Friendship Ambassador Award Gala: US – China People’s Friendship Association
By Dayuan Peter Liu – On Friday October 28, 2016, at the Kim Son Downtown Ballroom, the US-China People’s Friendship Association (USCPFA) Houston Chapter hosted the 10th Annual Friendship Ambassador Award Gala. The University of St. Thomas is a Silver Sponsor of this event and has been in a good relationship with USCPFA for many years. It was a pleasure to attend the event with several UST faculty and administrators: Dr. Beena George, Dr. Srinivas, Dr. Balderas, Dr. Perez, Dr. Zhang, and Dr. Faletta.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Jon R. Taylor, gave us an impressive speech at the dinner. Dr. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science, Chair of the Department of Political Science, and Director of the Master of Public Policy and Administration Program at the University of St. Thomas. His speech was titled “The World’s Most Important Relationship in the 21st Century: Accentuating the Positives in China-US Relations.”
Dr. Taylor has written extensively about the challenges of urbanization in China, Party-State ethics management and the fight against corruption, the struggle to reform the CPC, and the role that indigenous Chinese political science can play within the discipline. His current research focus is urban development in Western China, the CPC’s online accountability system, and measuring public corruption in China. He regularly contributes opinion and analysis pieces to both Chinese and U.S. media.
The Featured Speaker was the Chinese Ambassador Mr. Qiangmin Li. Mr. Li talked about the rapid development of US-China relation and the business ties between the two nations. He also hopes to strengthen the communication between Houston and Urban China and to achieve win-win cooperation.
The USCPFA was founded as a national organization in 1974 to promote people-to-people diplomacy between the peoples of China and the United States of America. More than 50 Chapter in four regions spanning the United States make up the organization.
This event is not only great for networking, but is also an eye-opening opportunity to gain new perspectives on the Chinese culture and the US-China relationship.
UST, Master of Science in Finance, candidate