Abstract

Two student leaders and activists will discuss the new era of Hong Kong's democracy movement with prospects for the future of Hong Kong after 2047.

Speaker Bios 

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Nathan Kwun-chung Law, 22, Is a well-known student leader and organizer in Hong Kong. He is Secretary General of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, having been a Standing Committee member from 2014-15. He participated in the only negotiation session with the Hong Kong SAR government during the Umbrella Movement.

This event is sponsored by the Taiwan Democracy Project in the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. It is free and open to the public. 

Video of event

Post-event interview with Joshua Wong and Nathan Law

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Avni Jethwa, Reliance Life Sciences, "Biosimilars in the U.S.:  Regulatory & Technological Challenges for Manufacturers"

In March 2015, the first biosimilar product was approved in the U.S. as per the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCI Act) of 2009, section 351(k) biologics license application (BLA).  Five years after the enactment of the BPCI Act and following its first biosimilar approval, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) finalized its initial guidance describing the scientific and regulatory expectations for biosimilar approval under the 351 (k) pathway.  Biologic manufacturers are provided with regulatory guidance in the form of scientific considerations, quality considerations and questions & answers regarding the implementation of the BPCI Act.  With this new regulation, many BLA applications are under review by the U.S. FDA.

In her research, Jethwa has focused on barriers for biologics manufacturers in order to enter the highly regulated U.S. market.  Her research identifies regulatory and technological challenges such as scientific issues, bioequivalence or interchangeability, quality consideration, innovator patents & strategies, healthcare spending and market potential.

Aki Takahashi, Nissoken, "A Study of Innovation Focusing on the Restructuring of Family Businesses for Longevity"

According to the National Tax Bureau in Japan, there were over three million Japanese family businesses in 2013.  Additionally, companies in Japan are more sustainable than companies in the U.S.  However, U.S. companies continue to find ways to be innovative.  In her research, Takahashi attempts to answer the following questions – What is needed for sustainable management in the case of U.S-family businesses? and How have U.S. family businesses overcome external circumstances to become successful?  Takahashi took over her family’s driving school business from her father in 2009.  Based on her experiences owning a family business in Japan, she explored the successes and failures of family-owned businesses and how innovation of family business can sustain longevity in the U.S.  Takahashi believes the conditions of management in Japan are rapidly changing, making companies unable to keep up with effective management.  As a result, Takahashi offers suggestions to Japanese family businesses to help improve sustainable management in Japan.

Hideaki Tamori, The Asahi Shimbun, "A Study of News Notification for Multi-Devices"

The IT industry is producing many new types of internet-connected devices for consumers, including wearable devices, such as glasses and watches.  Such devices may be more convenient than traditional devices because they are small and wearable and thus, literally always at hand.  Every day, we receive many notifications on these devices making them very important connecting points for the media.  Publishers prefer to distribute short texts for notifications, but this is not easily done.  Because there are so many different types of devices available and no unified screen size, publishers cannot decide on the best format and length for these notifications.  In his research, Tamori discusses suitable formats for notifications on small devices.  By using a natural language processing method for automatic text summarization, Tamori developed an application that produces various formats of notifications for news depending on the display size.  He also evaluated which form is best for small devices.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Wataru Fukuda, Shizuoka Prefectural Government, "Software Solutions of Tourism Promotion"

In his research, Fukuda investigates the possibilities of expanding the inbound tourism market in Japan, especially in the Shizuoka prefecture, a local area of Japan.  He provides an overview of the online travel industry and how they are expanding their market with new technologies and innovations.  After reviewing how software services for international travelers is currently being used in Japan, he focuses on specific applications with the highest potential to make Shizuoka more accessible and attractive for international travelers.  Additionally, he reviews regulations and obstacles that could prevent these new technologies and innovations from being implemented.  As a result, Fukuda suggests that the suppliers of local tourism provide their services with a holistic utilization of the applications.

Catherine Huang, Beijing Shanghe Shiji Investment Company, "How the U.S. Capital Market Helps Enterprises Grow From the Infant State to Mature Businesses"

China is slowing down its pace for development, facing the so-called “middle income trap”.  While the attention to the macroeconomic picture is necessary, it is not sufficient.  Extraordinary monetary policies buy time, but they do not solve the fundamental problem.  The focus needs to be on the structural reforms – the microeconomic entities, to which the capital market acts like a lifeline, will drive future growth.  The productivity, competition and innovation in all sectors – all of which are largely fueled by an efficient, healthy and accessible capital market – ensure a productive supply-side growth.  In her research, Huang explores the culture, participants and regulatory system of the U.S. capital market and tries to figure out what China’s capital market development can learn from this system.

