African country. And so South Africa then becomes an important hub. And, yes, as an English-speaking, among many other languages, country, that does attract African students to go oftentimes for a similar sense of shared culture, despite sometimes different languages and customs and backgrounds. And yet, nevertheless, South Africa is an important player within the continent. Not to say that there is no international mobility occurring, but there is increased capacity within the continent that would allow students and interested students to travel within the continent. Not the same extent, of course, as Europe. But the least we're seeing that rise over time. And so it's called Intra-Africa Student Mobility. Chika Sehoole and I coedited the book. We were able to get about eight African scholars to talk about the various reasons students would choose that particular African country, and what draw them. And what was really interesting about this phenomenon is that it goes against this prevailing notion of Africa's victim of brain drain or all going to the north. That's actually not what is happening. But that there is capacity building within the continent. So in trying to answer a different question, I skirted over a lot of the things I could go further into. But hopefully that book will shed light on what's happening within that continent, at least from the perspective of eight different countries. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. Thank you for that. I'm going to go next to Jonathan Scriven at Washington Adventist University in Maryland: What are some of the strategies universities are using to make education more affordable in the United States? If that is a challenge, are schools investing more or less in setting up campuses in foreign countries as a way to reach foreign students? LEE: I'm just going to read over that question. OK, yeah. Great question, Jonathan. So what's happening in my institution and many others is a way to attract students is we're providing considerable aid, merit aid, financial aid, aid even to international students. The majority may not even be paying the full sticker price. Now this, of course, will affect the revenue that would have otherwise been generated, but nevertheless is a way to deal with the fierce competition across U.S. institutions for these top students. So how to make it affordable? There's a lot of aid going around at the undergraduate, not just the graduate, levels. And so what are institutions doing? Well, for example, at the University of Arizona for our dual degrees, it's a fraction of the cost of what it would cost to be a student at our main campus. When you have a combination of hybrid or online delivery with a campus partner maybe providing most of the gen ed's and then we would teach most of the major courses as an example, that does significantly lower the cost where that student will still get a bona fide University of Arizona degree, just like they would at main campus. So these alternative forms of delivery certainly make it more affordable, especially for those that opt to stay in their home country and receive an online education, or a flipped classroom model, or a dual degree. FASKIANOS: Great. Denis Simon, if you can—why don't you ask your question? Q: Here I am. OK. Recently, on a trip to China in September, a number of faculty have told me they're no longer wanting to send their best students abroad. They want to keep them in China. And this is all part of the rise of Chinese universities, et cetera. And so it may not be simply the souring of Sino-U.S. relations that has causal effect here, but simply the fact that China now is becoming a major, you know, educational powerhouse. And that also could change the dynamics. For example, even the BRI countries could start to send their students to China instead of sending them to the United States. Do you see anything evolving like this or—and what might be the outcome? LEE: Yeah. Spot on, David. That halo effect of a U.S. degree is not the same as it was when I was a university student. Chinese students, as well as students in the world, are much more savvy. They have access to information. They have access to rankings. They know all universities are not the same. And they know that they have some institutions that are highly ranked and may offer better quality education than the U.S. So that the image of a U.S. degree, of course, is not as universally perceived as it may have been, I don't know, pre-internet, or without the—all sorts of rankings in which institutions are rated against one another. And absolutely, Chinese institutions are very difficult to get into, fiercely competitive, producing far more scientific output than some of our leading institutions. And there's another factor when it comes to Asian culture just more broadly speaking, is that social network tie. Sociologists refer to it as social capital. When a Chinese student, a Korean student, Japanese student decides to study in the United