2021 Oxford China Forum Keynote Speaker
Professor Louise Richardson
Vice-Chancellor,
University of Oxford
Vision:
To establish an international platform that enhances the exchanges of ideas
between China and
the world. We aim to provide an insight into the shifting economic, political, and
cultural landscapes of
China through gathering outstanding politicians, entrepreneurs, other industry
professionals, students, and
scholars for an equal dialogue.
Mission:
To inspire and enhance human
bonding by the
sharing of ideas. We believe that diverse and equal exchanges can bring us closer to
each other. By
initiating a cross-border, cross-age, and cross-disciplinary discussion on China, we
strike to strength
construction and understanding, while eliminating confusion and prejudice.
History:
Founded in 2013, Oxford China Forum (OCF) is a student-run annual conference aiming to
provide insight into
modern China. Except for the annual forum, OCF has developed a series of offline
activities including
lectures, Q&A sessions, screenings and journal, and multiple online platforms.
As one of the most
influential forums on China in Europe, OCF aspires to bring together scholars,
professionals in their
respective fields, and university students across the UK. In the past two years, OCF has
been live
broadcasted by iFeng.com, receiving two million views online. Our past speakers include:
Kevin Rudd, former
Prime Minister of Australia; Sir Christopher Hum, former British Ambassador to China; Xu
Xiaoping, founder
of Zhenfund; Li Zexiang, chairman of DJI; Liu Zihao, vice-president of jd.com; among
many others. We have
also had the pleasure to host distinguished novelists like Yan Geling and Feng Tang,
accomplished artists
like Jin Xing and Xu Bing, and leading scholars like Prof. Rana Mitter and Prof.
Nicholas Bunnin
During OCF 2021, with a topic of "Today's Youth, Tomorrow's World," we have focused our discussion on the younger generation, seeking to portray the contemporary Chinese youth from multiple angles. In 2022, we will take a step further. Instead of limiting our scope to the younger generation, we seek to expand our discourse to explore various boundaries in the world, as well as ways in which we could bridge the differences and transcend the boundaries.
In our lives, boundaries are ominipresent. While boundaries are useful tools that help us better define and understand the world, at times, they divide different fields, industries, countries, and human relations in such a way that not only limits people's ability to understand and empathise with each other, but also impedes our imagination of the future. A challenge (and opportunity) for today's youth is to recognise, bridge, and shatter these boundaries. By facilitating discussion between disciplines; by encouraging communication between generations; by pulverising misunderstandings between countries; by exploring the line between the reality and the virtual, we may set off to overcome the numerous boundaries in the world. Boundary is just another human construct. Let us break out of the constraints of traditions, and together look upon a world of infinite opportunities by transcending boundaries.
Transcending Boundaries of Knowledge: The Challenges and Future of Interdisciplinary Studies
Energy & Climate Change: Catalyzing Sino-UK Cooperation
Rethink Countryside: A 21st-Century Revisit of the Backbone of Civilisation
Telling Stories of Migration and Belonging: An Overseas Chinese History
A Symphony of Time: Redefining Youth and Age in Population Ageing Discourses
A Conversation Between the Scientific, Ethical, and Literary
From Mythologies to Metaverse: The Evolution of Virtual Idols
Who Owns Art: Rediscovering the Creation, Reproduction, and Derivatives of Art In New Media Era
After serving in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and later as an MP, Kevin successfully led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 federal election. While in office, Kevin's government set into motion major reforms in domestic policy areas such as education, social security and infrastructure. Kevin was also active on the international stage, where his considerable experience in foreign affairs assisted him to pursue numerous major policy achievements. Achievements included making advances on climate change action, his role in the establishment of the G20 and diplomacy in moving towards an Asia-Pacific community through multilateral bodies such as the East Asia Summit, ASEAN and APEC. Since leaving Australian politics in 2013, Kevin has continued to engage in international affairs. He has been appointed to many prominent roles such as a Visiting Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Distinguished Statesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Distinguished Fellow at both Chatham House and the Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago. He is also Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School. Kevin currently served as the President of the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York.
