Tsai Lecture Series

The Tsai Lecture Series, established in 2000 with a generous endowment from Felix Tsai, allows the Asia Center to bring to Harvard notable leaders in academia, government, and business, as well as other professions. The annual lecture is open to the public, and it offers perspectives from a range of disciplines and different regions in Asia. Past speakers have included the late Surin Pitsuwan, former Secretary-General of ASEAN, Pritzker Prize-winning architect and humanitarian Shigeru Ban, internationally renowned human rights lawyer and advocate Asma Jahangir, the Honorable Caroline Kennedy, and the Honorable Kathleen Stephens. 2021 Nobel laureate Maria Ressa delivered the most recent Tsai Lecture in May 2022.

UPCOMING LECTURE

17th Tsai Lecture

17th Tsai Lecture
March 8, 2023, 4:15 p.m.
Journey of an Exile Tibetan Leader: From Harvard to Dharamsala
Lobsang Sangay, Former Sikyong (President), Central Tibetan Administration; Senior Visiting Fellow, East Asian Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School

PAST LECTURES

16th Tsai Lecture

16th Tsai Lecture
The Future of the Philippines in a Post-Duterte Era
Maria Ressa
CEO of Rappler, Journalist, Author, Freedom Advocate, and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

		15th Tsai Lecture The U.S. and Korea: Unfinished Story The Honorable Kathleen Stephens Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, 2008-2011; President and CEO, Korea Economics Institute of America (KEI)
		14th Tsai Lecture Reflections on My Time as Ambassador The Honorable Caroline Kennedy Attorney, Author/Editor; Former United States Ambassador to Japan (2013-2017); Former Vice Chairwoman, Fund for Public Schools

		13th Tsai Lecture China's Worldview Under Xi Jinping The Honorable Kevin Rudd President, Asia Society Policy Institute; former Prime Minister of Australia (2007-2010, 2013) and former Foreign Minister (2010-2012)

		12th Tsai Lecture *ASEAN@50: Past Accomplishments and Future Opportunities* Dr. Surin Pitsuwan Former Secretary-General, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations); Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand

		11th Tsai Lecture *Works and Humanitarian Activities* Shigeru Ban Shigeru Ban Architects, Tokyo, Japan; 2014 Winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize

		10th Tsai Lecture Pakistan: From Crisis to Crisis Asma Jahangir Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan; Partner, AGHS Law Associates; former President, Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan; former Chairperson, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

		9th Tsai Lecture Network Asia: Globalization and Regional Studies Professor Prasenjit Duara Raffles Professor of Humanities and Director, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

		8th Tsai Lecture The World Bank Group in Asia Dr. Jim Yong Kim President, The World Bank Group; former President, Dartmouth College

		7th Tsai Lecture Changing Tides: Re-Emergence of China and India on the Global Stage George Yeo Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore; Vice-Chairman, Kerry Group, Hong Kong; Visiting Scholar, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

		6th Tsai Lecture India's Growth Prospects: The Challenge of Realizing Potential Montek Singh Ahluwalia Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India; Previously first Director, Independent Evaluation Office, International Monetary Fund

		5th Tsai Lecture Between Conflict Prevention and Building Peace: Evaluating International Responses Dr. Sadako Ogata President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

		4th Tsai Lecture Sea of Poppies: The Literary and Archival Lineages of a Historical Novel Amitav Ghosh Author of Sea of Poppies, The Hungry Tide, The Glass Palace, The Shadow Lines, and In An Antique Land, among others

		3rd Tsai Lecture Asian Priorities for a New U.S. Administration J. Stapleton Roy Former Ambassador to Singapore, the People's Republic of China, and Indonesia, and Managing Director of Kissinger Associates, Inc.

		2nd Tsai Lecture Reflections on the Acehnese Peace Process Dr. Hafid Abbas Director for Research, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Republic of Indonesia, and Former Director General for Human Rights Protection, Republic of Indonesia

		1st Tsai Lecture Tianxia & Empire: External Chinese Perspectives Wang Gungwu Director of the East Asian Institute and Faculty Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore; Chairman of the Boards of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore; Emeritus Professor, the Australian National University, Canberra

Tsai Lecture Series

Harvard University's Asia-Related Resources