States, they may lose that social tie that may possibly put them in a disadvantage when they decide to come back and compete for a position when they may just have that U.S. credential, but may have either lessened or no longer have that relationship that may have allowed them to get a position at the university, or in a place where that alumni network would have been especially useful. So again, I don't want to generalize, you know, in any place to the world, but there is that component that I think sometimes is missed in the literature. Maintaining that social network is pretty key, especially as jobs, of course, global, you know, unemployment—places where students are competing for positions need to have every edge possible. So that also can be part of that reason they decide to stay. FASKIANOS: Great. The next question from Michael Kulma, who's at the University of Chicago. He's following on David Moore's comments about Florida: Do you know how many other states in the U.S. are enacting or are considering such policies against partnerships with China? LEE: I do not know the answer. So if anyone wants to raise their hand and share about their own state, or put it on the answer part of the question and answer. There are related concerns about DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Some of that may spill over to China. Hopefully, at some point at the Council of Foreign Relations will have a discussion on Israel and Hamas conflict and how institutions are dealing with that. And so we're seeing a pretty challenging political environment that is clearly spilling over to our classrooms and to our international activities, our domestic recruitment. But I'm not answering your question, Michael. (Laughs.) I'll leave it up to someone else to answer. FASKIANOS: Great. Thank you. So we don't have very much time left. I thought maybe you could, given your research and expertise, could suggest resources—recommend resources for higher ed leaders and administrators to better understand how to promote collaboration. LEE: Sure. So promoting collaboration, it really—each person at a time. You know, again, MOUs may be signed, and maybe overarching presidents will come together and have an agreement, but there's no guarantee that will ever happen. I'd love to do a study on how many MOUs never actually materialized into real action. So where do we begin? International affairs SIOs out there, identify who are your area studies experts? Who are your visiting postdocs? Who are your Fulbright scholars from other parts of the world? They all represent their own network and are certainly are valuable resources to consider. What I've sometimes have heard even at my own institution is, you know, how do we bring these people to the table? Why are they not at the table to begin with, and then how do we bring them there? And this is a relatively low-cost way to go about this, right? Like, faculty engaged in service. What kind of opportunities can your university provide for faculty service that is aligned with their area of expertise, the areas of the world they represent, the networks they have? And many of—some of you already have experienced this directly. These partnerships often begin with our alumni, international—former international students who decide to go back home. So, again, there's just a lot of exciting opportunity. I love this field because it's never boring. There's always new ways to grow, expand new partners. But it really does begin with that essential element of trust. And that often begins with our own institutions and identifying those who've already started to build that network. FASKIANOS: Wonderful. Thank you very much. Really appreciate your being with us and for sharing your expertise and background, Dr. Lee. It's been fantastic. And to all of you, for your questions and comments, and sharing your experiences as well. You can follow Dr. Lee on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, at @JennyJ_Lee. I will send out a link to this webinar, the transcript, and the video, as well as the link to the book—your book that you mentioned, and any other resources that you want to share with the group. And I encourage you all to follow @CFR_academic on X, visit CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org for research and analysis on global issues. We also—just putting in a plug for our other series, Academic Webinar series, which is designed for students. We just sent out the winter/spring lineup and we hope that you will share that with your colleagues and your students. It is a great way for them to have access to practitioner scholars and to talk with students from around the country. So if you haven't received that lineup, you can email cfracademic@CFR.org, and we will share that with you. So, again, thank you, Jenny, for being with us, and to all of you. And wishing you safe and happy holidays. And good luck closing out this semester before we get to the holidays. (Laughs.) So thank you again. (END)

