Renowned China watcher, journalist, and prolific writer, Orville Schell, visited Taiwan last month to speak to CAPRI audience and to launch the Chinese edition of his first fiction My Old Home. Orville Schell is the Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society in New York and a former professor and Dean at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
In this highly interesting CAPRI Conversation, Orville Schell talked about his transition from writing nonfiction to his first novel and covered—partly through his book and partly through his own journey and lived experiences—the lasting impact of China’s Cultural Revolution that permeates so much of its current thinking and actions. Describing his long journey of being a China enthusiast, he delved into how the Cultural Revolution has left a lasting impact on China’s society, politics, and economy—an influence that lingers today. His reflections highlighted how history continues to shape the present and how change does not always go in one direction.
This event, supported by Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club and the Association of Taiwan Journalists, was attended not only by local and foreign journalists but also by industry leaders and academics. Many of them engaged in a lively and passionate exchange with Orville Schell on complex topics such as misconceptions about China and Taiwan and questions about the book and Orville Schell’s writing journey.
The discussions were not just intellectually stimulating but also deeply reflective, touching on the themes of hope and despair in today’s geopolitical landscape.