April 19, 2004 Symposium at Library of Congress Kluge Center to Explore "Why China Needs Democracy"

The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress presents a symposium titled "Why China Needs Democracy: Chinese Reform in Theory and Practice" from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, May 6, in Room LJ 119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. The program is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

This symposium, which will consider whether China needs democracy instead of the conventional "how will China be democratized?", is organized and moderated by Lanxin Xiang, holder of the Henry Alfred Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress, and professor of international history and politics at the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva, Switzerland.

In considering the future direction of China's political system and foreign policy, the panelists will explore fundamental issues of Chinese reform, with a focus on the relationship between Chinese tradition and modern Western political theories as well as the practical implications of current political reforms in China and the impact of Chinese reforms on the rest of the world.

Panelists for the symposium are Carma Hinton, filmmaker with the Longbow Group and co-director/producer of "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" (1995); William Kristol, political analyst, commentator and editor of The Weekly Standard; Rep. James A. Leach (R-Iowa), chairman, Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Committee on International Relations; Donald Munro, professor emeritus of Chinese philosophy, University of Michigan, and author of "The Concept of Man in Contemporary China" (2002); and Tu Wei-Ming, professor of Chinese history, philosophy and Confucian studies and director of the Yenching Institute at Harvard University.

A generous endowment from John W. Kluge in 2000 enabled the Library of Congress to establish the John W. Kluge Center to bring together the world's best thinkers to stimulate, energize and distill wisdom from the Library's rich resources and to interact with policymakers in Washington. The center houses a number of senior Kluge chairs, including the Henry Alfred Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations as well as several postdoctoral fellows. In addition, the center regularly sponsors programs that highlight research in the humanities and culture.

For information about the fellowships, grants and programs offered by the John W. Kluge Center, contact the Office of Scholarly Programs, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC 20540-4860; telephone (202) 707-3302, fax (202) 707-3595, or visit the Web at www.loc.gov/kluge.