Jonathan Kaufman, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, editor, and author; and professor and director in Northeastern University’s School of Journalism, has been visiting and writing about China since 1979. He worked as China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal from 2002 to 2005. Most recently, he was in Hong Kong in March 2023 doing research. His latest book is The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China.

 

Before joining Northeastern, Mr. Kaufman held senior positions at Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal, and The Boston Globe. With his wife, journalist Barbara Howard, he raised three Newton Public Schools graduates.

Anping Shen has been an educator both here and in his native China. He was elected to the Newton School Committee in 2017. He came from China as a college instructor in the late 1980s and received his master and doctoral degrees of education from Boston University in the mid-1990s. He worked for the state Department of Education for close to 30 years and served the Newton Chinese Language School as its principal, founding board chair, and parenting education instructor.

 

He has also been a community activist as a member of the Newton Human Rights Commission, Superintendent Search Committee, the district’s Strategic Planning Team, and several school councils.  He is currently board chair of Newton Education Support Network.

 

Mr. Shen wrote The Best Education Starts from Family (最好的教育在家庭) and co-wrote two other books on education. He has lived in Newton for the past 35 years, and his two children attended NPS grades K-12.

 

Mr. Kaufman and Mr. Shen will talk about Chinese politics, the Chinese economy, and China’s relations with the United States. They will share their observations on their interactions with Chinese young people and talk about Chinese culture and perspectives.