Justin Yifu Lin

Justin Yifu Lin, the chief economist at the World Bank, will give a public lecture Friday, October 14, as part of the annual meeting of the Wisconsin China Initiative advisory board. Dr. Lin will be speaking about his forthcoming book, “Demystifying the Chinese Economy.” The talk will be held in the Wisconsin School of Business’ Morgridge Auditorium (1100 Grainger Hall), from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Visiting professor Yang Yao (of Peking University) will give the introduction and UW-Madison professor Ian Coxhead will serve as the discussant.

In his current position, Dr. Lin guides the World Bank’s intellectual leadership and plays a key role in shaping the economic research agenda of the institution. Prior to joining the World Bank in 2008, Dr. Lin served for 15 years as founding director of the China Centre for Economic Research (CCER) at Peking University in Beijing, China.

The Wisconsin China Initiative  was launched in 2007 to both serve as the contact point for information about UW-Madison connections with Greater China and to bring together cross-disciplinary faculty, alumni and leaders in business and government.  The Initiative is housed within the Division of International Studies. It is staffed by Associate Director Laurie Dennis, and directed by Law Professor John Ohnesorge. 

Liao Yiwu is a poet, novelist, oral historian, and musician.

Chinese poet, novelist, oral historian, and musician Liao Yiwu will read selections from his book “Corpse Walker” and play the flute at a public event at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Monday, September 26, 3-4:30 p.m. in the H.E. Deluca Forum at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, 330 N. Orchard St.

Liao is on a U.S. tour to promote his new book, “God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived in the Communist China” (HarperCollins, Sept. 2011). His UW-Madison visit is sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies.

In 1989, Liao was sentenced to four years in prison for his epic poem “Massacre,” condemning the Chinese government crackdown. He remains one of China’s most outspoken writers. Banned in mainland China, his works have been published abroad in translation, including “The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories, China from the Bottom Up” (Pantheon, 2008).

Since publication in Germany in July 2011, his 2004 book “Testimonials” has been on Der Spiegel’s best-seller list. Liao received a Freedom to Write Award from the Independent Chinese PEN Centre in 2007.

He has been living in Berlin, Germany, after escaping from China this summer. He wrote about his exit from China in an account published September 14 in The New York Times.

Here is an August 15 interview with Liao Yiuw in The New York Review of Books.