Book presentation Garrie van Pinxteren: ‘Control and delete. Memories of authoritarian China’
On Monday 5 October, the Netherlands-China Association (VNC), in collaboration with Leiden Asia Centre (LAC), is organising a book presentation with journalist and China expert Garrie van Pinxteren.
On the occasion of the publication of her new book ‘Control and delete. Memories of authoritarian China’ , Van Pinxteren talks to LAC director Floris Harm about her many years of experience with China and about the far-reaching changes the country has undergone in recent decades.
As a student, Van Pinxteren experienced the first phase of China’s opening in 1982. After Mao Zedong’s death, there was room for reforms, economic growth and remarkable social dynamics. More than forty years later, in 2025, she will leave China again as a correspondent. In the meantime, the country has changed dramatically and Xi Jinping has further concentrated power. The space for dissenting opinions and memories has greatly decreased.
In ‘Control and delete’ , Van Pinxteren investigates what this development means for daily life. Who decides what people are allowed to remember? What happens when the state tries to determine what should be forgotten? And how does a society change when political control penetrates more and more into personal life?
Details
When: Monday 5 October, 19:30 – 21:00
Where: Wijnhaven 3.46, Turfmarkt 99, 2511 DP The Hague
Programme
19:00–19:30 — Walk-in
19:30–19:40 — Introduction VNC chair Monique Knapen
19:40–20:15 — Book presentation: Garrie van Pinxteren in conversation with LAC Director Floris Harm
20:15–20:55 — Q&A (moderator Floris Harm)
20:55-21:00 — Closing: Monique Knapen, chair VNC
About the speaker
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Garrie van Pinxteren is a journalist and sinologist. She has been involved with China for about 45 years now and lived there for more than fifteen years. As a correspondent in Beijing, she wrote and reported for NRC Handelsblad, the NOS and Radio Netherlands Worldwide, among others. Previously, she was director of the Dutch Business Support Office in Hangzhou.
After her return to the Netherlands, Van Pinxteren remained active as a journalist. She is a senior research associate at the Clingendael Institute. From her broad experience, she explains developments in China and their influence on the outside world.
This event is organised in collaboration with Leiden Asia Centre (LAC).
Registration
