A CAMPUS Asia seminar was held at Tsinghua University (Beijing) from Sept. 26 to Sept. 29. Eleven GRIPS students, headed by Prof. Yokomichi, Prof. Kinoshita and Associate Prof. Hosoe, visited Tsinghua and attended lectures.

The seminar program consisted of class auditing and special lectures. The GRIPS students audited a class given by Prof. Chen entitled “Strategic Management of Public Organizations,” and they experienced a regular class with Tsinghua students. They also attended special lectures by Prof. Wang entitled “NGOs in China” and by Assistant Professor Xing entitled “Public Policy Formulation Process in China.” By auditing a regular class, GRIPS students got a glimpse at how Tsinghua students proactively present the cases of their own country in accordance with the theme of the lecture and how active their class discussions are. The GRIPS students seemed very much inspired.

At night, the GRIPS students were invited to a “Luna Party” organized by Tsinghua students, and they deepened their friendship with each other. Through the Luna Party, GRIPS students were not only able to get in touch with Chinese culture, but it was also a good opportunity to learn about Tsinghua students’ backgrounds and the goals of their studies.

The visit was held just after the anti-Japan demonstrations in China, and it was a challenge for us to ensure GRIPS students’ safety. Tsinghua made GRIPS students’ safety their top priority, and the university gave us tremendous support. In fact, the area around the Tsinghua campus was not chaotic as reported in Japan, and we felt very safe. By closely cooperating with each other under these circumstances, we have further deepened our relationship with Tsinghua.