Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper examines the role of transnational architectural production in mega project developments in downtown Beijing. The study is situated within the ongoing debate about globalization and the production of new urban spaces. In the process of economic restructuring since the 1970s, local entrepreneurial city governments in the West have adopted urban mega project developments as a major strategy for urban regeneration. Previous studies have examined the rationale, mechanism and impact of mega projects in contemporary urban restructuring processes. However, little attention has been directed to the role of architecture and urban design in mega project development. What combinations of social forces determine the urban form of mega projects? What can the articulated urban form do? And what are the cultural meanings invested by various agencies in the new urban form? This paper addresses these questions through the lens of transnational architectural production in the process of rebuilding downtown Beijing. The study shows that local developers and politicians have consciously used signature design by international architects as a branding tool in marketing their urban mega projects, and in promoting Beijing as a new global city. By choosing modern, high-tech, and futuristic architectural designs by international architects, local elites have created a transnational urban space that caters to the needs of new city users. The paper argues that in post-industrial societies, as culture and economy have increasingly intertwined with each other, the articulation of spatial design has become a major force in the process of capital accumulation.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The Internet has been regarded as a revolutionary information communication technology which brings us with a global information flow and free discussion forums. As an authoritarian country which hosts the largest population in the world and spares no efforts in boosting information technology, China’s future with the Internet has naturally become a key academic concern. More recent literature seems to stop short of the early optimistic ideas of the Internet’s liberalizing potential in China, and attributes the Internet’s failure to realize such a task to the rigorous regulation and controls of the Chinese government.This paper argues that it is necessary and valuable to rethink the political and social impact of the Internet in China from the Internet users perspective. The author combined a survey and in-depth interviews with Chinese net users of different backgrounds to uncover the underlying reasons for the usage patterns of Chinese net users. In conclusion, this paper finds that the Internet is not really a democratizing tool at China in its current stage, but it is not simply because of the control and regulations from the Chinese government. A number of cultural and social factors largely shape the usage patterns of the Chinese net users.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper examines the communicative and interactive nature between space and people living in that environment. The author argues that space is not given; nor is it a background against which things happen. Instead, space is lived entity that is socially constructed by people living in that visual environment. It is an active component throughout the entire social construction process that bestows meaning to space. By utilizing the traditional Chinese housing – Hutong – as a departure point, the author is able to demonstrate the cultural dimension of space and the spatial dimension of culture; at the same time, illustrate the intricate relationship between the two. In addition, this probing into the socio-spatial relations is placed within the paradigm of globalization. In a sense, this relationship symbolizes a course of action–the nonlinear momentum of globalization – the before, during, and after. Thus, this paper is geared towards understanding that fluxing nature of space within the paradigm of social change impacted by globalization. The question posed here concerns how spatial change exemplify and embody social change as well as the other way around.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are drawing near. As one of the few developing countries to host the Olympics, China sees this mega event a golden opportunity to place itself on a global stage. Among the official promotional films, China Forever stands out for its visual appeals and charming imageries. Drawing literatures in semiotics, discourse analysis, sports history and theories of Orientalism, I will examine the visual composition, juxtaposition, selection and content of imageries in this film in relation to China’s national identity, foreign relation, ethnic minorities and foreign policies. I argue that this film is a self-representation of the country under multiple gazes from the West, while it also reflects an internal Orientalist gaze from the Han Chinese to ethnic minorities.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Beijing and Taipei experienced an uneasy and even turbulent period of bilateral relations after the mid-1990s, particularly during the period 2000-08 when the pro-Taiwan independence party, DPP, was in office. With the KMT, which has a very different perc