A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.

The Puzzle of Identifying as Chinese

“You Irish people are white because you eat potatoes!” a Beijing taxi driver announced to my Irish husband on a trip before moving here, about a decade ago. We all laughed, though he didn’t seem to be entirely joking. “Who’s Irish?” asked the Chinese-American writer Gish Jen in her story collection of the same name, exploring cultural differences and misunderstandings in the United States. “Who’s Chinese?” is the question here.

Tags: china, Cultural Diplomacy, identity, ethnicity

China The Place To Study, And Harvard Too, If You Want To Be A CEO

One Hong Kong university and 15 in mainland China have made the list of the best places to study if you want to be chief executive officer of a global company. Polytechnic University was ranked 72nd out of 100 universities worldwide in the Alma Mater Index, a new study by Times Higher Education, which rates universities based on the studies of Fortune Global 500 CEOs.

Tags: china, soft power, education diplomacy, higher education

China Will Play Role of Responsible Major Country at UN

China's new envoy to the United Nations Liu Jieyi has presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN Headquarters. After an official ceremony, Liu told reporters China will continue to firmly support the UN, uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and play the role of a responsible major country in world affairs. Liu said that being the most universal, representative and authoritative international organization, the UN bears the expectations of the people all over the world and shoulders a significant mission.

Tags: china, united nations

Peacekeeping Partnership Opens New Possibilities for U.S.-Vietnam Relations

In conflicts and post-conflict zones all over the globe, UN peacekeepers play an essential role supporting peace and stability. Supporting these efforts is the United States’ Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). Vietnam has been working closely with both the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense to begin building its peacekeeping capabilities, and through GPOI, take its first formal steps towards contributing individuals and units to UN peacekeeping missions.

Tags: united states, government pd, us department of state, vietnam, peacekeeping

Opposition Behind Massive Power Outage, Venezuela’s Leader Declares

With parts of Venezuela still dark after a mysterious blackout that left the capital and 17 states without electricity, President Nicolas Maduro was to meet Wednesday with public utility and military officials to respond to the power failure, which he blamed on opposition sabotage. The power shutdown began midday Tuesday after an apparent failure involving high-voltage transmission lines in western Aragua and Guarico states, which led to total power outage in several of the country’s most populous areas.

Tags: public diplomacy, venezuela, nicolas maduro

Getting Drunk in North Korea

I’m standing outside the Egyptian Palace nightclub in Pyongyang’s Yanggakdo Hotel, a place that promises all the advantages of a combination bar, nightclub, sauna and massage service, geared toward the tired and terminally lonely (which, like all other services at the Yanggakdo, means “foreigners only”). The only problem? It’s nearly midnight, and the bar is firmly, implacably closed.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, north korea, tourism, pyongyang

West Struggles To Cope With Online Recruitment for Syria Jihad

"I am French," explains the young man in the YouTube video carrying a Kalashnikov and wearing a kufiya cotton headdress as he sits in front of a waving black-and-white flag of al Qaeda. "Oh my Muslim brothers in France, Europe and in the whole world, Jihad in Syria is obligatory," says the fair-skinned youth with sandy hair, wispy beard and southern French accent, imploring viewers to join him and his younger brother in Syria.

Tags: government pd, non-state actors, syria, terrorism, jihad, al qaeda, online

Brilliant Award-Winning Romanian Tourism Campaign

Back in January, news spread that Britain was considering running an anti-immigration campaign in Romania and Bulgaria tagged, “You Won’t Like It Here”. People all over Europe were nonplussed by the lack of tact shown by The Brits. But Gândul, a daily Romanian newspaper, saw an opportunity where others saw only red. They launched a cheeky response campaign tagged, “We May Not Like Britain, But You’ll Love Romania.”

Tags: nation branding, europe, united kingdom, tourism, romania

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