Jews in China: Legends, History And Perspectives
Jews came to China as early as the Tang Dynasty, around the 8th Century. The Jewish community in Kaifeng which prospered during the Song Dynasty was known to all. From the middle of the 19th Century, when the Sephardi Jews and Russian (Ashkenazi) Jews came to China, new Jewish communities began to emerge in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Harbin, Tianjing and some other Chinese cities. During the Holocaust, Shanghai became a safe haven for Jewish Refugees from Nazi Europe and accepted more Jewish refugees than those taken in by Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India combined. Speaker will explain why did Shanghai become a haven for Jewish refugees, why has China never witnessed any spontaneous and native anti-Semitic activity, and what is relations between China and Israel now.Dr. PAN Guang is Professor of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Director of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) and BR (Belt and Road) Studies Center in Shanghai, Dean of Center of Jewish Studies Shanghai (CJSS) and Vice President of Chinese Association of Middle East Studies. He is International Council Member of Asia Society in USA, Senior Advisor on Anti-terror Affairs to Shanghai Municipality and Ministry of Public Security of PRC. He obtained 1993 James Friend Annual Memorial Award for Sino-Jewish Studies, Sankt Peterburg-300 Medal for Contribution to China-Russia Relations awarded by President Putin in 2004 and Austria Holocaust Memorial Award in 2006. He was appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as member of the High-Level Group for the UN Alliance of Civilizations in 2005, and appointed as Ambassador of the UNAOC in 2008.