Sasha Barrese

Sasha Barrese

The stunning and down-to-earth model and actress, Sasha Barrese, recently graced our TV screens as a guest on the CW Network’s ‘Supernatural’. She’s a rising star with a passion for theatre. Here she tells ASW about her upcoming TV projects and her obsession with music and… well… chess!

Q. How and when did you become a member of ASW?
Sasha Barrese : I became a member around three years ago. I’ve known Erik, the founder, since I was little. ASW was much smaller at the time. I thought it was a really great idea.

Q. How do you use ASW and what’s your favorite site feature?
SB: I use it to stay in touch with friends from out of town. I also look up cities I am traveling to for work; recommendations for hotels, restaurants and art shows.

Q. Tell us about your latest role on ‘Supernatural’.
SB: The episode [called ‘Sin City’] aired on the CW network on October 25th at 9pm. The part of Casey was written for me so it was really great. We shot the show in Vancouver, Canada – a very beautiful city. The reviews just came in and they were amazing. I won’t be back on that show but I will be working with the producer, Robert Singer, and the director, Charles Beeson, again soon.

Q. Your first acting role was an appearance on American Pie. What was it like to be a part of a cult American comedy film?
SB: I was very surprised it became such a huge hit. I was a junior in high school when I shot it. I was home on a break from boarding school. The movie was released just after I graduated. Doing that part opened a lot of doors for me, work-wise. I still get stopped by people all the time for it! I guess some people have seen it a hundred times. As for a funny American Pie story… right after it came out I was at an audition. I was looking down in the waiting room reading my lines to myself. This guy next to me says "Hey, weren't you in American Pie?" It was the first time I'd been recognized by someone I didn't know. I looked up beaming and said, "Yes! Wow you must be a big fan of the movie!" (My part is small in it.) And then I realized who he was. It was Sean William Scott – one of the stars of American Pie! He played Stiffler. I blushed the deepest shade of red I could go and said, "But you would be because you’re in it. Arghhhh." Stuff like that happens to me a lot.

Q. You lived in Paris until you were four. What do you remember of growing up there?
SB: Paris is a fantastic place for a child. I go back all the time. When I have a job lined up in the fall, I go to the south of France in the summer.

Sasha Barrese and her mother, Katherine Barrese

Q. What has been your favorite role and why?
SB: I did two plays in Los Angeles that have been my favorite roles: ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ and ‘The Dutchman’. The characters are so well written. A good play feels like swimming down to the deepest part of the ocean. I also loved my character on ‘Supernatural’. It reminds me of my role in ‘The Dutchman’.

Q. What’s your next big project going to be?
SB: I will probably go back on ‘Carpoolers’, a new comedy on ABC, sometime soon. Pilot season is starting early this year because of the writers strike coming up. There are some amazing pilot scripts out there. Brett Ratner is doing a fantastic show called ‘Blue Blood’. I am waiting to hear on that part. I am also trying to secure the rights to a favorite book of mine for adaptation into a screenplay.

Q. Are there any actresses or models from which you would say you draw inspiration?
SB: Yes. For me it’s more about the specific parts they played. Joan Allen – she was in The Contender, which I think is a perfect film; Jane Fonda in Klute; Eva Green in The Dreamers; Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive.

Q. What makes you happiest?
SB: Seeing a great film. I just saw Michael Clayton in the theatres. I went back the next day and saw it again! I cried because it was so perfect.

Q. Where is your favorite travel destination?
SB: New York. I love to go see plays there.

Q. What is your greatest vice?
SB: Playing chess. I play two hours a day. I should cut back but I’m hooked.

Q. What is your favorite restaurant?
SB: I like the little diner underground at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The food is simple and the waitresses are cool.

Q. What is your favorite museum or gallery?
SB: The New Image Art Gallery on Santa Monica Boulevard. Marcia, the owner, has a great eye for new talent. I also love the Moca in downtown Los Angeles.

Q. What is your favorite beach?
SB: In the movie Contact, Jodi Foster’s character goes to a beach in her mind. The sand is made up of all the stars in the universe. I want to go to that beach.

Sasha Barrese

Q. What film has had the greatest effect on you? Why?
SB: I am really into a director named Michael Haneke right now. He has a new movie coming out called Funny Games. It’s an American version of his original movie with the same title. I can’t wait.

Q. What cause is closest to your heart? Why?
SB: There are two:
‘The Brent Shapiro Foundation’
A friend of mine, Brent Shapiro, passed away from taking half an ecstasy pill two years ago. He was a magical person. He brought people together. He was so full of love. He was so loved. His parents Bob and Linelle Shapiro started the Foundation to raise drug and alcohol abuse awareness. Many people still don’t know that alcoholism is a disease. Everyone I know has been touched by alcoholism in some way. Please go to their website: www.brentshapiro.org

In Downtown Los Angeles we have a homeless population of 100,000 people. ‘The Downtown LA Women’s Shelter’ is a fantastic place for women to stay. The facilities are bright and clean. Whenever I go down there, there is always a meeting or class going on. It feels like a warm home, rather then a shelter. There is a large open kitchen in the center of it all. I can’t imagine something worse then being a woman and being homeless on the street. I love to see women helping women get back on track. Their web site is: www.dwcweb.org

Q. What’s one thing you would like to change about yourself?
SB: I wish I could sleep better.

Q. Which artist do you admire most?
SB: I go through phases. For art right now I really love Aya Takano.

Q. What upsets you the most?
SB: Many issues; I hate the fact that many public schools don’t have enough textbooks or teachers for the children. Money is being spent in the wrong places right now.

Q. What is your favorite bar?
SB: Anywhere where the music is good, the couches are comfortable and I’m with my friends.

Q. What gadget can’t you live without?
SB: My BlackBerry. I have work emails all day long.

Q. What are you most afraid of?
SB: Falling from great heights.

Q. Were do you love to shop?
SB: Milk, on West Third Street in Los Angeles. Also, in Saint Tropez and Monte Carlo they have some great stores.

Q. What’s your favorite drink?
SB: Coffee

Q. What are your top 3 songs?
SB: I am a huge music fan! I love Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails and tons of Indy Rock. I was learning ‘Moonlight Mile’ by the Rolling Stones on my guitar just before I started this interview… anything by the Beatles or Fleetwood Mac… Dylan.

— Laura Jakobovits

In 2004, Adi Ezroni, a well-known Israeli actress and TV personality, learnt of the harsh realities of the underworld of child trafficking. In defence of the rights of children around the globe, Adi decided to get involved in the production of ‘Holly’ – a feature film opening this week in the US – which portrays the life and experiences of an underage girl who ends up in the hands of sexual exploiters.

