Tongdong Bai is one of the three new members of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
Tongdong Bai, 53, is a professor of philosophy at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. (Photo: Asia Society/YouTube)
Pope Francis has appointed three new members to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences including Chinese political philosopher Tongdong Bai, the Vatican Press Office announced on June 5.
Two other new members are Tracey Rowland, an Australian theologian, and Justin Farrell, a U.S. sociologist.
Tongdong Bai, 53, is a professor of philosophy at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.
He is the first Chinese academic to be appointed to the Vatican body, media reports say.
He is expected to play a key role as the academy is scheduled to hold a workshop titled “Dialogue Between Civilizations on Global Commons” in Rome on June 27-28.
One of the workshop’s key issues of discussion in China and its role in global affairs today.
“Because of China’s increasingly central role in global matters, it is important for the world to get to know and understand China on its own terms — not through the lens of external sources but from its own perspective,” the academy said.
Tongdong Bai was born in Beijing in 1970.
He is a professor of philosophy at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and a global professor of law at New York University’s Law School.
He obtained degrees in nuclear physics and the philosophy of science from Beijing University. He taught philosophy at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He was awarded a doctorate in philosophy from Boston University, US, in 2004.
He specializes in Chinese philosophy and political philosophy, especially traditional Chinese political philosophy.
He has authored numerous publications regarding Chinese philosophy and political philosophy.
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