Category: Events

Rally in London’s Chinatown against anti-Asian racism (Saturday 27 November)

On Saturday 27 November 2021, there will be a rally in London’s Chinatown (Gerrard Street, W1D 5PT) against anti-Asian racism. We encourage those readers that live locally to attend if they can. Below is an article from the Morning Star by Dr Ping Hua providing background and details for the rally.

Racism against the Chinese community is not a new phenomenon in British society.

There were reports of race riots targeting Chinese businesses and laundries as early as 1919. At times of national disaster in the country, the Chinese community has become the scapegoat on many occasions.

For example, we witnessed a spike in racist incidents against the Chinese community during the Foot & Mouth crisis in 2001, due to the unfounded accusations that the disease was caused by a Chinese restaurant using illegally imported meat.

Continue reading Rally in London’s Chinatown against anti-Asian racism (Saturday 27 November)

Webinar: Korea’s Struggle for Independence, Peace and Reunification

We are pleased to be co-sponsoring this International Manifesto Group webinar about Korea.

Date: Sunday 21 November 2021
Time: 11am EST, 8am PST, 4pm GMT, 5pm CET
Location: Zoom and YouTube
Registration: Eventbrite

We take a look beneath and behind western stereotypes of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – as totalitarian, autarkic, economically bankrupt, led by a dynasty and a cult, and a nuclear bad-boy – to probe the realities, old and new, by addressing key questions including the ongoing Korean War; the nature and motivations of the Workers’ Party of Korea governments; the reasons for its nuclear arsenal; the need to end sanctions; the history and present of the US nuclear threat in East Asia; and the path to national reunification, to which the Korean people, whether in the north, south or diaspora, remain committed.

Speakers include:

  • Dr Kiyul Chung (Visiting Professor, Tsinghua University)
  • KJ Noh (Peace activist and expert on the geopolitics of Asia)
  • Xiangyu (Political commentator and Chinese hip-hop artist)
  • Sara Flounders (United National Antiwar Coalition, peace activist and author)
  • Derek R Ford (Assistant professor, DePauw University)
  • Dr Hugh Goodacre (Teaching Fellow, University College London)
  • Keith Bennett (Co-editor, Friends of Socialist China)
  • Chair: Radhika Desai (Professor, University of Manitoba; Convenor of the International Manifesto Group)
Register on eventbrite

Educational Forum: No New Cold War Against China (Saturday 23 October)

Saturday, 23 October 2021
2pm US Eastern / 11am US Pacific / 7pm Britain
University of Minnesota
Nicholson Hall Room 155 / 216 Pillsbury Dr SE / Minneapolis, MN 55455

LIVE STREAM: Facebook

On Saturday 23 October, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization is holding a hybrid-mode forum opposing the New Cold War on China.

Speakers

  • Danny Haiphong, Contributing Editor of Black Agenda Report, Co-Host of The Left Lens, co-editor of Friends of Socialist China
  • Mick Kelly, Freedom Road Socialist Organization
  • Autumn Lake, Anti-War Committee

Details

The U.S. government is increasingly aggressive in statements and actions against China. Many are calling this a developing New Cold War on China. A New Cold War is not in the interest of working class and oppressed people in the U.S. We must oppose it.

Come learn more about the New Cold War targeting China and the anti-Asian racism that it generates in the U.S., what we can do about it, why both political parties are part of it, and the incredible accomplishments of socialist China that the imperialists don’t want you to know about in ending poverty, fighting climate change, defeating the coronavirus, and helping developing countries that Western imperialism has devastated or abandoned.

This is an in-person event. Danny Haiphong will join us virtually, while the other speakers will be in person. We will have a space that allows appropriate distancing. Masks required. Vaccination and/or current negative COVID test required.

Event report: Oppose the propaganda war against China

On Saturday 9 October, Friends of Socialist China held a webinar focused on opposing the propaganda warfare being waged by the US and its allies against the People’s Republic of China. The event was co-sponsored by the Morning Star, the Grayzone, Pivot to Peace, the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, the International Manifesto Group, and Qiao Collective. The full webinar (along with individual speech videos) can be watched on our YouTube channel. Below we provide a summary of the proceedings, written by Carlos Martinez.

Introducing the event, Radhika Desai (Professor of Political Studies, University of Manitoba, Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group) pointed out that, on the left, the most fundamental lie about China is that it is not building socialism but rather that it is just another capitalist country, indeed a particularly brutal capitalist country. Once this untruth is accepted, China can be treated as an enemy of progressive humanity – successes can be ignored, weaknesses exaggerated and accusations hurled.

For decades, the West constructively engaged with China at an economic and diplomatic level. But the capitalist powers were suffering under two illusions: first, that the Communist Party of China would transform itself into a social democratic or even a neoliberal party that would lead China towards the type of financialised, neoliberal, unproductive capitalism that prevails in the West; second, that China would remain on the bottom rung of the global economic ladder, providing low-cost manufacturing for goods consumed in the West.

Continue reading Event report: Oppose the propaganda war against China

Charles McKelvey summary of the ‘Propaganda War against China’ webinar

Many thanks to Charles McKelvey for attending and taking detailed notes on our recent webinar, The Propaganda War Against China. We reproduce his blog post below.

On October 9, the Friends of Socialist China sponsored a zoom event on the Propaganda War against China.  The event was co-sponsored by Morning Star, the Grayzone, Pivot to Peace, the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, the International Manifesto Group, and the Qiao Collective.

The event was moderated by Radhika Desai, Professor of Political Studies, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; and Director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group. In her introduction to the panel, she noted that propaganda is dehumanizing, in that it portrays peoples and nations in ways that deny their humanity. Propaganda is always based on lies, and the biggest lie about China is the denial of the fundamental fact that China has been developing with continuity its socialist project for seven decades. The anti-China propaganda disseminates the false claim that, with the Reform and Opening that was initiated in 1978, China abandoned socialism for capitalism.

Continue reading Charles McKelvey summary of the ‘Propaganda War against China’ webinar

Reminder: The Propaganda War Against China (Saturday 9 October)

Don’t forget, we have our Propaganda War Against China event coming up on Saturday 9 October 2021, at 2pm Britain / 9am US Eastern / 9pm China.

Register free on Eventbrite

We will discuss the relationship between this propaganda onslaught and the New Cold War; the reality in Xinjiang and Hong Kong; the participation of sections of the Western left in the propaganda war; and more.

The event is co-sponsored by the Morning Star, the Grayzone, Pivot to Peace, the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, the International Manifesto Group, and Qiao Collective.

Continue reading Reminder: The Propaganda War Against China (Saturday 9 October)

Reminder: Special online showing of ‘1921’ (2 October)

Friends of Socialist China are pleased to offer a rare opportunity to watch the film 1921.

  • Date: Saturday 2 October 2021
  • Time: 7pm Britain / 2pm US Eastern / 11am US Pacific
  • Registration: Eventbrite

About ‘1921’

‘1921’ is a full length feature film produced to mark this year’s centenary of the Communist Party of China. It is set against the background of the intense class struggle waged by the young Chinese working class in Shanghai in particular. The action also takes us to Moscow, Paris and elsewhere. Key early Chinese communists like Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping all feature in this not to be missed film. As gripping as any Hollywood blockbuster, it is also an education and an inspiration.

A review by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Keith Bennett can be read online.

Please note the film is in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles.

Who is organising the screening?

This event is organised by Friends of Socialist China, in coordination with Trinity Cine Asia. It is co-sponsored by the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, the Morning Star, the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, the International Manifesto Group, and Qiao Collective.

How does the online screening work?

At the start time (7pm Britain, 2pm US Eastern, 11am US Pacific), registered users will receive (by email) a link to stream the film. They will then have a three-hour window in which to watch it.

Why are we charging for this event?

Please note that Friends of Socialist China are not making any money from the showing; our purpose in arranging it is to ensure that its important political and cultural content reaches a wider audience. However, Trinity Cine Asia, with whom we are partnering to organise the screening, have paid the costs of distribution and marketing; therefore all proceeds go to them.

Speakers from Pakistan, China and Britain expose media lies about Xinjiang

On 24 September 2021, the Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution (IICR, an Islamabad based think tank) and the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE) held a webinar of international experts to expose the Western media’s propaganda in relation to the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez was among the speakers. The video is embedded below, along with a list of the speakers and a report of the event, republished from Asia Free Press.

Speakers

  • Sabah Aslam, Executive Director, Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution
  • Liu Lujun, Secretary-General, CNIE
  • Xu Lyuping, Vice-President of CNIE, former Vice-Minister of the International Department of CPC Central Committee
  • Carlos Martinez, author and co-editor of Friends of Socialist China
  • Dr Wang Jiang, Research Fellow, Institute of China’s Borderland Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China
  • Maria Zeb, Culture Program Manager, All Pakistan Chinese Overseas Youth Federation
  • Muhammad Zamir Assadi, journalist with Independent News Pakistan
  • Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director, Pakistan-China Institute
  • Pang Chunxue, Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of China in Pakistan
Continue reading Speakers from Pakistan, China and Britain expose media lies about Xinjiang

AUKUS: Why We Say No – emergency online rally (23 September)

On Thursday 23 September 2021, at 6:30pm British time (1:30pm US Eastern, 10:30am US Pacific), Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Stop the War Coalition are holding an emergency online rally to discuss the dangers of the AUKUS military pact and how best to organise against it.

Register: Zoom

Speakers

  • Jeremy Corbyn MP
  • Phyllis Bennis (Institute for Policy Studies)
  • Marian Hobbs (former New Zealand Minister of Disarmament)
  • Denis Doherty (Australian anti-bases campaign)
  • Paul Rogers (Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies, Bradford University)
  • Lindsey German (Stop the War)
  • Jenny Clegg (China specialist, CND)
  • Chair: Kate Hudson (CND General Secretary)

Webinar: From hunger and famine to feeding everyone (26 September)

On Sunday, 26 September 2021, the CPUSA is hosting a webinar on China’s elimination of extreme poverty.

  • Date: Saturday 26 September 2021
  • Time: 8pm US Eastern, 7pm US Central, 5pm US Pacific
  • Registration: Zoom

In 2021 China announced the elimination of extreme poverty, a historic accomplishment of socialism. Speakers from China and the USA will discuss the conditions of old China before the victory of the revolution in 1949: destitution, illiteracy and violence, as well as imperialist invasion and occupation. This will be followed by a discussion of today’s successful poverty alleviation program and the role of the Chinese Communist Party. The class will end with Q&A and discussion.

Speakers will include: Shen Ning (North American Bureau of Communist Party of China International Department), Norman Markowitz (Rutgers University); and Luo Xiaoping (sociologist from North China Electrical Power University).

Suggested Readings

Webinar: Why Meng Wanzhou should be released NOW! (22 September)

The Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War is organising a webinar on Wednesday 22 September 2021 at 7pm EDT with a set of expert panelists explaining the many reasons why Meng should (and can legally be) released now in order to restore friendly relations with China, and to set a new and independent course in foreign policy for Canada.

Continue reading Webinar: Why Meng Wanzhou should be released NOW! (22 September)

Communist Party of China 100th Anniversary Celebration Webinar

On Sunday 25th July,  the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) organised a webinar celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC).  We’re pleased to make available the video of that event,  featuring some excellent presentations from Wang Yingchun of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China; Robert Griffiths, General Secretary of the CPB; Kenny Coyle and Iain Inglis, CPB members living in China; and China specialist and campaigner Jenny Clegg; along with some brief archive footage on the founding of the CPC.

Webinar: The Propaganda War Against China (9 October)

We’re excited to announced that our next webinar takes place on Saturday 9 October, 9am US Eastern / 2pm Britain / 9pm China.

You can register for the Zoom event on Eventbrite.

Details

On Saturday 9 October 2021 (2pm Britain, 9am US Eastern, 9pm China), Friends of Socialist China are hosting an international webinar to discuss the intensifying information warfare being waged by the US and its allies against the People’s Republic of China.

We will discuss the relationship between this propaganda onslaught and the New Cold War; the reality in Xinjiang and Hong Kong; the participation of sections of the Western left in the propaganda war; and more.

The event is co-sponsored by the Morning Star, the Grayzone, Pivot to Peace, the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, the International Manifesto Group, and Qiao Collective.

Speakers

  • Chen Weihua (EU bureau chief, China Daily)
  • Li Jingjing (Reporter, CGTN)
  • Ben Norton (Assistant editor, The Grayzone)
  • Jenny Clegg (Author, ‘China’s Global Strategy: Toward a Multipolar World’)
  • Daniel Dumbrill (Canadian Youtuber and political analyst based in Shenzhen)
  • Michael Wong (Vice President, Veterans For Peace, San Francisco)
  • Danny Haiphong (Co-editor, Friends of Socialist China)
  • Kenny Coyle (Editor of Praxis Press; Morning Star contributor)
  • Chair: Radhika Desai (Professor, University of Manitoba; Convenor of the International Manifesto Group)

About the organisers

Friends of Socialist China is a platform based on supporting the People’s Republic of China and promoting understanding of Chinese socialism. Its website (edited by Danny Haiphong, Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez) aims to consolidate the best articles and videos related to China and Chinese socialism, along with original analysis.

Online discussion: “Leak Leak” and other anti-China Conspiracy Theories

On Thursday 19 August 2021 (8pm US Eastern, 5pm US Pacific), Workers World Party is hosting an online roundtable discussion about the rising tide of anti-China conspiracy theories. The discussion will be led by Lee Siu Hin and Sara Flounders.

Register for the Zoom event here.

Rather than change course from the disastrous policies of former President Donald J. Trump, the Biden administration has doubled down on the deadliest aspects of the U.S. COVID response. The U.S. capitalist state is refusing to put modest safety protocols and lockdown procedures in place despite the skyrocketing infection rate of the even more deadly and contagious Delta variant.

Meanwhile, President Biden and other U.S. lawmakers are hell bent on blaming the COVID catastrophe on China. Join revolutionaries in the U.S. and China for this necessary pushback on “lab leak theory” and the Cold War being waged against China and the entire global working class.

Webinar: For peace and socialism – celebrating the centenary of the CPC (25 July)

The Communist Party of Britain is holding an online meeting to celebrate the centenary of the Communist Party of China. The event takes place online via Zoom on Sunday 25 July 2021 at 2pm Britain / 9am US Eastern / 9pm China. Register on Zoom.

Speakers

  • Ms. Wang Yingchun (Deputy Director-General, CPC International Department) on the ‘Historic Role of the CPC and Today’s World’
  • Jenny Clegg (Senior Lecturer in International Studies and a China specialist at the University of Central Lancashire)
  • Robert Griffiths (CPB General Secretary)
  • Kenny Coyle (author and international scholar on Asia)
  • Iain Inglis (CPB member resident in China)
  • Chair: Liz Payne (CPB Chair)

Along with the speeches there will be vintage film footage and new productions not previously seen including China’s struggle against COVID and 100 years of the CPC.

Video: book launch event for John Ross’s ‘China’s Great Road’

On 10 July 2021, we co-hosted a book launch for John Ross’s book China’s Great Road; Lessons for Marxist Theory and Socialist Practices, along with the Morning Star, Tricontinental Institute, Geopolitical Economy Research Group, and Learning from China.

China’s Great Road features ten articles by Ross published between the years 2010 and 2021, all of which provide a clear analysis of China’s economic and foreign relations policies over the past decades. More importantly, Ross’ writing cuts through Western propaganda and directly addresses China’s socialist project, its history and growth, and what could be possible for future socialist countries around the world.

Speakers included:

  • John Ross (Senior Fellow, Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China)
  • Su Yue (Senior editor, Guancha.cn)
  • Kenny Coyle (Editor, Praxis press)
  • Tings Chak (Lead Designer/Researcher at Tricontinental Institute)
  • Vijay Prashad (Executive Director, Tricontinental Institute)
  • Radhika Desai (Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group)
  • Joshua Jackson (Political activist, Britain)
  • Chair: Carlos Martinez (Co-editor, Friends of Socialist China)

Report: analysts from around the world explore and celebrate China’s poverty alleviation successes

On Saturday 26 June, Friends of Socialist China held its first webinar: China’s Path to Zero Poverty, supported by the Geopolitical Economic Research Group. This event brought together a diverse range of speakers with different perspectives on China’s successes in eradicating poverty. The entire webinar (along with the individual speech videos) can be watched on our YouTube channel. Below we provide a summary of the proceedings.

Introducing the event, Radhika Desai (Professor of Political Studies, University of Manitoba, Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group) commended the extraordinary effort on the part of the Communist Party of China to eradicate extreme poverty. “It’s been a hard slog, as old as the revolution itself.”

Radhika noted that land reform, carried out in the liberated territories in the 1930s and 1940s and then extended throughout the country following the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, was the first step along the road to eradicating poverty, and provided the firm foundation for transforming what was then one of the poorest countries in the world.

Speaking of the targeted anti-poverty campaign of the last few years, Radhika pointed out that the threshold for lifting people out of poverty was not exclusively based on the World Bank daily income figure. This income figure is accompanied by ‘Two Assurances and Three Guarantees’: assuring that people have sufficient access to food and clothing, and providing guaranteed access to compulsory education (nine years), basic medical services and safe housing.

Continue reading Report: analysts from around the world explore and celebrate China’s poverty alleviation successes

Video: A hundred years on the path to socialism – celebrating the centenary of the CPC

This webinar was held on Zoom on 3 July 2021, organised by the Morning Star with the support of Friends of Socialist China.

The speakers were:

  • Li Jingjing, Chinese journalist
  • Robert Griffiths, general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain
  • Ian Goodrum, Senior editor and columnist, China Daily
  • Nixie Lam, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong
  • Lam Chun Sing, chair, Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions
  • Jenny Clegg, author, researcher and China specialist
  • Keith Bennett, Co-editor, Friends of Socialist China
  • Chair: Ben Chacko, editor Morning Star

All the speeches were excellent. You can view the video on YouTube (embedded below).

Reminder: China’s Path to Zero Poverty (Saturday 26 June)

A reminder that our first webinar takes place on Saturday 26 June, 9am US Eastern / 2pm Britain / 9pm China.

You can register for the Zoom event on Eventbrite.

Details

On 1 July 2021, the Communist Party of China celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding. Of all the CPC has accomplished in that period, the elimination of extreme poverty is unquestionably among its most impressive and historically significant achievements.

In this webinar, academics, politicians, journalists and campaigners from around the world will explore how China has been able to carry out the most extensive poverty alleviation program in history, and what lessons there are for humanity.

Speakers

  • Senator Mushahid Hussain (Chairman, Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and Pakistan-China Institute, Pakistan)
  • Li Jingjing (Reporter for CGTN, China)
  • Utsa Patnaik (Marxist economist, India)
  • Ovigwe Eguegu (Columnist for the China Africa Project, Nigeria)
  • Camila Escalante (Broadcast journalist, producer, presenter for Kawsachun News, Bolivia)
  • Roland Boer (Professor of Marxist philosophy in the School of Marxism at Dalian University of Technology, China)
  • Mick Dunford (Emeritus Professor, University of Sussex, Visiting Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
  • John Ross (Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China)
  • Qiao Collective (Collective of diaspora Chinese challenging US aggression on China)
  • Tings Chak (Lead Designer/Researcher at Tricontinental Institute and Dongsheng News)
  • Chair: Radhika Desai (Professor of Political Studies, University of Manitoba, Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group)

About the organisers

Friends of Socialist China is a new platform based on supporting the People’s Republic of China and promoting understanding of Chinese socialism. Its website (edited by Danny Haiphong, Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez) aims to consolidate the best articles and videos related to China and Chinese socialism, along with original analysis.

The Geopolitical Economy Research Group is a policy institute based at the University of Manitoba and run by Radhika Desai and Alan Freeman. It analyses and proposes policy alternatives for managing the interaction of national economies and states to promote human development and mutual benefit in today’s multipolar world.