Issue No. 210 | Jan. 8, 2020
Strengthening American capacity for effective engagement
Weekly Reading
With all that has been happening recently in U.S. politics and society, we suggest reading this 环球网 piece.

While Chinese media is probably not the best place to go for this sort of analysis, as many of you are probably being asked about these matters by Chinese friends and colleagues, this can be a helpful way to become more familiar with related vocabulary and terminology. It is also useful to see how some top America analysts in China are understanding recent events.
俗语 from Xi Jinping's Speeches
坚忍不拔
jiān rěn bù bá

Meaning: Tenacious, unshakable, describes perseverance and firm conviction,

Original: "面对突如其来的新冠肺炎疫情，我们以人民至上、生命至上诠释了人间大爱，用众志成城、坚忍不拔书写了抗疫史诗。"




Chinese Buzzwords of 2020
It's a new year, and already proving to be a tumultuous one. In times like these, it can be helpful to focus on the small things - maybe even just one character at a time.

Each year, the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center at BLCU selects the top Chinese characters and keywords of the year (汉语盘点2020年). China's character of the year for 2020 is 民.

To brush up on the latest 中文 Internet phrases, check out this MOE article on the Top 10 Buzzwords on the Internet in China in 2020,

You can also browse different countries' selections for the Chinese character of 2020 on Wikipedia.
Chinese Webinar Series
大学沙龙, The Carter Center, Dragon Eagle TV, the China Research Center and the American Mandarin Society are co-hosting a series of online Chinese lectures. The latest series of lectures 《中美关系史》 focuses on the history of US-China relations.

Please join us tomorrow, Saturday January 9, at 8pm EST for a 中文 webinar celebrating Ezra Vogel's legacy.

大学沙龙 and 中美印象网 have invited 15 guest speakers from the US, Japan and China to pay their respects. Please view the full event description here (中文).
Chinese Independent Films
If you are a fan of Chinese indie films and enjoyed the recent DC Chinese Film Festival, you may be interested in this free talk on January 16, 2021:

On January 16 the four film critics will discuss their columns, why they write, and the importance of independent film criticism in China. Simultaneous translation in both English and Chinese will be provided.
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