RUNDOWN:
12:00     Registration
12:30     Opening Remarks
12:35     Lunch
13:10     Presentation
13:20     Fireside Chat
13:40     Q&A
13:55     Closing Remarks
14:00     Book Signing
14:20     End

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Non-Member Ticket: HKD 680

Asia Society Hong Kong Center is proud to present a dialogue between Kishore Mahbubani, distinguished diplomat, academic, and prolific author, and Ronnie C. Chan, Chairman of Asia Society Hong Kong Center, about Professor Mahbubani’s newest book Living the Asian Century: An Undiplomatic Memoir.

Prof. Mahbubani’s rise from humble beginnings to the heights of Singapore’s Foreign Ministry parallels Singapore’s and Asia’s ascendance. How was Prof. Mahbubani able to achieve such success, and what can we learn from his journey?  What does he make of Singapore’s growth and accomplishments, and how will Singapore’s role in the global order change in the face of geopolitical headwinds? What does the Asian century mean to Prof. Mahbubani, for Singapore, and for the world? Join ASHK to learn from Prof. Mahbubani’s remarkable journey and unique insights.

Kishore Mahbubani has dedicated five decades of his life to public service, for which he was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) by the Singapore Government in 1998. In his 33 years as a Singapore diplomat, Kishore took on many challenging assignments, serving for example in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 1973-74 during the Cambodian Civil War. He also served two stints as Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN (1984-1989 and 1998-2004) and held the position of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1998.

Kishore had an equally illustrious career in academia. He was appointed the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in August 2004. Despite his heavy administrative duties, Kishore proved to be a prolific author and has published ten books. His ninth book, The Asian 21st Century, is an open access volume which has been downloaded over 3.5 million times. Kishore is currently a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Centre on Contemporary China and the World (CCCW) at the University of Hong Kong and Distinguished Fellow of the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. His latest book, a memoir titled Living the Asian Century, will be released in August 2024. 

Kishore has been listed among the world’s top 100 public intellectuals by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines and among the Top 50 individuals who would shape the debate on the future of capitalism by the Financial Times. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in October 2019. More information can be found on http://www.mahbubani.net.

Ronnie C. Chan is the Honorary Chair of Hang Lung Group Limited and its subsidiary Hang Lung Properties Limited, both publicly listed in Hong Kong. Hang Lung expanded into mainland China in 1992, developing, owning and managing world-class commercial complexes in key tier one and tier two cities. In 1986, Mr. Chan co-founded Morningside, a diversified investment group engaged in private equity and venture capital investments in North America, Asia, and Europe. He founded and chairs the China Heritage Fund, and is a cofounding Director of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation in Beijing. Mr. Chan is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Chair Emeritus of the Asia Society and Chairman of its Hong Kong Center, and Co-Founder and Chairman of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society. He serves or has served on the governing or advisory bodies of several think tanks and universities, including: Peterson Institute for International Economics, World Economic Forum, East-West Center, Pacific Council on International Policy, Eisenhower Fellowships, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, University of Southern California, Indian School of Business, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Yale University, Tsinghua University, and Fudan University.

About Living the Asian Century:

In this stirring memoir, a preeminent politician and diplomat traces the transformation of the Republic of Singapore from a poor colony into an Asian powerhouse.

Growing up in poverty in the 1950s, Kishore Mahbubani expected to become a common textile salesman after finishing high school. Instead, a government scholarship sent him to the University of Singapore, and four years later he found himself in the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, almost none of Mahbubani’s cousins, scattered around the world after India’s brutal partition, from Guyana to Hong Kong, would complete university.

During this same period, Singapore itself was undergoing a metamorphosis. Granted internal self-governance in 1959 and achieving full independence six years later, the country came of age alongside Mahbubani. And as his star rose, so did the nation’s.

 In Living the Asian Century, Mahbubani vividly chronicles his own life going from a poor childhood in a multiethnic neighborhood to an illustrious diplomatic career that led him far from Singapore, from Cambodia to Australia, Malaysia to the United States and the UN—including the pinnacle of influence, the Security Council.

Along the way Mahbubani has become one of Asia’s most widely known commentators and spokespeople, with a unique perspective that straddles India, China, and the West.

Buy a copy of Living the Asian Century from our store.

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not reflect the opinion, position or official policy of Asia Society Hong Kong, its members, or its committees. Asia Society Hong Kong does not endorse or approve and assumes no responsibility for the content of the information presented.