Meanwhile, we must all ask ourselves, as individual citizens, how we can help. This might mean private donations, as in previous humanitarian emergencies in Indonesia after the tsunami or Haiti after the earthquake, or it could mean pushing elected representatives toward a more robust response.

Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy at USC was invited to the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles and delivered a lecture on public diplomacy and soft power... Professor Cull discussed the concept of public diplomacy, its new development and shared lessons.

And we have a great commitment to our government-to-government relations, but we have an even greater commitment to our people-to-people ones. And we view them as absolutely central to the partnership and friendship between our countries.

"The problem with the Pakistanis is if they take away support from the Taliban they fear it will come back to haunt them," the diplomat said. But as weariness with the war grows, public diplomacy aimed at making a settlement more palatable to Western voters has been ramped up in recent weeks.

The impact of public diplomacy activities are crucially shaped by their context. What might be a good initiative in one situation will be totally ineffective in another. In the case of France’s work in the US context comes to the fore in at least three ways.

The Foreign Relations Authorization Act for fiscal 2012, would repeal a 1960 law that established the center for cultural and technical interchange between East and West. U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono said she has asked that language to repeal the law be removed from the bill.

Yao Ming is one of the few Chinese faces recognized by American audiences," said Brook Larmer, author of "Operation Yao Ming: The Chinese Sports Empire, American Big Business, and the Making of an NBA Superstar." "As much as we scoff at sports as just a game, for China it's a crucial part of its soft power diplomacy.

Sports have always been an effective tool for fostering cross-cultural awareness and breaking down ideological stereotypes. Consider this: Between 1955 and 1985 the U.S. State Department issued on average 1,700 visas a year to Soviet athletes, artists, scientists and students in a policy of “soft power” diplomacy.