DEAN Digest

Starting Fall 2013, the Editorial Board of the Duke East Asia Nexus decided to go beyond the biannual publication of its journal and dedicate its website to more fun, "digestible" pieces by its writers. A selection of these pieces will appear in print alongside the lengthier academic submissions in the journal.

Articles written by 2019 Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit delegates:

BRIAN NJOROGE//04.18.2019//How the Chinese Trade War Will Affect African Countries

EUGENE M. WANG//04.18.2019//

SUSAN RADOV//04.18.2019//How Xi Jinping Co-Opts Confucianism to Consolidate Power

CHELSEA CONRAD//04.18.201 9//

ALEX Y. WANG//04.18.2019//

CING-YI WANG//04.18.2019//

YUZHEN ZHANG//04.18.2019//

SAMANTHAN HOELZER//04.18.2019//Uigher Concentration Camps in China

FRANCESCO CAVALLERO//04.17.2019//The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative

MICHAEL SAUER//04.17.2019//Great Power Competition: America, China, and the Fate of the Supply Chain

CHRISTIAN MARTINDALE//04.17.2019//Ensuring Fair Global Technology Markets is a Job for a Scalpel, Not a Hammer

SHAYNA SERVILLAS//04.17.2019//The Political Stand-Off to End Poverty

VERONICA HERNANDEZ//02.01.2017//Beautiful and Exotic: the Fetishizing of Minority Women in Southern China

How is cultural tourism in China to the Miao villages? What are the implications?

PETER LOFTUS//05.05.2016//Greater Power Politics in Central Asia

"How Moscow and Beijing compete or cooperate in the future will do much to determine the future of Central Asia."

LUCY ZHANG//4.25.2016//The Curse of Homogeneity

Japan and South Korea are some of the most homogenous nations in the world. What are the implications - both positive and negative?

PETER LOFTUS//4.14.2016//How China's Community of Common Destiny Will Change Asia

What is the "Community of Common Destiny," and what does it imply for the future of China's regional relationships?

JP THOMAS//4.9.2016//China’s Dominance of the Rare Earth Industry

"Rare earth elements are important not only to the future of China’s economy, but also to its geopolitical standing."

PRANAV SRIDHAR//4.9.2016//China's Tryst with English: A Complex and Collective Relationship

In conversation with Duke Kunshan University professor Donald Snow, Correspondent Pranav Sridhar discusses the past, present, and future of English language education in China.

VEROINCA HERNANDEZ//4.9.2016//Uber in China: One Final Push?

What is Uber doing to expand in China, where the company holds only 16% of the nationwide ride-sharing market?

ALEX MELNIK//2.27.2016//China Must Not Blame ISIS For Its Terrorism Problem

China’s connection of Xinjiang separatism to ISIS will only encourage more extremism.

LUCY ZHANG//2.23.2016//Obligated to a Fault?

The concepts of obligation and giri permeate many aspects of Japanese society, past and present.

KEVIN LIN//2.17.2016//On Migrants, Media and Cultural Practices with Wanning Sun

A DEAN exclusive interview with Professor Wanning Sun of University of Technology Sydney, author of Subaltern China: Rural Migrants, Media, and Cultural Practices.

VERONICA HERNANDEZ//1.31.2016//A Review of Little Rice: Smartphones, Xiaomi, and the Chinese Dream

NYU Shanghai student Veronica Hernandez reviews Clay Shirky's account of the rise of Xiaomi, the world's 4th largest smartphone maker.

PRANAV SRIDHAR//12.15.2015//What Really Matters to President Xi Jinping?

Correspondent Pranav Sridhar covers a lecture by Dr. Tiger Zhang of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies.

SO YOON LEE//12.04.2015//The Golden Spoons and the "Gabs" - Social Stratification in South Korea

Are you a "golden spoon?" Or perhaps a "dirt spoon?" The widening income gap in South Korea, satirized by terms such as these, has resulted in a whole host of conflicts between socioeconomic classes.

LIU YI//12.03.2015//Trekking Mount Huang

For a change of pace - A mini-travelogue documenting Wuhan University student Liu Yi's journey up "the loveliest mountain in China."

DEAN ADVISOR PROFILE//12.01.2015//Professor Simon Partner (History)

For our second Advisor Profile, Editor Sam Yin interviews Professor Simon Partner of Duke University's History department. Read about Professor Partner's path from management consultant to expert on 19th and 20th century Japanese history.

