Michael Furchtgott is an economist interested in corporate finance and governance. His current research investigates Japanese corporate restructurings and the behavior of firms and lenders when financial distress arises.

Furchtgott has completed his PhD in economics at the University of California, San Diego, where his research on corporate financial restatements has demonstrated that firms frequently circumvent laws designed to protect investors.

He holds a BA in economics and mathematics from Columbia University.

Kensuke Itoh is a corporate affiliate visiting fellow at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) for 2013-14.  Itoh has over eight years of experience in the information technology arena at Sumitomo Corporation, one of the major trading and investment conglomerates in Japan, and its subsidiaries.  His experience in the IT industry includes sales, strategy planning, M&A process and administration.  While at Stanford, Itoh is researching the difference in the profitability and structure of IT businesses between the United States and Japan.  Itoh is interested in applying his knowledge gained here to his work and overall helping to revise the economy in Asia.  Itoh graduated from the Graduate School of Energy Science at Kyoto University with a degree in energy science and technology. 

Yanling (Linda) HE joins the Walter H.Shorentein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) during the 2013-14 academic year from Sun Yat-sen University, where she serves as Professor at the School of Government, and Co-Director of the Center for Chinese Public Administration Research (CCPAR).

Her research interests encompass topics of urban governance, Chinese political and administrative reform, and civil society development in China. During her time at Shorenstein APARC, Yanling will participate in a comparative study of social stability during China’s urbanization process.

Yanling is currently the co-director of the Center for Chinese Public Administration Research (CCPAR) at Sun Yat-sen University, which is strongly supported by the Ministry of Education and is the leading research center in development for public administration in China. Yanling also serves as one the chief-editors with the Journal of Public Administration, China. She is actively involved with the community as a public policy consultant in a number of local governments across China.

Yanling has a multi-disciplinary educational background: holding a PhD in Sociology; a MA in Public Administration; and a BA in Philosophy.

Jean-Marc F. Blanchard (白永辉) joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) from July-October 2013 from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJTU) where he serves as Professor, Assistant Dean for International Cooperation and Exchange, and Executive Director of the SJTU SIPA Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations.

His research interests include Chinese outward foreign direct investment (FDI), inward FDI into China, Chinese foreign economic policy, Chinese foreign energy policy, multinational corporations, and economic globalization.  During his time at Shorenstein APARC, he will conduct research on the politico-economy of Chinese OFDI.

Blanchard is a co-author of Economic Statecraft and Foreign Policy (2013), a co-editor of and contributor to Governance, Domestic Change and Social Policy in China (forthcoming 2013); “China and Soft Power” (Asian Perspective special issue, 2012); New Thinking about The Taiwan Issue (2012), Multidimensional Diplomacy of Contemporary China (2010), Harmonious World and China’s New Foreign Policy (2008), and Power and the Purse (2000), and the author of more than three dozen refereed journal articles and book chapters.

Blanchard is former Associate Editor of the Journal of Chinese Political Studies (JCPS), a member of the Editorial Board for the JCPS, and a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.  He previously served as President of the Association of Chinese Political Studies (2010-2012).

Blanchard received his PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and AB in economics from U.C. Berkeley.  Prior to his career in academia, Blanchard worked for the U.S. government Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corporation and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and for the investment banking firm Kelling, Northcross, & Nobriga.

Kharis Templeman is the former project manager of the Taiwan Democracy and Security Project in the U.S.-Asia Security Initiative at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC). He currently serves as advisor to the Taiwan Democracy and Security Project. A fluent Mandarin speaker, he has lived, worked and traveled extensively in both Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China.

His research includes projects on party system institutionalization and partisan realignments, electoral integrity and manipulation in East Asia, the politics of defense spending in Taiwan, and the representation of Taiwan’s indigenous minorities. His most recent publication is “The China Model: How Successful Is the Chinese Regime?” a review essay in the Taiwan Journal of Democracy. He is also the editor (with Larry Diamond and Yun-han Chu) of Taiwan’s Democracy Challenged: The Chen Shui-bian Years (2016, Lynne Rienner Publishing). Other work has appeared in Comparative Political Studies and the APSA Comparative Democratization Newsletter.

Dr. Templeman currently serves as coordinator of the American Political Science Association Conference Group on Taiwan Studies (CGOTS) and as a regional manager for the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project. He holds a BA (2003) from the University of Rochester and a PhD (2012) in political science from the University of Michigan.

Gordon Guem-nak Choe joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center as an APARC Fellow for the 2013-14 academic year. He will be involved with our Korean Studies Program. 

His research encompasses the relationship between media and politics. During his time at Shorenstein APARC, Gordon will work on a comparative study on communication skills between presidents of Korea and the United States.

Choe has over 25 years of experience as a journalist, reporting with Korea’s major broadcasting stations including MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Company) and SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System). He was SBS's chief correspondent to Washington, DC during the Clinton admistration. He also worked as editor-in-chief and vice president for news and sports at SBS. Later he joined the public sector as Senior Secretary for Public Relations to then-South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Choe holds a BA in economics from the Seoul National University.