Episode 10: A Conversation with Cambridge University China Forum: Building A Cross-Cultural Bridge in the Time of COVID

In this new episode, our special host Yuanyuan Fang, the former President of Brown China Summit, invited François and Heidi, the co-founders of the Cambridge University China Forum, to share with us their experiences and inspiration of co-founding the Cambridge China Forum. The Cambridge University China Forum (CUCF) is a student-run society at Cambridge University committed to fostering constructive discussions on China. By gathering experts from the fields of academia, politics, economics and more, the Forum aims to offer diverse perspectives and insights on the role of China in the 21st century. To learn more about the organization, please visit https://camchina.org/.

François Vibert

François is a second-year philosophy student at Cambridge and the co-founder and chairman of CUCF. As a Chinese-French, François was born in Taipei and then almost lived his entire life in Shanghai, going to a French school, before coming to the UK. François’ interest in China has become more and more apparent to him over the years. As something that is part of his 'biological' identity, of course, but also as a really fascinating object of observation. Growing up in Shanghai, he got to observe the city’s impressive transformation, architecturally, culturally, and economically. This really contrasted with what he saw in Paris or even in the UK currently, where things aren’t quite moving as fast. This development got him interested in China’s economy and its place in the world order. 

Heidi He

Heidi is a second-year philosophy student at Cambridge and another co-founder of CUCF. Born and raised in Shanghai, she started boarding school in the UK at the age of 13. Heidi observed two notable trends in China-related discussions at Cambridge: (1) a lack of nuanced understanding about China, (2) a lack of narrative from Chinese students themselves. When interviewed by Week in China for the article “The Need for Nuance,” she said: “China is one of the few countries that the West has not fully colonized. Its distinct political, philosophical, and cultural heritage brings unique narratives and complex relations between the nation, regime, and people. We must embrace these complexities when we talk about China-related issues.”  

Yuanyuan Fang

Yuanyuan Fang studies literature at Brown and was former Co-President of Brown China Summit. Born and raised in Shanghai, she will be going back to her hometown to pursue a career in business after graduation. She hopes to connect different worlds together with her background in humanities.

Content

2:02 Being Chinese or Chinese-French in the UK

4:43 Studying philosophy as a Chinese student at Cambridge

5:52 Inspirations for co-founding the Cambridge University China Forum  

9:02 Putting up the China Forum from scratch during COVID

11:47 Target audience of the China Forum

13:01 Biggest takeaway from this experience 

17:57 Dealing with ideological conflicts during panel discussions

20:09 Advice for students with entrepreneurial spirits

Interviewed by Yuanyuan Fang

Produced and translated by Rica Zhang