ODU'S QIU JIN TO APPEAR ON "HEARSAY" TODAY

Qiu Jin, director of Old Dominion University's Institute of Asian Studies and associate professor of history, will be a guest on WHRV-FM's (89.5) midday talk show, "HearSay with Cathy Lewis," at noon Tuesday, Feb. 5. The program, "China Today," will consider the significance of the world's most populous country to the global economy and international relations.

Jin, who began teaching at ODU in 1996, is a native of China and an expert on the period known as the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). She also teaches courses on modern China and closely monitors current affairs in her home country. Jin was an ODU "Most Inspiring Faculty" award recipient in 1999.

As director of the Institute of Asian Studies, Jin seeks to promote an expanded awareness and understanding of the nations and cultures of Asia; to support and encourage research on Asia; and to make available resources to enable better understanding and more effective interaction between organizations and individuals in Hampton Roads and those in Asia.

"China has indisputably emerged as a global power, inserting its impact everywhere, even on the Hampton Roads region," Jin said. "With the trade volume between United States and China reaching 340 billion in 2006, and US imports from China increasing on average over 20% annually since 2002, some ask whether 'made-in-China' is avoidable or not. Many find the impact to be negative because of losing jobs, but others find new opportunities to invest in China or find new jobs because of imports from/exports to China. The seaports in Hampton Roads are expanding to contain more cargos to and from Asia, and more distribution centers are established to handle the cargos for big retailers such as Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart and Dollar General. So whether your life is affected negatively or positively because of the rise of Chinese economy, we need to be aware of what is going on in China in order to prepare our students for the future challenges as well as opportunities."

For more information about the Institute of Asian Studies, visit http://al.odu.edu/asia.