East Asia Now! – CEAS 20th Anniversary Seminar

Welcome to the "East Asia Now” - the 20th anniversary seminar of the Centre for East Asian Studies at the University of Turku!

The Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) celebrates its 20th anniversary with the international seminar East Asia Now, held alongside the annual Asian Studies Days. The program includes presentations, a panel discussion, ReConnect China -workshop, a doctoral seminar, and an alumni event.

The program brings together leading names in East Asian Studies from the world, with presentations by distinguished scholars Professor Jeff Kingston (Temple University, Japan), and Professor Myungji Yang (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa) as well as leading researchers from Finland and Europe.

The event also commemorates 30 years of the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies' contributions to Asia-related teaching and research in Finland.

We warmly welcome all those interested in contemporary East Asia to join the seminar!

REGISTER BY Monday 26.10.2026 (link)
 

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East Asia Now! Program:
 

I Morning session: 10.00 – 11.45

• Opening words
• Professor Lauri Paltemaa, CEAS: "Ceas 20 Years"
• Docent Bart Gaens, FIIA: “Beyond the Alliance: Japan’s New Strategic Partnership Diplomacy”
• Docent Yoko Demelius & Docent Kamila Szczepanska, UTU CEAS: “Popularisation of Japan as a subject in the research field of conspiracy theory”
• Research Professor Mikael Mattlin, FIIA: “China's Political Order"

 Lunch break (at own expense)

 II Afternoon session: 12:45 – 14.15

• Professor Jeff Kingston, Temple University Japan: “Gen Z Activism in Asia”
• Professor Myungji Yang, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa: “Reactionary Politics in South Korea: Authoritarian Legacies and Far-Right Mobilization”

Coffee Break

III Late afternoon session: 14:30 – 15.30

• CEAS20 panel discussion with all speakers

IV Reconnecting China in 2022 and 2026 Workshop: 15.30 -17.30

Funded by the EU’s Horizon programme in 2022, ReConnect China brings together 15 partners, including CEAS. This workshop examines how Europe’s approach to China has shifted from de-risking and quasi-decoupling toward more cautious engagement focused on resilience and risk management. It asks what a contemporary “ReConnect China” agenda should look like: how Europe can engage with China through the rest of the 2020s, and what China-related knowledge and expertise the EU should prioritise for the future.  Project website: https://www.reconnect-china.ugent.be/

Speakers and topics: 

• “Changes in China's domestic policies and how that affects the EU”,  Bart Dessein, Scientific Coordinator of the ReConnect China - project. Senior full professor at the Department of Languages and Cultures of Ghent University, Belgium. 
• Research security, Gábor Szüdi, PhD , Project Manager/ Senior Researcher, Centre for Social Innovation GmbH, Vienna, Austria and Lead of WP6: Measures to maximise the impact.
• “Still in China, Differently: What European businesses learned (and didn’t) between 2022 and 2026”, Riccardo Benussi, Dezan Shira & Associates, Partner 
• “ReConnecting with the ‘Other’: culture, politics, and psychology in Europe’s engagement with China”, Urmas Höbepappel, Analyst at the Asia Center, University of Tartu, Estonia and Contributor to the WP3: China’s domestic governance.

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Friday 30.10.

• Asian Studies Days Doctoral Seminar, EDU2 (separate registration)
• Alumni meet the CEAS Students, PUB4, 14-16 (separate registration)

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The Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) is Finland’s only academic unit dedicated to the study of contemporary East Asian societies. Founded in 2006, CEAS celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Over the past two decades, it has established itself as Finland’s leading hub for East Asian studies and gained recognition across Europe for its expertise in the field. Through its research activities, contributions to national and European discussions on East Asia, and its highly successful international Master’s Degree Programme in East Asian Studies, CEAS continues to play a central role in advancing knowledge and understanding of the region. Please visit: www.utu.fi/ceas