Talk is part of URI’s Honors Colloquium, China Rising

KINGSTON, R.I. –September 24, 2007—David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times, will examine security issues in Asia during a talk at the University of Rhode Island. The talk, free and open to the public, will be held Oct. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 271 of the Chafee Social Science Center, 10 Chafee Rd., Kingston.

His visit is part of a semester-long series of the URI Honors Colloquium, China Rising. The series explores China’s dramatic transformation during the past three decades, a transformation that has returned that country to the leading role it has played throughout most of world history.

“Sanger’s talk, China and Northeast Asian Security Issues, will explore how the Bush Administration has come full circle on China and is struggling to redefine American interests in Northeast Asia,” said Timothy George, associate professor of history, who coordinates the China Rising colloquium with Yan Ma, a professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. “Sanger will discuss what happened to the neoconservatives’ plan to contain China, how President Bush came to depend on China in the biggest security crisis in Northeast Asia, and how he came to discover that China is critical to America’s international diplomacy. Sanger will also examine the suspected North Korean aid to Syria and how America’s alliances in Northeast Asia will be reshaped in the coming decades.”

Sanger’s 24-year career at the Times has taken him across the globe, covering issues such as foreign policy, globalization, Asian affairs, and currently, the Bush administration. Prior to reporting on the White House, Sanger was bureau chief in Tokyo. There, he developed a specialization in the influence of economics and foreign policy, and the relationships between the United States and its major allies. He has been a member of two Times reporting teams that have won the Pulitzer Prize.

Major sponsors of URI’s colloquium are the Mark Ross ‘64 and Donna Ross Honors Colloquium Humanities Endowment, the Tom Silvia ’83 and Shannon Chandley ’83 Honors Colloquium Endowment, URI’s Honors Program, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Confucius Institute at URI, College of Business Administration, College of Engineering, and the Division of University Advancement.

For further details on the colloquium, including an updated schedule and information on parking and on how to support the series, go to www.uri.edu/hc or call Deborah Gardiner at 401-874-2381.