Book Talk by Prof Chung Chien-peng | The Challenges and Joys of Writing a Book on China’s Ethnic Politics and Borderlands

You are invited to a talk titled “The Challenges and Joys of Writing a Book on China’s Ethnic Politics and Borderlands” by Professor Chung Chien-peng (Department of Government and International Affairs, Lingnan University). This talk is organized by the GL Louis Religious Pluralism Research Cluster at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Date and Time: Tuesday, 7 April 2026 | 2pm – 4pm
Venue: FASS Research Division Seminar Room, AS7 #06-42 | The Shaw Foundation Building, Block AS7, 5 Arts Link, Singapore 117570
Registration: Microsoft Forms
Refreshments will be provided.

Abstract
This is a talk on my recent book, “Competing Nationalisms in China’s Borderlands,” published by Amsterdam University Press / Routledge, the theme of which concerns the clash of two types of nationalisms across China’s borderlands – Han-Chinese state nationalism versus minority ethnic nationalism. I will speak on how the book attempts to provide a balanced analysis of ethnic nationalism, state integration / internal colonialism, and foreign intervention in China’s frontier politics, explaining the circumstances, causes, and consequences of the entanglements, from the final years of the last Chinese imperial (Qing) dynasty to the present. I will discuss the process of writing a book on a subject of social science or modern history that may be considered somewhat “contentious” or “controversial,” and address some issues that were raised in reviews of the manuscript.

Speaker Bio
Chien-peng CHUNG is Professor of Political Science at the Department of Government and International Affairs, Lingnan University, Hong Kong. He received his PhD from the University of Southern California. He teaches and researches on the territorial disputes, foreign relations, and ethnic politics of China and Asian countries. He has written five books, co-authored one book, contributed chapters to edited works, and published many articles in academic and policy journals.

About the Organiser
The FASS GL Louis Religious Pluralism Research Cluster, funded by an endowment established via a generous gift to honor Mr. Gnanapragasam Louis’ memory, aims to foster the academic study of religious pluralism and diverse religious traditions in Asia and beyond.