Centuries ago, the original inhabitants traded deer skins with Chinese and Japanese merchants, today Taiwan supplies the microchips that keep our digital world running. Taiwan is a versatile island that is constantly reinventing itself. On Thursday 23 April, Leiden University Libraries (UBL), in collaboration with Uitgeverij IJzer, is organising a
Wuxi Huishan (Amsterdam) Industrial Cooperation Symposium Exploring business, investment and career opportunities between Europe and China On Friday, 24 April 2026, the Huishan District Government of Wuxi (China) will host an Industrial Cooperation Symposium in Amsterdam. The event brings together international companies, entrepreneurs, professionals, and (former) students with an interest
VNC members appreciate the association’s activities, substantive quality, and network. These are the findings of the member survey recently conduted by VNC. The results are predominantly positive, though there is also room for improvement, particularly regarding reach, communication and engagement. With 49 respondents, this survey provides a valuable and reasonably
by Astrid Bouwman China is something different for everyone: for some a popular travel destination, for others a professional fascination, a long friendship, field of study or personal memory. In this section we let VNC members have their say. Who are they, where does their interest in China come from,
Invitation to VNC China Pubquiz: A Fun and Educational Event for Chinese and Dutch People! Do you enjoy testing your knowledge about China and China in the Netherlands? Or are you simply looking for a fun evening with friends or colleagues? Then you can’t miss VNC China Pubquiz! 🎉 Whether
by Astrid Bouwman The eighth edition of the dining club, March 12, 2026, took place for the first time outside the Randstad, below the rivers, in Eindhoven. Given the place where the participants lived, we could have gone even further south, as far as Maastricht, because that is where a
From 8 to 12 April, the 18th CinemAsia Film Festival will take place in Amsterdam: the platform for Asian cinema in the Netherlands. With 44 films from Asia and the diaspora, screened at Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp and the Eye Filmmuseum, the festival offers a rich and up-to-date overview of
Sunzi’s book The Art of War is “essentially a plea for caution” The launch of the new Dutch translation of “孙子兵法 (Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ) – the classic by Sunzi, translated by sinologist and renowned translator Mark Leenhouts (“De kunst van het oorlogvoeren“) – on March 19 sparked a rich discussion on
By Jan van der Putten The Western classics are better known in China than the Chinese classics are here. Since the nineteenth century, Aristotle and his followers have played a political role in the Celestial Empire. Chinese chauvinists have used them for their cart, or simply canceled them. Machiavelli of
