Liu Xiaobo, Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Focus of Next Modern China Lecture Series Presentation

Liu Xiaobo, writer, winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize and advocate of non-violence, sits in a prison in northeast China serving an eleven-year prison sentence for “inciting subversion of the state.” Noon on Tuesday, Nov. 4, Perry Link, who co-edited Liu’s “No Enemies, No Hatred,” presented “The Thought of Liu Xiaobo, China's Nobel Peace Prize Laureate,” as part of the ongoing Modern China Lecture Series at Cal State San Bernardino (CSUSB) in the university’s Pfau Library. “I don’t know of any scholar outside of the People’s Republic of China who is better in tune with the pulse of Chinese politics and the state of dissent in contemporary China,” said Jeremy Murray, coordinator of the lecture series and assistant professor in CSUSB’s history department. “Professor Link’s work covers a vast array of topics, from literature and linguistics, to history and contemporary politics.” Although Liu is best known for his political stands, especially his advocacy of human rights and an end to authoritarian government, his writings reach deeply into history and culture in both China and the West. “No Enemies, No Hatred,” published in 2013, includes essays on law, corruption, humor, sex, the world-view of farmers, the rise of the Internet, ancient Chinese thought and the weaknesses of Western civilization. While most of Liu’s writings were critical of China’s Communist Party government, it was a document called “Charter 08,” described as a pro-democracy manifesto that called for an end to one-party rule and other reforms, published in December 2008 that was used against him. He was imprisoned in 2009, and little is known of his condition; Liu’s communication with the outside world has been completely blocked. Link, who is currently the Chancellorial Chair for Innovative Teaching of Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages at the University of California, Riverside, is considered one of the West’s best experts on China, its language, culture and people. Prior to coming to UC Riverside, he taught Chinese language and literature at Princeton University and UCLA. His work includes the “Tiananmen Papers,” co-edited with Columbia University’s Andrew Nathan, which is a collection of documents leaked by a high-level Chinese official that helped chronicle the events that led up to and followed the pro-reform student protests in June 1989. He also wrote “An Anatomy of Chinese: Rhythm, Metaphor, Politics" (Harvard, 2013). Link has a B.A. in philosophy, M.A. in East Asian Studies, and Ph.D. in Chinese history from Harvard University. Some of his most recent books were available for sale at the talk. The Modern China Lecture Series was initiated to promote awareness of important issues related to China for those on the CSUSB campus and in the community. In eleven lectures and roundtable forums since Jan. 2014, China scholars from UC San Diego, the Claremont Colleges, and other institutions have visited the CSUSB campus to share their expertise and opinions. Future programs in the series include a visit from UC Riverside’s Lynda Bell on Thursday, Nov. 13, at noon, also in Pfau Library room PL 4005. Bell will discuss issues related to Chinese historical identity in a talk titled “Consuming Revolution: The Museum and the Gallery in Post-Socialist Beijing.” The Modern China Lecture Series is sponsored by the CSUSB History Club/Phi Alpha Theta Chapter, the CSUSB Department of History, the Intellectual Life Fund, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the College of Extended Learning, the John M. Pfau Library, the College of Business and Pubic Administration, and the University Diversity Committee.