-----

RSVP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfKy6KT4ZP-GrsN5YPv0uwDyu9EKKOU0PVLdonvpBGO94QfPQ/viewform 

---

Schedule:
2:00 p.m.: Welcome and opening remarks 
Emily Baum, UC Irvine

2:10-2:55 p.m.: "Will China Respond to the Next Novel Infectious Disease Better? Efforts and Challenges in Reforming China's Health Emergency Response System" 
Dali Yang, University of Chicago

3:00-3:45 p.m.: "How Covid-19 Affected the Growth and Distribution of Chinese Household Wealth" 
Li Shi, Zhejiang University

4:00-4:45 p.m.: "Living the Truth in Post-Pandemic China" 
Lynette Ong, University of Toronto

4:45-5:00 p.m.: Discussion and concluding remarks

Refreshments will be served and space is limited. 

This event is sponsored by the Long US-China Institute with support from the Fudan-UC Center on Contemporary China, Columbia University's Weatherhead East Asian Institute, and Columbia University's China Center for Social Policy. 

---

About the talks:

"Will China Respond to the Next Novel Infectious Disease Better? Efforts and Challenges in Reforming China's Health Emergency Response System," Dali Yang, University of Chicago

China's response to the Covid-19 outbreak exposed critical weaknesses in its health emergency response system. This paper reviews the reforms, ranging from strengthening the role of the Chinese CDC to implementing new legal and technological frameworks, and examines the extent to which these reforms may help address the structural deficiencies revealed in the early weeks of the pandemic outbreak. By analyzing these efforts and their limitations, I assess whether China is better prepared to handle the next novel infectious disease and explore the broader implications for global health security.

"How Covid-19 Affected the Growth and Distribution of Chinese Household Wealth," Li Shi, Zhejiang University

As a result of the Covid-19 epidemic, China experienced major impacts to its economic growth and industrial structure. Due to pandemic lockdowns, the growth of household income slowed. This paper uses data from household income surveys, conducted in 2018 and 2023 by the China Household Income Project (CHIP), to examine changes in the growth and distribution of income and wealth of Chinese households during this period. Was everyone affected equally, or did income growth primarily affect certain groups? If the latter, which groups experienced the most adverse effects?

"Living the Truth in Post-Pandemic China," Lynette Ong, University of Toronto

After living through three years of zero-Covid lockdown, many Chinese have had an epiphany that their lives have been fundamentally transformed and their perception of the regime has been profoundly altered. The obstinacy of Xi Jinping in defending his zero-lockdown policy and his sudden policy reversal in January 2023 sent the death count skyrocketing. Despair subsequently engulfed Chinese society. Many Chinese citizens began questioning their long-held belief in the Chinese Communist Party’s capacity to protect their lives and deliver prosperity. Using Albert Hirschman’s Exit, Voice and Loyalty framework, this paper studies the multi-layered issues confronting post-pandemic Chinese society.

---

About the speakers:
Dali L. Yang is the William Claude Reavis Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he researches the politics of China’s development, governance, and global impact. His most recent book is Wuhan: How the Covid-19 Outbreak in China Spiraled Out of Control (Oxford University Press, 2024). At the University of Chicago, he also serves as Senior Advisor to the President and the Provost on Global Initiatives. 

Li Shi is Distinguished Professor at Zhejiang University, where he also serves as Dean of the Institute of Common Prosperity and Development and Deputy Director of the Academic Committee. He is a former project expert at institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Program, International Labor Organization, National Development and Reform Commission, and State Council Poverty Alleviation Office.

Lynette H. Ong is Distinguished Professor of Chinese Politics at the University of Toronto, and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Asia Society’s Center for Chinese Analysis. She is the author, most recently, of Outsourcing Repression: Everyday State Power in Contemporary China (Oxford University Press, 2022) and The Street and the Ballot Box: Interactions between Social Movements and Electoral Politics in Authoritarian Contexts (Cambridge University Press, 2022).

-----