China Institute
Mr John Gittings
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Key information
Key information
- Roles
- China Institute Research Associate, SOAS China Institute
- Department
- China Institute
- Qualifications
- MA(OXON)
- Email address
- jg40@soas.ac.uk
Biography
John Gittings was foreign leader-writer and East Asia editor at The Guardian for many years, retiring in 2003, and covered major events in the area from the late 1970s onwards.
A graduate in Oriental Studies from Oxford University, he worked previously at Chatham House, the Universidad de Chile, the Far Eastern Economic Review (Hong Kong), the London School of Economics, and the Polytechnic of Central London (now University of Westminster). His first connection with SOAS was learning Chinese on an RAF course in 1957-58. He was Acting Editor of the China Quarterly in 1971-72.
His books include The Changing Face of China (2005), China Through the Sliding Door (1999), Real China (1996), Superpowers in Collision (with Noam Chomsky and Jonathan Steele (1982), The World and China (1974), and The Role of the Chinese Army (1966). In retirement he has worked on peace history, publishing The Glorious Art of Peace (OUP, 2012 & 2018).
His current research project is into China’s perception of existential risk, particularly in the areas of pandemic, climate change and nuclear weapons.
He lives in Oxford, having moved there in 2018 from Shipton-under- Wychwood where he had lived since 2004 with his late wife and constant partner, Aelfthryth. His other interests include Homeric epic and Chinese popular art.
Key publications
SCI Blog posts
- A Secure Anniversary in Hong Kong - 17 October 2024
- Art is Another Story in Hong Kong - 18 April 2024
- China's Perception of Existential Risk - 20 February 2024
- Who is Madame Song? - 22 August 2023
- China's nuclear red line: An opportunity for dialogue? - 04 April 2023
- Long Live the People: A Contested Slogan - 07 December 2022
- Hong Kong’s New Museums: Tradition and Challenge - 16 November 2022
- Words and Deeds: Chinese Policy on Ukraine - 26 April 2022
- Can Beijing stop the war? Calling out the Chinese contradiction - 08 March 2022
- Is there still a Middle Way? - 13 May 2021
- Could Tibet have reformed on its own? - 15 September 2020
- ‘The Ice is Three Feet Thick’: What the 1980s can reveal about the present condition of China at a time of crisis - 18 June 2020
Research interests
US-China-Soviet relations; popular art and politics; Chinese perception of peace.
