Announcing 10th Interethnic Interfaith Leadership Conference

Apr 21, 2015 | InterEthnic InterFaith Leadership Conference, News, Publications

Registration Required
 
INITIATIVES FOR CHINA / CITIZEN POWER FOR CHINA
Invites You to the 10th InterEthnic/InterFaith Leadership Conference: 
“BUILDING A FREE DEMOCRATIC HOMELAND IN CHINA WITH CITIZEN POWER: 
PROSPECTS AND PATHWAYS”

As someone concerned about progress towards a brighter China, you are cordially invited to participate in the 10th Annual InterEthnic/Interfaith Leadership Conferences, to be held in Washington, D.C., USA on April 27-30.
Founded by Initiatives for China, with guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy, the Conference seeks to advance mutual understanding, respect, and cooperation among the diverse ethnic, religious, cultural, and regional groups seeking a better China. It also aims to promote universal values and a common front to advance democracy and human rights for all.
The groups represented in the Conference will include Han Chinese, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, Christians, Falun Gong practitioners, Muslims, Buddhists, and people from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.  These conferences are the first time in history that leaders from these ethnic, religious, and regional groups have come together without coercion, to stand up together without fear and hesitation.

Conference Location
The National 4-H Youth Conference Center
7100 Connecticut Ave. Chevy Chase, MD 20815 United States
Conference Dates
April 27 – 30, 2015
 (see details in Agenda below)
Conference Registration
(email dcoffice@initaitivesforchina.org for media registration)

Past conferences have been held throughout the world, including Boston, California and Taipei, Taiwan. They have  involved more than 1,000 young leaders from these groups, world leaders, scholars, human rights activists and NGO heads. Participants   commit to respecting differences between ethnic groups, while embracing human rights as a universal value. They commit to non-violence, tolerance, pursuing truth, reconciliation and loving one another.
These conferences, and our joint projects and programs throughout the year, have forged a strong coalition among these bright rainbow of diverse groups.  The Conference has become the single most important forum for united planning and pursuing peaceful transition to democracy in China. It  also acts as a critical counterweight to the “divide and conquer” strategy of the Chinese Communist Party that controls China today.
This year’s conference will unfold in the capital of the United States. Our theme will be “Building a Free and Democratic Homeland with Citizen Power: Prospects and Pathways.” We invite you to help us consider [Substituted “consider” for “fashion” in version #1 for the same reason of speaking to a wider potential audience.] the next stage of our strategy.
The Conference will offer a rich, stimulating program, including: presentations by prominent human rights leaders, remarks by senior Washington officials, discussion panels of experts, and awards honoring several champions of human rights in Washington. The program will commence with Reports from the ethnic,faith and regional groups to update the Conference on their current concerns and goals. The program will also include inspiring keynote addresses by leaders in the fight for human rights; panels of experts on the most pressing issues; and awards honoring several of our prominent human rights champions in Washington.
In addition,we will have workshops on employing the tools  of non-violent resistance, social media, effective lobbying techniques, and using unified citizen power in international advocacy. The Conference will close with a collegial determination of  priority projects to cooperate on in the coming year.
The Conference, will be held in a pleasant, professional conference center, and, as always, will afford participants ample opportunities during communal meals and free time in the evenings to enjoy special entertainment, and to socialize with colleagues and new friends.
The fee for attending, which will only be used to cover expenses of the Conference, is $40 per person. The deadline for registration is this Thursday, April 23rd. For any questions, please email us at dcoffice@initiativesforchina.org
We look forward to hearing your ideas and renewing the bonds that bind us in our dedication to a freer, more humane, and democratic China.
Sincerely,

Dr. YANG Jianli
President, Initiatives for China/Citizen Power for China
857-472-9039
yangjianli001@gmail.com

 

Conference Registration
(email dcoffice@initaitivesforchina.org for media registration)

CONFERENCE AGENDA

 

Day I: Monday, April 27, 2015

 

