Asia SocietyNews and Events • MARCH – APRIL 2009

Where Past Meets Future: Yang Fudong’s Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest

SPECIAL NEWSSOCIETY CHAIRMAN RICHARD HOLBROOKE NAMED U.S. SPECIAL REP FOR AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN...TRUSTEE CHARLES KAYE NAMED INTERIM CHAIRMAN

ARTS • BUSINESS • CULTURE • EDUCATION • POLICYAsiaSociety.org

ASIA SOCIETY is the leading global and pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States.

We seek to increase knowledge and enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts and culture.

Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C.

The views of program participants, exhibition artists, and institutional fellows do not necessarily represent the views of the institution, our members or supporters.

Generous support for this publication has been provided by Harold J. and Ruth Newman.Asia Society and Leogryph marks are trademarks of the Asia Society, registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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Letter from the President

Preparing Asians and Americans for a Shared Future

In the exciting first days of the Obama administration, we were thrilled that Ambassador Richard Holbrooke was

selected to be Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although we will miss his wise leadership and guidance as Chairman of Asia Society, I can think of no one better prepared or more qualified to help the President and the Secretary of State address one of the world’s most dangerous crisis zones. We are delighted that our Trustee Charles (Chip) Kaye, Co-President of Warburg Pincus, has agreed to step in as Interim Chairman.

That our former chairman is working to address the region’s biggest problems and our new chairman has a tremendous record of investing in companies that are helping Asian economies rise demonstrate the strong connection that we have to the challenges and opportunities of Asia. We believe that our mission to deepen connections and build partnerships among Asians and Asian Americans has become more urgent than ever before.

In the wake of the horrific Mumbai attacks in November 2008, we leveraged our longstanding connections in South Asia and our scholarly expertise to provide nuanced analysis of the situation and its global implications in the news media, at a series of ongoing public programs, and through our U.S.-India Task Force.

Another way that Asia Society plays a vital role in preparing Americans for a globally connected world is through our education initiatives, which are a central part of our work. Our national initiatives to promote the teaching of Chinese and the Partnership for Global Learning are part of our commitment to help young people develop the skills necessary to succeed.

Our network of centers in the U.S. and in Asia helps strengthen our partnerships across the Pacific and extend the reach of our programs such as our Global Film Initiative. Here in New York, we continue to bring you top level leaders and thinkers, and the very best art, artists and performers. I invite you to become invested in the Society. If you can’t visit in person, listen to a podcast, visit us online and invite your friends to become part of the Asia Society.

Vishakha N. DesaiPresident

Asia Society News and Events MARCH – APRIL 2009

Editor’s note: You may notice the new two-color format of this issue of the News and Events Magazine, part of a series of upcoming changes—both cost-conscious and environmentally friendly—to update the magazine’s look and feel. Stay tuned for more!

U.S. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Richard Holbrooke, new Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, January 22, 2009.

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a Conversation with artist yang Fudong

melissa chiu (mc): What was your initial inspiration for the Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest film?

yang fudong (yf): I didn’t have a clearly defined idea for the work. It was based more on a feeling, in Chinese gan-jue…. In college, I was deeply impressed by the idea of the Seven Sages, or Seven Intellectuals. I felt that they were open minded, free spirited, and genuine. They acted based on their emotions. They were idealists and thinkers. Later on when I began to make art, I felt that I wanted to create a series on this subject…

mc: How did you come to bring together the idea of idealistic youth in the Seven Intellectuals film with the very traditional idea of the Seven Sages?

yf: My impression of the traditional version of the Seven Sages is that they seem to be an anonymous group. It was not their identity that was important but their spirit. They have had a strong influence on later generations because they were active when they were young. In making the film about contemporary youth, I was more concerned with the idea of a group—a group consisting of seven young people today. This is very interesting: you do not know what the future of these

young people will be. The film is about the future.

mc: What kind of message would you like to give to audiences seeing Seven Intellectuals for the first time?

yf: The number “seven” in the film’s title indicates that there are seven people in the film. It is about a group of young people. Their future is not foreseeable. What they do is based on how they feel. Another important point is the disparities between real life and utopian life. This is intended as a question, not an answer. How do we act when we face these disparities? It has been said many times that Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest is a “road” film. There is no result, no answer. Because of the fast pace of life and work today, many young people are always in a hurry. I hope that when people sit and watch the film, they will have something to think about.

Find the full interview in the book, Yang Fudong: Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, Asia Society, 2009 available at AsiaStore, AsiaStore.org.

yang Fudong (born 1971) is an acclaimed artist based in Shanghai, whose five-part cinematic video work, Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, will be presented at Asia Society, for the first time in

a U.S. museum, March 3–September 13, 2009. A companion exhibition, Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (March 3–April 26, 2009), will explore the inspiration for the film, a legendary third-century group of Chinese learned men who have long been depicted in traditional East Asian art.

