A Conversation About China and Democracy

According to projections by the International Monetary Fund, China’s economy will surpass the United States in 2016, and continues to grow rapidly.  All around us are signs of China’s increasing economic power, from the myriad products we buy at stores and malls to the over $1 Trillion in United States debt that China holds.  China is also making strides in fields outside of commerce.  For example, this month, author Mo Yan won China’s first Nobel Prize for Literature by a Chinese citizen.  Yet for all of China’s importance to our global economy and society, many Americans have very little understanding of China, its people, or its 4000-year history.   

Our organization, GlobalSOMA, was founded to honor and celebrate Maplewood and South Orange, New Jersey, as diverse, international, and welcoming communities.  As part of that mission, we encourage and foster conversations among community members about the broader world, including China.

On Saturday, October 27, 2012, at 2:30 p.m. in Maplewood Memorial Library, GlobalSOMA will present a free public screening of the award-winning film by Weijun Chen, Please Vote for Me, which documents a competition among Chinese schoolchildren for the position of class monitor in the first school election of its kind held in China.  The film asks us to consider a number of questions:  Can Democracy come to China?  Does Democracy work in a classroom?  Are there any parallels to our experience in the United States?  Beyond the political and social questions raised, the film also gives us a human perspective on China’s people, through the eyes of a class of schoolchildren.

After the film, there will be a short presentation by GlobalSOMA and an opportunity to discuss the film. Come and joins us for an afternoon of film and stimulating conversation.

You can watch a trailer here.

WHAT:  GlobalSOMA Film Screening of PLEASE VOTE FOR ME

WHEN:  Saturday, October 27, at 2:30 p.m.

WHERE:  Maplewood Memorial Library, 51 Baker Street, Maplewood New Jersey