UWFA Annual Spring Luncheon and Lecture at the Seattle Yacht Club
Speaker: Dori Jones Yang
An award-winning author, journalist, and speaker, Dori Jones Yang worked for eight years in the 1980s as Hong Kong bureau chief for Business Week, covering China during the pivotal years when it went from isolation to engagement with the outside world. In her latest book, When the Red Gates Opened: A Memoir of China’s Reawakening, Dori brings to life this transformative time in history and in her personal life.
Educated in history at Princeton and in international relations at Johns Hopkins, she now lives in Kirkland and has written eight books. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, she has traveled throughout China for over forty years and spoken about her books across the United States, as well as in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Most recently, she has also spoken about contemporary China on cruise ships and in Greater Seattle.
At our spring luncheon, Dori spoke on China’s worldview, values, and ambitions. Based on its unique history, China’s values differ from those of the West, where its economic modernization and military build-up have ignited worries. Dori clarified these differences and explained why, in her view, it’s vital that we try to understand China’s perspective on world issues in order to be prepared for that worldview in negotiations and to work from a baseline both sides can understand.
About Dori Jones Yang
Dori joined Business Week in 1981 and worked there for fifteen years, as an international business editor in New York, bureau manager in Hong Kong (1982–1990) and bureau manager in Seattle (1990–1995). She covered the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing in June 1989.
After marrying Paul Yang in 1985, she began writing under the byline of Dori Jones Yang. She worked as West Coast business and technology correspondent for U.S. News & World Report from 1999 to 2001. Her website is https://dorijonesyang.com/.
Speaker Recommendations
UWFA relies on word of mouth to recommend speakers. We are not a political organization and do not advocate one political view over another. We have had wide ranging lectures on history, science, and travel from around the world as well as about famous people but have always strived to be apolitical.
If you can recommend a credentialed speaker who can speak to the topic that is of interest or concern to you, please let us know. Email uwfacaux@uw.edu with your recommendation, and please include a link or email to more information about the speaker.
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