Below are excerpts of a discussion between Yang Fudong and Melissa Chiu, Museum Director and Vice President, Global Visual Art Programs, Asia Society, which took place in Shanghai on October 27, 2008.

Yang Fudong on the set of Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, part II, 2004

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Yang Fudong (born 1971). Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, Part III of V, 2005. 35mm black-and-white film transferred to DVD, sound. 53 minutes. Asia Society, New York: Promised gift of Harold and Ruth Newman

ASIA SOCIETY NEWS AND EVENTS • MARCH – APRIL 2009 1

For months, America’s front pages have told the story of falling home prices, frozen credit, job losses, plunging retail sales and corporate bailouts. The current worldwide

economic slowdown is a concern to everybody, regardless of nationality, and there is considerable uncertainty as to how deep and long this downturn will last.

As Americans keep their credit cards hidden away, people are feeling the direct effects in far-flung corners of the globe. Vietnam, a fast-developing country that has just experienced two decades of rapid growth, is now falling on hard times. Economic growth slowed to the lowest rate in almost a decade in 2008 as the country struggled with an annual inflation rate of over 20 percent. The Vietnamese stock market, which topped the world’s charts in 2006 by rising 144 percent, fell 66 percent in 2008.

Exports are critical for Vietnam’s economy, accounting for well over one-half of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Vietnam’s main export markets—the United States, the European Union and Japan—are all experiencing a rapid decline in consumer spending. The more severe and protracted the worldwide recession becomes, the more Vietnam will suffer negative effects including further weakened export markets

From Wall Street to Main Street, Vietnam

The Far Reach of The Economic CrisisBy Adam R. Sitkoff, Executive Director, American Chamber of Commerce – HanoiThe American Chamber of Commerce – Hanoi is a collaborator for Asia Society’s Asian Corporate Conference in Ho Chi Minh City

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and employment, reduced foreign direct investment, as well as financial effects such as reduced indirect investment capital.

However, despite the current economic challenges, investors remain confident in Vietnam’s long-term prospects, and American companies consider Vietnam one of the most attractive emerging markets in the world.

The country has made a long transition from a centrally-planned agrarian economy to a diversified mostly-market economy with growing industrial and services sectors. World Trade Organization (WTO) accession in 2007 completed Vietnam’s process of international economic integration and enables the country to compete globally on an equal footing with its neighbors. WTO membership also binds Vietnam to a comprehensive set of commitments including reductions on tariffs, elimination of non-tariff barriers, market access for services, and acceptance of important international trade rules and disciplines.

There is no question that doing business in Vietnam is grad- ually becoming easier. The government continues to streamline administrative procedures, and numerous reform initiatives are making good headway, though much remains to be done. The U.S. business community encourages Vietnam to continue reforms, strengthen intellectual property rights enforcement and make further efforts to improve business governance and transparency. Other big challenges include continued efforts to push major infra- structure projects forward such as energy and transportation, and also the urgent need to reform the education and training systems.

The American Chamber of Commerce will continue to help foster an attractive, transparent, and stable business environment. Vietnam has already shown the world that it is “open for business.” The country can cushion the blow of the global economic situation by maintaining cost competitiveness, appropriate economic stimulus and competent policy-making.

this april 22–24, asia Society’s premier business conference heads back to Vietnam. the asian Corporate Conference will explore the opportunities and challenges presented by Vietnam’s growing economic significance. Join government leaders, key decision makers and industry experts from the international business community to discuss Vietnam’s integration into the global economy. For conference details, visit asiaSociety.org/conference.

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AsiaStoreAsiaStore presents the Spring 2009 collection from the renowned brands of Asia and emerging Asian and Asian American design talent. This spring, find Jim Thompson’s Thai silks; Han Feng’s Shanghai accessories, Dragan and Putu’s Balinese glass, Saule Bapanova’s felted scarves and more! An art collector? Indulge in the latest selection of art books. AsiaStore brings the best of Asia to you!SHoP oNLINE AT ASIASTorE.orG MEMBErS ENJoY A 10% DISCouNT

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Garden Court CaféAn award-winning neighborhood favorite, this delectable café sets the mood with a serene ambiance and a dynamic, Asian-inspired menu that changes with the season. Enjoy savory lunch offerings and an exquisite selection of teas and desserts. Membership Cardholders receive a 10% discount on their portion of the meal.