Wen Muye is a director in Mainland China. He got his master's degree from Director Apartment of Beijing Film Academy. In 2018, his film Dying to Survive became a big hit in China and won the Best Leading Actor, Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay of the Golden Horse Award. Dying to survive is a 2018 Chinese Comedy-Drama film about a drug smuggler Cheng Yong who bring a cheap drug from India. It raised the attention to drug smuggle and patten protection of drugs. See a subtitled trailer at: https://youtu.be/DsidZCH9RC8
Mr. Xu Xiao-Ping is the Founding Partner of ZhenFund (真格基金)，a leading earlystage fund which has been ranked first in “Top 30 Early-stage Firms of the Year” by Zero2IPO Group for 4 consecutive years. He is known as one of China's pioneering angel investors. Prior to founding ZhenFund, Mr. Xu was a Co-Founder of New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE: EDU), the largest provider of private education in China. The Founder Magazine named Mr. Xu as “2010 Most Respected Angel Investor” and “2013 Best Angel Investor”. He was also named “2014 Best Angel Investor” by CV Source and given the “2014 Chinese Business Leaders Award” by Phoenix TV. Forbes Magazine listed Mr. Xu as one of China's “Top 100 Celebrities” in 2004. Mr. Xu has a bachelor's degree from China Central Conservatory of Music and holds a Ma s ter degree from University of Saskatchewan, Canada. He is currently the President of China Angel Club, China's top angel investor organisation, President of China Angel Committee by CSRC (China Securities Regulatory Committee).
Dr. Leslie Liu is the Corporate Vice President of JD.com, and Head of JD Cloud Ecosystem. He joined JD Smart in 2014 where he served as VP of JD Smart and GM of smart enterprise division. He incorporated technology into the business platform and started innovative services on JD Cloud like EdTech, MedTech, MarTech, AloT. This new technology and business platform incorporates the capabilities from both JD's BUs and its partners, extending the business reach of JD group. Dr Liu focuses on the applications of cloud services, with which he is transforming the traditional industries. He works with industry partners to build JD+ ecosystem through corporate-level collaboration, investment, joint ventures, and sponsoring joint events. In 2018, he was awarded by Tencent Marketing Institute and Harvard Business Review the reward for innovations in business models in "30 People of Innovation in China" Before joining JD, Dr. Liu served at IBM GMU Research Headquarters in Shanghai and Prior to that, at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, where he managed a global portfolio and led several strategic initiatives on Big data and mobile solutions. Dr. Liu is the author of nine patent applications and received the IBM Invention Achievement Award in both 2010 and 2011. He graduated from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering in 2007 with a Ph.D. in Computer Science.
Professor Rana Mitter is a British historian and political scientist of Indian origin who specializes in the history of republican China. He is Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University, Deutsche Bank Director of the Dickson Poon China Centre, and a Fellow and Vice-Master of St Cross College. His 2013 book China's War with Japan, 1937-1945: The Struggle for Survival (titled Forgotten Ally: China's War with Japan, 1937-45 for publication in the US), about the Second Sino-Japanese War, was well received by critics.
Born in 1971, Wang holds an MBA from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is currently the Secretary of the Committee of the Communist Party of China Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd. and Chairman of the Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd. He served as the director of the External Propaganda Office of the Hangzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (Hangzhou Municipal People's Government Information Office), the deputy director of the Hangzhou Municipal Party Committee's Propaganda Department, the director of the Municipal Cyberspace Affairs Office, the party secretary of Wasu Digital Television Media Group Co., Ltd., chairman and Wasu Media Co., Ltd. (000156) Party Secretary and Chairman. From January 2018 to October 2019, he served as Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd. Since October 2019, he has served as Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd. Since May 2020, he concurrently serve as Chairman of Shanghai Film Co., Ltd. (601595). At the same time, he served as vice chairman of China Film Distribution Co., Ltd. and director of China Film Foundation.
Wang Zhonglei is Co-founder, Vice Chairman and CEO of Huayi Brothers Media Co., Ltd. Born in Beijing in 1970, he graduated from Beijing Youth University for Political Sciences. He founded Huayi Brothers with his brother Wang Zhongjun in 1994, began to take charge of Huayi's film and television business in 1998, and led the company to launch more than one hundred excellent films well-loved by audiences. The total box office of Huayi's main productions has exceeded 20 billion yuan. Guo's productions have topped box office charts for Chinese-language movies many times, and Huayi has become the number one brand for Chinese-language movies. It is now the industry's gold standard. In 2016, Guo shifted his focus to the overall operation of the company, and began to manage developing and connecting Huayi's multiple main business segments. Wang Zhonglei is also the vice president of China Television Drama Production Industry Association, vice president of China Film Distribution and Exhibition Association, vice president of Young Film Workers Committee of China Film Association, and president of Hengdian Film and Television Industry Association.
