The Governance of China

January 15 2016

The New York Review of Books Foundation, the University of Hong Kong and the Fritt Ord Foundation invite the public to an international conference on China that will take place on Friday and Saturday, 15-16 January 2016 at the University of Hong Kong.

The conference entitled The Governance of China will explore the questions ‘The State and Civil Society: Partnership or Containment?’, ‘The Internet and Social Media: Disputed Territory?’ and ‘Capitalism with a Chinese Face?’. Other topics for discussion include ‘The State at the Centre’, ‘Legal and Constitutional Reform’, ‘China and the World’ and ‘China and the Future of Hong Kong’.

Read more about the conference on the University of Hong Kong’s website.

Program |

Welcoming Remarks and Opening

  • Professor Peter Matheison – Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Hong Kong
  • Georg Fredrik Rieber-Mohn – Chair of the Board of Trustees, Fritt Ord
  • Robert Silvers – Editor of the New York Review of Books
​Panel I – The State at the Center
  • Chair: Robert Silvers
  • Professor Andrew Nathan – Columbia University
  • Professor Pan Wei – Peking University
  • Professor Wang Hui – Tsinghua University

Panel II – The State and Civil Society: Partnership or Containment?
  • Chair: Professor Kellee Tsai – University of Hong Kong
  • Professor John P Burns – University of Hong Kong
  • Dr Willy Wo-Lap Lam – The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Jamestown Foundation, Washington, DC
  • Professor Liu Yu – Tsinghua University
​
Panel III – Legal and Constitutional Reform
  • Professor Jerome Cohen – New York University, School of Law (via Skype)
  • Professor Fu Hualing – University of Hong Kong
  • Professor He Weifang – Peking University
  • Professor Wang Zhenmin – Tsinghua University
​
Panel IV – The Internet and Social Media: Disputed Territory?
  • Professor Yuen-ying Chan – University of Hong Kong
  • Professor Hu Yong – Peking University
  • Professor Perry Link – University of California, Riverside
​
Day 2 – Saturday January 16

Panel V – Capitalism with a Chinese face?

  • Chair: Professor Melanie Manion – University of Hong Kong and Duke University
  • Professor Pun Ngai – Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • Professor Xiao Geng – University of Hong Kong
​Panel VI – China and the World
  • Professor Richard Hu – University of Hong Kong
  • Professor Li Zhaojie – Tsinghua University Mr Orville Schell – The Asia Society, New York
​Panel VII – China and the Future of Hong Kong
  • Professor Joseph Chan, University of Hong Kong
  • Professor Sonny Lo – The Hong Kong Institute of Education
  • Dr Yan Xiaojun – The University of Hong Kong

Time: 15.-16. januar 2016
Place: Hall 2, Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, Centennial Campus, HKU, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong

News

Mykhailo Tkach, Andrei Aliaksandrau, Arevhat Sahakyan (Factor TV), Nino Bakradze (iFact), and Lola Tagaeva (Verstka).

Free Media Awards for 2026. Press freedom under pressure in wartime: – Silence does not protect democracy

September 29 2026

This year’s winners of the Free Media Awards from the Fritt Ord Foundation and Zeit Stiftung Bucerius received their awards in Toppsalen at the Munch Museum in Oslo on 29 September 2026.
The Belarusian journalist and media manager Andrei Aliaksandrau came straight to Oslo after spending over five years in prison for his work. Aliaksandrau dedicated the award to imprisoned journalists and editors in Belarus and quoted the Liverpool FC anthem: “You’ll never walk alone”.

Mykhailo Tkach heads investigations at Ukrainska Pravda, which uncovers corruption, even in a Ukraine fighting an existential war against Russia.
– I face charges in at least thirteen cases related to my work. I have been threatened. My team has been threatened. And what is our answer? To keep digging. Silence does not protect democracy. Journalism does.

Mykhailo Tkach

Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Russian and Belarusian journalists and media to receive five Free Media Awards for 2026

September 3 2026

This year’s prize laureates for the Free Media Awards from the Fritt Ord Foundation and Zeit Stiftung Bucerius are:
The investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach from Ukraine
The investigative media outlet iFact from Georgia
The online media Factor TV from Armenia
The online media Verstka from Russia (in exile)
The journalist and media director Andrei Aliaksandrau from Belarus (imprisoned)*

Fritt Ord's grants for master’s degrees

August 30 2026

Is your master’s project about freedom of expression, social debate or journalism? If so, you can apply for a student grant from the Fritt Ord Foundation.

The Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute 2026

August 18 2026

The rap duo Karpe has been awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for giving voice to the experiences of many young people from minority backgrounds. Through the language of rap, they are expanding the space for the expression of identity and belonging.