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ASIA SoCIETY, Leogryph Design, ASIA SoCIETY & Leogryph Design are registered trademarks of Asia Society, New York, New York. © 2008 Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY

Questions, comments or other feedback about our new publication? Email us at editor@AsiaSociety.org

Silk Wool Shawl by Saule Bapanova $298

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Suketu Mehta, NYU Journalism Professor and Author of Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found on local responses to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, December 2008, New York:

“They all rushed forward to give me their stories in the trains, in the Taj Hotel, in VT, on the roads, in the brothels, in the police stations…..it’s a city that explains itself through narration. And right now there’s another kind of anguished story telling going on in Bombay. What happened? Who did this? […] How could this happen in Bombay? […]What the terrorists wanted, which was to split Hindus and Muslims, has not happened….But there’s also anger…at a government that has failed in its most basic duty, which is to protect its citizens from random acts of terror.”

Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs on how North Korea could benefit from “giving up its 30 kilos” of plutonium, December 2008, Washington DC:

“If you give up 30 kilos, we will relax economic sanctions. If you give up 30 kilos, we will sign, along with South Korea, the peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula. If you give up the 30 kilos, the United States will recognize you. If you give up the 30 kilos, we will sign a bilateral assistance program.”

Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist and bestselling author on why the next U.S. President needs to be “more radical than any since FDR,” December 2008, Hong Kong:

“[I hope] our next President who I have great hopes for is ready to be as radical as the moment we’re in…I’m talking crazy wild here, paint on your face, ring in your nose radical in what he does….than any president since FDR. The real question I have, this is not a criticism…will he have the courage of our crisis? I think our crisis is so deep that only truly radical behavior will be required to get us out of it.”

Heard @ Asia Society Around the World

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asia Society task Force addresses Vital China-New York Relationship

economic and cultural ties between New York and China continue to expand and evolve, making a compelling reason for more New Yorkers to read and speak Mandarin.

However, in 2006, less than 5,000 students in New York studied Mandarin. To overcome this language deficit, an influential group of leaders in education, business, philanthropy and non-profit organizations has come together to form the New York Task Force on Chinese Language and Culture Initiatives, led by Asia Society and China Institute. The Task Force focuses on strategies and recommendations to enhance opportunities for New York students to develop global skills through Chinese language and culture education which, the group argues, is critical to individual student’s success as well as that of New York.

Long at the forefront of globalization, New York has a vital relationship with China. The state’s leading growth market over the past five years was China. In 2006, China’s direct investment in New York totaled $554 million. Between 2003 and 2004, the state’s net dollar increase in exports to China rose by 29 percent— well above the average national rate of 22 percent. A successful economic relationship has the potential to reap billions of dollars in new revenues and to create thousands of jobs for New York—at all levels and across many industries. Yet, New York business and policy leaders understand that they are competing against other states and cities, such as California and London, for the benefits of enhanced relations with China.

With the population of people of Chinese background at three percent at the state level and five percent in New York City alone, Mandarin now ranks as the third most spoken language in both the state and the city after English and Spanish. The back and forth movement of Chinese and New Yorkers is particularly vigorous among students, who, of course, will shape future relations between the two countries. Although New York is linguistically complex—residents speak more than 170 languages, foreign language instruction has not been an educational priority. K-12 students are required to take only one foreign language class in order to graduate from a high school in New York, although they are also required to take two units in middle school. Enrollment data shows that Spanish is by far the most popular second language for students in world language classes in the state.

The New York Task Force on Chinese Language and Culture Initiatives recently released a report which calls upon the public and relevant institutions to address these challenges by forming partnerships at local, city and state levels to support effective Chinese programs across the PreK-16 spectrum. The report makes specific recommendations for PreK-12 education, higher education, legislators, business and the community at large to take actions to develop New York’s future global professionals and citizens.

To learn more, see the newly released Report of New York Task Force on Chinese Language Initiatives at AsiaSociety.org/Education.

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asia Society outlines Framework for u.S. engagement with asia to obama administration

U.S.-China Cooperation on Energy and Climate Change

“If human beings hope to avoid the worst consequences of global climate change, the United States and China—the two largest energy consumers, and the two largest producers of greenhouse gases—have no alternative but to become far more active partners in developing low-carbon economies,” says a recently released Asia Society report. Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations assembled leading experts from China and the United States who have outlined a roadmap for collaboration focusing on five key areas: deploying low-emissions coal technologies, improving energy efficiency and conservation, developing an advanced electric grid, promoting renewable energy and quantifying emissions and financing low-carbon technologies. The project was co-chaired by Steven Chu and John Thornton; Chu resigned as co-chair when he was nominated Secretary of Energy. According to the report, written in partnership with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change: “If wisely allocated, funds invested by both governments in economic recovery can help address climate change while also advancing the ‘green technologies’ and industries that will lead to a new wave of economic growth.”

