The Institute of East Asian Studies hosted "East Asia at Berkeley," a three-day event showcasing a small cross-section of the intellectual and artistic pursuits integral to the East Asia programs on the Berkeley campus. A wide array of different activities and topics were presented ranging from panels on the region's pre-historic hunter-gatherers and modern financial markets to screenings of Japanese animated films and performances of modern dance from Taiwan.
The event kicked off with two panel discussions on East Asian history: Experts discussed the interaction among East Asian diverse regions during pre-historic times. A second panel explored the impact of colonialism and cultural intersections on different cities in East Asia with a concentration on Harbin, Shanghai and Saigon. The luncheon program focused on the security dilemma on the Korean Peninsula. Among the speakers was the Korean ambassador to the United States, Sung-joo Han. Following the luncheon there was a panel discussion featuring several experts on East Asian financial markets.
Speakers on the Northeast Asian security dilemma included (left to right) Ambassador Han, Robert A. Scalapino, Leon Segal and Susan Shirk.
In the afternoon Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, the architects of the Tien Center, made a slide presentation on the impact of various design influences on their work. The evening program featured Cloud Gate Dance Theatre from Taiwan at Zellerbach Hall. Prior to the Friday performance, Cloud Gate's artistic director Lin-Hwai-min addressed "East Asia at Berkeley" guests at a reception.
On both Saturday and Sunday a series of special anime films from Japan were shown in conjunction with the Pacific Film Archive. These included the Bay Area premiere of Studio Ghibli's latest film, The Cat Returns.
Friday's presentations drew substantial crowds not only from among UC Berkeley faculty and students but from the Bay Area business and financial communities as well. The evening and weekend programs attracted many fans. Zellerbach Hall was sold out for the second night of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, as were several of the screenings at the Pacific Film Archive.