Wu Guo

Wu Guo

Associate Professor of History and Coordinator of the Chinese Studies Programme, Allegheny College

WU Guo is Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Chinese Studies programme at Allegheny College, US. He holds a PhD in history from the State University of New York at Albany in the US and has been a visiting research fellow at institutions such as the Center for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Fudan University, the Academia Sinica (Taipei), and Southwest University in Chongqing, China. He is the author of four English-language monographs, over twenty English-language research articles and book reviews, and over thirty Chinese-language articles, book reviews, and essays.

People participate in the 2023 NYC Pride March in Manhattan, New York, on 25 June 2023. (David Dee/Reuters)

Why first-gen Chinese immigrants in the US detest white progressive ideals

Issues such as gender diversity and environmental protection seem to be too abstract for first-generation Chinese immigrants in the US, who see these problems as having no impact on day-to-day life. US academic Wu Guo mulls over the reasons why this group of new immigrants, for all their desires to be part of the American education system, is a staunch detractor of progressive ideals that are part and parcel of the system itself.
Men gather at a labour market in Beijing on 15 August 2023, where people are hired for temporary jobs at factories and construction sites. (Pedro Pardo/AFP)

China’s information wall is distorting people’s worldviews

US-based academic Wu Guo visited his friends and relatives in China after the lifting of Covid restrictions. Based on his observations and interactions, he shares his worries that most Chinese only have one single source of information, and live in a world of simplified Chinese characters, which could result in them developing a distorted and illusory view of the world. 
A woman wearing a protective face mask walks by a graffiti painted wall in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York City, US, 11 May 2023. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Vast difference in expectations of local governments in the US and in China

Wu Guo notes that local governments in the US are rarely intrusive in the lives of residents, often getting involved only in matters of taxation, public environment and public health. But corruption and dereliction of duty does exist too, and Chinese immigrants may miss that if they do not cast off their utopian blinkers.
People make their way around Times Square amid smoke from Canada wildfires on 7 June 2023 in New York City. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images/AFP)

Shedding the passive image: Ethnic Chinese need to step up in US society

Asians are generally known to be humble, tend to keep a low profile, and not strive for leadership positions. However, US academic Wu Guo argues that perhaps it is time for ethnic Chinese to take a leaf from white Americans’ book and learn to be confident enough to step up.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis greets attendees and signs books after his remarks as he makes his first trip to the early voting state of Iowa for a book tour stop at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, US, 10 March 2023. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

The US is seeing a right-wing resurgence

Political rising star and possible candidate for future US president Ron DeSantis has set off a public debate on racism and its place in the American education system. But beneath the public backlash lies the perennial tussle between the conservative right and progressive left. While the US’s polarised state is a given, is the US society shifting further towards the right?
A "For Sale" sign displayed in front of a home on 22 February 2023 in Miami, Florida, US. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)

Woe to Chinese property buyers in the US: China-US tensions trickling to grassroots

US academic Wu Guo reasons that the recent furore ignited by a draft Texas bill proposing to restrict Chinese buyers from buying property shows that US-China mistrust and jousting has seeped into local communities.
Two women and their babies pose for photographs in front of the giant portrait of late Chinese chairman Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China, 2 November 2015. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo/Reuters)

From Mao ideals to the American dream: What China's 'sent down youths' sacrificed to chase a better tomorrow

The post-50s Chinese generation of intellectuals who were heavily influenced by Mao had the practice of leaving their children behind as they single-mindedly sought to achieve success abroad. US academic Wu Guo remarks that this generation of people who had been sent down to the rural areas, travelled abroad, and finally gained a foothold and settled down in the US, have always been motivated by a religious zeal for chasing a dream.
Elderly eat in a community canteen in Changbai county, Jilin province, China, on 17 November 2022. (CNS)

Not everything has to be run by the state: Thoughts on communal canteens in China

US academic Wu Guo looks at the recent online furore over the mushrooming of state-run communal canteens in China and offers his views from the US. While providing food for the needy should be part of the state's responsibility, there should also be space for civil society, private enterprises and the public to play a role to create kind and healthy communities.
Students walk on a street during sunset hours in New Taipei City, Taiwan, 14 July 2022. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

Taiwan's language programme imparting 'Taiwanese national identity' to US students

Amid the repeated lockdowns due to Covid-19 outbreaks in mainland China, Taiwan has opened its doors to American students learning the Chinese language. However, US academic Wu Guo noticed that the language curriculum for foreign students in Taiwan includes electives on learning about Taiwan's “national identity”. Could this be Taiwan’s way of furthering its political agenda?