Delivering on a Promise: The United States and India

“India matters to virtually every major foreign policy issue that confronts the United States in the years ahead,” according to Asia

Society’s Task Force on U.S.-India Relations. The report calls a broad-based, close relationship with India “necessary to solve complex global challenges, achieve security in the critical South Asian region, reestablish stability in the global economy and overcome the threat of violent Islamic radicalism.” Chaired by former Ambassador to India (1994-97) Frank Wisner and former Chairman of the U.S-India Business Council Charles R. Kaye,

the members of the Task Force say U.S.-India ties rest “on a convergence of U.S. and Indian national interests and never in our history have they been so closely aligned.” Their report calls for enhanced collaboration and greater public-private partnerships to address challenges ranging from education to HIV/AIDS, and urges greater public-private partnerships and NGO sector involvement to address problems that government cannot solve alone.

Leadership Group on Water Security

The emerging water crisis in Asia and the importance of access to a safe and stable water supply for human and international security in the region is addressed by Asia Society’s Leadership Group on Water Security. The group has outlined how governments, businesses, NGOs and regional and international organizations can work cooperatively to ensure that this

vital resource is sustainably managed. Asia Society, working in partnership with the Earth Institute’s Water Center at Columbia University, the Asia Pacific Water Forum and Japan Water Forum, presented their findings at launch events in New York, Washington, D.C., Mumbai, Seoul, Manila and Melbourne. Stability in Afghanistan

The Independent Task Force on Afghanistan—chaired by Ambassador Thomas Pickering, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and Barnett Rubin, a leading expert on Afghanistan and Asia Society Bernard Schwartz Associate Fellow—has re-examined international responses in light of increased violence and instability. Their report outlines a regional and in-country strategy to promote stability in Afghanistan.

With all eyes on the obama administration in its landmark first 100 days, Asia Society has released findings from several high-

level task forces outlining bold new strategies for u.S. engagement with Asia and Asia-Pacific collaboration. task force reports are being shared with key government officials, opinion leaders and the public and are designed to bring important new ideas to bear on the issues that matter. task force reports and executive summaries are available at asiaSociety.org.

ASIA SOCIETY NEWS AND EVENTS • MARCH – APRIL 2009 3

Understanding the World through Cinema: An Asia Society Global Film Series

Asia Society Centers around the world have responded posi‑ tively to the GFI films and several Centers have already created their own global film programs. In September 2008, the Manila Center organized a three‑day film series with the University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI). The opportunity to view independent Asian films is a rare opportunity in the Philippines; and there was a large and enthusiastic audience to watch films from India, China, Iran, India, Vietnam and the Philippines. Partnering with UPFI was critical to creating not only a successful series but also an academic forum to provide critical contexts for the films. Our Los Angeles Center is in the midst of screening a monthly series of GFI films. Their decision to focus on independent Chinese films has been pivotal to attracting an audience in a highly competitive film city. Despite the critical acclaim of independent Chinese cinema, it is surprisingly difficult to view in Los Angeles. Our Los Angeles Center has been quick to respond to the lack of screening opportunities for outstanding recent films from China.

The extraordinary variety, sheer beauty and technical virtuosity of the films we have screened so far are a reminder that the world may be getting smaller, but the cinematic imagination is still growing by leaps and bounds.

Check out the GFI films in March and April—Let the Wind Blow on March 4 and Luxury Car (Voiture de Luxe) on April 16. See pages 10 and 11 for details.

O ne of the challenges we face in the era of globalization is finding a thoughtful approach to understand the range and diversity of the world’s cultures. In recent times,

no medium has been as effective at communicating the human experience as cinema. Asia Society has long had the goal of promoting cross‑cultural understanding through the arts and by partnering with the Global Film Initiative (GFI), some of the most acclaimed independent films from Asia are being screened to Asia Society audiences around the world.

GFI is a non‑profit film organization that supports cinematic works from developing nations, and maintains a dynamic collection of independent films. From a programming point of view, the trick has been to select memorable films to the discriminating cinephile, which further Asia Society’s mission of education on Asia. A successful global film series should leave audiences feeling thrilled, curious, outraged or moved enough to want to know more about the story, the filmmaker and actors, and more about the country in which the film was made.

Our strategy in New York has been to choose films that stand on their own as vibrant, creative works of the imagination, but also include subject matter relevant to ongoing program initiatives at the Asia Society, such as Creative Voices in Islam and our focus on contemporary issues in China, India and Iran. One of our most memorable programs this year was a sold‑out screening of the Iranian film The Fish Fall in Love followed by a discussion on Persian food and culture that included food critic Mimi Sheraton. The strong support of the Iranian community, as well as a reception of delicious Persian food proved a big hit with New York filmgoers.

By Helen Koh Associate Director, Asia Society Cultural Programs

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