This unit is designed to enhance students' Chinese academic language skills and their understanding on important aspects of the social and cultural landscape in contemporary China through the reading of relevant academic and media publications, and through the discussions and debates both in and beyond the classroom. By successfully completing this unit, students are able to (1) demonstrate a competent language ability and cultural awareness to move between the Chinese- and the English-speaking worlds; (2) identify, describe and interpret the development of major social and cultural aspects of contemporary China; (3) critically assess the accuracy, comprehensiveness, and validity of the academic and media publications regarding the recent developments of the Chinese society; (4) demonstrate the ability to present research findings to the general public in the Chinese-speaking world in oral and written forms; and (5) write according to the academic conventions in Chinese.