Yuichiro Muramatsu, Mitsubishi Electric, "Manufacturing Industry with Big Data Analysis on IoT"

The Internet of Things (IoT) is major technology that connects devices and cloud service.  Cloud service computes device data and returns meaningful results for abnormal detection, performance improvement and prediction.  One key component of IoT is big data analysis.  Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s 2015 Whitepaper states that innovation in the manufacturing industry by using IoT and big data analysis is about to launch, but few cases exist in Japan.  Innovative companies like Netflix, Uber and AirBnB are data driven companies and the manufacturing industry is also expected to have smart factories with big data analysis.  In his research, Muramatsu investigates the use of big data analysis on IoT and identifies useful cases of business efficiency and the methodology that supports big data analysis.

Fred Yang, MissionCare, "Private Hospitals in Taiwan and the Implications"

In most East Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, private hospitals are the majority in the market.  In China, even though private hospitals have been in fast growth for the past 10 years, their size remains small and the market is still dominated by large public hospitals.  In the most recent move of healthcare reform in China, the government emphasized and encouraged the entry of private-non-profit hospitals into the market. 

In the National Health Insurance Administration’s (NHIA) Open Information System, a set of quality indicators is computed based on hospitals’ reimbursement data.  A committee comprised of representatives from government, academia and hospitals select these indicators and the data is published to the general public on a quarterly basis. 

By using statistical tools such as descriptive analysis, univariate analysis, and multivariable analysis, Yang focused on the comparison of hospital performance by ownership in Taiwan.  The results revealed limited differences among three types of hospitals by ownership, which is consistent with findings of most studies.  Based on his findings, Yang provides policy implications to the market and policy makers that include 1) hospital ownership might not be a key determinant of a hospital’s quality and 2) the real challenge to the government may be creating an environment where hospitals are committee to improve the quality of care.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

An Ma, PetroChina, "How CNPC can learn from the Silicon Valley Innovation Model"

The Silicon Valley forms a series of efficient innovation models, gives birth to a large number of world class high-tech companies, and greatly influences science and technology innovation for the U.S. and the world.  The policy mechanism, venture capital investment, multicultural society, talent aggregation, supporting services and government backing are all factors in the development of the Silicon Valley.  In his research, Ma investigated the development process of the Silicon Valley and analyzed two energy-related companies — Tesla and The First Solar — to understand the Silicon Valley innovation model.  Based on his analysis of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) business development and innovation task, Ma offers some suggestions on how CNPC can learn from the Silicon Valley innovation model in science and technology development.

Huaxiang Ma, Peking University, "Entrepreneurship Education in the Era of Globalization"

With entrepreneurship becoming a key driver of today’s economy, entrepreneurship education around the world has developed quickly in the past few decades.  China, as a new rising power, also pays more attention to the development of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education.  Ma’s research goes through the history of entrepreneurship education in both the U.S. and China and analyzes various reasons behind the prosperity.  Additionally, Ma discusses the pioneers of U.S. universities in this field such as Babson, Harvard and Stanford, conducting a comparative study between the U.S. and China.  In his research, he tries to uncover existing problems and suggests possible solutions for the development of entrepreneurship education in China focusing on how Peking University can support his ideas. 

Ryo Washizaki, Japan Patent Office, "How to Increase the Probability of Innovation Through Comparison of the US and Japan While Paying Attention to Start-up Companies"

Every year, large Japanese firms receive high rankings of the international application number and patented number of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  Patents have a relationship with its business, but activities of start-up companies are not easy to see in such kind of rankings.  On the other hand, the World Economic Forum recognizes some start-up companies as “Technology Pioneers”, and the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Japan has awarded Japanese start-up companies “Japan Venture Awards”.  Although those winning companies would have better possibility for success in business, their innovation ecosystem is different.  In his research, Washizaki illustrates the comparison of those Japanese and U.S. start-up companies’ growth, especially from a viewpoint of patents.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Satoshi Koyanagi, Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, Japan, "Effectiveness of the Silicon Valley Ecosystem in the Clean-Tech Sector"

The energy sector in the Japanese government faces two big problems.  The first is how to achieve the basic principle for the power supply-demand structure – by introducing renewable energy and optimizing energy consumption, this would lower dependency on nuclear power generation.  The second problem is how to tackle climate change.  The key factor in overcoming both of these problems is the innovation in the clean-tech sector while maintaining international competitiveness and quality of life.  In his research, Koyanagi investigates the features of venture capital investments, the features of start-ups in the clean-tech sector and current public support of clean-tech start-ups.  He tries to answer the question of “Does the Silicon Valley Ecosystem Work Effectively in the Clean-Tech Sector?”  From his research findings, Koyanagi makes some recommendations for the Japanese government to promote innovation in the clean-tech sector.