What started as a narrative project has now turned into an international grassroots movement dedicated to raising awareness of child prostitution and putting an end to the inhumane industry. Here, ASW talks to Adi about the difficulties she faced while shooting the controversial film, and the importance of delivering a clear and urgent message to the international policy-making community.

Q. Tell us about Holly. Where did the idea come from? How did it start?
Adi Ezroni: While travelling on a sabbatical in 2002, my partner, Guy Jacobson, encountered a group of five to seven-year-old girls in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, who aggressively tried to solicit him for prostitution. One of the girls, she was about six years old, said, "I yum very good. I no money today. Mama San boxing me.” (Meaning: the madam of the brothel will beat me up.) He gave them some money and walked away, but decided to do something about it.

While researching the subject, he was horrified to realize that each year around two million children (some younger than a year old) are kidnapped, sold into prostitution and sexually abused worldwide.

I met Guy in 2004, right after his trip. I was on vacation in New York when he told me of his idea to write a narrative film through the eyes of a girl. I was so passionate about making this happen that I suggested I’d be the water girl and decided to leave Israel and my career to pursue the dream of producing a film that would raise awareness on the issue.

The product of this decision was to create a combination of a three-film project which has now evolved into an international grassroots movement to decrease child prostitution, sexual exploitation and child trafficking. We were extremely fortunate to meet Amit Kort and Dr. Smadar Kort who decided to fund the whole project. And we had an incredible crew led by Holly’s director, Guy Moshe.

Q. I understand you had many problems while filming, including being held at gunpoint and even being held hostage for two weeks. Could you share your experiences?
AE: Producing this project has been an uphill battle, and sometimes seemed more like a war. When we arrived in Cambodia, Interpol cautioned us about threats to our lives. We were a group of international filmmakers who had decided to expose explosive subject matter in a corrupt country. Everything that could go wrong, did – the Cambodian, Vietnamese and Chinese mafia were after us, our equipment was held up in the borders and we were extorted to get it back, we had over forty bodyguards with AK-47s guarding us on the set, we had to hide our film, we got stuck in remote rivers, and, finally, after the production team left, I was denied exit out of the country and basically held hostage for two weeks.

When I arrived in the airport to leave the country with a bag full of documentary tapes (for the second film), the officers stopped me and said “cannot” and gave me a warrant in Khmer with the names of the chief producers of the project in English. Since I was the only one there at that point, I realized that I was in danger and I couldn’t go back to the hotel I was staying in. I stayed in a different area in town under a fake name and after about five days, we found out that it was pure extortion. It took me another two weeks and a lot of money; had I not left, it would have become a diplomatic incident.

Q. Child prostitution is largely an undocumented issue. Was the problem larger than you imagined?
AE: Actually, I feel like when we started there wasn’t much awareness to the issue. It was ‘Dateline’ in 2005 that did the first big exposé, I think. And then they started with the series about sexual predators. I knew about the issue, but never ever imagined that it was so vast and so extreme. Three-year-olds? And not only in Asia — everywhere.

That is part of the problem of combating this epidemic – the lack of one geographical/racial/ethnic theme. For example, a brothel was just closed in Queens, NY,with ten-year-old girls.

Q. Tell us some of your favourite moments when filming Holly.
AE: My favorite moments when filming Holly had to do with casting locals for different roles, and especially finding the children that would play the street children in the film. I went to a number of different orphanages and auditioned little Cambodian children to see if they could handle the pressure of being on set, if they understood what we wanted from them, etc. I found a wonderful group of kids who are featured in the film, and an extraordinary boy that plays Holly’s street friend. It was sometimes very difficult because no “good” girl would play a prostitute in a film. We ended up finding real working girls for those scenes.

Also, Somaly Mam, the head of AFESIP (one of the largest organizations that treats these children) and the Somaly Mam Foundation is here in New York for our premier at the UN. After a number of years, hearing Khmer again really made me nostalgic. I loved touring around on a small motorcycle, walking around in the markets, eating exotic fruits.

Q. In your opinion, what is the main cause of human trafficking - aside from there being a great demand for it?
AE: I think that the demand is the key. If you reduce the demand, you’ll reduce the supply. I wouldn’t say poverty, because some of the poorest countries don’t have as much of a problem. It may have to do with a broken family structure/culture, usually as a result of war. But the most important thing to remember is that there wouldn’t be any child prostitution if there weren’t regular clients that look specifically for that, which is why it’s important to strengthen legislature and enforcement.

Q. The making of this film inspired the creation of an active humanitarian movement. Tell us about Redlight Children.
AE: The Redlight Children Campaign is a worldwide grassroots human rights initiative promoting awareness and practical action for reducing the number of children who are sexually exploited each year. The goal is to decrease the demand for child sexploitation by raising awareness through mass media, pressuring governments to enact, amend and enforce more effective legislation and creating a broad coalition of human rights organizations as well as academia and media to deal with the issue.

With an easily accessible website, readers will be able to read information/research about the subject, and send emails to their representatives about what they would like them to do. The emails/communications received are featured on the site for additional accountability and pressure.

Q. What do you think will be the future of human trafficking? What are the solutions being proposed by local and international authorities on the subject?
AE: The TIP (Trafficking in Persons) report that comes out every year ranks the different countries in terms of steps that are taken in enforcement, legislature, education and treatment. There is a strong push now for countries to be able to prosecute their nationals if they’ve found them participating in underage sex. It is already implemented by the US. I hope it will be implemented everywhere. We will be screening the film in DC to ambassadors of all countries, as well as senate and congress, and hope that this will push them in the right direction. If one knows that wherever they are in the world they will be held accountable under the laws of their own country, it makes a difference. Since some countries are still too corrupt to truly implement strong laws, this could definitely be a great step in the right direction.

Q. Given the fact that the issue is still extremely undercover in most countries around the world – especially in the West – what would you advise people to do to help fight child trafficking and sexual slavery in their own communities?
AE: It is not West versus East – this is very important to emphasize. Holly was shot in Cambodia, just like it could have been shot in London, Florida, Mexico, Israel or Croatia…
Go to http://www.redlightchildren.org/

In the coming week we will install an application that will allow you to send letters to your constituents and representatives demanding immediate action.

If you have a nonprofit, if you have a corporation, or are just as passionate as us about the issue – go to www.priorityfilms.com/join.php and see how we can arrange mutual screenings or other ways to spread the word. It is important to keep this film in the theaters, for a long time, so that it gets to the smaller cities, to the college towns and crosses over internationally.

Holly opens in theaters nationwide in the US on November 9. For tickets and more information visit www.priorityfilms.com

— Alonso Dominguez

I'm not a Russian Mail Order Bride!

