China's Road toward Democratic Governance

In November 2011, NBR hosted a roundtable discussion with Yu Keping from Peking University. Professor Yu Keping covered recent developments in China’s governance reform and civil society and analyzed the history of the reform process since China’s Reform and Opening policy was introduced in the late 1970s. He discussed reform achievements, breakthroughs, and the focus of reform in the near future. He also discussed the biggest challenges faced by the Chinese government today and gave his own analysis and policy suggestions.

The roundtable discussion was organized by NBR’s Next Generation Leadership in Asian Affairs Fellowship Program as part of the Leadership Forum, a professional development program for NBR staff, fellows, and interns designed to cultivate leadership through a curriculum of seminars and discussion forums. The views expressed in Leadership Forum activities are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect the views of NBR or institutions that support NBR.

About the Speaker

Professor Yu Keping is Director of the China Center for Comparative Politics & Economics (CCCPE) and Director of the Center for Chinese Government Innovations at Peking University. Currently, he is a New World Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. Professor Yu is a pioneering scholar in the fields of political reform, globalization, democracy, civil society and good governance in China. His most well-known articles include “Democracy is a Good Thing” and “Fear of Public Opinion” and his most recent books include Reform of Governance (2010) and Making Democracy Benefit China (2009).