JOHN PATRICK THOMAS//11.30.2015//"Age of Ambition" Review

"Call me an optimist, but I have a sense that China is at the advent of ambitious change."

LUCY ZHANG//11.29.2015//Cutting Out the Small Talk

A common Western perception of social interaction in China is that Chinese people tend to be "more blunt, forthright, and obvious about their opinions." Where could this tendency have originated from, and what does it imply about Chinese (and American) culture?

DAVID SHOU//11.28.2015//Airpocalypse and China's Efforts to Curb Pollution

Approximately 17% of all deaths in China are attributable to air pollution. This has spurred a "war against pollution" in China, on an individual level as well as through government efforts.

ALEX MELNIK//11.24.2015//Dating Apps Charm Chinese Citizens

The popularity of datings apps such as Tinder is not limited to the US. Similar smartphone apps are rapidly gaining users in China due to the nation's unique sociodemographic situation, although not without facing some obstacles along the way.

PETER LOFTUS//11.22.2015//Chinese Nationalism: It can be created. But can it be contained?

China is (again) in the midst of a "nationalism dilemma" - can the CCP successfully utilize nationalism to its own ends? Or, left unchecked, will it become a source of internal and external discontent that weakens the Party?

VERONICA HERNANDEZ//11.9.2015//Money Talks: Buying Influence with Art

"While [the nouveau riche's] actions have generated negative press for China, these wealthy individuals have helped in a China through a more subtle regard: the Chinese mega-rich spend their fortunes just like their moneyed counterparts in the West – on art."

DEAN ADVISOR PROFILE//11.4.2015//Professor Leo Ching (AMES)

The Duke East Asia Nexus owes much to its supportive faculty advisors, starting with Professor Leo Ching of Duke's Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Department. For our first Advisor Profile, DEAN Editor Sakura Takahashi interviews Professor Ching about his interest in East Asia and his long-standing connections with DEAN.

LUCY ZHANG//10.29.2015//Censoring Entertainment: A Look Into Chinese Society and Anime

China is notorious for its extensive censorship of media, including, recently, several Japanese anime and manga titles. What are the true objectives of this controversial move?

SO YOON LEE//10.27.2015//"It Won't Happen This Time" - The Reality of K-Pop Stage Safety

Recently, a video of a K-Pop group performing while falling repeatedly on the slippery stage went viral, earning them international recognition for their perseverance. The costs of such a lackadaisical attitude towards performers' safety, however, maybe outweigh the benefits.

HILLARY SONG//10.21.2015//Behind the Scale: Roots of China's Obesity Problem

Obesity has started to outpace GDP growth in China. However, the root causes of the problem may be distinct from those of similarly overweight nations due to China's unique historical, political, and social circumstances.

JOHN PATRICK THOMAS//10.17.2015//Xinjiang: A Lost Cause or an Opportunity?

John Patrick Thomas takes an in-depth look into the recent conflicts pervading the Xinjiang region in China, as well as what can be done to quell the violence.

NICHOLAS REITER//10.14.2015//The Korean War, Colonial Legacies, and Shifting Relations

As seen in the film of Taegugki: The Brotherhood of War, the individual agencies of South Korea and its people have often been lost in the greater power politics of the Asia Pacific.

PRAMODH GANAPATHY//10.11.2015//Righting Regrets: Tokyo Sonata Review

Pramodh Ganapathy reviews the award-winning film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, acclaimed horror movie director. For this 2008 film, however, Kurosawa stepped away from his usual genre - or did he?

ALEX MELNIK//10.08.2015//China’s Ultimate Grand Strategy: Benevolent Leadership in the Asia Pacific?

America isn’t the only country with its eyes on Southeast Asia. Just as the US has its own Pivot -- later renamed Rebalance -- to Asia, so too does China.

PETER LOFTUS//10.07.2015//Xi Dreams of a Red China

Returning correspondent Peter Loftus on "how the Chinese Dream provides insight into China’s changing identity – and the global implications."

SO YOON LEE//10.04.2015//Remembrance and Feeling: The Aftermath of the Sewol Ferry Disaster

Duke freshman So Yoon Lee discusses the growing apathy and yet to be resolved controversies surrounding the 2014 ferry disaster in South Korea.

LUCY ZHANG//09.30.2015//Destroying Society's Human - A Critique of No Longer Human

New correspondent Lucy Zhang's reflections on Osamu Dazai's quasi-autobiographical masterpiece and its societal implications.

DAVID SHOU//09.26.2015//The Elderly Care Crisis in Aging China

In our first correspondent article of the semester, NIH Academy Fellow David Shou provides an overview of the challenges facing China's rapidly expanding elderly population.