Helena Khazanova

One would think I know all about Russian girls in New York because that is exactly what I am: a Russian girl living in this monster of a metropolis. People often ask where I am from. “Moscow,” I reply with certainty and without hesitation, despite fifteen years spent abroad. The look of surprise always registers in their face. “No accent, I know,” I feel compelled to finish the thought for them in order to avoid another obvious comment, a conversation that I can predict word for word. But it follows anyway, and the next question is why.

“Why are you here?” they ask, almost surprised, as if I am the only person not born on this island. They look on, eager to hear another heartbreaking story about bleak, cold weather, everlasting snows, and bread shortage, garnished with an intricate and hopefully slightly illegal crossing of the Atlantic. Black and white images of Ellis Island flash in their minds, and faces of harassed dirty immigrants contrasted by their own childhood that is suddenly basked in a warm glow reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting.

“Sorry,” I let them down. My story is not thickly wrapped in darkness and despair. Instead, it is disappointingly ordinary. “Well, my parents moved here because my father worked for an American company,” I begin my speech that I have told enough times that I no longer need to concentrate on what I am saying. “They live in the city and Southampton,” I continue. “I went to school in Rhode Island. No siblings,” I add for some reason. So far nothing too scandalous.

“So, your parents are here?” they ask, shocked at another proof that I am not, in fact, a prostitute in disguise. “Yes,” I say. Somehow they feel cheated out of their small victory.

It’s not offensive really. I guess I am just used to it. But no matter where I come from, today, in New York, I am only an observer. I watch in awe as this new breed of Russian girls dash wildly around Manhattan in four-inch stilettos as if they are still at a local collective farm, rounding up all eligible men like a herd of cattle. Yes, sometimes the ill-fated reputation is well-deserved. Permanent fixtures at every chic and expensive restaurant their faces look somewhat devoid of expression and can be compared to say, a genetically engineered peach. Good to look at, perfectly colored, firm and completely inedible. They sit on their well-chosen dates with silence hanging heavily off their forks and vacant smiles on their plump and glossed lips. But although they look blank, their minds are crunching numbers faster than any investment banker.

Unfortunately, to many in New York it seems highly unlikely and very suspicious that a girl from Russia could be just that: a person from a place with no baggage attached. Stereotypes run rampant; a model from a small town who was selling vegetables in the snow-covered market to survive; some beauty whose main goal is to marry a billionaire but who is still having trouble reading; a designer-clad girlfriend of a shady businessman with wads of cash stuffed in her purse.

Somehow lately the image of the Russian “girl” has undergone a very significant and swift transformation. First it was associated only with something Americans strangely like to refer to as babushka (which, in fact, does not mean a scarf or any other headpiece but a grandmother). This babushka is usually represented in their mind as a poor girl swathed in rags, slightly hungry and pale, looking wistfully at the brightly lit store window, too embarrassed to go in.

Then came the age of the mail-order bride: a girl who does not possess any command of the English language but is nice-looking, timid and compliant. This was an image that made a proud husband think himself a knight on a white horse and not some loser from the Midwest in a white Subaru.

But with the iron curtain swinging wildly in the wind of political change during the early nineties, the seemingly largest resource of the former Soviet Union spilled out into the world: women. They are literally everywhere. Mainly stationed in leading epicenters such as New York and London, they traverse the globe to the best beaches, ski slopes or just anywhere that starts with a “St”. They are beautiful, tall, ready and willing but behind the sugary facade they are tough and uncompromising.

They come from different corners of the enormous country empowered just by their ability to get out, something that was forbidden to their families for generations. Behind them is a dirty country road, remains of an old factory sticking out against the big sky as a skeleton of some prehistoric beast, bleached white concrete with weeds growing timidly in between the cracks and long forgotten objects that suggest an everlasting, destructive human presence: vodka bottles, condoms, candy wrappers. In these places, being beautiful does not really matter and does not have the capacity to change your life.

Russian girls want what everybody wants; a good life and they want it badly. I guess they just don’t go to the trouble of hiding it. True, there is a lack nuance in their approach as they are offensively shameless about it. A style quite opposite from their American counterparts who want it just as much, but pretend they do not by modestly feigning indifference (which, in their minds translates to good breeding) and then turn into domestic monsters the second they have a ring on their finger. Yet, a lingering and unwavering impression remains; complete and utter obsession with money.

Saying one is Russian in New York gives off a subtle whiff of negativity and indignity. However, isn’t it giving Russian girls too much credit in the originality contest? As if no one else ever wanted a diamond or two, as if obsession with money, especially someone else’s, has not been plaguing people since the beginning of time.

New York is a city that indeed does not get much sleep. Here our tastes are erratic and there is clearly an obsession with ‘the new’. Spoiled and neurotic, we are in constant search for the next best thing. And guess what? Russian girls are ‘in’. Modeling agencies are practically bursting with various Natashas, who are rapidly succeeding Brazilian bombshells and sprinting towards the finish line of lukewarm celebrity. Not too many men would object to having one on their arm either. But for some reason, insinuating that a Russian girl, no matter how pleasant or gracious, is most likely a whore in disguise has become “a thing to do”, almost like bashing France.

But like it or not, even when this trend is gone the Russian girls are here to stay. And in the city that is a graveyard of failed dreams they will most likely be successful in finding what they are looking for – be it money for some or a white picket fence for others.

Maybe at the end of the day, girls are pretty much the same. They could be from Minsk or Minnesota and want the same thing just wrapped in different packaging. And who is to say what the American Dream really is if not to get your own Prince Charming with all the right trimmings?

— Helena Khazanova

Alexander Kølpin

Alexander Kølpin

Alexander Kølpin is a Danish star of film, the stage, and the ballet. He danced with the Royal Danish Ballet, in Bournonville Ballets, and guest starred with several other ballet companies. While injury forced Kølpin into an early retirement from dance, his life still revolves around the art and he is currently the artistic director of the Copenhagen International Ballet. Here he tells ASW about his many passions and his next big project.

Q. How do you use ASW and what’s your favorite site feature?
Alexander Kølpin : I use it when I have to travel, especially for restaurants and hotels. I like the rating system and I mostly look at the individual comments.

Q. At what age did you know you wanted to dance?
AK: When I was 10. I came straight from a soccer match to see my sister do a ballet class. And I believe it moved me right away because all the things that I was interested in were represented in this one room; movement, music, physicality, grace and drama, all embodied in one vocabulary.

Q. What has been the greatest moment of your career thus far?
AK: Dancing ‘James,’ the lead in La Sylphide; first in Copenhagen and again later at the Sydney Opera House.

