Walter Shorenstein, FSI benefactor, dies peacefully at his home in San Francisco

FSI's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Asian studies, and Stanford lost a dear friend on June 24 when long-time benefactor Walter Shorenstein died peacefully at his home in San Francisco. Walter was 95. Walter endowed the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center in 2002 and had been a member of the FSI Advisory Board or its predecessor organizations since 1992. He was passionate about politics, international affairs, and Asia, and he remained an active and engaged member of the Shorenstein APARC and FSI community. He regularly hosted dinners and events at his home in Portola Valley, including one just three weeks ago. Walter was a great friend of Stanford and he will be sorely missed. At a later date, Shorenstein APARC and FSI will celebrate his life and his tremendous role in bolstering scholarship on contemporary Asia at Stanford.

Thomas Fingar debates significance of U.S. field reports from Afghanistan released by WikiLeaks

On July 25, WikiLeaks released a compendium of 91,000 U.S. field reports from Afghanistan covering the years 2004-2010. Thomas Fingar joined a panel of experts and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on France 24 for a televised debate, "War and Whistle-blowing," to discuss the significance of the documents. Fingar put the documents in context, stating that it is not the contents of the documents themselves but the sensationalism caused over them that will have an effect.

No one can now ignore or overlook the importance of Asia, says APARC Director Dr. Gi-Wook Shin

Speaking on June 17, 2010 in a television interview in South Korea, Dr. Gi-Wook Shin, Director of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) at Stanford University, said, "No one can now ignore or overlook the importance of Asia." He spoke of the rise of Asian countries in the past 50 years, particularly in the area of economics, and the world's growing awareness of Asia. Dr. Shin discussed the important role that Shorenstein APARC and its Korean Studies Program (KSP) play in the field of Asian studies, noting that Shorenstein APARC's unique focus on research, policy, and the social sciences distinguishes it from most academic Asian studies centers in the United States. +VIDEO+ +AUDIO+