9:00 AM – Opening Ceremony

 

Chair: Dr. HAN Lianchao

 

Welcome Remarks:

 

Congressman Chris Van Hollen (TBC)

U.S. Representative for 8th District of Maryland

 

Ms. Louisa Greve

Vice President, (Asia, Mid East, N. Afirca Programs) National Endowment for Democracy

 

VIP Greetings:

 

H.H. Dalai Lama (Video Message)

 

Congressman Tom MacArthur (Video Message)

U.S. Representative for 3rd District of New Jersey

 

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett (TBC)

Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

President, Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice

 

Mr. John Todoroki

Founder of Prague Freedom Foundation

 

   

Opening Remarks

Dr. YANG Jianli

President & Founder, Initiatives for China/Citizen Power for China

 

11:00 AM – Conference Keynote Speech

Dr. Mark Lagon

President, Freedom House

 

12:15 PM – Luncheon Speech: 

China: Anti-Corruption Campaign and Prospects for Change 

Dr. TENG Biao

Human Rights Lawyer of China

 

1:30 PM – Discussion Panel I

Ethnic, Faith and Regional Groups Overall Reports on Each Group’s Political, Economic, Societal Situation, and Its Oppression by Government

 

Each group gets to speak for 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes Q&A. Ten minutes coffee break every two reports.

 

 

8:00 PM – Workshop I: Information Security

Lecturer: 

Mr. Brian O’Shea

Founder and CEO of Striker Pierce &
Founder and Chairman of The Ayla Foundation
Multi-Disciplined Intelligence Professional and Social Engineering Instructor

 

Day II: Tuesday, April 28, 2015

 

9:00 AM – Discussion Panel II: Hong Kong Umbrella Movement

 

Panelists:

Mr. Alex Chow

Former Secretary General, Hong Kong Federation of Students

Mr. LAW Kwuan Chung

Secretary General, Hong Kong Federation of Students

Mr. TO Kwan Hang

Forder Secretary General, Hong Kong Federation of Students

Question & Answer

 

10:20 AM – Discussion Panel III: Religious Persecution

 

Chair: 

Mr. Bob Fu

President, China Aid

 

Panelists 報告人:

 

Pastor ZHENG Leguo

 

Mr. Thupten Samphel

Director of Tibetan Policy Institute

 

Mr. Ilshat Hassan

Vice President, Uyghur American Association

 

Question & Answer

 

 

12:00 PM – Luncheon Speech

The Fight for Democratic Pluralism in China

Dr. Carl Gershman

President, National Endowment for Democracy

 

2:00 PM – Lecture: The Environmental Price of China’s Fast Growth

 

Lecturer: 

Mr. ZHENG Yi 

Chinese Author

Question & Answer 

 

2:00 PM – Panel IV: Environmental Issues with Mongolians, Tibetans and Uyghurs and Government Response to Their Protests

 

Panelists 

 

Ms. Tencho Gyatso

Associate Director for Chinese Engagement and Tibetan Empowerment Porgrams, International Campaign for Tibet

 

Mr. Dolkun Isa

Chairman of the Executive Committee,  World Uyghur Congress

 

Dr. Chuluu Ujiyediin

Member, Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center

 

Question & Answer

 

3:40 PM – Panel V: Hurdles to Foreign Understanding of China Today

 

Chair: 

Mr. Burt Wides

Pro Bono Counsel, Initiative for China

former Counsel to President Carter for Oversight of U.S. Intelligence Agencies

 

Panelists

 

Mr. Michael Pillsbury

National Security Expert

Former Official, U.S. Department of Defense

 

Mr. Marion Smith

Executive Director, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

 

Ms. Yaxue Cao

Editor, ChinaChange.org Digital News

 

Mr. Scott Savitt

Author, Journalist, and Lecturer on China

 

Question & Answer

 

5:10 PM – Panel VI: China’s Alarming Influence on the world

 