Q. Is dance in your blood?
AK: No, my mother is a designer for cloth, my father an architect.

Q. You’re in the Danish stage production of the Full Monty. Do you get your gear off?
AK: Not completely (Full Monty-style) but it was a great experience to be a stripper and do a ten minute solo strip to open the show.

Q. You performed in several Bournonville Ballets. For the ballet-ignorant among us, what is unique about Bournonville?
AK: That his ballets are always about people and the characters. It’s demanding in the technique, but first and foremost it is a portrait of personalities.

Q. What are you doing in the way of TV and film these days?
AK: I did a short film last year and am now shooting a documentary on my father-in-law, Peter Zobel (a retired business tycoon in the insurance industry).

Q. An injury forced you into early retirement from dance. How did you cope with that disappointment?
AK: I have been injured many times in my career – it is a part of being professional and working hard. I had to stop for a year, but recovered and left the Royal Danish Ballet to work with Maurice Bejart in Lausanne. After that I moved to New York and worked with Twyla Tharp. Then moved back to Denmark and stopped dancing.

Q. Tell us about your next big project?
AK: My documentary and planning next summer’s dance performances.

Q. What makes you happiest?
AK: To travel, eat, listen to music, the ocean, friends and my kids. And work when I am with cool people.

Q. Where is your favorite travel destination?
AK: Paris and Mallorca

Q. What is your favorite hotel?
AK: Plaza Athénée, Paris

Q. What is your favorite restaurant?
AK: Le Stresa (Paris), Oubaek (Copenhagen),

Q. What is your favorite museum or gallery?
AK: Moma (NY), Whitney (NY), Rodin (Paris)

Q. What is your favorite beach?
AK: Blacks Beach (La Jolla, California), 7 Mile Beach (Byron Bay, Australia), Hornbaek (Denmark)

Q. What is your favorite restaurant?
AK: Le Stresa (Paris), Oubaek (Copenhagen)

Q. What is your favorite museum or gallery?
AK: The MOMA in Paris

Q. What film has had the greatest effect on you? Why?
AK: Girl on the Bridge (touching and honest acting; great story about human relationships)

Q. What is your favorite ski resort?
AK: Verbier (Swizerland)

Q. What cause is closest to your heart? Why?
AK: Children in need, because they are vulnerable and bear no responsibility for what we are doing to the world around them.

Q. What’s one thing you would like to change about yourself?
AK: To be less self-aware and more patient.

Q. Which artist do you admire most?
AK: Whoa… Picasso or Igor Stravinsky. My favorite living artist has to be choreographer Jiri Kylian.

Q. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
AK: Not a good idea to share it.

Q. Who is your favorite historical figure?
AK: Not historical as such, but the Dalai Lama

Q. What upsets you the most?
AK: Stupid and lazy people who do not take action but expect respect without contributing.

Q. What is your favorite bar?
AK: Plaza Athénée (Paris)

Q. What gadget can’t you live without?
AK: My iPhone and my Mac.

Q. What are you most afraid of?
AK: Not being healthy and lose my loved ones.

Q. What’s your favorite drink?
AK: Beer

Q. What are your top 3 songs?
AK: 'Love Me or Leave Me’ by Nina Simone, ‘Adagietto,’ Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ sung by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

— Laura Jakobovits

Sanjay Rawal

Sanjay Rawal

Sanjay Rawal is a philanthropy junkie. He has led dozens of projects around the world and helped launch some of the most impressive relief campaigns to date. His previous work with the likes of Donna Karan and Wyclef Jean has quickly earned him a position as a go-to guy when it comes to humanitarian endeavors.

We sat down to talk shop with the man who likes going all the way – to support the right cause.

Q. How and when did you become a member of ASW?
Sanjay Rawal: Late last spring my ultra-connected friend, Octavio Domit, invited me after another member teased me for not having joined yet. I just hadn’t gotten around to it. I should have!

Q. How do you use ASW and what’s your favorite site feature?
SR: I have to hand it to ASW, just for giving hundreds of super-connected, super-creative people the chance and comfort to interact on a global scale. Since I joined in June, I have joined the board of an ASW member-led bottled water company, developed a few new philanthropic projects with ASWers and received immeasurable help and advice from a number of people. ASWers are definitely way more [socially] conscious than the average Joe and the opportunities to collaborate on a business and philanthropic level are staggering. Through ASW alone, I ended up helping a friend finish building a community centre for children in Mississippi who were affected by Hurricane Katrina!

Q. You sort of ‘stumbled’ upon directing a humanitarian program in Nepal, when the person in charge of the direction of the development arrived three weeks late. This seems like a good luck/bad luck type of situation that seems to have had a big influence on you. Can you tell us something about your first experience and how it developed?
SR: I was a bit confused trying to find a real career in New York City. I originally moved to the city for grad school in 1997, but was lured by the bright lights of Broadway, actually off-off-Broadway. I took a lead in a small production, which ended up touring Europe. I came back to do the career thing and joined an iBank in 1998.

Later that summer, a friend of mine who worked at UNICEF in NYC encouraged me to get involved as a volunteer with a project she was working on in Nepal. At the same time I was becoming disillusioned by Wall Street, quit my job, and basically began helping in minor ways to put together a peace initiative she was launching in Nepal. I was just trying to find something I really enjoyed, I guess.

As I got more involved, she suggested I go there with her. I got my ticket to Kathmandu, then found out she was going to be three weeks late for this program, for which we just had one month to launch!

But I went, had a wonderful time, felt purpose (finally) and never looked back. Basically we had lobbied the Nepali Government all fall to pass a peace resolution and went to Nepal to rally all the political parties around this resolution as a show of national solidarity for peace. We had a grand kick-off and even brought elephants to the lobby of a five star hotel for the event (they made such a mess!).

Sanjay Rawal and Angelique Kidjo

Q. After Nepal you led programs in Brazil, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysian Borneo, Brunei, Thailand, The Gambia, and elsewhere. Were all of these programs peace-related? Could you tell us about the nature of some of these programs and their impact on the community?
SR: After my experience in Nepal, I began to understand the simplicity of lobbying and working with governments as well as local non-profits to make a sustainable impact on communities – basically helping groups drive through red tape. I also learned that if one was willing to work for (nearly) nothing, there were endless job possibilities in this field!

After Nepal my next gig was in Brazil, set up by a friend of mine who paired me with Brazilian Olympic hero, Joaquim Cruz, to create an identical program to the one I did in Nepal. We helped to motivate the government to actively support peace through sports and helped give voice to hundreds of national-caliber athletes living at or below the poverty line. Surprisingly enough, it was successful and when I came back to New York I realized I could make a real career out of this and subsequently traveled to 35 countries over the next five years.

