Last Boat out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese who Fled Mao’s Revolution
Shanghai has historically been China’s jewel: its richest, most modern and westernized city. The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class when Mao Zedong’s proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war. Terrified of the horrors the Communists would wreak upon their lives, citizens of Shanghai who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, members of the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus have revealed their stories to Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey through one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century.
As the daughter of Chinese immigrants, Helen Zia will share her insight on the historic migrant and refugee exodus during Mao’s chairmanship, as well as the lessons America can learn from the revolution.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Location:
Hilton Charlotte Center City
Check-In, Networking and VIP Reception:
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Lunch, Presentation, and Q&A:
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Cost:
$30 WACC student/educator/TMS member
You must be an individual WACC educator/student/TMS member to qualify for the $30 rate
$40 WACC Member Rate
$55 Non-Member Rate
- Register online
- Credit card payments (non-PayPal transactions): Please call 704-687-7762 for payment processing over the phone
- Check payments: Please make your check payable to “World Affairs Council of Charlotte” and mail it to the following address:
World Affairs Council of Charlotte
UNC Charlotte – CHHS 227
9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223
All reservation cancellations must be completed at least 3 business days prior to an event for a full refund. Pease let us know in advance if you have dietary restrictions so that we can make the appropriate accommodations.
Purchase copies of “Last Boat out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese who Fled Mao’s Revolution” for $25 (to be picked up at luncheon):
Biography
Helen Zia is an award-winning author, journalist, activist and Fulbright Scholar. She is the former Executive Editor of Ms. Magazine and board chair of the Women’s Media Center. Helen has been outspoken on social justice issues ranging from human rights and peace to women’s rights and countering hate violence and homophobia. In 2008, she was one of 79 people in North America who carried the Olympic Torch in San Francisco. Her work on the landmark 1980s civil rights campaign against anti-Asian violence is documented in the Academy Award nominated film, “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” She was profiled in Bill Moyers’ PBS documentary, “Becoming American: The Chinese Experience.”
Helen is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of British Columbia and she holds an honorary Doctor of Laws from the Law School of the City University of New York. She is a graduate of Princeton University’s first coeducational class. After college Helen attended medical school but quit after completing two years, then went to work as a construction laborer, an autoworker, and a community organizer, after which she discovered her life’s work as a writer.