The CULR successfully hosted the 21st Social Asia Forum at the Xiamen Federation of Trade Union's Model Worker Rehabilitation Center from November 2 to 6. Zhang Maohua, member of the Party Group, Secretary of the Secretariat, and Director of the Organization Department of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, Zheng Xiaorui, member of the Party Group and Vice Chairman of the Fujian Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, Liu Xiangbing, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the CULR, and Jiang Ying, member of the Party Committee Standing Committee and Director of the Law School, attended the forum. Eight teachers from the Law School, the School of Labor Relations and Human Resources and the School of Safety Engineering of the CULR, and more than 70 experts and scholars from Japan, South Korea, the Chinese Mainland and China's Taiwan region participated in the forum.

In his opening speech, Secretary Zhang Maohua explained the new ideas proposed by the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the progress of China's trade union reform to the attending delegates. He highly affirmed the development of the CULR in recent years and warmly congratulated the hosting of the forum on behalf of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. Vice Chairman Zheng Xiaorui briefed the guests on the work of trade unions in Fujian Province and Xiamen City, and on behalf of the Fujian Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, wished the forum a complete success. President Liu Xiangbing introduced the characteristics, orientation, and development direction of the CULR, and underscored the important contribution of the Social Asia Forum to promote international exchanges in labor relations and trade unions. He looked forward to fruitful results from the discussions. The opening ceremony was presided over by Professor Jiang Ying.

The theme of this forum is "The Impact of New Information Technology on Labor and Employment - The Role of Trade Unions". Hao Jianbin, Director of the Entrepreneurship and Employment Research Center at AliResearch, gave a keynote speech titled "New Employment Based on Sharing Economy in the Context of the New Normal". In the regional report session, Liu Xiaoqian, a teacher from the School of Labor Relations and Human Resources, gave a report titled "The Impact of New Information Technology on Labor and Employment - The Role of Trade Unions"; Associate Professor Shen Jianfeng of the Law School delivered a national (regional) report entitled "Current Situation, New Features, Problems and Development Trends of Labor Relations Coordination in the Chinese Mainland (2016-2017)". After the report, the attending experts and scholars had a heated discussion with the two speakers on labor and employment issues in China under the background of new information technology.

The Social Asia Forum is an academic exchange platform jointly initiated by trade unions and scholars from the Chinese Mainland, Japan, South Korea, and China's Taiwan region, dedicated to discussing issues relevant to trade unions, labor relations, and labor law. It was founded in 1995 and is hosted annually by various parties in rotation. Currently, it has been run for 21 sessions. The successful hosting of this forum has played a positive role in promoting research on labor relations and trade union work under the influence of new information technology, further expanding the influence of the CULR, and deepening academic exchanges in the field of labor relations and trade unions in Northeast Asia.

(Department of Scientific Research, Foreign Affairs Office, Law School, School of Labor Relations and Human Resources)