Most of the projects were, in fact, related to peace – developing a sense of local, national or international peace, through initiatives that encouraged sports (like the World Harmony Run), the arts, culture or government, and sometimes all four. The projects I worked on were varied but all helped to establish platforms for dialogue and lead parties to constructive resolutions.

I was at home in New York on 9/11. After those events, ‘peace’ became a bad word and I had to re-calibrate on a number of levels, so to speak. I became more focused on governmental relations and helping governments and non-profits communicate with each other and the public more effectively.

Q. Tell us about Wyclef Jean and the program you started with him to help Haiti.
SR: In 2004, Wyclef and I were sitting in his music studio in New York. Clef had just met Harry Belafonte who lauded him for his humanitarian activities but also told him he had a long way to go.

Clef hadn’t been back to Haiti since 1997 when the Fugees performed in Port-au-Prince – [band member] Pras wore a bullet-proof vest on stage! So, on a whim, we flew down to plan the largest concert in Haiti’s history – multi-million attendee concert set for December 2004 – as a demonstration of peace.

To make a long story short, the unrest in Haiti reached a boiling point that October and we were forced to scuttle our plans for the concert, but having realized the impact Wyclef could make in Haiti on a purely humanitarian level, we launched Yele Haiti to address key development issues in the area.

We wanted to start small, but the need was so great. In just two years, Yele became the best-known non-profit in Haiti. Down there we ran slum clean-up projects and gave scholarships. In the States we had meetings with World Bank President James Wolfensohn, State Department and intelligence officials, and had fundraisers with Angelina Jolie, Norah Jones, Drew Barrymore, Meryl Streep and others. It was a wild ride.

Wyclef Jean in Haiti

Q. After you quit managing Yele, what happened next?

SR: After about 16 months of working 80-hour weeks, I was totally burned out. I had an opportunity to spend three months in Malaysia on beaches, working part-time on projects with children orphaned by the 2004 tsunami. Yele was in a great place and I felt it was a good opportunity to move on.

When I returned in 2005, I joined a consulting company started by a couple of friends focused on development. This company took over Yele when I retired. We just merged this month with an advertising agency to become what I think is the premier agency for execution of cause-related marketing and non-profit work from the ground up. We are called The Vox. [Other principals include ASWers Roberto Ramos and Susan Jaramillo].

Q. You seem to have a close relationship with music foundations. Tell us about Batonga and Bambai Bling.
SR: Musicians and artists are some of the most creative people I know. When they are given the space and freedom to create sustainable development projects, the ideas they develop are absolutely genius. And of course, the energy they bring can break down many barriers.

We followed the model of Yele, which mixed music with development efforts – we had local hip-hop stars distributing rations in the poorest neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince – to create Batonga: an organization headed by African superstar and UNICEF Ambassador Angelique Kidjo, oriented to bring education to young girls in underdeveloped African nations.

Over the last few years, there has been a huge international push to put kids in Africa into primary school; however, most groups realized that there weren’t too many options for kids to continue school past the sixth grade – especially girls. With Batonga, we are giving girls in five countries such opportunities.

Similarly, last year a couple filmmaker friends of mine took rapper Paul Wall, Raekwon of the Wu Tang Clan and child-soldier-turned-author Ishmael Beah to Sierra Leone to explore the intersection of civil war, blood diamonds and bling. Their documentary Bling: A Planet Rock was a huge hit on VH1 and helped start a foundation we created for the children of Sierra Leone. Bambai Bling launched last June with the help of Jeff Skoll and Jennifer Connelly at an event widely attended by ASW members.

Q. You have worked with many interesting people. From General Khinh Nyunt in Myanmar to Donna Karan in New York. Who has inspired you the most?
SR: The one thing I learned in New York, if I have learned anything at all (!) is the need for inner peace. I think that if I didn’t meditate on a daily basis I would have gone totally nuts. I am pretty lucky to be close to Sri Chinmoy, a well-known meditation teacher and humanitarian who lives, of all places, in New York City. His philosophy is: “If you are not in the world, you can’t change it.” Very practical.

He also introduced me to a number of his close friends, like President Gorbachev, Susan Sarandon, Sting and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with whom I ended up working at one point.

Q. You are very fond of philanthropy, there’s no doubt about that. What is it that you find most attractive about your occupation? Where do you get your inspiration from?
SR: I don’t consider myself an expert by any means. I am constantly learning but I know that if I offer myself with at least a little bit of humility in the service of others, I sleep well at night! I really just value freedom, the ability to feel grateful and to feel a connection with other people. Philanthropy allows me to experience those emotions on a daily basis and get a little more satisfaction out of life. I am no Mother Teresa or anything but I do get inspiration when I see people who have a lot of love and don’t mind sharing it.

Q. What would you say to people to inspire them to make a positive change in the world?
SR: I think we are all pretty much seeking the same things at the end of the day and that everyone is making a positive change in the world whether they know it or not. The question is: How conscious are they of their importance in this world? I think each person is pretty special and when they realize this, they begin to feel more fulfilled by life. Of course when this happens, the world always changes for the better.

Q. What makes you happiest?
SR: Having an ice-cream sundae after running a marathon.

Children in West Africa

Q. Where is your favorite travel destination?
SR: Bali, hands down, barrel-seeking at Uluwatu.

Q. What is your greatest vice?
SR: Oversleeping. I’d sleep all day if I could.

Q. What are your top 5 hotels?
SR: Kempinski in Istanbul, Amanusa in Bali, Raffles in Phnom Penh, Andaman in Langkawi, Four Seasons in Chiang Mai. Yes I have spent a LOT of time in Southeast Asia

Q. What is your favorite restaurant?
SR: I am a vegetarian and it’s rare for me to find good-tasting vegetarian; however, Bagatelle in Oslo has an incredible vegetarian restaurant! Otherwise, in New York, my favorite meal is truffle pizza and onion rings at Five Points.

Q. What is your favorite beach?
SR: Because of the solitude and the waves, I’d have to say Nusa Dua, Bali.

Q. What film has had the greatest effect on you? Why?
SR: I loved Bling: A Planet Rock, Hotel Rwanda and The Killing Fields – not exactly popcorn and milk duds movies, but I like to learn something when I watch films.

Q. What is your favorite book?
SR: Fiction: The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Non-fiction: What is the What by Dave Eggers

Q. What is your favorite ski resort?
SR: I prefer surf to snow, but after spending a hot June week snowboarding on the glaciers of Norway, I’d have to say Stryn.

