Critical Conversations: China Relations

Jonathan Manthorpe, Nathan Law, Margaret McCuaig-Johnston and Colin Robertson

7:30pm

Thursday, October 22

30 mins

Authors in candid, live conversation reflect on the topics that matter most during this unprecedented time. In this panel discussion, Nathan Law, Jonathan Manthorpe and Margaret McCuaig-Johnston will discuss China’s rise as a global power, and new approaches for navigating our contrasting government systems, histories and cultures with success. Tune in each day of the Festival to hear new speakers in critical conversation about the topics shaping today’s new world.

Featuring panelists: Jonathan Manthorpe, Nathan Law and Margaret McCuaig-Johnston

Moderator: Colin Robertson

English captioning is available for this video. Please click the ‘CC’ button in the video toolbar to turn it on.

Featuring panelists: Jonathan Manthorpe, Nathan Law and Margaret McCuaig-Johnston

Moderator: Colin Robertson

English captioning is available for this video. Please click the ‘CC’ button in the video toolbar to turn it on.

Featured Authors

Jonathan Manthorpe

Jonathan Manthorpe is the author of three books on international relations, politics, and history, including the national bestseller and Globe and Mail Top 100 Books of 2019, Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada. Over his fifty-year career as a journalist, he has been the foreign correspondent in Asia, Africa, and Europe for Southam News, the European Bureau Chief for the Toronto Star, and the national reporter for The Globe and Mail. His new book, Restoring Democracy in an Age of Populists and Pestilence, is now out. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Read more about Jonathan Manthorpe

Nathan Law

Nathan Law is a young Hong Kong activist, currently in exile and based in London. During the Umbrella Movement in 2014, Nathan was one of the five representatives who took part in the dialogue with the government, debating political reform. Upholding non-violent civic actions, Nathan, Joshua Wong and other student leaders founded Demosistō in 2016 and ran for the Legislative Council election. Nathan was elected with 50,818 votes in the Hong Kong Island constituency and became the youngest Legislative Councilor in history. Yet his seat was overturned in July 2017 following Beijing’s constitutional reinterpretation, despite international criticism. Nathan was later jailed for his participation in the Umbrella Movement. The persecution sparked global concern over Beijing’s crackdown on human rights and democratic movement in Hong Kong. In 2018, Nathan and his fellow student activists Joshua Wong and Alex Chow were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by US congressmen and British parliament members. Due to the risk imposed by the draconian National Security Law, Nathan left Hong Kong and continues to speak up for Hong Kong people on the international level. In 2020, he was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME.

Read more about Nathan Law

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston is Senior Fellow in the Institute for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Ottawa where she is lecturing and writing on China’s innovation policies since 2013. In addition, she is a Senior Fellow at the China Institute of the University of Alberta where she has published research on China’s innovation system and Canada-China S&T relations. Over a 37 year career in the public service, Margaret held senior management positions in the Governments of Canada and Ontario. She has visited China more than a dozen times, the first in 1979 when the country had just started opening up to the West. She is also a member of the Canada Committee of Human Rights Watch.

Colin Robertson

A former Canadian diplomat, Colin Robertson is Vice President and Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and hosts its regular Global Exchange podcast. He is an Executive Fellow at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. A member of the Department of National Defence’s Defence Advisory Board, Robertson is an Honorary Captain (Royal Canadian Navy) assigned to the Strategic Communications Directorate. He writes on foreign affairs for the Globe and Mail and he is a frequent contributor to other media. The Hill Times has named him as one of those that influence Canadian foreign policy.

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Featured Authors

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