Robert Lawrence Kuhn
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Robert Lawrence Kuhn (born November 6, 1944) is a
public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or ...
, international corporate
strategist A strategist is a person with responsibility for the formulation and implementation of a strategy. Strategy generally involves setting goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions. A strategy ...
and
investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...
. He has been called “one of the Western world’s most prolific interpreters of Beijing’s policies.” Outside China Kuhn's work has largely been "panned" as "fawning work of hagiography", pro-China propaganda, or as spouting demonstrably untrue statements, whereas within China, Kuhn's books have reportedly achieved sales records only eclipsed by ''Harry Potter''. Kuhn has a doctorate in
neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...
and is the author and editor of over 25 books. Kuhn is a recipient of the China Reform Friendship Medal, China's highest award; he is a long-time adviser to China's leaders and the Chinese government, to
multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
s on China strategies and transactions, and is a frequent commentator on the politics, economics, business, finance, philosophy and science of China. Kuhn is a columnist for ''
China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
'' and '' South China Morning Post'' and appears on the ''
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', ''
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
'', '' China Central Television'' (CCTV), ''
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...
'' and other major media. Kuhn is the creator, writer and host of the show ''Closer to China with R.L. Kuhn'' and ''The Watcher'' and ''Xi's Deep Message'' commentaries. Kuhn is the creator, writer and host of the public television series ''
Closer to Truth ''Closer to Truth'' is a television series on public television originally created, produced and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn. The original series aired in 2000 for two seasons, followed by a second series aired in 2003 for a single season. Th ...
'', which presents scientists and philosophers discussing fundamental issues (cosmos,
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
, philosophy/religion). Kuhn's presentation, Asking Ultimate Questions, is the foundation of ''Closer To Truth''.


Education

Kuhn received a bachelor's degree in human biology from
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
(
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
) in 1964, a PhD in
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
and brain research from the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
' Brain Research Institute in 1968 and a
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
in
management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includ ...
as a
Sloan fellow The Sloan Fellows program is the world's first mid-career and senior career master's degree in general management and leadership. It was initially supported by a grant from Alfred P. Sloan, the late CEO of General Motors, to his alma mater, MI ...
from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1980.


Career


China

Kuhn was awarded the China Reform Friendship Medal by the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
(CCP) general secretary and paramount leader
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
and Chinese leaders at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up (December 18, 2018). The medal honors 10 foreigners who facilitated China's reform and opening up over the four decades. Five of the foreigners are living; Kuhn is one of two Americans. As reported in '' The Wire China'' (2020), Kuhn has carved out a niche for himself as one of the Western world’s most prolific interpreters of Beijing’s policies. The brain researcher-turned-investment banker has spent 20 years currying favor with China’s leadership and gaining remarkable access. In fact, with the possible exception of Henry Kissinger and former Goldman Sachs CEO and Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, arguably no other American citizen has spent more time with China’s top leaders.” During the 19th National Congress of the CCP, Kuhn was interviewed extensively, including multiple times on ''
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
'', ''
BBC World News BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and ...
'' and '' BBC World Service'', ''
CGTN China Global Television Network (CGTN) is the international division of state media outlet China Central Television (CCTV), headquartered in Beijing, China. CGTN broadcasts six news and general interest channels in five languages. CGTN is reg ...
'', and ''CCTV'', and he was quoted extensively. His full-page, in-depth analyses of the 19th CCP National Congress were featured in ''
China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
'' to open the Congress ("Historical Starting Point for New Stage of Development") and to close the Congress ("New Era on the Road to 2050"). Kuhn has written on CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's "
core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the centra ...
" status in the CCP ("Why China needs Xi Jinping as its core leader"), the elimination of
term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
s for China's leadership ("Xi Jinping's power has a purpose—one person to see China through its development plans")., and the Sixth Plenum of the CCP Central Committee (November, 2021) ("Sixth plenum: with Xi at the helm, a new era when China becomes strong") Kuhn provided the live commentary on CNN during CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's policy address in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
on September 2, 2015, during Xi's state visit to the US. Kuhn spoke at the launch ceremony of Xi's book, entitled ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China'', at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 8, 2014. Kuhn writes on Xi's '' Four Comprehensives'' political theory of governance, and on understanding the CCP. In 1989, he was invited to China by the director of the State Science and Technology Commission,
Song Jian Song Jian (; born 29 December 1931) is a Chinese aerospace engineer, demographer, and politician. He was deputy chief designer of China's submarine-launched ballistic missile (JL-1) and one of the country's leading scientists in the post-Cultura ...
, whom Kuhn considers his mentor. Kuhn is the author of ''How China's Leaders Think: The Inside Story of China's Past, Current and Future Leaders'', featuring exclusive discussions with more than 100 Chinese leaders and featuring CCP leader Xi Jinping. He wrote ''The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin''. It was the first
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
of a living Chinese leader and was a best-seller in China in 2005. Kuhn is the host and co-producer of ''Closer To China with R.L. Kuhn'', a weekly series on
China Global Television Network China Global Television Network (CGTN) is the international division of state media outlet China Central Television (CCTV), headquartered in Beijing, China. CGTN broadcasts six news and general interest channels in five languages. CGTN is reg ...
(CGTN); co-created and co-produced by Adam Zhu, it tells the story of China through discussions with China's thought leaders and decision-makers in all sectors. Kuhn created, writes and presents ''The Watcher''. Kuhn is creator, writer and host of the five-part public television TV series ''China's Challenges'', co-produced with
Shanghai Media Group Radio and Television Station of Shanghai (RTS), a Shanghai-based state media outlet, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Media Group (SMG), represent one of China's largest state-owned media and cultural conglomerates, with the most compl ...
and Adam Zhu, and directed by Peter Getzels, which won first prize in China News Award.


