Events

Several talks at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival

“The Silk Road End to End: Destinations Along the Silk Road”

Date: Saturday 8 March
Time: 9.30 am
Venue: The Fringe Theatre, Hong Kong

A panel discussing travels along the legendary Silk Road with Rob Gifford, Colin Thubron and John Man in conversation with Justin Hill

Click here for more information.

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Piracy, Propaganda and Pop Idols

Date: Sunday, 9 March, 2008

Time: 2.45pm

Place: The Fringe Theatre, Hong Kong

In a media caught between official propaganda and tacky reality shows, what space remains for serious journalism ?

Click here for more information.

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Making News

Date: Monday, 10 March, 2008

Time: 8.00 am

Where: Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong

What is the role of the journalist ? Does news telling serve a public function or is it now merely a commercial product ? How do journalists define their jobs ? Rob Gifford in conversation with Rebecca MacKinnon. Includes breakfast.

Click here for more information.

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Is a Peaceful Rise really possible for China ?

Date: Monday 10 March, 2008

Time: 4pm

Place: City University, Hong Kong (exact room tba)

With Beijing trying to soothe concerns about its increasing wealth and power, Gifford asks whether China will follow the route of Japan, Germany, Britain and America in looking to expand its power beyond its borders.

Click here for more information.

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Revolutions: Cultural to Sexual

Date: Monday, 10 March, 2008

Time: 6.30 pm

Place: LRC

There is a growing gulf between the rise of a generation of pop-culture-oriented Chinese teenagers and their parents, who lived through the Cultural Revolution. Duncan Hewitt and Rob Gifford in conversation.

Click here for more information.

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BEIJING BOOK FESTIVAL

SENSE OF PLACE

Rob Gifford and Justin Hill in dialogue

Date: Tuesday, 11 March,

Time: 7.30 pm

Place: Beijing Bookworm, Building 4, Nan San Li Tun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing

From John Steinbeck’s depression era dustbowls, to the sultry harems of the Arabian Nights, a sense of place in any kind of writing, be it fiction, memoir, travelogue or poetry, envelops the reader in the physical and emotional world their characters inhabit. Rob Gifford and Justin Hill share and debate their ideas on how to create setting – and atmosphere - in their work.

Click here for more information

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COMMITTING JOURNALISM

James Kynge, Jon Watts and Rob Gifford

Moderated by Melinda Liu

Date: Wednesday 12th March

Time: 12.30 (lunchtime)

Place: Beijing Bookworm (address above) or click here

Journalism can be a risky business in any locale but what are the specific challenges presented by working in China? Don’t miss the chance to hear three veterans of the craft – Rob Gifford, (NPR), James Kynge (FT, Pearson Group) and Jonathon Watts (The Guardian), discuss the ethical considerations a journalist faces, debate the challenges and share their adventures with Melinda Liu (Newsweek).

Click here for further details

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AUTHOR ROUND TABLE

Date: Wednesday 12th March

Time: 6.30pm

Place: the New Zealand Embassy, #1 Ertan Dong Erjie, Beijing

Rob Gifford in conversation about his book China Road - informal talk and Q & A over dinner

Please click here for more details

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A SENSE OF PLACE

Rob Gifford and Justin Hill in dialogue,

Moderated by Ethan Goldings

Date: Thursday, 13th March

Time: 7.30pm

Place: Chengdu Bookworm, Section 4, Renmin Nanlu #28, Chengdu, Sichuan Province (opposite the side door of the Sunjoy Inn) - click here for details

From John Steinbeck’s depression era dustbowls, to the sultry harems of the Arabian Nights, a sense of place in any kind of writing, be it fiction, memoir, travelogue or poetry, envelops the reader in the physical and emotional world their characters inhabit. Rob Gifford and Justin Hill share and debate their ideas on how to create setting – and atmosphere - in their work.

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CHINA ROAD: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power

Date: Friday 14th March

Time: 7.30pm

Place: Suzhou Bookworm

click here for more details

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CHINA ROAD: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power

Date: Saturday 15th March

Time: 11.00am

Place: The Glamour Bar, at M on the Bund, Shanghai - click here for more details

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Monday 17th March - lecture open to the public in Washington D.C.

CHINA AT THE CROSSROADS:

Future Directions for a Rising Power

John Fisher Zeidman Memorial Lecture,

Sidwell Friends School, Washington D.C.

Dinner 6.30 pm

Lecture 8.00 pm

click here for further details