Listen here as we're joined by political commentator and author Dick Morris to talk about his new book "Corrupt: The Inside Story of Biden's Dark Money." Brett and Dick begin their conversation with Dick sharing that Brett is his first interview since the book was released before sharing what his book talks about with a special focus on Biden's relationship with China + what the information in his book means for the United States of America in the immediate future.  Dick also talks about how Biden's UPenn and Delaware offices relate to the "Confucius Institutes," + explain what they were established for as well + Brett and Dick finish up the conversation by talking about rallies at univeristies in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East between Hamas and Israel and if he thinks that China has any role in those rallies as well as other intelligence roles their exchange students play. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Motorbike enthusiast and fluent Chinese speaker James Trapp chats with ShaoLan about the Chinese words for motorbike and other types of vehicles. Listen and discover the similarities between riding a motorbike and meditating! Would you dare ride a motorbike on a 10 lane motorway in Beijing?

ShaoLan shares with listeners how to say “scholarship” in Chinese with today's guest Charlie Hoffs. Charlie has recently won a scholarship from the Confucius Institute to compete in a Chinese speaking competition in Beijing.

The English language has recently developed a historically unique dominance in the global marketplace--a situation that brings plenty of benefits and just as many downsides. Rosemary Salomone, Kenneth Wang Professor of Law at St. John's University, has researched and analyzed various perspectives on English's supremacy in her recent book The Rise of English, which has a paperback version with a new preface coming early in 2024.David Priess spoke with Rosemary about her background in linguistics and education studies, the origins of the English language's dominance, the role of pop culture in the balance between English as spoken in the United States and as spoken in the United Kingdom, divergent official language policies of international organizations like the United Nations and the European Union, the Anglophone bubble, English as a marketable skill, the debate about the English language within France, French vs Chinese inroads in Africa, the role of the French and English languages in the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath, the controversy over the People's Republic of China-funded Confucius Institutes, the rise of English as the language of protest internationally, the culture around foreign language learning in the US, views about computer coding as a "foreign langauge," Ukrainian President Zelensky's use of the English language, the possibility of Spanish replacing English as the most global language, and more.Among the works mentioned in this episode:The book The Rise of English by Rosemary SalomoneThe book True American by Rosemary SalomoneThe book Visions of Schooling by Rosemary SalomoneThe book Madam Speaker by Susan PageChatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Noam Osband and Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The primary coordinator for London's famous UCL College James Trapp joins ShaoLan to teach how to say “student” in Chinese. Are you a good student or a bad student?! Find out how to say it in this entertaining episode!

The English language has recently developed a historically unique dominance in the global marketplace--a situation that brings plenty of benefits and just as many downsides. Rosemary Salomone, Kenneth Wang Professor of Law at St. John's University, has researched and analyzed various perspectives on English's supremacy in her recent book The Rise of English, which has a paperback version with a new preface coming early in 2024.David Priess spoke with Rosemary about her background in linguistics and education studies, the origins of the English language's dominance, the role of pop culture in the balance between English as spoken in the United States and as spoken in the United Kingdom, divergent official language policies of international organizations like the United Nations and the European Union, the Anglophone bubble, English as a marketable skill, the debate about the English language within France, French vs Chinese inroads in Africa, the role of the French and English languages in the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath, the controversy over the People's Republic of China-funded Confucius Institutes, the rise of English as the language of protest internationally, the culture around foreign language learning in the US, views about computer coding as a "foreign langauge," Ukrainian President Zelensky's use of the English language, the possibility of Spanish replacing English as the most global language, and more.Among the works mentioned in this episode:The book The Rise of English by Rosemary SalomoneThe book True American by Rosemary SalomoneThe book Visions of Schooling by Rosemary SalomoneThe book Madam Speaker by Susan PageChatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Noam Osband and Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“You work to achieve power!” Find out what the Chinese characters that represent “Kung Fu” mean and why Kung Fu is related to Tai Chi. Listen in and enjoy as Chineasy creator ShaoLan talks to Tai Chi expert James Trapp.

Parents Defending Education has released a new report that offers some unsettling information about the reach of the People's Republic of China in U.S. K-12 schools through so-called Confucius Classrooms. “Confucius Classrooms are a program that is intended to teach children Chinese language and culture, which on its face sounds benign, but some of your viewers, listeners might remember Confucius Institutes, which were the corollary in the university system,” says Nicole Neily, founder and president of Parents Defending Education.Parents Defending Education describes itself on its website as “a national grass-roots organization working to reclaim our schools from activists imposing harmful agendas.”“That's something that [Cabinet] Secretaries [Betsy] DeVos and [Mike] Pompeo reined in during the Trump administration, because Confucius Institutes at the higher-ed level were actually found by the U.S. State Department to be considered foreign missions of the People's Republic of China,” Neily says, adding:And so, the fact that these are operating in K-12 schools across the country, even though we have, for the large part, reined in these programs at the higher-ed level, should really concern a lot of people.Neily joins today's episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss what's being taught in Confucius Classrooms, some key takeaways of the report, and reactions from U.S. lawmakers about the report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chinese expert and keen chef of Chinese cuisine James Trapp drops in to the studio in London to share some of the key ways to describe Chinese Cuisine. He also shares what he likes to make as his “signature dish.” This episode will almost certainly make you feel hungry!

