Event Details


WHAT: 'Without radio there is no nation" an RASBJ in-person discussion between John Alekna and Jonathan Cheng of John Alekna's book, "Seeking News, Making China: The Surprising and Intertwined History of News and Politics in Modern China"


WHEN: Wednesday Apr. 9 from 7-8 PM Beijing Time โ€“ drinks and canapรฉs from 6.30PM


WHERE: La Maison Lyonnaise 2F, 44 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing

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MORE ABOUT THE EVENT: Over the last 20 years, developments in communications technology have revolutionised how we receive news, overturning political systems in the process. This phenomenon is hardly new. Interlocking technological, informational, and political transformations have occurred many times in the past. John Alekna traces one example - the history of news in twentieth-century China - to demonstrate how large structural changes in technology and politics are heard and felt. Scrutinising the flow of news to reveal who has power and why, uncovering the connections between different regions, peoples, and social classes, John Alekna weaves together rural and urban history to tell a story of the rise of mass politics in modern China, including the remarkably large role of women.


ABOUT THE SPEAKER: John Alekna is Assistant Professor of the History of Science at Peking University. His research focuses on information, technology, and the emergence of modernity in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Asia. He is currently working on a biography of a Qing scientist-turned-explorer who led an 1879 expedition across the Himalayas into India. At Beida he teaches the History and Philosophy of Science, the History of Science in China, and Information as Material, Theory, and Practice. John Alekna's book, "Seeking News, Making China: Information, Technology, and the Emergence of Mass Society" came out in March 2024.


ABOUT THE MODERATOR Jonathan Cheng is China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, overseeing the Journal's coverage of the world's second-largest economy across a range of areas including politics, economics, business, technology and society. He oversees a team of more than two dozen correspondents and researchers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore and New York with responsibility for the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.


HOW MUCH: RMB 200 for members of RASBJ and of partner RAS branches, RMB 300 for non-members. Includes a welcome drink and canapรฉs. You may find payment by Alipay easier than by Wechat; you can also pay by credit card.

Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at http://rasbj.org/membership/


HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Please click "Register" or "I Will Attend" at least 48 hours before the event, and follow the instructions. For payment. Alipay may be easier than WeChat. After successful registration you will receive a confirmation email. If you appear not to have received it, please check your spam folder.


REFUND POLICY: If the organiser decides to cancel or postpone the event, registrants will be refunded.

Speakers

  • John Alekna (Speaker)

    John Alekna

    Speaker

    John Alekna is Assistant Professor of the History of Science at Peking University. His research focuses on information, technology, and the emergence of modernity in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Asia. He is currently working on a biography of a Qing period scientist-turned-explorer who led an 1879 expedition across the Himalayas into India. At Beida, he teaches the History & Philosophy of Science, the History of Science in China, and Information as Material, Theory, and Practice.

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  • Jonathan Cheng (Moderator)

    Jonathan Cheng

    Moderator

    Jonathan Cheng is China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, overseeing the Journal's coverage of the world's second-largest economy across a range of areas including politics, economics, business, technology and society. Mr. Cheng oversees a team of more than two dozen correspondents and researchers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore and New York with responsibility for the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

    Previously, Mr. Cheng was the Seoul bureau chief for the Journal, running coverage of the Korean peninsula, including North Korea and South Korean politics and business. He began his career as an intern in the Journal's Hong Kong bureau, and has also worked as a markets reporter in the Journal's New York office. Jonathan Cheng speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, French and Korean. A native of Toronto, Canada, he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history.

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Venue

La Maison Lyonnaise

44 Guanghua Lu Beijing
Beijing, China

If you have any questions please contact RASBJ Communications

Contact Organizer

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