USCET held an elections expert briefing – featuring Dr. James Thurber of American University, Dr. Bill Schneider of Third Way, and Mr. James Grimaldi of the Wall Street Journal – at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC on Thursday, October 25, 2012. Minister-Counselor Liu Weimin opened the event to a room of almost 100 Chinese dignitaries and officials, including Ambassador Zhang Yesui and his wife, Ambassador Chen Naiqing.
The experts spoke on several topics related to the 2012 presidential election and US politics in general. Dr. Schneider drew on his decades of experience as a political analyst at CNN and began the briefing with a discussion on the division in US politics and driving factors behind that division. He spoke candidly about partisanship in both the current and previous administrations and elections, and touched on how the 1960s continue to affect politics today. Dr. Thurber continued the conversation with a speech about the Obama administration, Congressional elections, and US policy after 2012. He shared his views on the 2012 presidential candidates’ policies and campaign promises, focusing particularly on issues of interest in China. Mr. Grimaldi concluded the briefing with a presentation on the role of investigative reporting on US elections and political candidates. He connected with the audience over campaign finance topics and candidate background investigations.
The audience members were brimming with multi-part questions. Topics included China being labeled as a currency manipulator, the electoral college system, legitimacy of candidate campaign promises, lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s new book on his corruption scandal, the new voting and registration laws, and question of whether America’s system is a true democracy.
USCET was pleased to facilitate this elections expert briefing and thanks our distinguished speakers for generously lending their time and expertise. Dr. Thurber, Dr. Schneider, and Mr. Grimaldi will all be participating in several of USCET’s November/December 2012 China programs, including the MEC Conference at SISU and ASN Conference at BFSU.
2012年10月25日星期四，USCET在位于首都华盛顿的中国大使馆举办了一场由美国大学教授James Thurber、第三条道路的Bill Schneider博士和华尔街日报的James Grimaldi三为竞选专家主持的简报。刘为民参赞为会议致辞开幕，百余名中国政要与官员参加了此次会议，包括张业遂大使及其夫人、陈乃清大使等人。
几位专家主要讨论了2012年总统竞选和美国政治等话题。Schneider博士曾在美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）担任数十年的政治分析师，他充分利用过去的工作经验对美国政治中的分歧以及背后的推动因素进行了研讨。他坦白地谈到了现在及过去的美国政府和选举中出现的党派偏见，并且当今的政治是如何受到1960年代的影响的。Thurber教授接着就奥巴马政府、国会选举和2012年后的美国政策进行了演讲。他分享了他对2012年总统候选人政策以及竞选承诺的看法，主要围绕与中国息息相关的问题。Grimaldi用调查报道对总统选举和候选人的影响的演讲为会议收尾。他讨论了竞选时的财务问题以及候选人的背景调查。
观众满腹疑问。会议主题包括中国被列为货币操纵者、选举人团制度、候选承诺的合法性、说课杰克·阿布拉莫夫（Jack Abramoff）关于自身腐败丑闻的新书、新的投票和登记法、以及美国制度是否真正民主等。
USCET很荣幸能够协助此次竞选专家会议，并且感谢我们尊敬的嘉宾牺牲自己的时间为我们分享经验。Thurber教授、Schneider博士和Grimaldi先生将参加2012年11、12月份的USCET中国项目，包括SISU和在北外举行的ASN会议。