Tsuneo Sasai, The Asahi Shimbun, "Fostering Entrepreneurship in Japan:  A Look at the Personal History of Japanese Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley"

In Japan, the electronic industry has been on the decline for the past 10 years and the automotive industry is facing many new challenges.  In order to maintain and develop its scale of economy, Japan needs to increase its number of entrepreneurs who can revitalizes the economy and make innovation happen both inside and outside of Japanese companies.

There is, however, a growing trend of highly motivated young people in Japan interested in start-ups and some have immersed themselves in the Silicon Valley to seek greater business opportunities.  Based on his interviews with them, Sasai believes their personal history, including their childhood and what steps they took to create their own start-ups in Silicon Valley, can help explain their entrepreneurial aspirations.  In his presentation, Sasai shows how this knowledge can provide useful insights to help Japan develop more entrepreneurs.

Mariko Takeuchi, Sumitomo Corporation, "What is 'Fintech" and what is its Outlook for Japan?"

Financial technology or “Fintech” is a term that, in the last couple of years, has been used often and widely.  Most people understand this technology is related to the financial market.  However, because the Fintech market is huge, it is difficult to understand exactly what it is and what it can provide to us.  Additionally, the wave of Fintech is coming to Japan with several Fintech start-ups emerging recently.  In her research, Takeuchi studied the activities of both the U.S. and Japanese governments and traditional financial institutions and how they relate to Fintech.  Based on her findings, Takeuchi divides Fintech into twelve categories and shows that the category map between Japanese and U.S. Fintech market is slightly different.  In her presentation, she explains the reasons for the difference from the regulations stand-point and provides some insight for the future of Japanese Fintech.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Yuta Aikawa, Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, Japan, "A Study About a Government Policy to Develop Defense Industry"

In April 2014, under consideration of the recent situation of international cooperation and developing defense equipment in the world, the government of Japan decided on the “Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology”.  Additionally, the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency was newly established in the Ministry of Defense (MOD) in October 2015, consolidating and reorganizing acquisition-related organization in the MOD to address the new age and duties.  These recent changes could have a big impact on the defense industry in Japan.  In his research, Aikawa tries to figure out how to develop the defense industry by looking at the situation in South Korea, whose government recently developed to export defense equipment to other countries.  Aikawa uses this example to illustrate implications for the government of Japan on the future of the defense industry.

Tsuzuri Sakamaki, MInistry of Finance, Japan, "What Impact Would the Ongoing Basel III Implementation Procedure Have on Banks' Value Creation and Risk Management?"

Basel III has been developed in response to the financial crisis that started in 2007 and reached one of its many peaks with the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in September 2008.  The aim of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) implementing Basel III is to make the banking system more resilient to market stress, but this new regulation inevitably limits the ability of banks to take deposits and lend money to the real economy.  Banks are also under constant pressure from their own shareholders who are providing them with equity capital to maximize the usage of the capital in order to achieve high returns for them.  With all these regulatory policy intensions and market economic constraints taken into account, Sakamaki has researched into whether the Basel III would indeed lead to increased stability of the banking system, or what possibly unintended negative consequences could develop in its implementation process.

Ravishankar Shivani, Reliance Life Sciences, "Pharmaceutical Process Validation — A Science and Risk-Based Approach to Evaluate Impact of Changes on Regulatory Filings"

Regional differences in regulatory oversight of post-approval changes exists in the ICH regions and there is an urgent need for clarification of current expectations and how best to optimize the use of relevant regulatory tools in place in the different regions.  The key aspects considered are 1) inclusion of risk-based regulatory commitment approach to enable post-approval changes and continual improvement,  2) establishing criteria for an harmonized risk-based change management system, and 3) introducing the concept of post-approval change management plan for regulatory overview. 

Shivani has researched the possibilities of changes to the attributes of a product over the life cycle that are necessary to maintain product quality and efficacy.  His research identifies the methodology for inclusion of the proposed changes during the development phase as commitments in dossiers to facilitate regulatory assessment. 

The United States has transformed its relationships across the Asia-Pacific region under President Obama’s “rebalance” policy.  America’s top diplomat for the region will speak about the strategy the administration has pursued and what lies ahead.

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Prior to joining the NSC in January of 2009, he served as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs and had assignments as U.S. Consul General in Osaka-Kobe, Japan (2005-2008); Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands (2002-2005); Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus (1999-2002); Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering (1997-99); Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1995-96); Political Section Unit Chief at U.S. Embassy Seoul, Republic of Korea (1992-95); Political Advisor to the Permanent Representative to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Pickering (1989-92); Vice Consul in Osaka and Branch Office Manager in Nagoya, Japan (1987-89); and Assistant to the Ambassador to Japan, former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (1985-87).

In 1996, Mr. Russel was awarded the State Department's Una Chapman Cox Fellowship sabbatical and authored America’s Place in the World, (Georgetown University Press). Before joining the Foreign Service, he was manager for an international firm in New York City.

Mr. Russel was educated at Sarah Lawrence College, University College, UK and University of London, UK.

Sponsored by the U.S.-Asia Security Iniatitive 

Abstract

Speaker Bio

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Nancy Okail is the Executive Director of The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP). She brings more than 15 years of experience promoting democracy and development in the Middle East and North Africa region to this role. Prior to joining TIMEP, Dr. Okail was the director of Freedom House’s Egypt program. She has also worked with the Egyptian government as a senior evaluation officer of foreign aid and has managed programs for Egyptian pro-democracy organizations that challenged the Mubarak regime. She was also one of the defendants convicted in the widely publicized case of 43 non-governmental organization employees charged with using foreign funds to foment unrest in Egypt. She was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison, and, as a result, has spent the last four years in exile. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex in the U.K. where her dissertation examined the power relations of foreign aid.

Please note: All research in progress seminars are off-the-record. Any information about methodology and/or results are embargoed until publication.

Abstract:

The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented expansion of investment in healthcare in developing countries with corresponding widespread improvement in health indicators, though there still remain a billion people without basic access to primary care. Though there is a growing emphasis on integrating international donor funds with broad-based health system strengthening (HSS) efforts, very little is known about the process in which healthcare systems improve at the point of service, and how that, in turn, impacts population health.   Unlike the role of randomized trials on individual interventions, there is no gold standard for health systems research.  As global health expands its scope to the new field of planetary health broadly associated with the SDGs, the gaps in knowledge and research grow even further. Here, we present a framework for adaptive district-level HSS in Madagascar.  The program simultaneously strengthens the WHO’s six building blocks of HSS at all levels of the health system within a government district, while pioneering a rigorous system for policy and implementation research that includes 1) strengthening the district’s health management information systems (HMIS); 2) a prospective longitudinal cohort demographic and health study of over 1500 households; and 3) selected qualitative and biomedical research projects.  The research platform allows for the evaluation of system output indicators as well as population-level impact indicators, such as mortality rates.  Moreover, it provides a platform for scientific research on socio-economic and environmental determinants of health that are fundamental to the new field of planetary health.

All research in progress seminars are off-the-record. Any information about methodology and/or results are embargoed until publication.

Abstract:

The Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP) is a research group, led by Dr. Heidi Larson. The VCP studies the diverse sociocultural, political and psychological influences which affect confidence in vaccines and immunisation programmes in local settings worldwide, as well as examining trans-national influences. The VCP has developed multiple metrics to measure population confidence in vaccines and immunization programmes, from a survey-based Vaccine Confidence Index to temporal analysis of media and social media monitoring of vaccine sentiment  and local qualitative research to understand the drivers of vaccine reluctance and refusal. Together, these diverse metrics  generate a rich picture of the drivers of vaccine confidence to hep inform interventions.

While all the evidence points to the importance of understanding locally nuanced drivers of vaccine reluctance to inform interventions, Dr. Larson will talk about the equally important transnational impacts of local vaccine events and emotions through global cases studies on HPV, Polio, Flu and Ebola, and the implications for vaccine preparedness around newly introduced vaccines and programmes as well as pandemic preparedness.

Bio:

Heidi J. Larson, PhD,  is an anthropologist and Senior Lecturer, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, LSHTM, an Associate Clinical Professor, Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, and a Fellow at the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security. Dr. Larson previously headed Global Communication for Immunisation at UNICEF and chaired the Advocacy Task Force for GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation). She was also a  member of the WHO SAGE working group dealing with vaccine hesitancy.   Dr. Larson’s research focuses on the analysis of the social and political factors that can affect uptake on health interventions, particularly vaccines, and the implications for policies and programmes. Her particular interest is on risk and rumour management from clinical trials to delivery – and building public trust. Dr. Larson is currently the Principle Investigator for a large European Union grant (EBODAC) on the deployment, acceptance and compliance of an Ebola prime-boost vaccine trial in Sierra Leone.

*This seminar is co-sponsored with the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health*