USCET celebrated Chinese New Years with GWU’s Elliott School of International Affairs by co-hosting a book launch and signing event for the award-winning Asian American author and activist Helen Zia.
Zia’s latest book, Last Boat out of Shanghai, follows the gripping real life stories of four young people who fled from Shanghai during the mass exodus of 1949. Through these harrowing stories, readers learn of the courage, determination, and sacrifice that the characters confronted in their decisions to leave their homeland behind, as well as the challenges they faced in their new countries.
As a first-generation Chinese American, Zia is uniquely equipped to explain how crises like the Shanghai exodus affect children and their families, students and their futures, and, ultimately, the way we see ourselves and those around us. Displacement, immigration, and refugee crises are as salient today as they were 50 years ago. Zia emphasized humanity and triumph of the human spirit in her powerful presentation.
Ambassador Reuben Brigety, dean of The Elliott School, delivered the event’s opening remarks, while USCET’s own Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch, whose family immigrated to the US from Shanghai during that tumultuous period, moderated an engaging dialogue with the author. Over 100 GW students, scholars, and guests from the Chinese American community in the Greater Washington Area participated in the event.
Zia, winner of the 2018 Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) Lifetime Achievement Award, was also a distinguished participant in USCET’s 2017 Asian American Authors Series in Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan.
中美教育基金会与乔治华盛顿大学艾略特国际事务学院共同举办了一场新书发布会，为获奖亚裔美国作家、活动家Helen Zia（谢汉兰）举行了签名活动，并庆祝中国新年。
Zia的新书《最后一艘离开上海的船》讲述了四个年轻人在1949年的大逃亡中逃离上海的真实故事。通过这些悲惨的故事，读者可以了解到主人公在决定离开祖国时所面临的勇气、决心和牺牲，以及他们在新国家所面临的挑战。
作为第一代美国人，Zia用独特的能力来解释像上海大逃亡这样的危机是如何影响孩子和他们的家庭、学生和他们的未来，以及最终我们看待自己和周围人的方式的。流离失所、移民和难民问题同50年前一样突出。Zia在她强有力的演讲中强调了人性和人类精神的胜利。
艾略特国际事务学院院长Reuben Brigety大使致开幕词，而中美教育基金会主席张之香大使主持了与作者的对话，张大使本人来自一个从上海移民来美国的家庭。超过100位来自大华盛顿地区华人社区的华人、乔治华盛顿大学学生、学者和嘉宾参加了此次活动。
Zia是2018年美国亚裔研究协会(AAAS)终身成就奖获得者，也是中美教育基金会 2017年在北京、上海和四川举办的美国亚裔作家系列活动的杰出参与者。