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The Public Diplomacy Blog is intended to stimulate dialog among scholars, researchers, practitioners and professionals from around the world in the public diplomacy sphere. The opinions represented here are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.

Posts by Joshua_Kurlantzick

CAN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY COUNTER RESOURCE NATIONALISM?
SEP 28, 2006 - 2:22PM PST
Posted by Joshua Kurlantzick
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Via http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20061002&s=kurlantzick100206

Earlier this year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in China -- and quickly made himself at home. The occasion was a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional group linking China, Russia, and Central Asia. During the summit, Ahmadinejad seemed to be everywhere. He posed, arms linked, with Russian and Chinese officials, who said nothing as he called for "impartial and independent experts" to investigate whether the Holocaust happened. He delivered a major address broadcast on Chinese state television. He touted Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing's "identical" views on world issues. And he proposed making "the SCO into a... FULL TEXT
 
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SINKING, CRACKS DETECTED ON QINGHAI-TIBET RAILWAY
JUL 31, 2006 - 3:15PM PST
Posted by Joshua Kurlantzick
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Via http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-07/28/content_652320.htm

This article is interesting because it demonstrates an increasing Chinese understanding of spin and damage control, something suggesting a more sophisticated style of diplomacy.

From China Daily:

The Qinghai-Tibet railway, opened this month to great fanfare, is developing surface cracks in its concrete structures while its permafrost foundation is sinking and cracking at some sections.

"The frozen ground that forms the foundation of the railway is sinking and cracking in some sections, making the railway unstable in some places," the Beijing News quoted railway ministry spokesman Wang Yongping as saying.

"The concrete is cracking on some of the railway structures... FULL TEXT

CHINA’S PD: PROMOTING CHINESE LANGUAGE STUDIES
JUN 26, 2006 - 7:57PM PST
Posted by Joshua Kurlantzick
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Via http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501060626/story.html

The cover story in Time's Asian edition highlights an important part of China's public diplomacy that is not yet well understood in the West -- promoting Chinese language studies.

After an initial rocky start trying to promote Chinese language studies in the late 1990s, the Chinese government, including its ministry of education, seems to have realized the need to divorce language studies from explicit government support. Hence the name of the Chinese language programs -- Confucius Institutes -- betrays no links to China's own political system or modern history; in actuality, Mao tried to disown Confucius' legacy. Hence, also, although... FULL TEXT
 
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