Archive - July 6, 2020

  Intellasia.net 7 July 2020 / South China Morning Post As conflicts over trade, technology and civil liberties dominate US-China relations, a long-standing cultural and educational bridge between the two countries has been quietly dismantled with the US Peace Corps ending its operations in China. Each summer since 1993, Peace Corps volunteers have flown into the Chinese city of Chengdu ready to fill English-language teaching positions across the country’s west, as part of an initiative to promote understanding between citizens of the two countries. This year that won’t be happening. The programme will be phased out because of “many significant changes in China over the past 26 years”, according to a statement released in February by the independent government agency’s Washington headquarters. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. The Covid-19 pandemic uprooted Peace Corps operations globally, with volunteers . . .

  American Dreamer: Memoirs of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Central America and Beyond By David Taylor Ives (Costa Rica 1980-82) Epigraph Publishing March 2020 292 pages $ 35.00 (hardback); $22.00 (paperback) Reviewed by Jim Skelton (Ethiopia 1970-72) • The Foreword, written by Leymah Gbowee, and the Introduction, written by Muhammad Yunus, both of whom are Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, introduce David Ives as a humble, well respected and positive man who believes there is good in humanity. Both attribute to David several other admirable qualities, such as an unshakable sense of justice, tirelessly working to build world peace, and a philosophy of reverence for life. After reading that introductory material, it became clear to me that I was about to read an amazing story featuring a remarkable man who had been recognized as being quite extraordinary by two very exceptional individuals. Moreover, I discovered that David is not only an . . .