The first Global Hour discussion of the year was held Wednesday at the International House.
The discussions have been going on for several years and cover international issues.
“We meet on a weekly basis to simply get together with other people and talk about what’s happening in the world,” David Lawson, who works at the I-House, said. “Not to be told what is happening in the world, but to talk about it from our own perspectives.”
Discussions ranged from cultural awareness to the deaths of hundreds of birds that dropped from the sky in Arkansas and California.
The main focus of the discussion, though, was Hu Jintao’s recent visit to the U.S.
“For many of you, China may become more of an issue than it is now with business and politics,” Lawson said.
During his visit, Jintao, the Paramount Leader of the People’s Republic of China, announced that China did have problems with human rights that they need to work on.
A large portion of the discussion dealt with the economic ties between the U.S. and China, in particular a deal with Boeing and Wal-Mart.
“The biggest benefit from the trade with China is actually Wal-Mart,” Andreas Koschan, associate professor in electrical engineering, said. “So they are pushing and lobbying for these trade agreements. Wal-Mart became the biggest company in the United States by trading with China.”
Many cars, as well as computer parts, are now made in China. Also, most of the hardware used in cell phones in the U.S. must be imported.
Another point of discussion was China’s claim to Taiwan and Tibet.
“Taiwan is an island off the coast of China where the nationalist Chinese government escaped to when the Communists took over the mainland,” Lawson said. “Both the government of China and Taiwan consider themselves the real government of mainland China.”
Although the U.S. has no claims to the land, the U.S. does have an agreement to protect Taiwan in case of an invasion by China.
“We trade with Taiwan and continue to trade with them,” Lawson said. “The U.S. is actually Taiwan’s biggest arms dealer.”
Although there is still discussion as to who controls Taiwan, the relations have been more lax than they were in the 1950s or 1960s.
Tibet, the southwest region of China, has been an area of turmoil. Both China and Tibet have controlled the Tibetan government in the past.
“Tibet is a region that butts up against the Himalayan Mountains and has always had a unique culture,” Lawson said.
Lawson said Global Hour has been very beneficial in the past.
“I find the discussions fascinating,” he said. “To hear the different angles people take on things is eye-opening.”
Global Hour is held every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the I-House.
For more information, students can visit the I-House’s Facebook page, as well as the I-House’s website at http://web.utk.edu/~ihouse/.
