 Whenever we doubt the power of intellectual activism, the images of demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989 might serve as reminders to revalidate that power. One of the protagonists and critics of those tumultuous days, Professor Wang Hui is considered “a central figure” (The New York Times) of the Chinese “new left.” Hear from Hui, deemed one of the 100 leading public intellectuals in the world by Foreign Policy magazine, in this video lecture from the 2011 Falling Walls Conference. After courting countless controversies in his country for drawing public attention to the suffering of the weakest sections of society, he presents the results of the new global phase of his research exploring social contritions in China and elsewhere. Hui previews his paper “The Five Faces of Equality: another inquiry on 'equality of what'”—a lesson for global policy makers on the social divide between rich and poor, rural and urban communities, and different ethnicities. (16 minutes)
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