Published: Oct. 21, 2013

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will join audiences in more than 60 cities and towns by live broadcast for a “town hall” meeting on the U.S.-China relationship. 

In order to address a wide range of today’s major global issues it is “absolutely critical” to focus on the Sino-American bilateral relationship, according to CAS Associate Director Timothy Weston in an interview for CU Today. To help Americans understand this dynamic relationship and answer their questions on the issues, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations will conduct the seventh annual CHINA Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections, featuring a live webcast with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on October 28, 2013 at 5:00 pm. Secretary Albright's discussion and responses to questions submitted by the nationwide audience will be moderated by National Committee President Stephen Orlins.

Secretary Albright was appointed the 64th, and first female, Secretary of State in 1997.  At the time, she was the highest ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.  From 1993 to 1997, Dr. Albright served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and was a member of the President’s Cabinet.  She is now chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, and chair of Albright Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm focused on emerging markets.  In 2012, she was chosen by President Obama to receive the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in recognition of her contributions to international peace and democracy.

Following the national portion of the program, Dr. Melinda Herrold-Menzies of Pitzer College, our on-site speaker, will give a presentation based on her work on environmental policy and community development in China.

Melinda Herrold-Menzies is an associate professor of intercollegiate environmental analysis at Pitzer College and the Claremont Colleges. Dr. Herrold-Menzies received her doctorate from the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management of the University of California, Berkeley, and her M.A. in International Relations from Yale University.

CHINA Town Hall is an important event in our community because it encourages and facilitates discussions on the US-Chinese relationship, which is often misunderstood by Americans. “It’s really crucial that China and the United States have ongoing multi-level communications to enable the best understanding possible, as well as ongoing professional relationships, and personal friendships,” said Weston. “I tried to initiate discussions of broad interest to the Americans on the trip [with Congressional staff leaders this summer] and suggested that conventional American frames of reference don’t always apply well to China.  It is crucial that we take Chinese viewpoints and concerns very seriously going forward.”

This event will be held on Monday, October 28, at 5:00 pm, in Hale 270 on the CU-Boulder campus. For more information about this event, please click here.

This event is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies and the National Committee on United States-China Relations.

To see the full article by CU Today, please click .

To see an article written in the Daily Camera by CAS Associate Director Timothy Weston in which he puts the themes of this event into a larger perspective, please click .

CHINA Town Hall 2013