May 16, 2004 Kissinger Scholar Lanxin Xiang Gives Lecture at the Library of Congress on June 9

NOTE: Event Postponed to Wednesday, June 16, Same Time and Location

Lanxin Xiang, Henry Alfred Kissinger Scholar in Foreign Policy and International Relations in the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, will present a lecture titled "The Ideological Context of U.S.-China Relations" at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9, in the Mumford Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event, which is sponsored by the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, is free and open to the public.

In his talk, Xiang, who was appointed as the third Henry Alfred Kissinger Scholar at the Library of Congress in September 2003, will argue that in American policy circles the ideological context of Sino-U.S. relations is usually identified as democracy versus communist despotism. In this construct, there is no question that China is on the wrong moral side. Proponents of this policy argue that a peaceful China must be a democratic China. Xiang's presentation will take issue with these assumptions about the need to democratize China.

Xiang earned his doctorate from the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1990. He is the author of numerous articles and books on both 20th-century and contemporary Chinese history and on Chinese domestic and international affairs in the Cold War and post-Cold War periods. Before his appointment as Kissinger Scholar at the Library of Congress, Xiang was professor of international history and politics at the Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales in Geneva, Switzerland.

A noted authority on the changing relationship between China and the West, Xiang wrote his most recent book, "The Origins of the Boxer War," with Curzon Press in 2002. Other published works include "Mao's Generals" (University Press of America, 1998) and "Recasting the Imperial Far East" (M.E. Sharpe, 1995).

In addition to pursuing his research project titled "The Idea of Democracy and Sino-U.S. Relations" during his tenure at the Library, Xiang participated in various scholarly conferences and organized a symposium "Why China Needs Democracy" in May 2004.

Created through the generosity of friends of the former secretary of state to honor him and emphasize the importance of foreign affairs, the Kissinger chair program offers outstanding thinkers and practitioners a unique opportunity to pursue advanced research in the largest and most international collection of library materials in the world.

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