Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Larus
Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Freund Larus, an adjunct fellow at Pacific Forum, commented to WION News that the expansion of the BRICS club of emerging economies benefits China. Most of the new members are participants of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, who are likely to support China in any initiatives Beijing favors. Larus also stated that Chinese leader Xi Jinping desires to turn the club into an intergovernmental forum able to challenge the G7 group of Western governments. Watch the segment.
Other recent media mentions and professional highlights for Larus include:
- Larus Comments to BBC Chinese on Arms Transfers to Taiwan: Elizabeth Freund Larus, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs and Adjunct Fellow at Pacific Forum, commented to BBC Chinese on Biden’s transfer of US military arms to Taiwan using Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA). Professor Larus indicated that providing Taiwan with defensive weapons is consistent with the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which legally requires the US to help Taiwan defend itself. However, this is the first time that a US president has transferred arms to Taiwan using PDA, allowing the US to pull weapons directly from Department of Defense inventories. Professor Larus claimed that China certainly will retaliate against Taiwan for Biden’s move. August 1, 2023. Read more.
- Is it time for the US to abandon its one China Policy?: Elizabeth Freund Larus, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs and 2022 Pew Davis Fellow for Peace at Middlebury College, offered the bilingual guest lecture “美國取消一個中國政策的時候到了嗎？” (“Is it time for the US to abandon its one China Policy?”) to faculty and students at the Middlebury College Chinese Language School, August 1, 2023. Professor Larus explained the origins of the policy, taking care to distinguish it from Beijing’s one China principle. The difference between the US policy and China’s principle has been the cause of much confusion and disagreement between the two countries. Professor Larus also explained why it is becoming harder for Washington and Beijing to agree to disagree over the status of Taiwan.