IRI Co-Hosts Forum "Elections in Greater China"

November 26, 2002

On November 1, IRI and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) cosponsored a discussion entitled "Elections in Greater China," for election experts from the People's Republic of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. IRI hosted the event at the request of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Carter Center. It marked the first time IRI and NDI collaborated on China programming.

The event addressed the progress and continuing challenges to elections in China. It also gave representatives from IRI, NDI and the Carter Center an opportunity to explain their work on election-related programming in China. The Chinese visitors provided the representatives with information on the types of programming they believe are most effective in their country.

The discussion was informative and at times heated when issues of sovereignty, autonomy and national identity surfaced. At the end, many participants expressed gratitude for having the opportunity to learn about each region's local elections.

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