The United States has made provocation after provocation toward China – and this week, the day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to China to reduce U.S.-China tension, U.S. President Biden denigrated Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling him a “dictator” and alleging that he didn't know what was going on in his own country. Blinken's trip was supposed to be months ago, but was rescheduled because of another provocation — when the United States shot down a Chinese balloon. Brian Becker is joined by Dr. Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University, founding director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State University, activist with Pivot to Peace, and author of the new book “China's Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future,” which was just released at 1804books.com. Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On today's Daily Signal Top News, we break down:   Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is pushing back against former President Barack Obama. Sen. Scott Scott defended the parental rights group Moms for Liberty and condemned the Southern Poverty Law Center for using “race as a weapon” in putting the parental rights group on […]

On today's Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is pushing back against former President Barack Obama. Sen. Scott Scott defended the parental rights group Moms for Liberty and condemned the Southern Poverty Law Center for using "race as a weapon" in putting the parental rights group on a map with Ku Klux Klan chapters.The man who shot and killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been found guilty of federal hate crime charges. The Iowa Supreme Court has blocked a 6-week abortion ban. Iowa currently allows abortions up to 20-weeks of pregnancy. Fox News is reportedly celebrating Pride month. Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before it was colonized and divided, China was once the most powerful economy in the world. Today it is re-emerging as a leading force, under “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” What paths has China taken since the 1949 revolution and is the country still headed to socialism? Brian Becker is joined by Dr. Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University, founding director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State University, activist with Pivot to Peace, and author of the new book “China's Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future,” which was just released at 1804books.com. Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

A second full episode this week for you Sinica listeners! Jude Blanchette joins to talk about the House Select Committee on United States Competition with the Chinese Communist Party, and all that is wrong with it, from its framing of the CCP as an "existential threat" to its focus on the CCP, and how all of this adds up to an embarrassing moral panic that distracts from the serious issues the U.S. confronts when it comes to China.4:37 – What's wrong with the Select Committee's framing of China as an “existential threat,” and why the first hearing was an embarrassment9:01 – The current moment as a moral panic over China12:09 – Domestic political drivers of U.S. China policy15:04 – Why the United States versus the Chinese Communist Party is the wrong framing too22:46 – Is this more like McCarthyism — or antisemitism? 28:58 – The downstream effects of U.S. tech containment policy toward China42:01 – The advantage of simplistic, Manichean messaging46:15 – Prioritizing U.S. issues with China: why Confucius Institutes and TikTok are so far down the to-do list, and what really matters48:59 – And what are the real issues that deserve priority?A complete transcript of this podcast is available at TheChinaProject.comRecommendations:Jude: Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon by Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam, from AudibleKaiser: This podcast interview with Angela Rasmussen, the virologist who has been in the front lines fighting back against the resurgent lab leak theory, from the Slate What Next: TBD podcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, I address the very real possibility of an invasion by China, and how it would happen. The roadmap is already there.  News Picks: New memos unmask secret deal between US, Britain to hide COVID vaccine adverse events. Biden keeps lying about our deficits.  Why were pilots discouraged from reporting on suspicious objects in the skies. Emails show doctors from St Louis transgender clinic telling teachers to 'affirm' fifth graders. Wikipedia is a joke. Here's the proof. Chinese nationals are showing up at our southern border. About those Confucius Institutes. China has police stations in the US. Copyright Bongino Inc All Rights Reserved Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices