Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU)

Shakespeare and the Sinophone World - SACU and Partners Online Event
2021-12-03 18:30 - 19:30 UTC
Asian Embodiment of a White Canon: Shakespeare and the Sinophone World:
This event is part of the China and the West: Cultural Dialogues series, sponsored by Georgetown University’s Future of the Humanities Project (a partnership with Campion Hall, Oxford, and Blackfriars Hall, Oxford) in cooperation with SACU.

Shakespeare’s tragedies have inspired incredible work in the Sinophone theatres of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The tragedies have been reimagined as political theatre, feminist operas, Buddhist meditations, and even comedies and parodies…
Featured:
Alexa Alice Joubin writes about race, gender, and cultural globalization. Her latest book, Shakespeare and East Asia, was published by Oxford University Press in 2021. She co-authored Race with Martin Orkin, which was published in Routledge’s New Critical Idiom series in 2019.
Michael Scott (moderator) is Fellow and Senior Dean at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford (and SACU).
This Zoom event is free but reservations are required: More information and reservations here

China Week 25-29 October 2021 - SACU partners the Lau China Institute, King's College London
2021-10-25 08:00 - 2021-10-29 17:00 | King’s College London, Strand Campus, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom
We are delighted to take part as partners for the Lau China Institute‘s China Week, a flagship series of events on China, climate change and the environment. The inaugural China Week will be held from 25th-29th October, the week prior to the UN COP26 in Glasgow, as a forum for discussion on China’s role in addressing the greatest global challenge of our time. We invite you to join us for a week of high-level panel discussions, film screenings, book launches, photography exhibitions, and much more, featuring special guests and leading China experts from the UK and across the globe. Our audience will be a range of policy-makers, industry leaders, MPs and researchers with an interest in China’s environmental & climate change policies.
There will be a range of hybrid and online events during the week featuring speakers from the World Economic Forum, United Nations Environment Programme, Harvard Business School, Chatham House, China Dialogue, the Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change at the London School of Economics, Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, Australian National University, World Resources Institute, the Institute for International Political Studies and more.
Please find full details on each event during the week: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/series/china-week
and on the Lau China Institute’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lauchinainstitute

The Case for Cross Cultural Dialogues: Webinar Discussion on Literature and Art - SACU in Partnership with Blackfriars Oxford and Georgetown University, USA
2021-10-22 16:00 - 17:15
In this webinar U.K. historians Professors Michael Wood and Kerry Brown (both SACU members) will discuss their enthusiasm for Chinese literature, art, and performance with Kathryn Temple of Georgetown University and Tong Ping, a native of Chengdu—a city famed for its pandas but also as an intersection of differing Chinese cultures. The discussion will be co-chaired by Michael Scott, who has held fellowships at two Chinese universities and published a book in China on the stories of King Arthur (and SACU member), and Barnaby Powell, SACU Council member, a veteran of development banking in East Asia and co-author of three books on China.

Georgetown University U.S.A. and Blackfriars Hall Oxford, in co-operation with SACU, are running a monthly series of zooms on cross cultural studies of Chinese and Western culture as part of a Future of Humanities Project.

It is aimed at anyone interested in exploring and discussing the rich Chinese culture and history and looking at some of the Western comparisons.

Register for this free webinar at: https://georgetown.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_45sQsbHJSVCqMo8lHjeiZA

For details, see websites:
https://global.georgetown.edu/series/china-and-the-west-cultural-dialogues
https://global.georgetown.edu/events/the-case-for-cross-cultural-dialogues

SACU Council and Working Groups meetings, Saturday 16 October 2021 by Zoom
2021-10-16 11:00 - 16:00
SACU Council (morning) and three Working Groups Meetings (afternoon).
11.00am-1.00pm: This will be the first meeting of SACU’s Council of Management since the AGM and takes place on Saturday 16 October 2021, by Zoom. The Agenda and papers with embedded Zoom link have been emailed to SACU Council members.
2.30-4.00pm: All SACU members are invited to join SACU’s Working Groups meeting by Zoom to plan the programme of upcoming events and help further SACU’s mission. The Agenda with embedded Zoom link was included in the October Members Newsletter, (distributed on Tuesday 12 October).
The 3 Working Groups groups are:

Public Education
Membership Support and Development
China Connections and Heritage

Please email for further information: membership@sacu.org.uk

1921 (film) - SACU Co-Sponsors Special Online Screening
2021-10-02 19:00 - 22:00
This is a special online screening of ‘1921’, 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.
A review by Friends of Socialist China co-editor and SACU member 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. SACU is a co-sponsor along with 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 is there a charge for this event?
Please note that Friends of Socialist China are not making any money from the showing; their purpose in arranging it is to ensure that its important political and cultural content reaches a wider audience. However, Trinity Cine Asia, with whom they are partnering to organise the screening, have paid the costs of distribution and marketing; therefore all proceeds go to them.

For more information about the film and to register please follow this Eventbrite link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/special-online-showing-of-1921-tickets-170177556653

SACU AGM, Saturday 2 October - in person and by Zoom
2021-10-02 12:00 - 13:30 | Wesley Hotel Euston, 81-103 Euston Street, London, NW1 2EZ, United Kingdom
SACU’s 2021 Annual General Meeting [AGM] will be held
On: Saturday 2 October 2021
At: 12.00 noon after the preceding public event “Railways and Reunions” at the same venue
In: Wesley Conference Hotel, 81-103 Euston Street, London NW1 2EZ and by Zoom

SACU’s AGM will receive the Annual Report of the Council of Management and the Annual Accounts for 2020.
Papers and links have been sent to all members:

Minutes of AGM 2020
Annual Report of the Council of Management 2020
Annual Accounts 2020
Proposed Constitution which will become the Constitution for SACU once it is confirmed as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation CIO

Notice of Special Resolutions:
The following resolutions are proposed to this AGM and must be passed by a majority of at least 75% of those members casting their votes

That the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding convert to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
That the new CIO constitution circulated to members with this notice and available to them at this meeting be adopted as the new constitution of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding taking effect from the time of registration as a CIO by the Charities Commission.

We look forward to welcoming SACU members to this AGM, either in person or via Zoom.

Please contact our Secretary if you have any questions about the AGM: membership@sacu.org.uk

Railways and Reunions - SACU Public Event
2021-10-02 10:30 - 11:30 | Wesley Hotel Euston, 81-103 Euston Street, London, NW1 2EZ, United Kingdom
This year our AGM will be preceded by a public event which we are delighted to have jointly organised with the Manchester Consul General of the Chinese Embassy. In brief we are planning a joint event which we will host to mark the 110th Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution.

We will bring together family members of Sun Yat-sen and James Cantlie who played such a critical role in helping Sun Yat-sen when he fled to London in 1896. The event will include:

video film of the Chinese locomotive now located in York Railway Museum [James Cantlie’s son was advisor to Chinese railways]
Reunion by Zoom between members of Sun Yat-Sen’s family in China and James Cantlie’s family members in UK: to be facilitated by Dr Frances Wood, SACU Vice-President
SACU President Michael Wood talks about railway history ‘To change the face of China’, looking at China’s first diplomatic mission to the UK in 1877, and the engineer Rowland Stevenson’s plans for the future of Chinese railways.

Zoe Reed, SACU Chair, will host the event in person.

Because of the time difference and to accommodate the availability of Sun Yat-Sen’s family the event is to be held at 10.30am UK time.

This will be SACU’s first in-person meeting since lockdown so we do hope some people will join us in person but recognise that others may still prefer to attend by Zoom.

This is a free public event in person and online with registration on Eventbrite. We ask all SACU members to please register on Eventbrite to take part whether you intend to join in person or online by Zoom. We will send everyone the Zoom links nearer the time:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/railways-and-reunions-sacu-x-manchester-chinese-consulate-public-event-tickets-169933189745

SACU Council and Working Groups Meetings Saturday 31 July 2021
2021-07-31 11:00 - 16:00
SACU Council (morning) and three Working Groups Meetings (afternoon).
11.00am-1.00pm: The next meeting of SACU’s Council of Management takes place on Saturday 31 July 2021, 11.00am – 1.00pm by Zoom.
The Agenda and papers with embedded Zoom link will be sent to SACU Council members.
2.30-4.00pm: All SACU members are invited to join SACU’s Working Groups meeting by Zoom to plan the programme of upcoming events. Agendas and Zoom link will be sent out to members who are involved a few days before the meeting.
The three groups are:

Public Education (led by Zoe Reed)
Membership Support and Development (led by Ros Wong)
China Connections and Heritage (led by Fang Wang).

Please email for further information: membership@sacu.org.uk

Michael Crook and his mother Isabel from Beijing in Conversation with Dr Frances Wood, SACU Vice President
2021-06-26 11:00 - 12:00
Join us, and the SACU-Peking University Essay/Art Competition entrants to hear the amazing story of the Crook family – Isabel is now 104 years old and has lived in China all her life, and with husband David Crook, raising her 3 sons there including Michael.
This event is open to the public and follows SACU-Peking University Essay/Art Competition 2020-2021 Awards Ceremony held online for students from both the UK and China.

SACU member Michael Crook, British / Canadian, was born in Beijing in 1951 of British and Canadian parents who met in China. His Canadian mother Isabel was born in Chengdu in 1915 of missionary parents. His British father David came to China in 1938 as a communist. After they met, they went to Europe to marry and join the armed forces during WW2. After the war they returned to China in 1947 to study the land reform, and then took up teaching in what later became Beijing Foreign Studies University. David died in 2000, Isabel is retired.
Michael grew up on the university campus in Beijing and attended Chinese primary and middle schools, lived through the Cultural Revolution, worked in Chinese factories, and then went to university in Britain. He began his teaching career in Britain when Derek Bryan gave him a job teaching Chinese in the Polytechnic of Central London. He has since taught in Britain, US, and China. After some years working for the Canadian development assistance program in China, he helped found an international school – the Western Academy of Beijing in 1994.
Michael has done interpreting and translation work, and is interested in rural development, environmental protection, and heritage preservation, especially of old Beijing.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CJUWHnllQ-SaQ7TGz3Eclw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the Zoom link to join the webinar.

Michael Crook and Isabel Crook in front of Dr. George Hatem’s grave, Babaoshan tour, Oct. 12, 2019

SACU-Peking University Essay/Art Competition 2020-2021 Online Awards Ceremony
2021-06-26 10:00 - 11:00
All SACU members are welcome to join with the students from both the UK and China for this year’s Awards Ceremony of the Essay/Art Competition, organised jointly by SACU and Peking University.
The SACU/ Peking University Essay Competition began in 2015 as part of SACU’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. Now in its 5th year, the aim of the competition is to help young people learn about the development of friendship and understanding between the UK and China and to consider how this might be further promoted. The submissions could be an essay or an artistic form, which could involve for example photography, other visual art, or choreographed dance.
The awards are sponsored by Peking University with three prizes of £100 / £50 /£25 in each of two categories.

The judging panel is chaired by Dr. Frances Wood, renowned author on China and former head of the British Library Chinese Collections and SACU Vice President, who will give the panel’s views on the entries.
Professor Sun Hua of Peking University will join from Beijing. Prof Sun Hua is an expert in historical figures who have contributed to building friendship between the peoples of China and the West.

SACU is grateful for the support and sponsorship of Peking University for the Essay Competition.
This event will be held by Zoom – the link was sent out to members in the June newsletter and a reminder will be sent three days before the event.

A Moral Question, A Moral Duty: SACU ChinaChat with Iris Yau
2021-06-25 18:30 - 19:30
SACU ChinaChat meeting for members: “A Moral Question, A Moral Duty” – Behind the scenes with SACU member Iris Yau, Curator of the exhibition “Opium, Silk and the Missionaries in China” currently open at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS.

The Exhibition: “Opium, Silk and the Missionaries in China” retells one of the largely forgotten histories of the relationship between Britain and China in the 19th Century. It draws on several collections, using artefacts to explore the history of the Opium Wars. Botanical arts and tools, historical artefacts about silk, missionary work and intercultural shared experiences in China recorded by British Missionaries throughout this period are all used in this fascinating exhibition:
https://www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/opium-silk-and-the-missionaries-in-china/

SACU member Iris Yau, Fellow Royal Society of Arts (RSA), Higher Education Academy UK (Advance HE), and Curator will give an informal online talk on this exhibition to SACU members.

This is a Zoom meeting for members – a reminder with link will be sent to members two days before the talk.
Please email any questions to membership@sacu.org.uk

Education as a Bridge to Anglo-Chinese Understanding: SACU Panel Discussion
2021-06-10 18:00 - 19:30
SACU Panel Discussion – SACU’s Public Education Working Group has assembled an excellent speaker panel to cover multiple aspects of this vital collaboration. The Expert Panel will discuss education about China in the UK as a ‘Bridge to Anglo-Chinese Understanding’.

Panel:
Tim Clissold is a well-known writer on China, author of Mr China: a Memoir (2005); China Rules (2014); and most recently Cloud Chamber (2021). He is a Senior Research Associate at the Cambridge University China Centre and a champion of introducing the study of Chinese civilization in schools.
Professor David Law is Academic Director, Global Partnerships, at Keele University and the author of the Higher Education Institute’s (HEPI) report on UK higher education institutes export to China.
Theresa Booth is Co-Director of Chopsticks Club, whose ‘Engage with China’ initiative focuses on building ‘China literacy’ across all ages in schools. The China Enrichment Programme (run as a charity) feeds specifically into A Levels (History, Politics, Economics, Geography and Philosophy).
Lucy Yang is a Senior Language Tutor and Language Co-ordinator, supporting Chinese teaching and learning at four Confucius classrooms and over 20 link schools at the Confucius Institute, School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at the University of Manchester.

Chair:
Barnaby Powell is a SACU member who has been involved in private sector development in the Chinese world for over 40 years living in Asia for 20 of these.

Register on Eventbrite and you will be sent the Zoom link nearer the time:
https://sacu-education-as-a-bridge.eventbrite.co.uk
There will be some time during the event for Q&A. You are invited to submit questions in advance to events@sacu.org.uk

SACU Council and Working Groups Meetings Saturday 22 May 2021
2021-05-22 11:00 - 16:00
SACU Council (morning) and three Working Groups Meetings (afternoon).
11.00am-1.00pm: The next meeting of SACU’s Council of Management takes place on Saturday 22 May 2021, 11.00am – 1.00pm by Zoom.
The Agenda and papers with embedded Zoom link have been sent to SACU Council members.
2.30-4.00pm: All SACU members are invited to join SACU’s Working Groups meeting by Zoom. For this meeting the three working groups will meet together to discuss and programme upcoming events. Agendas and Zoom link will be sent out to members who are involved a few days before the meeting.
The three groups are:

Public Education (led by Zoe Reed)
Membership Support and Development (led by Ros Wong)
China Connections and Heritage (led by Fang Wang).

Please email for further information: membership@sacu.org.uk

Michael Sheringham: Living and Teaching in Beijing in the 1970s - SACU ChinaChat Series "Your Stories with China"
2021-05-15 14:00 - 15:30
Michael Sheringham will be in conversation with SACU Archivist Dr Linxi Li on his experiences of living and teaching in Beijing. This is the latest in our series “Your Stories with China” SACU ChinaChats.
Michael studied Chinese at Durham and Cambridge Universities, becoming an active SACU member in its early years after 1967. Michael joined the 1971 SACU tour and he was invited to teach English at Peking University (Beida) in 1972, staying there until 1978. This was the period of the ‘Revolution in Education’, which he experienced at first hand. He will illustrate his talk with his own photographs.
Saturday 15th May from 2.00pm by Zoom.
SACU ChinaChats are members-only meetings for members to meet and discuss China-related topics.
Read Michael’s article, Living and Teaching in Beijing in the 1970s, first published in China Eye, Issue (51) Autumn 2016.
The Zoom link for members to join this event has been included in the May newsletter.

Standing Up To Sinophobia: from Fu Manchu to Bat Soup
2021-04-06 17:30 - 19:00
The increase in hate crime against Chinese people is alarming. As an organisation with the mission to build friendship and understanding between the peoples of China and the UK, it is important that we provide a platform and facilitate dialogue that will help understand this terrible feature of British society and work with others to tackle it.
Dr Jenny Clegg SACU Vice-President will open the event with a presentation on Fu Manchu.
A distinguished panel will look at the distinctive nature of Sinophobia and how we might tackle it:

Dr Diana Yeh Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Culture and the Creative Industries and Associate Dean (EDI), School of Arts and Social Sciences, City, University of London
Anna Chen ChineseBritish writer, Poet and Broadcaster who blogs as Madam Miaow @MadamMiaow
Yeow Poon Chair of the Chinese Community Centre –Birmingham, a leading member of CARG UK (Covid-19 Anti-RacismGroup)
Sabby Dhalu Co-Convenor of Stand Up To Racism

There will be a short time for Questions and Answers (send to membership@sacu.org.uk in advance)
The event will close with a set from Ken Cheng, British born Chinese professional Poker Player, a comedian, a BBC New Comedy Award finalist who explores Sinophobia through his art.
This event is Free. Please register on Eventbrite and join us (Zoom link will be sent nearer the time):
https://sacu-standing-up-to-sinophobia.eventbrite.co.uk

Neil Taylor in conversation with SACU Archivist Linxi Li
2021-03-27 14:00 - 15:00
SACU ChinaChat Series – “Your Stories with China”: Neil Taylor in conversation with SACU Archivist Linxi Li
There was a time in the 1960s and 1970s when travel to China by Westerners was very limited. At this pivotal stage of its modern development, SACU offered one of the only ways of going on a tour to China. Strange to say now, participants needed to pass an interview before being considered to go on the tour, so it was a rare opportunity.
The opening of China in 1980s generated a wider public interest and SACU, which was able to expand tours, forming its own professional tour company. By 1985, there were over 10,000 members at one time or another. Guardian journalist John Gittings, BBC broadcaster David Attenborough and novelist Iris Murdoch all visited China through SACU tours.
Neil Taylor, a founder member of SACU and an expert on tourism, is going to share his experiences.
This is a SACU ChinaChat for members only. The March newsletter sent to members included the link to this event.
Questions? Please email membership@sacu.org.uk
Regent Holidays advertisement in China Now Jan/Feb 1979
Above: Liangshan’s welcome, August 1978, cover of China Now, Jan/Feb 1979

SACU Council and Working Groups Meetings, Saturday 20 February 2021
2021-02-20 11:00 - 16:00
SACU Council (morning) and three Working Groups Meetings (afternoon).
The next meeting of SACU’s Council of Management takes place on Saturday 20th February, 11.00am – 1.00pm by Microsoft Teams. A Calendar Invite will be sent to SACU Council members
In the afternoon, all SACU members are invited to join one of SACU’s three Working Groups meetings by Zoom.
2.30 Welcome
2.45 Break up into Working Group meetings
3.30 Council meeting reconvened
4.00 Meeting close
The three groups are:

Public Education (led by Zoe Reed)
Membership Support and Development (led by Ros Wong)
China Connections and Heritage (led by Fang Wang).

Agendas and Zoom links to be sent out to members with the February newsletter.
Please email for further information: membership@sacu.org.uk

The May Fourth Movement and its Cultural Impact: a SACU ChinaChat
2021-01-21 18:00 - 19:00
SACU ChinaChat online event for SACU members:
The May Fourth Movement and its Cultural Impact, a discussion led by Rob Stallard and Michael Sheringham, Thursday 21 January, 6.00-7.00 pm

An online presentation and discussion on the May Fourth Movement, the patriotic protests at the end of WW1 and the literary/cultural movement that accompanied it.

Rob Stallard, SACU Vice President and a long-standing member of SACU, has written many articles for China Eye and produces his own series of online histories of China and aspects of Chinese life and culture.

Michael Sheringham has also been a long-standing member of SACU and regularly contributes articles to China Eye.

The introductory talks will be based on the articles in China Eye by Rob Stallard: No. 61 (Spring 2019) and by Michael Sheringham: No. 62, (Summer 2019).

This is s discussion meeting for SACU members only: the Zoom link for registration has been sent out with the January newsletter.

If you have any questions please contact membership@sacu.org.uk

Paper Ambassadors from China: Richard Morel, Curator, British Library's Philatelic Collections
2020-12-05 15:00 - 16:00
Paper Ambassadors from China: The Life & Stamp Designs of Mrs Lu Tianjiao (1954-2001)
A talk for the opening ceremony of SACU-PKU Essay/Art Competition 2020-2021, on 5th December.
Join Dr Frances Wood, SACU Vice President, and hear Richard Morel, Curator, British Library’s Philatelic Collections, talk about the first woman to design stamps in China.
Time: Saturday 5th December, 3.00pm
Please join us at
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85889028173?pwd=[REDACTED]

SACU’s Essay/Art Competition
This event launches the 5th year of SACU’s Essay/Art Competition held jointly with Peking University each year since SACU commemorated its 50th anniversary in 2015. The aim of the competition is to help young people learn about the development of friendship and understanding between the UK and China and to consider how this might be further promoted.

“China in the World” talks
This year, in addition to the competition, in order to enhance the younger generation’s understanding of China, we would like to offer talks to the schools under the title of “China in the World”. Members of our Speakers Bureau are all established writers and speakers on China with many years’ experience of living and working in the Chinese world. It is hoped that these talks on China will offer thoughtful and insightful perspectives to the students, who may be interested not only in the competition but in the promotion of UK-China relationships in the future.

Download more information about the Essay/Art Competition here:
Essay competition 2020-2021

Schools/Teachers who wish to participate in the Essay Competition or request a speaker for their school, please contact Mrs. Fang Wang, the coordinator of these two items, for further details, at EssayCompetition@sacu.org.uk

The Early Years of SACU: SACU ChinaChat by Zoom
2020-11-29 15:00 - 16:00
“The Early Years of SACU” with Graham Perry in conversation with SACU Archivist Linxi Li.
Graham Perry has made over 70 visits to China as a businessman, negotiating with China’s trade corporations. He is Visiting Professor of Dispute Resolution at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. An early member of SACU, he has also been an active Vice-Chairman of SACU.
Graham Perry, early SACU member
This is the first talk in the SACU ChinaChat series “Your Stories with China”.
SACU ChinaChats are informal meetings for members only. The Zoom link for member registrations was included in our November eNewsletter.
If any members would like to share with us your story of China, please contact our Archivist Linxi Li archives@sacu.org.uk
Any questions about the event please email membership@sacu.org.uk

SACU & HSBC Joint Event with online talk by Michael Wood, SACU President
2020-11-19 17:30 - 18:30
SACU is delighted to hold a joint event with HSBC China Connect (HCC) when SACU President Michael Wood will present his insights and experiences of China and Chinese life, as well as introducing his new book, The Story of China.

This is a members-only event held on Zoom. The Zoom link and password have recently been sent out in our November eNewsletter. Please email questions to membership@sacu.org.uk

HSBC China Connect (HCC)
Connecting colleagues to Chinese business, culture and language

SACU Council meeting
2020-11-14 11:30 - 13:30
SACU Council meets on Saturday 14th November 11.30am-1.30pm. This is the first Council meeting after our AGM held 10th October 2020. Council will be meeting on Teams – Agenda and links have been sent to Council members.

SACU AGM Saturday 10 October 2020 and afternoon workshops for members
2020-10-10 11:30 - 15:30
11.30 – 13.00 — SACU AGM
14.30 – 15.30 — Join one of SACU’s 3 Working Groups
All SACU members are warmly invited to attend the AGM which will be conducted over Zoom. The day will consist of the Annual General Meeting 2020 in the morning and three working groups sessions in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, instead of a ‘live’ public event as in previous years, we will use Zoom to hold afternoon workshops where members can learn more about SACU and its activities, organised around our three working groups. Members are invited to choose one of the three working groups:

UK Public Education Working Group
Membership Support and Development Working Group
China Connections and Chinese Heritage Working Group

Registration links for the AGM and afternoon workshops have been sent to members by eNewsletter, which also included links to SACU Annual Report and Accounts 2019.
Please consider standing for Council at the AGM and being actively involved in SACU’s work.
If any members have questions, please email membership@sacu.org.uk

SACU Public Event: UK-China Relations: Finding the way forward for cooperation in difficult times
2020-09-01 17:30 - 18:30
Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding
SACU Public Event

US-China relations are deteriorating alarmingly, and the UK government has allowed itself to get drawn into the growing crisis. Yet over recent decades, relations of cooperation between the UK and China have grown firm roots, building interdependencies across many fields, to the great benefit of both sides.
SACU has invited a panel of speakers with differing areas of expertise, but all with long-standing experience of working with Chinese counterparts, to discuss their experiences and their views on the value, the challenges and the benefits of cooperating with China, as well as the prospects, in these problematic times, for their continuing cooperation into the future.

We are delighted that Dr. Ruby Wang, Michael Wood, Graham Perry and Kerry Brown will speak and share their experiences and views on Cooperation.

Dr. Ruby Wang is a UK Medical Doctor working on the NHS frontline. Incoming China Head of Programme Delivery for Health and Life Sciences for the FCO at the British Embassy in Beijing.

Graham Perry has made 70+ China visits as a businessman at the Guangzhou Trade Fairs, negotiating with China’s Trade Corporations. Visiting Professor of Dispute Resolution at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. He has also been an active Vice-Chairman of SACU.

Professor Kerry Brown is Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London. From 1998 to 2005 he worked at the FCO and as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing. He is the author of almost 20 books on modern Chinese politics.

Professor Michael Wood is currently Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. Since 2013 he has made a dozen visits to China making films, chiefly for the six-part Story of China. His new book, The Story of China, is due for publication in September 2020. Michael is SACU’s President.

We will hear from our Panel about Cooperation between China and UK in the fields of science and medicine; film making; business and academic spheres and will get an opportunity to question our Panel via the Q&A function in Zoom.

Please join us!
Zoom event: Registration required on Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/116385001673
The Zoom meeting details will be provided to people who have registered via Eventbrite.
Zoë Reed
Chair SACU
www.sacu.org.uk

英中了解协会
SACU公开活动

英中关系–如何在困难时期寻求合作之路
当前，中美关系令人担忧，英国政府也使自己卷入了这场日益严重的危机。回顾近几十年来的中英关系，合作根基牢固，各个领域相互依存，互惠互利。

英中了解协会邀请了来自不同领域、并与中国同行业者有着长期合作经验的专家，通过他们的经验与专业知识，与我们一起探讨与中国合作共赢的价值理念、挑战以及益处。同时，在此困难时期，一起展望与中国保持继续合作的前景与未来！

我们非常荣幸邀请到Ruby Wang医生; Michael Wood教授; Graham Perry和Kerry Brown教授作为与会嘉宾与我们分享他们对英中合作的经验和观点。

Dr. Ruby Wang，NHS一线工作医生，英国驻北京大使馆新任外交部卫生和生命科学项目执行主任。

Graham Perry，北京对外经济贸易大学争议解决客座教授，英中了解协会副主席。作为经商人士到访中国70余次，多次参与广交会以及中国公司的贸易谈判。

Professor Kerry Brown，伦敦大学国王学院中国研究所所长，中国研究教授。1998年至2005年，在英国外交部工作，任英国驻北京大使馆担任一等秘书。已出版近20本关于现代中国政治研究的著作。

Professor Michael Wood，英国曼彻斯特大学公共历史学教授，英中了解协会主席。自2013年以来，他多次前往中国拍摄电影、纪录片，致力于讲述中国故事，最近一部在英国广播电视台BBC播出的《杜甫》引发广泛关注和赞赏。他的新书《中国的故事》将于2020年9月出版。

本次活动中，我们将积极听取各位专家在科学、医学、电影制作以及学术文化等各个领域的中英合作的经验, 并欢迎各位参与者通过Zoom答疑功能进行提问。

欢迎大家参与活动！
活动详情：
2020年9月1日，星期二
17:30-19:00
Zoom会议

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/116385001673
请使用Eventbrite注册以获得会议加入链接。
Zoë Reed
Chair SACU
www.sacu.org.uk

SACU ChinaChat: Discussion on Hong Kong
2020-08-23 15:00 - 16:30
SACU Members are invited to join this SACU ChinaChat on Hong Kong on Sunday 23 August at 3.00pm.
The discussion will be led by SACU members Andrew Hicks and Barnaby Powell on Zoom.
Andrew Hicks has lived in Chinese-influenced communities in Asia for over twenty years, first lecturing at the University of Hong Kong from 1976 to 1983. Now based in England, he has returned there and to China many times since then, watching them with great affection and recently concern as tensions build in Hong Kong. From his four decades of observation he will offer some broad subjective thoughts and insights of a kind that are rarely found in a formally-researched analysis.
Barnaby Powell has been involved in private sector development in the Chinese world for over 40 years, living in Asia for 20 of these. He has been a frequent visitor to Hong Kong, both professionally and to see his daughter while she lived there.

SACU ChinaChats are intended as informal, member-only spaces where members can share different views and perspectives. The format enables our members of Chinese and British backgrounds to share their differing experiences and ideas. A consensus of views is not expected or sought. SACU ChinaChats offer an opportunity for members to exchange their views in a relaxed setting to help participants gain insights and reach a more informed understanding of the topic under discussion.
This event is for SACU members only.
A separate email will be sent to members to register on Zoom for this discussion.
Any questions, please email membership@sacu.org.uk

SACU Council meeting
2020-08-15 11:30 - 13:30
SACU Council meeting takes place by MS Teams. A calendar invitation will be sent to SACU Council members.
Minutes of the last SACU Council meeting and Agenda for this meeting will both be available on Teams.
2.30pm: The main Council meeting will be followed by a planning meeting of the Public Education Working Group.

SACU ChinaChat: Discussing the Opium Wars
2020-06-25 18:00 - 19:30
SACU Members are invited to join this SACU ChinaChat on Thursday 25 June 2020 at 6.00pm by Zoom
SACU Members ChinaChat: Discussing the Opium Wars
Dr Jenny Clegg, SACU Vice President, will share her thoughts based on Stephen Platt’s Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China’s Last Golden Age (2018).
This is a chance for us as SACU members to meet together and share our ideas and thoughts.
Please be sure to use the Updated Link to the meeting – it has been emailed to all members
[the original one included in our earlier newsletter on 16th June will not work]
With the first salvos of the first Opium War in 1839, Britain opened China to a ‘century of humiliation’. Stephen Platt, an American historian, sets out both the British and the Chinese sides as events moved inexorably to war. This potent turning point in China’s history ‘stands for everything that today’s China seeks to put behind it’, giving Platt’s narrative ‘important implications for today’s uncertain and ever-changing world’.
To launch SACU ChinaChats into the virtual dimension, Jenny will share her thoughts and impressions of the book with a view to stimulating discussion on this defining moment in Anglo-Chinese history, and to enabling the sharing of views between our British and Chinese members in an informal and relaxed setting.
This free event is for SACU members only.
Zoom codes have been sent to SACU members. [Please use the Updated Link sent by email to members on Monday 22 June 2020 [the one included in our earlier email won’t work].

SACU/Peking University Essay/Multimedia Awards Ceremony Online
2020-06-17 15:00 - 15:30
SACU/Peking University Friendship and Understanding Essay/Multimedia Awards Ceremony takes place online. SACU members have worked with schools to encourage young people in the UK to explore and engage with Anglo-Chinese friendship and understanding.
Professor Sun Hua will join from Beijing. SACU Vice President Frances Wood is chair of the judging panel and will be announcing the winning entries.
SACU is grateful to Peking University in sponsoring this competition

Three Years in Wuhan - 3 documentary films by Wenlan Peng
2020-05-23 03:30 - 2020-06-12 19:30
A series of documentary shorts on two small and medium sized businesses in Wuhan and how they confront challenges throughout a three-year period, including the recent lockdown, are being shown on BBC World News and BBC News Channel. They were made by Wenlan Peng, film maker and former Chair of The Meridian Society.

Click here for BBC iPlayer link with more about the documentaries and transmission times.

Below are the dates and times worldwide of Episode 1, which starts Saturday 23 May 2020; episodes 2 and 3 will be shown at the same times and on the same days of the week but one and two weeks later.

Title: Three Years in Wuhan – Episode One

Transmission times in GMT for World News:
SAT 23/05 02:30
SUN 24/05 09:30, 21:30
WED 27/05 11:30
THURS 28/05 13:30
FRI 29/05 05:30, 16:30

BBC NEWS CHANNEL transmission times in BST:
SAT 23/05 18:30
SUN 24/05 19:30
MON 25/05 10:30
TUES 26/05 01:30
Photo source: BBC

Art Saves Us: Art, Music and Poetry Global Online Performance 5 - Supported by SACU
2020-05-01 19:30 - 20:30
5th Event In This New On-Line ‘Art, Music & Poetry Hour’
The Young Musicians’ Benefit Hour
Supported by Renowned Cellist, Julian Lloyd Webber
Friday 1st May 2020 at 7:30pm UK time on Zoom
Concert will mix video performances and artist interviews

This concert will be featuring performances from talented young musicians: Shutian Cheng, Yang Lu, Taejas Venkataraman, Shang-En Pai, Thomas Luke, and Lauren Zhang.⁠ There will be interviews with the young talents conducted by Annabelle Lucas, a St Paul”s Girls School graduate who is now attending Pomona College in the US.
Launched to support the incredible work carried out by NHS staff in these challenging times and supported by cellist and Principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, @julian_lloyd_webber, ART SAVES US seeks to use the universal language of art and charity to strengthen the sense of unity and humanity, and to console those in isolation, especially the elderly and the vulnerable.⁠
‘Art Saves Us’ was founded by Shanghai-born, London-based Kailan Lucas, a US lawyer. Her creative focus is on Sino-European cultural exchanges in the worlds of art, literature and music, having founded and curated the First Shanghai International Poetry Festival. ‘Art Saves Us’ is proud to count leading figures from the arts as its main supporters, including Nobel Literary Prize Nominee, the poet Adonis; cellist, Julian Lloyd Webber; former Poet Laureate, Sir Andrew Motion; architect Patrik Schumacher, Head of Zaha Hadid Architects practice and leading contemporary Chinese artist, Xu Bing from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Ms Kailan Lucas noted: “Art Saves Us is pleased to have young musicians coming to the forefront to show support for the frontline workers. Through their action, we hope to see a positive influence on the younger generation at this unusual and difficult time. We will continue to use the universal language of the arts and charity to strengthen the sense of unity and humanity”.
Further events are planned as the current health crisis unfolds.

Event access will be a nominal £5 registration fee on Eventbrite page:
https://tinyurl.com/y8yd7wob
For more information and to make a contribution to ART SAVES US: https://artsavesus.com/
