Attorney General Jon Bruning

News Release

                                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      Contact: Holley Hatt

                                 August 1, 2007, 10:00am CDT                                                      402.471.2067

Bruning Meets with Democratic

Reform Activist in China

(Lincoln, NE) Attorney General Jon Bruning today met with Li Fan, an expert on grass-roots democracy in China and director of the World and China Institute, an independent think tank in Beijing. Bruning’s visit to Beijing is part of the Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership program.

The World and China Institute was founded in 1994 as a nongovernmental, nonprofit research institute consisting of scholars, government employees, policy analysts and entrepreneurs. The organization has been instrumental in promoting democracy since the beginning of the reform movement in China.

“China’s development over the last five years is astounding. From the proliferation of the Internet and cell phones to the development of commerce, China is on the move,” Bruning said. “China will continue to play an important role in the international arena. Their hunger for advancement in agriculture, industry and technology gives them an important place in America’s and Nebraska’s future.” 

As an Aspen-Rodel fellow, Bruning is also meeting with government officials, business leaders and diplomats in China and India. The purpose of the seven-day trip is to understand how developments in Asia impact American policy.

The Aspen-Rodel Fellowship program was founded in 2005 to provide the nation’s top young political leaders with a better understanding of America’s underlying democratic principles and to help foster civility in the public arena.

Other participants include Jason Atkinson, State Senator, Oregon; Scott Avedisian, Mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island; Andre Bauer, Lieutenant Governor, South Carolina; Laura Brod, State Representative, Minnesota, former Assistant House Majority Leader; Robin Carnahan, Secretary of the State, Missouri; Adolfo Carrion, President, Bronx Borough; Karen Carter, State Representative, Louisiana, Lynn Jenkins, State Treasurer, Kansas; Dianne Jones, Attorney, former Texas Criminal Court Judge; Tom Kean, Jr., State Senator, New Jersey; Rob McKenna, Attorney General, Washington; Jonathan Miller, State Treasurer, Kentucky; Erik Paulsen, State Representative, Minnesota, former House Majority Leader; Tom Perez, Secretary of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, Maryland, and former president of the Montgomery County, Maryland City Council; Todd Rokita, Secretary of State, Indiana; Andrew Romanoff, State Representative, Colorado; Andrew Roraback, State Senator, Connecticut; Jennifer Veiga, State Senator, Colorado; and Darren White, Sheriff, Bernalillo County, New Mexico.

The two-year nonpartisan program is sponsored by the Aspen Institute, an international nonprofit leadership organization, and the Rodel Foundation, a group of public and private organizations committed to improving education.

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A photo of Fan and Attorney General Jon Bruning is attached.