Q. What cause is closest to your heart? Why?
SR: Refugee assistance and disaster relief, due to the sheer inhumanity of their situation.

Q. What’s one thing you would like to change about yourself?
SR: I could use a lot more drive and focus sometimes. Sometimes I prefer a lazy beach day to a hard-work day. But maybe that’s not all that bad!

Q. Which artist do you admire most?
SR: Sri Chinmoy. His paintings really move me.

Q. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
SR: Tried to negotiate a cease-fire between rival gangs and militia in Haiti with Wyclef. It worked but not before bullets flew (and flew way too close to me for comfort).

Q. Who is your favorite historical figure?
SR: The Buddha. Why not? I am sure he was a totally nice guy.

Q. What upsets you the most?
SR: When friends don’t get back to me right away (you know who you are).

Q. What is your favorite bar?
SR: I am not a drinker, but I spent hours at the FCC in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. I also like watching the sunsets over Port-au-Prince in Haiti at the bar at the Hotel Montana.

Q. What gadget can’t you live without?
SR: My blackberry.

Q. What are you most afraid of?
SR: Being old and having any regrets over any missed opportunities.

Q. Were do you love to shop?
SR: Philosophy (Kuala Lumpur), Triple Five Soul (Soho), Hansen’s Surfshop (in Encinitas) and any Versace store, really. Oops, I forgot to add DKNY.

Q. What’s your favorite drink?
SR: Give me a fresh coconut under a palm tree and I am in heaven.

Q. What are your top 3 songs?
SR: ‘Five More Minutes’ by OAR, ‘F Stop Blues’ by Jack Johnson and ‘Prabhuji’ by Ravi Shankar

— Alonso Dominguez

Tara Agace

Tara Agace

Tara Agace’s jewelry can be seen adorning celebrities and all over the pages of women’s fashion magazines. But this hugely successful designer has even more strings to her bow – including acting and producing credits – as well as a burning desire to play a tough-girl part like Linda Hamilton’s in ‘The Terminator’.

Q. You attended the London Academy of Performing Arts. Was acting always your first passion?
Tara Agace: Acting, painting, singing, anything with an ‘ing’ that involved art.

Q. What drew you to Hollywood?
TA: A movie I worked on called The Big Empty.

Q. How did your jewelry business evolve from being a hobby to a global success?
TA: Vogue magazine borrowed a piece which landed on the neck of the beautiful Bridget Hall. Following that the magazine wrote a story on me, so thanks still to Vogue and my jewelry being to their liking.

Q. What makes your jewelry different to other jewelry labels?
TA: I trained learning the ancient hand-made jewelry technique with Ralph Goldstein from UCLA and studied at the Gemological Institute of America. I have had an obsession with collecting antique jewelry since I was nine years old. My designs have been influenced and inspired by the old techniques all along. I have a permanent collection of different handmade chains and everyday jewelry, along with a constant change of bespoke designs that are all made here in London now. After having lived in Los Angeles for ten years, I have now moved my workshop to London along with a new family of craftsmen.

Q. I read that Madonna was one of the first to buy one of your jewelry pieces. What other celebrities are wearing Tara Agace?
TA: Cher, Shakira, Dixie Chicks

Tara Agace Stack Rings

Q. To what extent do you think having a celebrity wear your label affects sales?
TA: I think we all have very individual taste but when there is so much to choose from, it becomes difficult to make a choice on what designer to buy. When a celebrity is wearing a piece it can have an incredible effect on sales. In a style conscious world people look towards them for fashion approval. Celebrities are walking endorsements, so admirers look to them to help them make that choice. A team of people – photographers, fashion directors, stylists, make-up artists etc – complete the picture.

Q. In terms of your jewelry, where to from here?
TA: I am very excited to be making some larger one-off pieces that have been taking some time and money to develop. I will tell you when they are finished including some home interior items.

Q. In terms of acting/producing, where to from here?
TA: That has been on the back burner since I started making jewelry; I have always had a fantasy to play a part, like Linda Hamilton from Terminator. Perhaps I will keep my ears to the ground for that and keep training for it in the mean time!

Q. What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the world of jewelry design at the moment?
TA: I think the most positive thing happening in the jewelry industry is that businesses are becoming more aware and ethically conscious about the sourcing of stones and materials.

Q. What makes you happiest?
TA: Turning the phones off, sitting in my studio at night, starting a new piece and playing around with all my tools and bits of metal shapes. And having some quality time with my friends.

Q. Where is your favorite travel destination?
TA: Mexico

Q. What is your greatest vice?
TA: Smoking

Q. What are your top 5 hotels?
TA: Cuixmala (Mexico), Hacienda de San Antonio (Mexico), The Ritz (Paris), The Chateau Marmont (LA), The Mercer (NYC)

Tara Agace Tear Drop Necklace

Q. What is your favorite restaurant?
TA: E&O in Notting Hill and Yauatcha in Soho, London, which has the most exquisitely presented desserts. They are almost too beautiful to eat.

Q. What is your favorite museum or gallery?
TA: Serpentine Gallery, Victoria & Albert, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum

Q. What is your favorite beach?
TA: A white sandy one with no one in sight. Cuixmala has one tucked away from the world in a protected bay.

Q. What film has had the greatest effect on you? Why?
TA: Blade Runner is one of many. I first watched it when I was 14 years old. It was moody, dark, had amazing costumes and characters. I lost myself in it. It gave me a perspective on time and how little we have of it. Sean Young’s character, even though she was a man-made machine, represented the same vulnerability as a human. I loved the tagline, “Man has made his match... now it’s his problem.”

Q. What is your favorite book?
TA: I just bought a beautiful inspirational book, The Maharaja’s Jewels, by Katherine Prior and John Adamson.

Q. What cause is closest to your heart? Why?
TA: Drop 4 Drop, an independent charity set up by the founders of Life Water. It acts as a vehicle for other drink companies to act responsibly on behalf of their consumers. It helps alleviate the world water crisis. This organization donates the same amount of water you buy to help the developing world’s sanitation programs, water pumps, in-home filtration systems, wells etc.

Q. What’s one thing you would like to change about yourself?
TA: I would like to stop being such a perfectionist.

Q. Which artist do you admire most?
TA: Bjork, who has children with Matthew Barney, an artist who I admire also. What a cool couple.

Q. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
TA:Racing vintage cars.

Q. Who is your favorite historical figure?
TA: Harriet Taylor Mill

Q. What upsets you the most?
TA: That I still smoke cigarettes.

Q. What is your favorite bar?
TA: Gold bar!

Q. What gadget can’t you live without?
TA: My Apple Power Book and all the tools I use to make jewelry; the polishing machine, hammers, files, drills etc.

