Thirteenth Class of Visiting Fellows Joins the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at Brookings

Brookings President Strobe Talbott announced today that four new visiting fellows will join the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies (CNAPS). This group of CNAPS fellows includes scholars from China, Japan, South Korea and, for the first time, Mongolia. The fellows will be in residence at Brookings through December 17. The CNAPS Fellowship program is now in its thirteenth year.

“I am delighted to welcome this impressive incoming class of CNAPS fellows,” Talbott said. “They are all leaders within the policy and academic communities of Northeast Asia. Through their expertise and research projects, they will each contribute significantly to our knowledge about the region and will strengthen CNAPS’s reputation for excellence in Washington and Asia.”

CNAPS hosts two separate classes of fellows per academic year. The fall class will be in residence at Brookings from August 16 to December 17, 2010, while the spring session is scheduled from March 1 through June 30, 2011. The spring session will include fellows from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam. The research theme for the 2010-2011 fellowship year is “challenges of cross-border crime.”

The fall term’s fellows are:

Chang-Ryung Han, who is the senior deputy director of the Planning and Budget Division of the Korea Customs Service. Mr. Han’s research interests are border management and human smuggling, as well as other areas of criminal justice. While at Brookings his research will focus on “Human Smuggling of Korean Women into the U.S.”

Tadaatsu Mohri, who is a career diplomat and has been with the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1991. His areas of expertise include U.S.-Japan economic relations, Russian affairs, and the World Trade Organization. Mr. Mohri’s research topic while at CNAPS will be “The Future of Japan-Russian Cross-border Cooperation – Beyond Territorial Dispute.”

Dorjjugder Munkh-Ochir, who is an expert on Mongolian foreign affairs as well as security and strategic studies. He is currently an associate senior researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Mongolia’s National Security Council and is also an active duty officer in the Mongolian Army. Colonel Munkh-Ochir’s research while at CNAPS will focus on “Opening Borders in the Asian Interior: Potential Increase of Criminal Activities across Mongolia and China.”

Yong-an Zhang, who is an associate professor of American History at Shanghai University. Dr. Zhang’s research interests include the social history of drugs and medicine, international drug control policy, drug diplomacy, American drug policy in the 20th century, and China’s drug control strategy. While at CNAPS, his research topic will be “Cross-border Organized Crime: Narcotics Trafficking and China-U.S. Cooperation on Drug Control.”

Established in 1998, CNAPS promotes research, analysis and exchange and is designed to enhance policy development and understanding on the pressing political, security and economic issues facing Northeast Asia. The Visiting Fellows Program, the Center’s flagship initiative, offers mid-career fellowships that bring up to eight fellows each year from Northeast Asia to Brookings to conduct research and interact with the U.S. policymaking and academic communities. Under the direction of Brookings Senior Fellow Richard Bush, CNAPS also sponsors an array of policy-oriented seminars, discussions, and publications, including the Brookings Northeast Asia Commentary.