Jin Xing is a dancer, choreographer, actress and founder from Shenyang, China. She is also one of China's most prominent transgender celebrities. Born to ethnic Korean parents, Jin Xing joined the People's Liberation Army at the age of 9 to receive dance and military training. By the age of 20, Jin Xing had emerged as China's top male dancers, winning a national competition and then going to New York for four years of study. In 1996, one year after undergoing a sex-change operation, she founded the Jin Xing Dance Theatre in Beijing and became Artistic Director of China's first independent modern dance company. In 2013, she began her ascent to national fame while serving as a judge on China's first season of So You Think You Can Dance. She has later hosted her own television shows, including The Jin Xing Show and Chinese Dating, during which she has drawn up to 100 million views per week. She continues to appear regularly on TV and in the news.
Xu Bing is an artist born in Chongqing, China. He earned his B.A. at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing (CAFA) in 1981 and his MFA in 1987. Xu Bing's work has been displayed at several museums internationally, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the British Museum, London; and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain. Additionally, Xu Bing has participated in the 45th, 51st and 56th Venice Biennales, the Biennale of Sydney, and the Johannesburg Biennale amongst other international exhibitions. His work has appeared in major Art History textbooks such as Art Past, Art Present by David Wilkins and Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History by Fred S. Kleiner. In 1999, Xu Bing was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of his “capacity to contribute importantly to society, particularly in printmaking and calligraphy.” He has also received other prestigious awards, including the 2014 Department of State-Medal of Arts for his efforts to promote cultural understanding through his artworks, and the 14th Fukuoka Asian Culture Award for his “contribution to the development of Asian culture.”
Xie Fei is a Chinese fourth-generation film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was the former deputy dean of Beijing Film Academy, a director of the China Film Association, and a member of the jury of the Berlin International Film Festival and the Montreal International Film Festival. He is known for works such as 'A Girl From Hunan', 'Black Snow', 'Woman Sesame Oil Maker', 'A Mongolian Tale', and 'Song of Tibet"'. He was awarded the Silver Bear at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival, Gold Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival, Best Director at the 19th Montreal International Film Festival, in addition to other awards. He is currently the honorary chairman of FIRST Youth Film Festival.
Prof Li Zexiang, chairman of DJI and a pioneer of robotics in China, will join the Technology Panel (Is China the next technology leader?) in OCF 2019. Prof Li is a professor at the Electronic & Computer Engineering Department of HKUST, and the director of the Automation Technology Center. Before that, he received his BS degree from CMU, MA from UCB, PhD from MIT and worked as an assistant professor from NYU. But apart from being a successful academic, he sees the value to turn academic finding into reality. He co-founded several robotic companies with his students, including Googol Tech, DJI, QKM Tech and ePropulsion and Songshan Lake Xbot Park (A robotic startup facility). The most remarkable among them is DJI, occupying 70% of the world market for consumer drones.
Born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, Gao graduated from the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy. He started his career as a director by directing his first TV series Days on the Sea, and later directed film and television works such as The Sky of History, Happiness as Flowers, Shanghai Bund, King's War, etc. He has won awards such as the Best Director Award at the 4th Macau International Television Festival and the 20th Military TV Drama Golden Star Award for Outstanding Contribution to TV Drama Creation.
Li Dahai, CTO of Zhihu, will join the technology panel (Is China the next technology leader?) in OCF 2019. Zhihu is one of the earliest Chinese question-and-answer website. Li joined the team in 2015 as a partner. He has been in charge on the advertisement, data and algorithm sector. In 2016, Li started an “intellectual community” project driven by the power of AI, which improves the quality and atmosphere of the community.
Marco Lambertini became Director General of WWF International in April 2014, to drive the achievement of the global conservation organization's critical mission to save life on Earth and to lead the secretariat team based in Gland, Switzerland. With 35 years of conservation leadership, Marco Lambertini began his association with WWF as a youth volunteer growing up in his native Italy. Prior to joining WWF, he served as Chief Executive of BirdLife International. That role saw him broaden BirdLife's global reach and relevance, and develop decentralized structures for most effective global conservation impact. He managed a highly decentralized secretariat, overseeing a global partnership of over 120 civil society organizations based in countries and territories in all continents. Marco Lambertini has a degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Pisa, and has published books ranging from Safari in Africa (Muzzio) to A naturalist's guide to the Tropics (Chicago University Press).
Xu Zhiyuan is a journalist and essayist, and one of the founders of One Way Space. He was previously a columnist for the Financial Times Chinese, and is well-known as the host of the Thirteen Guests interview program.
Nan Pai San Shu, pen name of Xu Lei, is a Chinese novelist and screenwriter. He's mainly known for his series "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" (盗墓笔记, Dao Mu Bi Ji). In 2020, he became a member of China Writers Association.
