Sunday, February 11, 2007, 10:00 am – 11:15 am
During these past few years, Asia has witnessed an enormous amount of transformation in its economic and political landscape. China and India continue to post explosive rates of growth. Business opportunities abound, but many observers are questioning whether such expansion can be sustainable from a longer-term perspective. Globalization is forcing Asian businesses to adapt to an ever more competitive world, but rising protectionist sentiments in developed countries have added a new element of uncertainty to the process. Finally, political upheavals have dominated the region’s news in recent times. Their impact is yet to be fully felt, but the consequences are likely to percolate through every level of society.
Some of the questions this panel will address include:
William C. Kirby is the Geisinger Professor of History and the Director of the Fairbank Center for East Asian at Harvard University. A historian of modern China, Professor Kirby’s work examines China's economic and political development in an international context. He has written on China's relations with Europe; the history of modern Chinese capitalism; the history of freedom in China; the international socialist economy of the 1950's; U.S.-China relations; and relations across the Taiwan Strait. He holds appointments as Visiting Professor at Peking University, Nanjing University, and the Free University of Berlin. At Harvard he has served as Chair of the History Department, Director of the Asia Center, and most recently, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Before coming to Harvard in 1992, he was Professor of History, Director of Asian Studies, and Dean of University College at Washington University. Professor Kirby holds degrees from Dartmouth College, Harvard University, and (honorary) the Free University of Berlin. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Chan Heng Chee took up her appointment as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States in July 1996. Prior to her appointment, she was the Executive Director of the Singapore International Foundation (which creates a Singapore version of the Peace Corps) and Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. She was the founder Director of the Institute of Policy Studies. She served as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1989 to 1991 and was concurrently High Commissioner to Canada, and Ambassador to Mexico.
She has received a number of awards including Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Letters in 1994 from the University of Newcastle, Australia; and the University of Buckingham (United Kingdom) in 1998; Inaugural International Woman of the Year Award 1998 from the Organisation of Chinese American Women (OCAW); Singapore’s first "Woman of the Year, 1991" Award; the National Book Award, Non-Fiction Section, 1986 for A Sensation of Independence: A Political Biography of David Marshall; the National Book Award, Non-Fiction Section, 1978 for The Dynamics of One Party Dominance: The PAP at the Grassroots.
Ambassador Chan has served as a member on the International Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), London and the International Council of the Asia Society, New York. She has served on several academic review panels and has published numerous articles and books on politics in Singapore, Southeast Asia and international security. She was educated at the University of Singapore and Cornell University. Her full biography is available here (external website).
Mr Chan Yeng Kit is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). The IDA is a statutory board of the Singapore Government. Among IDA's main responsibilities are fostering a competitive world-class infocomm industry in Singapore, preparing residents for living and working in the digital age, spearheading the delivery of citizen-centric e-Government services, and building and operating the Government's IT infrastructure.
Prior to his IDA appointment, Mr Chan was the Deputy Secretary (Policy) in the Singapore Ministry of Education. His responsibilities in the Education Ministry included the formulation of educational policies, strategic planning, organisational development and corporate communications.
Mr Chan graduated from the University of Tasmania, Australia, in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Mathematics. He was sponsored under the Colombo Plan Scholarship. He obtained his Master in Public Administration degree from Harvard University, USA, in 1998 under a Fulbright Scholarship.
Roger Wang is the Chairman and CEO of Golden Eagle International Group. Founded in 1992 with headquarters in the historical former Chinese capital of Nanjing, Golden Eagle began as a real estate development company in a newly-opened China, focusing primarily on the province of Jiangsu. With its 15th anniversary quickly approaching, Golden Eagle has evolved into a conglomerate, maintaining not only its initial focus on real estate but also expanding its retail business into a chain of high-end department stores.
Founder of the first foreign-invested group company in Nanjing, Mr. Wang is one of the most respected businessmen in the city and has received the honorable title of "Honorary Citizen of Nanjing." Mr. Wang has also received great recognition for his many charitable donations to various children's institutions.
Mr. Wang grew up in Taiwan and finished his undergraduate studies before he ventured to the United States in 1970. He attended Southeastern Louisiana University at Hammond, where he received a Master of Business Administration Degree. His full biography is available here (Word document).