Peter T.C. Chang

Peter T.C. Chang

Deputy Director, Institute of China Studies, University of Malaya

Dr Peter T. C. Chang is the deputy director of the Institute of China Studies, University of Malaya. Trained in comparative philosophy, he is currently researching China’s rise from the perspective of the Chinese soft power’s impact upon Malaysia and the wider world.

Wang Gungwu and Malaysia (2021). (Photo provided by Peter Chang)

Wang Gungwu and Malaysia: Building an intellectual bridge to China

Tracing the evolution of China’s development, Malaysian academic Peter T.C. Chang pays tribute to historian Wang Gungwu and his contributions to the study of Chinese overseas. Wang continues to play a major role in the field as a member of a pioneering class of bridge-building scholars who are adept at explaining China to the world, and the world to China. This is an edited version of the book chapter “A Pioneering Class of Bridge-Building Junzi” from the book Wang Gungwu and Malaysia (2021) published by the University of Malaya Press.
Abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion protesters demonstrate in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on 1 December 2021. (Jim Watson/AFP)

Rise of Christian nationalism and its threat to US-China rivalry

A year on from the US Capitol attacks, Peter T.C. Chang reflects that the siege may have been the moment where America turned from championing “end of history” universalism to succumbing to “clash of civilisations" sectarianism. Worryingly, the rise of Christian nationalism could plunge America into internal turmoil and drag tense US-China geopolitical rivalry into uncharted waters.
Ethnic Uighur demonstrators take part in a protest against China, in Istanbul, Turkey, 1 October 2021. (Dilara Senkaya/Reuters)

The Xinjiang problem: Can Washington be the defender of all?

Amid revived calls for countries to boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing over Xinjiang, academic Peter Chang reflects that the Xinjiang issue has drawn the attention of the West, Muslim populations and others around the world. But the issue, while important, has been further politicised in the wider US-China contest. Moral grandstanding by the West when confronting China does not help the situation either. How much collateral damage will there be in this strategic game?
A woman gets a shot of Sinovac coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at home, administered by a healthcare worker in Sabak Bernam, Malaysia, 1 July 2021. (Lim Huey Teng/Reuters)

China has conducted an enthusiastic vaccine outreach in Malaysia. Can the US buck up?

While the Pfizer shot is the vaccine of choice in Malaysia and anchors the national immunisation programme, China’s Sinovac vaccine is readily available. Though perceived to be of lower efficacy, China's vaccine remains crucial in curbing the global spread of Covid-19, especially in poorer countries. Malaysian academic Peter Chang examines how American and Chinese vaccines have been distributed and administered in Malaysia and around the world, and looks forward to greater involvement from the US.
The flags of China, the United States and Chinese Communist Party are displayed in a flag stall at the Yiwu Wholesale Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, China, 10 May 2019. (Aly Song/File Photo/Reuters)

Chinese dissidents and their role amid worsening China-US relations

US-China relations are strained enough, especially with China and the US standing on opposite ends of the spectrum — America’s unbridled liberty driving it to anarchy and China backsliding into an increasingly autocratic state. Chinese dissidents in the US walking into the embrace of the American far right only makes things worse.
US President Donald Trump turns away and departs as reporters try to ask questions after the president made an announcement about US trade relations with China and Hong Kong in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, US, on 29 May 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

A divided America is losing its footing in the Cold War with China

Dr Peter Chang says the US is fighting a Cold War with China as well as a culture war with itself, marked by deep polarisation and vindictiveness. Some US media seem less vigilant about telling China's side of the story, fuelling a narrative that reinforces a fear of China. Chang opines that this disturbing silence could make American journalism complicit in worsening the domestic and global situation. While the US battles to maintain global dominance, he feels it is best that smaller countries and powers stay centred to help the world achieve its much-needed balance.
The East and the West have divergent reactions to the topic of state surveillance. In this photo taken on 15 January 2020, surveillance cameras are seen at Lujiazui financial district of Pudong, Shanghai. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Humanity needs to face the digital age as one family, not disparate warring tribes

Peter Chang says that as China spreads its wings across the world through digital networks and far-reaching projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, it is becoming ever more integrated with the global system. Like it or not, incumbent leaders such as the US would need to accept it into the fold, for the good of the world.