Chair: 

Dr. Terri Marsh

Executive Director, Human Rights Law Foundation

 

Panelists:

 

Mr. Paul Mooney

Expert on Confucious Institutes

 

Mr. Henry DeGroot

American Exchange Student in China

 

Mr. Steve Levine

Former Director, Carolina Asia Center

 

Ms. Serenade Lai-Wan Woo

Chair, Hong Kong Journalists Association

 

Mr. WANG Hsing-Chung

Professor, Political Science, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan

 

Question & Answer

 

7:30 PM – Two Parallel Activities

 

A. Meeting of Children of Prisoners of Conscience of China (CPCC)

a. discussion and passsage the Charter of CPCC

b. election of board members and executives

 

 

B. Workshop II: Non-violence Principles an Strategies

Lecturer: 

Mr. Steve Crawshaw

Director, Office of the Secretary General, Amnesty International

 

 

Day 3—Tuesday, April 29, 2015

 

9:00 AM – Panel VII: Children of Prisoners of Conscience of China (CPCC) — Organizational Launch

 

Chair: 

Dr. Yang Jianli

President & Founder, Initiatives for China/Citizen Power for China

 

Panelist:

 

Mr. Michael Horowitz

Director, Project for International Religious Liberty, Hudson Institute

 

Mr. Jared Genser

Managing Director, Perseus Strategies

Founder, Freedom Now

 

Ms. Ti-Anna Wang

Daughter of Dr. WANG Binzhang

 

Ms. Lisa Peng

Daughter of Mr. PENG Ming

 

Tibetan Child

(TBA)

 

Question & Answer

 

10:30 AM – Workshop III: U.S. Advocacy 

Presenters: 

 

Mr. Burt Wides

Pro Bono Counsel, Initiative for China

former Counsel to President Carter for Oversight of U.S. Intelligence Agencies

 

Dr. Sophie Richardson

China Director, Human Rights Watch

 

Mr. Kody Kness

Vice President, China Aid

 

Question & Answer

 

1:30 PM – Workshop IV: International Advocacy

 

Presenters: 

 

Mr. Jared Genser

Managing Director, Perseus Strategies

Founder, Freedom Now

 

Mr. Javier El-Hage

General Counsel, Human Rights Foundation

 

Mr. Jakub Klepal

Executive Director, Forum 2000

 

Ms. Anna Lee

Director, Christian Solidarity Worldwide

 

Question & Answer

 

3:10 PM – United Front

1. Discussion of strenghtening coalition, joint actions, and international advocacy projects.

 

2. Vote to choose joint priority projects.

 

3. Delegates break into project groups according to the joint  projects chosen to discuss strategies of carrying out these projects. Each project group participated in by delegates from different ethnic and religious groups.

 

4:20 PM – United Front (Continued)

 

5:30 PM – United Front (Continued)

Each project team reports on their discussion and answers questions.

 

7:00 PM – 11:00 PMBanquet 

Banquet, Citizen Power Awards to Representative James McGovern, Representative Christopher Smith, Hong Kong Federation of Students and Mr. DING Jiaxi (imprisoned Chinese civil movement leader)

 

Day 4-Tuesday, April 30, 2015

 

9:00 AM – Special Lecture: Global Magnitsky Legislation

Panelists:

 

Mr. Bill Browder

CEO, Hermitage Capital Management

Client of Mr. Sergei Magnistky

 

Mr. Charles Davidson (TBC)

Executive Director, Kleptocracy Institute, Hudson Institute

 

Mr. Jeffrey Gedmin

Senior Fellow, Georgetown University & Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London

 

Mr. Juan Carlos Gonzales Leiva

Blind Lawyer and Human Rights Activist from Cuba

 

Question & Answer 

 

10:10 AM – Discuss and Pass Declaration of Unity

 

11:00 AM – Closing Ceremony

 

Throughout the Conference: Special Exhibit of Works of Chinese Artists