The events of 1949 in China reverberated across the world and throughout the rest of the century. That tumultuous year saw the dramatic collapse of Chiang Kai-shek’s ‘pro-Western’ Nationalist government, overthrown by Mao Zedong and his communist armies, and the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. Graham Hutching’s new book, ‘China 1949’ follows the huge military forces that tramped across the country, the exile of once-powerful leaders and the alarm of the foreign powers watching on. In his talk, and shadowing both the leaders and the people of China in 1949, he will discuss the aftermath and consequences of this pivotal year. As he will also discuss, the legacy of 1949 still resonates today as the founding myth, source of national identity and root of the political behaviour of modern China.

Our speaker…

Graham Hutchings is an Associate at the University of Oxford’s China Centre and an Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham, UK. Previously, he was Managing Editor and then Managing Director at Oxford Analytica, the global analysis firm, and between 1987 and 1998 was China Correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph, based first in Beijing and then Hong Kong. He is also the author of ‘Modern China: A Companion to a Rising Power’ (2000).

Our Moderator…

This event will be moderated by Jonathan Manthorpe, who is the author of the best-selling book ‘Claws of the Panda – Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada’ (2019).