The Congressional-Executive Commission on China held another in its series of staff-led Issues Roundtables, entitled "Public Intellectuals in China," on Thursday, March 10, at 10:00 AM in Room 385, Russell Senate Office Building.

All CECC hearings and Issues Roundtables are open to the public and the press. Members of the public who wish to attend do not need to respond to this message or otherwise register. News media representatives should see the final paragraph of this announcement.

Throughout the history of modern China, scholars and intellectuals have helped to guide China's political and social development and have served as voices of introspection, reform, and in some cases dissent against the excesses of China's leaders. Some observers had expressed hope that the accession of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao to the top leadership posts in the Party and State might usher in a new period of openness for Chinese intellectuals. In recent months, however, government intimidation and harassment of public intellectuals appears to have intensified. Since official newspapers published a series of editorials critical of the concept of "public intellectuals" in November, numerous prominent intellectuals, many of whom have published writings critical of the government, have been detained, demoted, or blacklisted from publishing.

This Roundtable examined the role of public intellectuals in China, their impact on China's political and legal reform process, and the implications of recent detentions and harassment of intellectuals and activists.

The panelists:

Merle Goldman, Professor Emerita of Chinese History, Boston University and Executive Committee Member, Fairbank Center for East Asia Research, Harvard University. Professor Goldman is the author of numerous books and articles on Chinese intellectuals and their role in modern China, including China's Intellectuals: Advise and Dissent (1981), Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China: Political Reform in the Deng Xiaoping Decade (1994), and "A New Relationship between the Intellectual and the State in the Post-Mao Era," (in Intellectual History of Modern China, 2002). She is currently completing a new book entitled From Comrade to Citizen: the Struggle for Political Rights in China. In addition to teaching at Boston University, Professor Goldman serves as an adjunct professor at the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service Institute.

Hu Ping, Chief Editor, Beijing Spring. Mr. Hu has been the chief editor of Beijing Spring, a monthly Chinese-language magazine dedicated to the promotion of human rights, democracy, and social justice in China, since 1993. He is also a board member of Human Rights in China and a regular commentator for Radio Free Asia. Mr. Hu received a Master's degree in philosophy from Beijing University and studied at Harvard University. During the Democracy Wall Movement in 1979 in Beijing, Mr. Hu published a long essay entitled "On Freedom of Speech." In 1980, Mr. Hu was elected as a people's delegate in China's first free local election. He is also former chairman of the Chinese Alliance for Democracy (1988-1991).

Perry Link, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, Princeton University. Professor Link specializes in 20th-century Chinese literature and has written widely on Chinese literature and culture. His publications include Evening Chats in Beijing (1993), a discussion of modern China as viewed through the eyes of Chinese intellectuals, and The Uses of Literature: Life in the Socialist Chinese Literary System (2000). Professor Link also co-edited The Tiananmen Papers, which provided an inside account of key leadership deliberations over the Tiananmen democracy protests in 1989. In addition to teaching at Princeton, Professor Link serves on the Board of Advisors of Beijing Spring, a monthly Chinese-language magazine dedicated to the promotion of human rights, democracy, and social justice in China.

Written Statements:

• Merle Goldman
• Hu Ping - English | Chinese

Transcript: