Asia Rising

History is the best textbook’ is one of the favourite phrases of China’s President Xi Jinping, yet only one version of history is acceptable in today's China. Since 2012, the ruling Communist party has made radical efforts to tighten its control over history, even bringing lawsuits against those seen guilty of ‘historical nihilism’.

The streets around Tiananmen Square were not the only place that experienced a bloody suppression in 1989, and since that time efforts to control historical memory have become more apparent. The state has made clear their desire to rewrite history, and within China they've been successful.

Louisa Lim is a Senior Lecturer of Audio-Visual Journalism at the University of Melbourne, and an award-winning journalist who reported from China for a decade for the NPR and BBC. She is the author of The People's Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited (Oxford University Press) and co-host of the Little Red Podcast.

Follow Louisa Lim on Twitter: @limlouisa

China's influence in Australia has become controversial. For years there have been reports connecting Chinese money to the funding of political parties, think-tanks, and research institutes. There is investment in business and buildings, and the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece China Daily struck a deal to be distributed in the Fairfax Media’s newspapers.

Less recognised is China’s exercise of soft power through the promotion of its culture and history – festivals, tours, exhibitions, performances, subsidies, and scholarships are often representative of a considerable investment in public diplomacy, estimated to be part of the US$10 billion that China budgets annually for ‘external propaganda’.

Why does China continue to invest so much in its international efforts to curry favour? What message are they trying to convey, and at what point does it become an issue of concern? How much influence does the People’s Republic of China wield in Australia?

This public forum brings together four experts to reflect on Chinese influence in Australia.

Held at the State Library of Victoria on 19 September, 2017.

For the past 15 years western democracies have appeared to reach a crisis point. Cynicism towards political institutions is widespread, with results in the UK and the United States the most visible manifestation of this trend.

In contrast, the Chinese Communist Party has overseen the greatest advancement in human development history, and maintained social stability and cohesion at the same time. Is there something structurally wrong with liberal democracy, and does China have a better model for managing politics in the 21st century?

Guest: Professor Daniel Bell (Dean, School of Political Science and Public Administration, Shandong University)

Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: @latrobeasia

Modern India stands on the threshold of becoming a global power. As it seeks to revitalise its economy and improve the health and education prospects of its citizens, improve its fractious relations with China and Pakistan and make its mark on the global stage, the key to understanding its future lies in understanding its leader.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is a controversial figure in his own country and abroad. He has garnered unprecedented political support while facing criticism for his nationalism, his record in government and his economic policies. With his leadership India has enormous potential and equally vast challenges.

Adam Roberts, journalist for the Economist (between 2010 and 2015 was its South Asia bureau chief) and author of Superfast Primetime Ultimate Nation, which draws on years of on-the-ground research, and interviews with everyone from wayside fortune-tellers to Modi himself, will be in conversation with Professor Nick Bisley, Executive Director of La Trobe Asia.

A La Trobe Asia event in partnership with Griffith Asia Institute.

Much of migration to Melbourne is studied in a post-war context dominated by Greeks and Italians fleeing a post-war Europe, but it undoubtedly goes back much further. Asian migrants played a notable part in the city’s growth, and these people bought new languages and culture with them.

Guest: Dr Nadia Rhook ( Archaeology and History, La Trobe University)

Follow Nadia Rhook on Twitter: @NadiRhook

The Philippines’ maverick president, Rodrigo Duterte, has had a turbulent first year in office.

His crime fighting agenda, popular with the middle class during the election, has delivered a bloody and devastating war on drugs with crowded prisons and thousands killed in the streets. Internal conflict with Islamic State-backed groups has led to martial law on the island of Mindanao and threats of civil war.

With five years left in his term of presidency, what can the Philippines and the world expect from Duterte?

In this discussion two experts give their assessment of how Duterte has fared in his first year.

Dr Nicole Curato (ARC Discovery Early Career Research Fellow in the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra.)

A live event presented by La Trobe Asia in partnership with the Philippines Australia Studies Centre on 16th August, 2017.