PRAMODH GANAPATHY//09.16.2015//Revisiting the Bomb: A Surface Overview

In light of our upcoming event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings and its meaning in the present day, DEAN editor Pramodh Ganapathy explores the less-discussed reasons for its conception.

PETER LOFTUS//08.25.2015//Towards a New Type of Major Power Relations

China’s role in the P5+1 negotiations with Iran demonstrate the potential for broader U.S.-China cooperation on mutual security issues, write Johns Hopkins correspondent Peter Loftus.

ALEXIS DALE-HUANG//07.24.2015//Strengthening Global Security Ties: US Military-to-Military Relations with Southeast Asian Countries

Alexis Dale-Huang provides an overview of the United States' global security presence in Southeast Asia since the announcement of the 'pivot' to Asia in 2011.

PETER LOFTUS//07.23.2015//Actions Speak Louder than Words: "Greater Power Politics" in the South China Sea

Despite politicians and diplomats' insistence that China's expansion has peaceful objectives, the nation's recent actions in the South China Sea suggest otherwise.

CLS SPECIAL//07.11.2015//A Conversation with Dan Blumenthal

In February 2015, the Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit brought together 100 students from 24 universities across the US and China to North Carolina for a three-day academic conference on US-China relations. Dan Blumenthal offers his thoughts on security issues in the Asia Pacific to DEAN members Emily Feng and Archer Wang.

ANGIE SHEN//07.09.2015//Women and the Knife in East Asia

Western cultural influence, colonization and gender inequality cannot fully account for the phenomenon of the popularity of cosmetic surgery in East Asia. A complex chain of issues is at play: beauty standards, ethnic identity, the historical development of the status of women and the political and economic climate of our time.

CLS SPECIAL//07.08.2015//A Conversation with David Shinn

In February 2015, the Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit brought together 100 students from 24 universities across the US and China to North Carolina for a three-day academic conference on US-China relations. CLS co-director James Williams exchange thoughts with former Ambassador David Shinn about the rising China-Africa relationship.

CLS SPECIAL//04.23.2015//A Conversation with Christina Larson

In February 2015, the Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit brought together 100 students from 24 universities across the US and China to North Carolina for a three-day academic conference on US-China relations. DEAN editor Emily Feng interviews journalist Christina Larson about her experiences with science reporting in China.

CLS SPECIAL//04.17.2015//A Conversation with Deborah Brautigam

In February 2015, the Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit brought together 100 students from 24 universities across the US and China to North Carolina for a three-day academic conference on US-China relations. DEAN editor Emily Feng had the rare opportunity to interview speaker Dr. Deborah Brautigam, a leading expert in the field of China-Africa relations.

PRAMODH GANAPATHY//04.16.2015//DukeEngage South Korea 2015: Aiming for Mutual Transformation

Pramodh Ganapathy takes another look at one of the newest DukeEngage programs after their inaugural year.

OYINTARELADO OSUOBENI//04.13.2015//DKU Blogs: Looking to the Future

I didn't know what to expect from my DKU semester when I arrived at the Kunshan South Train Station in August 2014. Although excited, I had no expectations. If anything, I was slightly hesitant toward what I anticipated to be the clash of two worlds: the American education system versus Chinese culture.

CLS SPECIAL//04.10.2015//A Conversation with Lawrence Liu

In February 2015, the Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit brought together 100 students from 24 universities across the US and China to North Carolina for a three-day academic conference on US-China relations. During one of the hectic lunch breaks, DEAN editor Emily Feng sat down with speaker Lawrence Liu to discuss his former experiences working as the Staff Director of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

DEAN DIALOGUE: CHINA'S "LEFTOVER WOMEN"

ANGIE SHEN//04.09.2015// Did the Party Create Leftover Women in China?

Read Duke freshman Angie Shen's slightly alternative take on the leftover women phenomenon.

ALEXIS DALE-HUANG//04.09.2015//Do Leftover Women Really Deserve Our Sympathy?

USC sophomore Alexis Dale-Huang examines state perpetuation of the "leftover woman" in China.

PETER LOFTUS//03.23.2015//Imperial Ghosts and the Rising Dragon: How a changing regional security dynamic has undermined Sino-Japanese Relations

Read new correspondent Peter Loftus' analysis of the current state of Sino-Japanese relations.

DAVID SHOU//02.27.2015//Corruption and Violence in the Chinese Healthcare System

To start off your weekend, here is an expose by David Shou about the shocking practices that take place within the Chinese healthcare system, and the public's angry response.

MEREDITH LI//02.02.2015//My Journey at DKU

Read former DKU student Meredith Li's thoughts about how she grew and was challenged in her semester there.

TENZING THABKHE // 01.01.2015 // Nowhere to Call Home & Jocelyn Ford: "What is representative of Tibet?"

An interview with documentarian Jocelyn Ford.

BENJAMIN JAKABEK//12.23.2014//Legacy of the Cambodian Genocide: A Walk through the Killing Fields

Benjamin Jakabek visits the Killing Fields of Cambodia to reflect on the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge nearly 40 years later. A photoessay from our content sharing partner, The Foreign Observer.

DAVID SHOU//11.06.2014//A History of Rural Healthcare in the PRC

David Shou provides a fascinating history of challenges and successes of China's rural healthcare system. He expertly condenses information from policy and research papers for those of us not very well versed in healthcare terminology.

EMILY FENG//10.23.2014//An Interview with Leta Hong Fincher

Via email with DEAN's Emily Feng, Leta Hong Fincher described how the rights of Chinese women have been beaten back in the last few decades but the hope that she has for China's brave young feminists.

SAKURA TAKAHASHI AND NISA VALYASEVI//10.10.2014//Film Review: Like Father, Like Son

Sakura Takahashi and Nisa Valyaselvi take a look behind the award-winning Japanese film. This film screening is part of Duke University Language Dorm's Japanese cultural promotion series.

DEAN DIALOGUE//10.02.2014//OCCUPY CENTRAL EDITION

What do students - both Chinese and American - think of the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong? In this special edition of the DEAN Digest, students weigh in on the civil unrest on Hong Kong's streets. Read the entire conversation here.

EMILY FENG//09.24.2014//The Mirror of the Mainland

Today, an estimated 13,000 Hong Kong students skipped classes and instead jammed themselves into the main quad of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. With the support of nearly 400 scholars, the university students began a five day-long boycott of classes to protest what they see as heavy handed attempts by Beijing to control Hong Kong’s internal politics. I have followed the boycott with equal measures of awe, excitement, and despair.

EMILY FENG//07.01.2014//Do you Hear the People Sing?

Tensions are running high as Hong Kong launches a massive protest in Victoria Park on the heels of an informal referendum that concluded on June 30. DEAN correspondent Emily Feng dissects what the referendum and protests means in the context of the China and Hong Kong relationship, and why a conflict of visions is to blame for the controversy.

PATRICK CHESTER//06.23.2014//Tensions Between China and Vietnam Carry Risk of Bloodshed

Were a battle to break out in Southeast Asia, the most likely combatants would be China and Vietnam. China in Focus' Patrick Chester tracks the number of maritime disputes in the South China Sea to assess the likelihood of a violent clash between China and Vietnam, who continue to trade jabs in the contested waters.

ANGELA KIM//06.22.2014//Tenpro 텐프로: The Story of High-End Prostitution in Korea

"Tenpro," high end Korean escorts, are increasingly sought after. What is behind this phenomenon? DEAN's Angela Kim describes the booming sex industry of Korea and why Korea's economic growth in the last six decades may be to blame.

PRAMODH GANAPATHY//06.20.2014// An Experiment in Sustainability: An Interview with Aimee Kwon

Add this to the list of cool opportunities Duke students now have access to: helping North Korea refugees assimilate into South Korean society. Pramodh Ganapathy talks to Professor Nayoung Aimee Kwon - who sits on the Duke East Asia Nexus' Board of Advisors - about one of the newest international DukeEngage programs that works with escapees of the good 'ole DPRK that was launched this year.

EMILY FENG//06.18.2014//Xinjiang Through Media

EMILY FENG//06.17.2014//Kim Jong Un: A Timeline

Emily Feng provides a timeline of the key events in Kim Jong Un's life from 2009 onwards.

EMILY FENG//05.30.2014//Cliven Bundy: Unlikely Chinese Hero?

Cliven Bundy became a controversial American folk hero after he refused to pay nearly $1 million USD in land use fees to the American government. His story inspired and enraged Americans, but his tale of land-use rights may also have captured some Chinese hearts and minds.

FEI GAO & SHUCAO MO//05.30.2014//DEAN Interview: David Wertime

David Wertime began Tea Leaf Nation with the vision of providing timely, well-researched journalism that would decode a fast-growing but inscrutable source of news: Chinese social media. Now in its third year, TLN operates as a blog of Foreign Policy and provides daily analysis of current events through the lens of Chinese social media.

EMILY FENG & SHUCAO MO//04.18.2014//Taiwan's Sunflower Movement

On April 3, 2014, Emily Feng and Shucao Mo sat down with two Taiwanese journalists Chang Cheng (張正) and Liao Yun Zhang (廖云章 ) to talk about the Taiwanese Sunflower Movement, which had just ended that day. Their lively discussion features analysis of the protesters’ demands, predictions of the movement’s impact and the journalists' impressions of the 1989 Tiananmen Protests in Mainland China.

EMILY FENG//05.01.2014//DEAN Interview: Nate Adams of Chirba Chirba

Nate Adams, co-founder and now manager of the popular Durham-based Chirba Chirba food truck, talks about his childhood in Taiwan and why he loves street food.

FEI GAO & SHUCAO MO // 03.30.2014 // DEAN Interview: Isaac Stone Fish

Isaac Stone Fish, associate editor at Foreign Policy, and sat down with the Duke East Asia Nexus' Fei Gao 高菲 and Shucao Mo 莫书草 in order to discuss, among other things, how he got into the business and his thoughts on the current situation in Asia.

JENNIFER YAM // 03.29.2014 // The War in the West: China's Xinjiang Mistake

Jennifer discusses the consequences of China leaving the ethnic conflicts in Xinjiang and Tibet unchecked.

KENT BOYSTEN//03.19.2014//China in Focus: Is a South China Sea ADIZ Next?

After China’s relatively smooth rollout of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in November 2013, China learned an important lesson: it could declare, with little backlash, an ADIZ in an area claimed by major regional powers. Will it declare one in the contested waters of the South China Sea?

MAEVE WHELAN-WAUST/ 03.06.2014 // A China in Focus interview with Dr. Susan Shirk

As part of the launch of China Focus, we interviewed Dr. Susan Shirk, chair of the 21st Century China Program (21CC) at IR/PS, to learn more about the organization.

EMILY FENG // 03.04.2014 // Public vs. Private: Art as Contrived in China Today

As art in China has become increasingly "museumified", we must ask the question: how have the lines between what is public art and what is private art been transformed? What are the values and evaluations that have been both implicit and explicit in the viewing of artistic and cultural artifacts within these enclosed spaces? China's current Five Year Plan clearly sets out "culture" as a "pillar industry" for the nation, yet the drive to increase art on exhibition has led to some unintended consequences like the escalation of fakes and forgeries in the Chinese art market.

EMILY FENG//03.01.2014 // China's Cybersecurity Push

Sino-US relations certainly have not benefited from the growing phenomenon of cyber espionage and terrorism. Yet the opacity of cyber security and the dearth of real norms governing this new area of international security have made cybersecurity a weak spot - and priority - for governments.

CHRISTINE KWEON & TENZING THONDUP // 02.28.2014 // Interview with Bruce Cumings

On Korean Unification, Critical Awareness, and Why We Should Give a Damn (about anything).

A respected voice in the field sat down with members of the Duke East Asia Nexus to discuss a wide set of issues including academic inquiry, the history of the Korean conflict, and more.

EMILY FENG // 02.20.2014 // A Brave New (& Corrupt) World

It's been nearly a month since reports revealed that nearly 22,000 clients from Hong Kong and mainland China had secretive offshore accounts and companies in the British Virgin Islands, a well-known as a tax haven. So why hasn’t the story gotten much attention?

PATRICK CHESTER // 02.10.2014 // What is the "New Citizens" Movement?

On January 26th, 2014, citizen activist and lawyer Xu Zhiyong was sentenced to four years in prison by a Beijing court. China Focus explores the origins of this group, its leader, and the actions the Chinese government has taken to wipe it out.

VICTOR YE // 02.07.2014 // Me Speak Pretty One Day

As of this writing, a nation-wide trend to deemphasize English in the Chinese education system has ignited fierce debates among teachers and the Internet community. Is this a wise move? Victor Ye comments on eliminating English from the Chinese gaokao.

EMILY FENG // 02.06.2014 // Blue Sky Roadmap Leads Us Astray

The Chinese central government recently launched new regulation that requires factories to publish their air emissions and water discharges in real time. While altogether a positive development, the announcement marks a clever shift in how the Chinese government now approaches environmental issues.

DEAN Digest

VERONICA HERNANDEZ//02.01.2017//Beautiful and Exotic: the Fetishizing of Minority Women in Southern China​