Geling Yan is a Chinese-American author and screenwriter. Her first novel was published in 1985. She is the author of such novels as The Banquet Bug (published as The Uninvited in the UK) and The Lost Daughter of Happiness, as well as a story collection entitled White Snake and Other Stories. Several of Yan's works have been adapted for film, including Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl, which was directed by Joan Chen, and Siao Yu, directed by Sylvia Chang and screenplay co-written by Ang Lee. Zhang Yimou, the Chinese director of To Live and Raise the Red Lantern adapted her novella 13 Flowers of Nanjing to the screen as The Flowers of War, and his movie Coming Home was based on Yan's novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi. She has worked on other scripts including a biography of Mei Lanfang, the Peking opera star, for Chinese director Chen Kaige.
Wang Peiyu is a Chinese Peking opera singer-actress who plays old sheng roles. A winner of the Plum Blossom Award and the Magnolia Stage Award, Wang Peiyu is also known for her innovative efforts to popularize Peking opera among young people.
Biao Xiang (BA and MA, Beijing University; PhD, Oxford University) is a Professor of Social Anthropology at Oxford University. He is the author of The Intermediary Trap (Princeton University Press, forthcoming), Global Bodyshopping (Princeton University Press, 2007; winner of 2008 Anthony Leeds Prize; Chinese edition by Peking University Press, 2012), Transcending Boundaries (Chinese edition by Sanlian Press, 2000; English edition by Brill Academic Publishers, 2005), and Return: Nationalizing Transnational Mobility in Asia (co-edited with Brenda Yeoh and Mika Toyota, Duke University Press, 2013). He has published more than 40 articles, including one awarded the 2012 William L. Holland Prize for outstanding article in Pacific Affairs.
Stuart Jonathan Russell (born 1962) is an English computer scientist known for his contributions to artificial intelligence. He is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley and Adjunct Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He holds the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering at University of California, Berkeley.He founded and leads the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence (CHAI) at UC Berkeley. Russell is the co-author of the most popular textbook in the field of artificial intelligence: Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach used in more than 1,400 universities in 128 countries.
Henry Jenkins III (born June 4, 1958) is an American media scholar and Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He also has a joint faculty appointment with the USC Rossier School of Education.Previously, Jenkins was the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities as well as co-founder and co-director (with William Uricchio) of the Comparative Media Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has also served on the technical advisory board at ZeniMax Media, parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. In 2013, he was appointed to the board that selects the prestigious Peabody Award winners. Jenkins has authored and co-authored over a dozen books including By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (2016), Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture (2013), Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide (2006), Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture (1992), and What Made Pistachio Nuts?: Early Sound Comedy and the Vaudeville Aesthetic (1989). Beyond his home country of the United States and the broader English-speaking world, the influence of Jenkins' work (especially his transmedia storytelling and participatory culture work) on media academics as well as practitioners has been notable, for example, across Europe as well as in Brazil and India.
Wong moved to Boston in 2001 and began to perform his comedy at All Asia Bar, at Stash's Comedy Jam. Although he had won numerous awards, he did not attract American nationwide attention until after his appearance on Late Show with David Letterman on April 17, 2009. His multiple appearances on TV, courtesy of Ellen DeGeneres, boosted his reputation further. On February 10, 2010, Wong made his second appearance on the Late Show, and appeared again on March 30, 2012. He returned to the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on December 14, 2018. On St. Patrick's Day, 2010, he headlined the annual dinner hosted by the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association. On June 19, 2010, he placed first in the Third Annual Great American Comedy Festival. In 2013, he moved back to Beijing, hosting television shows, such as Is it true? (Chinese: 是真的吗?), a MythBusters-like program, on China Central Television.
Ban Ki-moon, born 13 June 1944, is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 2007 to December 2016. Before becoming the Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he graduated from university, accepting his first post in New Delhi, India.
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations
Former prime minister of Australia
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford
Director General of WWF International
Chairman of Shanghai Film Group
CEO of Huayi Brothers Entertainment
Pro Vice-Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford
Cofounder of ZhenFund, a preeminent investor
Chinese Film Director, Golden Bear Winner
Host of the Thirteen Guests
Chinese-American screenwriter
Chairman and Co-Founder of DJI
Chinese Writer
Director of 'Dying to Survive'
Chinese Television Director
Transgender dancer and talk show host
Peking Opera Singer
Former Director of Oxford China Centre
Former Professor of Social Anthropology at University of Oxford
Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley
Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts， University of Southern California
CTO of Zhihu
Chinese-American comedian
Vice-President of JD.com
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