The Geneva Companies

From 1991 to 2001, Kuhn was president and co-owner of the Geneva Companies, a
mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
(M&A) firm representing privately owned,
middle-market companies Authorities provide differing definitions of the middle-market or mid-market companies. While some authorities look to revenue generated by companies to define the middle market, other sources regard either asset size or number of employees as a be ...
. In 2000 Kuhn sold the Geneva Companies to Citigroup.


''Closer to Truth''

''
Closer to Truth ''Closer to Truth'' is a television series on public television originally created, produced and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn. The original series aired in 2000 for two seasons, followed by a second series aired in 2003 for a single season. Th ...
'' is a continuing television series on PBS and public television stations, created, executive-produced, written and hosted by Kuhn, and produced and directed by Peter Getzels. The series premiered in 2000. The current series, ''Closer to Truth: Cosmos. Consciousness. Meaning/God'', is in its 19th season. See List of ''Closer to Truth'' episodes. The series offers candid, in-depth conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, theologians and scholars, covering Cosmos (cosmology/physics, philosophy of science), Consciousness (brain/mind, philosophy of mind) and Meaning/God (philosophy of religion). The accompanying website features over 4,000 videos of conversations. Kuhn's presentation, Asking Ultimate Questions, is the foundation of ''Closer To Truth''.


Criticism and controversy

In ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', Gordon G. Chang wrote that ''How China’s Leaders Think: the Inside Story of China’s Reform and What This Means for the Future'' was difficult to even read to completion, saying, "Kuhn stated--on the fifth page of the introduction--that Chinese leaders are not authoritarians. That’s demonstrably untrue, but I struggled on for another hundred pages before finally realizing there was no point in reading a work of propaganda." Chang also wrote, "Kuhn merely repeats what the Communist Party says about itself and accepts its words at face value, taking obsequiousness to new heights." A book review essay on Kuhn's The Man Who Changed China was written by Bruce Gilley and published in the '' Foreign Affairs''. Gilley said it was actually better understood as an officially sanctioned autobiography, presenting an image that China's leaders want the world to see. Additionally, he said the writing of the book was, beginning in 2001, overseen by a secret state propaganda team. John Walsh, an assistant Professor at
Shinawatra University Metharath University or Shinawatra University (SIU) is a private international university in Thailand, established by Dr.Thaksin Shinawatra and his colleagues. The campus was designed and developed by Soontorn Boonyatikarn in 1997. The Ministry o ...
, presumed that as a result of interviewing people who had favorable views of Jiang Zemin, he said that the first part of this book was "close to hagiography". In the September/October issue of '' Foreign Affairs'' Bruce Gilley—Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at the New School University—reported on conflicts of interest and censorship issues involved in the publication of Kuhn's book from 2005, ''The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin''. Gilley stated that the official government of China had removed as much as 10 percent of the content from the book in the Chinese language version, whereas the English language version was also modified to suit what the Chinese government deemed appropriate for Chinese and non-Chinese audiences to see. Gilley is quoted as saying, Kuhn responded in the January/February 2006 issue of '' Foreign Affairs'': According to '' The Wire China'', in the 17 years since his book’s publication, "Kuhn has regularly deflected accusations that he is a propagandist for the Chinese government. Instead, Kuhn says, he has spent the past few decades 'helping the world understand China and China understand the world' — efforts he hopes are in the best interest of the U.S. and China.” After Jiang Zemin died on November 30, 2022, Kuhn published his personal reflections, concluding, "History will be kind to Jiang Zemin."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhn, Robert Lawrence 1944 births Living people 21st-century American biographers American business writers American investment bankers American science writers Johns Hopkins University alumni MIT Sloan Fellows MIT Sloan School of Management alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni