Dear Friends,

As 2017 draws to a close, we celebrate an eventful year for the UCLA Asia Pacific Center (APC). Over the past year, the APC has continued its core programs while embarking on exciting new initiatives. We would like to share a few highlights and preview what is coming in 2018.

Taiwan Studies Program
• This was a particularly successful year for Taiwan studies at the APC and UCLA. We presented two major conferences: “Zuozhuan in the Context of Warring States Texts” (May 12-13) organized by Professor David Schaberg, UCLA Dean of Humanities, to celebrate the publication of a new translation of Zuo Tradition/Zuozhuan; and “Musha 1930: History, Memory, Culture” (October 9-11) organized by Professor Michael Berry. which explored the lingering impact in contemporary Taiwanese culture of a violent conflict between the indigenous Seediq and the Japanese colonial powers in 1930 Taiwan.
• Our center’s Taiwan Studies Lectureship (TSL) was renewed for another three years in August by the Taiwan Ministry of Education. The new phase of the TSL examines Taiwan’s culture, identity, and transformation in historical, global, and transnational contexts. The APC also signed a three-year agreement with National Taiwan Normal University. Spearheaded by Professor Shu-mei Shih, this collaborative initiative complements the TSL with funding for faculty and student exchanges, graduate fellowships, workshops and lectures, and a working paper series to promote Taiwan studies. We plan to build on this strong foundation to create a permanent center for Taiwan studies at UCLA.

Program on Central Asia (PoCA)
• Under the leadership of Professor Domenico Ingenito of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, PoCA continued its lecture series on Central Asia in Transition, Afghan Studies, and Climate Change in Central Asia in 2017. Upcoming public events include: “Chinggis’ Descendants: Mongolia’s Wild Ride, 1990-2017,” “Recent Excavations of Sanjar-Shah (Northern Tajikistan) and the New Sources for the Study of the Sogdian Culture,” and “The Islamic Factor: Socialists, Islamists and the Soviet Union in Cold War Eurasia.”

National Resource Center for East Asia
• The APC has continued to serve as a National Resource Center for East Asia under the US Department of Education Title VI program. With Title VI funding, the APC currently awards over $185,000 per year in Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships to UCLA students for the study of Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Our outreach programs support teacher training and curriculum development on East Asia in K-12 schools and community colleges; and we work with departments across campus and the UCLA East Asian Library to create innovative programs and resources for the benefit of our students. The APC plans to reapply for another four years of funding in 2018 together with our consortium partner, the USC East Asian Studies Center.

New Initiatives
• Global Chinese Philanthropy Initiative (GCPI): The APC is proud to partner with UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Tsinghua University Center for Chinese Entrepreneurs Studies (China), and other academic and community organizations on this unique bilateral project that examines the contributions of Chinese and Chinese American philanthropists in the U.S. and Greater China. Drawing on the success of two highly publicized events in Los Angeles and Hong Kong this September, we are co-organizing another conference in Beijing in June 2018.
• Hong Kong Studies: In November, we organized two major events on Hong Kong: a film screening of “Vanished Archives,” about the 1967 riots; and a public forum on the 20th anniversary of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. We plan to build on these activities to work towards a vibrant Hong Kong studies program.

We invite you to visit our website to learn more about the Asia Pacific Center and our upcoming activities. We are grateful for the generous support of our donors and enthusiastic engagement of faculty, students, and community partners.

We sincerely hope that you continue to partner with us in our next phase of growth. If you are considering making a tax-deductible donation during this season of giving, please click here. Thank you very much.

We wish you a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season and look forward to seeing you at some of our events in the new year!

Min Zhou
Director, Asia Pacific Center
Professor of Sociology & Asian American Studies
Walter and Shirley Wang Endowed Chair
in U.S.-China Relations & Communications

Elizabeth Leicester
Executive Director, Asia Pacific Center

Aaron Miller
Assistant Director, Asia Pacific Center