Peking University, Oct. 14, 2017: On October 14, 2017, Peking University-Lincoln Institute Center for Urban Development and Land Policy (PLC) celebrated the 10th anniversary of its founding at the Lake View Hotel. Attendants of the celebration include PKU President Lin Jianhua, Lincoln Institute Board Chair Katie Lincoln, Lincoln Institute President George McCarthy, the former Vice Minister of Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Qiu Baoxing as well as hundreds of guests from academics institutions, government and media.
Jointly founded by Peking University and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy on October 9, 2007, PLC is a non-profit education organization and think tank which aims to promote academic studies and talent-training related to China’s urban development and land policies. The celebration included a thematic symposium and banquet.
Director of PLC Liu Zhi hosted the opening ceremony. In his opening remarks, he expressed sincere gratitude towards those who support the development of the center. As an important promoter of the center, PKU President Lin Jianhua also delivered a speech, acknowledging its past achievement, in terms of academic research and personal training, as well as expressing his expectation.
Lin Jiahua delivering his speech
Katie Lincoln reviewed the founding history of the center and pointed out that it has yielded incredible result, the value of which well exceeds the investment it received from Lincoln Institute. Its biggest achievement is creating a platform for scholars, policy-makers and stakeholders to exchange ideas, she said. This helps to facilitate smooth implementation of new policies. She also showed her willingness to support the center’s further development.
Other guests reviewed the PLC’s past work and achievement from the perspective as partners. They praised the center for its contribution to housing, tax policy, urbanization, and environmental sustainability in China. They also shared some suggestions to PLC for its future work.
The opening remarks were followed by the signing ceremony of the renewal agreement for the PKU-Lincoln Institute.
Lin Jianhua and McCarthy signing agreement
Afterwards, He Canfei, dean of the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at PKU and Associate Director of PLC, hosted a speech session themed on “China’s urban development and land policy” where George McCarthy and Qiu Baoxing delivered speeches titled “From Henry George to Jane Jacobs: Planning and Financing the New Urban Agenda” and “Towards the Better Quality of Urbanization” respectively.
Qiu Baoxing delivering his speech
Other speeches include “Land Reform in China: What has been Accomplished, and What Needs to be Done” by Liu Shouying, professor at Renmin University; “Myths and Puzzles of China's Urban Development and Land Management” by George Lin, professor at University of Hong Kong; and “Urban Debt Financing: A Global Perspective” by Lourdes German, director of International and Institute-Wide Initiatives at the Lincoln Institute.
The scene of the speech session
Following the speech session was two dialogues tilted “Future Direction of Urban and Land Policy Reforms” and “Future Directions of Academic Research on Urban Development and Land Policy”. They were moderated by Joyce Man, former executive director of the PLC and professor at Peking University Graduate School in Shenzhen, and Liu Zhi respectively.
The celebration concluded with a banquet host by Professor He Canfei.
Group photo
PLC has been a platform providing comprehensive training, policy research, dialogue for scholars domestic and abroad, as well as policy-makers. While it introduced international expertise on land policy, finance, urbanization to China, it also helped to share China’s reform experience and academic results to other countries. The origin of Lincoln Institute of Land Policy dates back to 1946 when John C. Lincoln established the Lincoln Foundation. For over 5 decades, it has been dedicated to land research and tax policy related to this field.
Since its founding, PLC has successfully organized more than 60 international symposiums with over 3000 attendants in total. Thousands of scholars and students benefited from Its annual "Training the Trainer" project, research funding and scholarships. Through education, training, publications, and events, the center integrates theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.
Written by: Huang Yadan
Edited by: Wang Chengsiou
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
