Stanford is hosting "China 2.0: The Rise of a Digital Superpower" conference in Beijing. See the Press Release for more details.
"Key features include the premiere of a video re-tracing how China first connected to the Internet in 1993 followed by a live TelePresence(r) reunion of some of the pioneering engineers who established that link: Rongsheng Xu at the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) in Beijing and Les Cottrell at Stanford University's Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)."
The conference opens on Monday morning 10/18/2010 Beijing time or 6pm Sunday Pacific time. The Stanford end will actually be at the Cisco Executive Briefing Center in San Jose, since Stanford had problems getting their Telepresence video working to Beijing via its AT&T link.
Session on China Internet Connection
- Introduction of first connection to Internet for China/show new video of interviews from Les Cottrell and Xu Rongsheng (5-6 minutes)
- Welcome and Introduction to Xu Rongsheng, IHEP, and Les Cottrell, SLAC, by Marguerite Gong Hancock, Stanford, as moderator (2 minutes)
- Greeting between Rongsheng and Les via video, then discussion as led by Marguerite, to amplify or augment topics introduced in video. Questions may include the following topics (10-15 minutes):
- Establishing that pioneering connection to the Internet required a combination of institutional, technical and personal advances. Please tell us more about what it took to establish the link.
- Can you describe the major technical challenges and solutions?
- At the moment of connection on May 17, 1994, what were the first messages sent, how did you and your team feel or respond?
- The rise of the Internet in China has been phenomenal in the intervening 17 years. As you reflect on the evolution of the Internet in China and the collaboration between China and the West, have there been any surprises? What do you think is most significant?
- As you reflect on your role in that historic link, do you have any final words you would like to share with us today?
Simultaneous translation is available from English to Chinese for the Mandarin-speaking audience and if Rongsheng prefers to use that it will be via headphones. However, because we cannot provide headphones for Les in the U.S. the translation from Chinese to English will need to be sequential.
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