Q. What are you most afraid of?
TA: Sharks – the human kind!

Q. Were do you love to shop?
TA: Antique markets. And every time I travel I always check out the local markets.

Q. What are your top 3 songs?
TA: ‘Living Darfur’ by Mattafix, ‘When I Get You Alone’ by Robin Thicke, ‘Don’t Explain’ by Nina Simone

— Laura Jakobovits

Erping Zhang

Erping Zhang

When Erping Zhang, Executive Director of the Association for Asian Research in New York, became a Chinese exile, he decided to devote his life to raising awareness of human rights violations in his mother country. Here he reveals to ASW his views on Communism, censorship and why, despite his grievances with the current regime, he still believes there’s a happy future for China.

Q. Tell us about why you were exiled from China.
Erping Zhang: I came to the USA on a student visa and remained here as a result of the massacre of pro-democracy students on Tiananmen Square in 1989. Virtually all the overseas Chinese students backed the pro-democracy student movement in China one way or another at that time and would face eminent risk on returning to China; thus President Bush issued an executive order to have these students stay in the US.
Since then I have been particularly mindful of human rights conditions in China and have spoken out publicly on a range of rights issues, including the rights of peaceful Falun Gong meditators, the victims of SARS and Internet control in China. For this, Beijing has put me on a blacklist; so since 1999, I have not been able to return to China. My family members there are also monitored and often visited by police and I cannot even phone them today.

Q. What would happen to you if you went back to China now?
EZ: Being on Beijing’s blacklist, I am unable to enter China now. Dr Jianli Yang and Dr Charles Li, both my alma mater from Harvard, were arrested while visiting China and given three years on account of their human rights efforts in the US. It is uncertain what would happen to me if I do manage to enter China, although a friend joked that if I return to Beijing now I will be likely locked up in a tiny cell with four tall walls before I even get to see the Great Wall. I frequently receive harassment phone calls including death threats. I hope that one day I will be able to return to China, free and without fear.

Q. How did you come to be a spokesperson for the Falun Gong?
EZ: This happened back in 1999 when Beijing reversed its seven-year endorsement of Falun Gong and began its campaign of persecution against this group. Many overseas Chinese began to organize themselves to defend the human rights of this meditation group, as we did back in 1989 in support of the pro-democracy students. Because I was one of the few Chinese students who majored in English (most Chinese students are overseas to study science and technology), I was asked by some students to serve as a volunteer spokesperson for Falun Gong (without pay of course) and help out with the press. I agreed to this and have since spent much of my spare time helping the cause over the years. For those who are unaware of this mind-body work, Falun Gong is a meditation rooted in ancient Chinese culture. Its principles are based on ‘Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance’ and it has five sets of graceful exercises. Persons who practice regularly find it brings them better health, reduced stress, inner peace and deepened morals. The practice began in China in 1992 and quickly spread by word-of- mouth throughout China and then beyond. Today, Falun Gong is practiced by tens of million people in more than 70 countries. For more info, please visit: www.falundafa.org

Q. What is your understanding/knowledge of the Chinese government’s treatment of Falun Gong practitioners?
EZ: The Chinese government initially touted the Falun Gong meditation for its health benefits and moral elements after its introduction in 1992. The government issued numerous proclamations and awards to the founder, Mr Li Hongzhi. An official from the China Sports Commission was quoted in the US news and world report as saying, “Falun Gong and other types of qi gong can save each person 1,000 yuan in annual medical fees. If 100 million people are practicing it, that’s 100 billion yuan saved per year in medical fees. Premier Zhu Rongji is very happy about that. The country could use the money right now.” However, then-Chinese Communist leader, Jiang Zemin, feared that the 100 million people from different walks of life who practiced Falun Gong would pose a political threat to the Communist Party because they outnumbered the membership of the Chinese Communist Party. He ordered the practice ‘eradicated,’ although the Washington Post later reported that this was done without the unanimous support of the standing committee of the Politburo.

Since the campaign of persecution was launched in July 1999, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been sent to labor camps, jail or mental institutions. According to Manfred Nowak, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel and degrading punishment, two thirds of those tortured in Chinese labor camps are Falun Gong practitioners. Millions of families are affected as those who refused to sign a denouncement paper would face losing jobs, homes, education and health benefits. According to rights groups, at least 3095 Falun Gong practitioners have died of torture in police custody. Recently, reports have been filed that organ harvesting is occurring from live Falun Gong practitioners held in Chinese labor camps. Mr David Kilgour, former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia Pacific, and Mr David Matas, a renowned rights lawyer, have conducted a series of investigations into the matter and have issued a report confirming that this inhumane practice is indeed occurring. Though the Associated Press reported that Chinese medical officials agreed with the World Medical Association on October 6, 2007, in Copenhagen, that they would not transplant organs from prisoners or others in custody, except into members of their immediate families, we still need to verify that such horrifying practice has stopped in reality.

Beijing’s effort to ‘eradicate’ Falun Gong has reached beyond its borders, as overseas Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters, many of non-Chinese origins, are also being intimidated and harassed by the Chinese government. They frequently receive electronic viruses via email and cannot secure a visa to visit China.

Q. You said in an ASW thread that you have rescued people from labor camps. How did you do this?
EZ: The biggest weakness and fear of the Chinese Communist dictatorship is public exposure of its crimes against humanity – this is why there is censorship in Communist China. Over the years we have been publicizing, through overseas press and major public occasions, a long list of those Falun Gong practitioners, outspoken intellectuals, as well as human rights activists who are imprisoned, harassed or tortured. Such public exposure and shaming of the regime for its rights abuses has helped a number of innocent people gain release from labor camps, jail or mental institutions. For security reasons I cannot name them here as some of them are still living in China now.

Q. How do you feel about Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympics?
EZ: Being a Chinese national, I am obviously happy that China has an opportunity to host this extraordinary human event, but I also would not wish to see the Games being used as a political tool by the Communist regime to build its legitimacy. I have published an article, “Improving Human Rights in a Neo-Communist State” (http://hrichina.org/pdf), in CHINA RIGHTS FORUM magazine, hoping that the international community will not pass up this 2008 Olympics opportunity to address human rights issues. I wrote that:

“Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, famously stated, ‘The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.’ Beijing, however, makes no pretense of a fair fight in its reported decision to ban 43 types of individuals and groups from taking part in the 2008 Olympics, including ‘hostile’ foreign media, members of underground churches, Falun Gong practitioners, pro-democracy activists, and other ‘undesirables’… Beijing’s support for the genocidal dictatorship of Sudan and Burma have led prominent figures, such as American actress Mia Farrow, to call for a boycott of the Beijing Games, just as some countries boycotted the 1936 Olympics in Berlin under Hitler. The International community should use the Olympics as an opportunity to impress upon China the need to demonstrate that it is worthy of this international honor by better acknowledging and fulfilling the international human rights norms and conventions to which it is party.”

History will not only remember what we do today, but also what we haven’t when we could.

Erping Zhang

Q. Clearly censorship is a fundamental issue in China and one that you openly speak out against. What part do you think the rest of the world can play in helping to remove restrictions on freedom of speech in China?
EZ: I have been speaking about censorship issues in China for years. In fact, I wrote about SARS and censorship for my graduation thesis at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and testified on the matter at a conference at the European Parliament and the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission at the US Senate. Beijing has appropriated $800 million dollars between 2000 and 2002 and additional $1 billion later to build up this ‘Golden Shield’ firewall system. Over 50,000 cyber cops are now monitoring and regulating the online information traffic with at least 700 control centers built throughout China. There are only three gateways currently between the Chinese Internet and world cyberspace, effectively turning the Chinese Internet into an intranet, through which all overseas communications are filtered and controlled. Mr Guo Liang of the China Academy of Social Sciences noted, “Mao Zedong said that to have power you need two things: the gun and the pen ... The Communist Party has the gun, but the Internet is now the pen. If they lose control of it, something will happen to challenge their authority.” Censorship will not only allow the Communist Party to feed the public with filtered and sometimes misinformation, but it will also enable the Communist Party to brainwash and control the public mind.

Sadly, over 300 foreign IT companies such as Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Cisco, Nortel, etc., have voluntarily signed the so-called ‘Self-Disciplinary Pledge’ to conduct self-censorship and help build this firewall system over business opportunities. Worse still, Yahoo has voluntarily provided personal emails of Mr Shi Tao to Beijing security authorities; as a result Mr Shi Tao is now serving a ten-year jail sentence for one of his emails that contained an ‘illegal’ political message. Many writers in China are sent to jail because of such ‘Internet crime’ – isn’t that horrifying?

In fact, we have members of ASW in China who are now censored and muzzled by Beijing cyber cops for their outspoken views on rights issues as they cannot post anything on ASW from China. I received one email from an ASWer in China who complained about being visited and warned by the Chinese secret police not to step “out of the line.”

The world can do much to change China, especially her Internet censorship. If foreign IT companies are not selling the technology and their conscience to Beijing, China’s Internet firewall system wouldn’t have been so sophisticated and strong. Those of us on ASW, especially those foreign business people who live in China, should use every opportunity to raise the matter to their Chinese counterparts – it is also in their best interest to be able to access overseas Internet after all. There is no justification whatsoever to censor websites such as wikipedia or BBC news in China. What sort of people would be afraid of open information, truth, and news anyway?

Q. What is your hope for the future of China?
EZ: I have many hopes for the future of China, all very promising and realistic. I would like to see China rid of the present Communist dictatorship first. I’d like to see China become an open, civil society governed by rule of law where all citizens can exercise their constitutional right to freedom of expression, association and conscience without fear. I’d like to see China revive her traditional cultural traits and share her ancient wisdom and knowledge with the rest of the world as a civilization of peace and humanity. Finally, I’d like to see all Chinese people enter the new age of human history with renewed hope for prosperity, happiness and freedom.

Q. You wrote a thesis on SARS and censorship in China. How detrimental do you think it was that China suppressed information on its SARS outbreak?
EZ: My research shows that Beijing first learned about the seriousness of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in November 2002 when China’s Vice Minister of Health paid a special visit to Guangzhou City to inspect the SARS situation. But due to political consideration for so-called ‘stability of society,’ Beijing decided to cover up the news about this dangerous epidemic. On April 20, 2003, the Beijing authorities officially acknowledged that SARS existed as a serious problem within China, more than one month after the World Health Organization had issued a global travel alert on this epidemic. By then, several hundred Chinese and foreigners had already died as victims of this deadly disease and SARS had already traveled overseas to Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada. Only when the international community was affected was Beijing forced to admit its own cover-up. Foreign trade and visits had also sharply decreased during this period of time. This unfortunate event demonstrates clearly how Beijing continually puts its political considerations above human lives. It also shows that if the rest of the world is truly committed to changing the behavior of this Communist regime, it can and has many means to achieve it. VOA reported on October 6, 2007, that Beijing has recently shut down some popular websites with information on the AIDS epidemic. UNAIDS and other organizations have estimated that by 2010 there could be a generalized epidemic with between ten and twenty million HIV positive Chinese. Hopefully, the world will react quickly this time to pressure Beijing to publicly discuss the danger of AIDS so as to save more potential victims.

Q. Which ASW features do you use most and why?
EZ: Since becoming a member of ASW, I have been thoroughly enjoying all features in ASW, including meeting some of the nicest people. ASW website is user-friendly as one can connect easily with people of similar interests and passion. It also offers members helpful information on topics such as travel, parties, shopping, etc. Now I am meeting fellow ASWers wherever I travel. Meanwhile, it is always an enlightening experience to engage in discussions with fellow ASWers on different issues, serious or casual. ASW has been a community of fellowship indeed.

Q. What makes you happiest?
EZ: There are many things that bring me happy moments. My greatest happiness is finding enlightenment through reading. Besides my full-time job studying Asian issues, I am translating Plato’s Timaeus and Critias into Chinese in my spare time. I enjoy reading classics and listening to opera and classical music, Western or Oriental. I am also a sports fan and a world traveler. I wish that I could play my saxophone better than my tennis, however.

Erping Zhang

Q. Who do you admire most?
EZ: Socrates, Lao Zi, Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, to name but a few.

Q. What upsets you the most?
EZ: Injustice and human rights violations in China and around the world sadden me the most because human beings should embrace one another in the spirit of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance and not harm each other over self-interest. It is sad to see inhumane political systems, such as Communism, still prevail in this day and age in places like China, North Korea,and Cuba. It concerns me greatly when some people would voluntarily collaborate with such regimes over some short-term interest.

Q. What are you most afraid of?
EZ: I am most afraid of the scenario that Communist China will rise up as the Fourth Reich in the future, as some Sinologists have predicted, given the similar growth pattern of Nazi Germany that China models itself after. But I personally refuse to think that this will happen and remain hopeful that the people of China and the international community will not allow this to occur before it is too late. The Chinese people deserve to live in an open and civil society where they can participate in all state affairs, and only a democratic and transparent China can contribute to peace, prosperity and humanity of the world.

If any ASW members have questions, please feel free to contact me: Erping@post.harvard.edu

— Staff