On Sept. 12, around 70 attendees listened to the first talk in this year’s  IGI Series on Global Responsibilities, which focuses on “China and the World.” The purpose of the series is to bring multidisciplinary and global perspectives to major contemporary questions. The spotlight on China highlights its international presence and influence today.

Lü Pin, a PhD student in political science at Rutgers University, spoke on “Resilience Amidst Repression: The Chinese Feminist Movement in the Era of Escalating Authoritarianism.” In 2009 in China, Lü Pin and colleagues organized Feminist Voices,  a social media platform that aimed to call attention to a lack of women’s rights in their country. Because of growing pressure against the group by the Chinese government, Lü Pin  relocated to the U.S. in 2015 and when Feminist Voices was ultimately banned in 2018, she turned her attention to organizing women in the diaspora to create a national feminist network.

 Lü Pin noted that even when the government used its power to jail activists, shut down media sites, and stigmatize the women’s rights movement, “women can transfer inaction into action” by refusing to conform to stereotyped gender roles and rejecting predetermined life choices.

Other topics in the series will include questions relating to climate, trade, technology, economic development, public health, human rights, and higher education. More information can be found at  https://tinyurl.com/v2ytu34m.

This talk was hosted by Women & Gender in Global Perspectives. The series is sponsored by the Illinois Global Institute, Center for African Studies, Center for East Asian & Pacific Studies, Center for Global Studies, Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Center for South Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, European Union Center, LAS Global Studies, Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies, The Program in Arms Control & Domestic & International Security, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center, and Women & Gender in Global Perspectives Program.