The UCLA Asia Pacific Center promotes greater knowledge and understanding of Asia and the Pacific region on campus and in the community through innovative research, teaching, public programs, and local and international collaborations. The Center focuses on the inter-Asian and transpacific cultural and social connections from historical, contemporary, and comparative perspectives. It also encourages interdisciplinary work on cross-border and supranational issues such as language and culture, population and environment, technology, politics, socioeconomic development, and sustainability in the ongoing processes of globalization.

The Asia Pacific Center is currently home to the UCLA Taiwan Studies Program, the UCLA Program on Central Asia (PoCA), and the UCLA Cantonese Heritage Initiative. The Center has also served as an academic partner of the Global Chinese Philanthropy Initiative, and was designated an East Asian National Resource Center from 2023-2026 by the US Department of Education.

Public and Discretionary Statements

Events


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AI in Language Learning and Teaching

Tuesday, November 17, 2026
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Bunche Hall, Rm 10383 & online

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A Journey with World-Class Photographers
Chinese Cuisine and Glocalization in Southern California

Thursday, November 19, 2026
1:00 PM - 3:30 PM (Pacific Time)
UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library

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The Membranes: Queer Futures, History Reclaimed

Thursday, November 19, 2026
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Bunche Hall 11372

News & Announcements


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Hui-shu Lee (UCLA Art History) Publishes New Volume: Art and the Modernist Pursuit in Taiwan

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Edited by Dr. Hui-shu Lee (UCLA Art History), this volume presents the most up-to-date English-language collection of essays on Taiwan's modernist art movement and its place within global modernism. The volume examines Taiwan's artistic development from the Japanese colonial era through the postwar period to the present, highlighting the island's unique geopolitical and cultural position. Featuring contributions from leading scholars of Taiwan, China, and Asian modern contemporary art history, the book creates space for dialogue between academic scholarship and artistic practice.

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Asia Pacific Center hosts conference on “Tongues of Taiwan: Culture and Identity between Languages and Empires"

Monday, November 2, 2026

The UCLA Asia Pacific Center (APC) hosted its ninth UCLA-National Taiwan Normal University (UCLA-NTNU) Annual Taiwan Studies Initiative Conference, “Tongues of Taiwan: Culture and Identity between Languages and Empires,” on May 29–30, 2026 (inperson). The key theme was to explore how linguistic practice has shaped cultural identity across Taiwan's past and present. Thirteen scholars from linguistics, literature, history, and media studies presented their research in the two-day international event, which investigated how Taiwan's multilingual landscape has been affected by successive empires and how it has continued to evolve.

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Informal Cantonese classes preserve culture, promote connection

Sunday, June 7, 2026

An informal Cantonese course was offered at UCLA in Spring 2026 to foster cultural preservation, language learning, and community building among students. Developed by doctoral student Cheer Wu in response to growing demand for Cantonese instruction and with support from the UCLA Asia Pacific Center, this course brought together heritage speakers and beginners alike to explore the language through conversation, music, and cultural engagement. Participants saw this class as a meaningful way to reconnect with their identities, strengthen family and community ties, and celebrate Cantonese culture.

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Music Alive in the Archive: Celebrating the Music and Legacy of Hua Wenyi

Friday, February 20, 2026

On February 9, 2026, the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive celebrated the legacy of Hua Wenyi with a roundtable discussion and performances by the Kunqu Opera Society USA and UCLA Kunqu students from the UCLA Music of China Ensemble, directed by Chi Li. This celebration event was co-sponsored by the UCLA Asia Pacific Center.

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Chinese diasporas in Southeast Asia have endured for centuries

Thursday, February 12, 2026

When the end of monsoon season first left unaccompanied Chinese merchants in Southeast Asian ports for months at a time, they formed local diaspora communities in a process that has spanned at least 18 centuries.

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"Our Stories" - Illustrated Reflections on Cantonese Language and Culture

Thursday, January 15, 2026

This zine showcases thirteen writers, aged 11-74, from three different countries, who share their stories about why Cantonese matters to them, with illustrations by Noah Hrung (UCLA DMA '28 & Founder of Save Cantonese at UCLA). From love for family karaoke to Stephen Chow movies, from struggles over identity, to communicating with clinic patients, speaking (and sometimes reading and writing), Cantonese means something unique to every contributor.

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How UCLA leaders are championing global education and research

Monday, December 8, 2025

The 2025 "'Glocal' Conversation'" at International Education Week addressed how internationalization is essential to the missions of the Division of Physical Sciences, UCLA Library and UNEX, and the ways in which these units are advancing global education and research in the face of serious challenges.

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Where Art Meets Engineering: UCLA Samueli Premieres Film on Taiwan's Role in the Global Chip Race

Monday, November 10, 2025

In collaboration with the Asia Pacific Center, the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering co-hosted a November 6, 2025 screening of “A Chip Odyssey," Taiwan's first feature-length documentary chronicling how the island of 23 million people became the world's indispensable hub for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.