In between trips to Asia, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Christopher Hill, a member of the Bowdoin Class of 1974, found time to pay a visit to his alma mater.
On Tuesday night, Hill shared his experiences as head of the U.S. delegation to the six-party talks aimed at disarming North Korea. He also discussed current developments in East Asia.
Opening his talk with references to his days playing varsity lacrosse at Bowdoin, Hill proceeded to discuss the challenges and opportunities that an increasingly powerful Asia poses for the United States.
"The century of Asia is upon us," he said.
While Hill reiterated the importance of maintaining strong ties with traditional allies like Japan and South Korea, he also emphasized the necessity of working with China on issues around the globe, especially the six-party talks.
"Of course we need China," he said. "I think it is a little cavalier to say we don't."
However, according to Assistant Professor of Government and Asian Studies Lance Guo, many Chinese citizens do not believe the United States truly wants to work with China.
"A lot of people in China think that the U.S. is trying to derail China's development. It is wrong, but a lot of people think that. I think that it is most important that people have the desire to get along not just as strategy, but as human relations," Guo said.
Hill focused the latter portion of his lecture on the challenges of the six-party talks.
"The six-party talks have been difficult, and, believe me, I have the scars to prove it," he said.
Nonetheless, Hill believes that the current negotiations provide the best arrangement for North Koreans.
"The six-party talks are the best deal for everyone," he said.
According to Hill, in exchange for giving up their nuclear program, the United States will give the North Koreans a "road map out of their current isolationism," which, among other things, led to a horrific famine in 1997.
"If you rank order the top 1,000 problems that North Korea has, weapons aren't going to solve any of them," Hill said.
Associate Professor of Government and Asian Studies Henry Laurence has a similar outlook on North Korea's position in the negotiations.
"The bottom line with the talks is that North Korea has a very powerful incentive to end its isolation and therefore give up its nuclear programs," he said. "It is their one bargaining chip, and they can't eat it, so sooner or later they will have to play it."
Laurence was particularly struck by Hill's willingness to discuss his experiences with the negotiations.
"Given that he is a serving diplomat at the epicenter of one of the most delicate and important negations in history, I thought it was amazing how open he was," Laurence said.
Senior JiSoo Kim echoed Laurence's sentiment.
"[It is] one of the best lectures I have ever had. Mr. Hill summarized very complicated economic and political aspects of the Asia region in an amazingly succint way," she said. "It felt great to be a student at Bowdoin to have such an opportunity to hear from him and talk to him in person, as well as get his business card."
After listening to Hill's talk, Guo believes that he brings a lot of positive qualities to the current negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program.
"He is a very real asset in the six-party talks because he can understand the positions of everyone, while staying firm on the U.S. position," she said.
It is not the first time that Hill has taken time out of his busy schedule to share his expertise with members of the Bowdoin community. Hill was last on campus in 2004 for Reunion Weekend to give a talk entitled "Meditating Peace" to alumni. In 2003, Hill was at Bowdoin to accept the Gordon S. Hargraves '19 Preservation of Freedom Prize, one of Bowdoin's highest honors, for his work in the Balkans.
"[Hill] is somebody who both President Mills and I keep in very close touch with. He is very loyal to Bowdoin even though he has such an important job to do," Vice President for Planning & Institutional Advancement Scott Meiklejohn said.
Graduating with an A.B in economics, Hill went on to serve in the Peace Corps in Cameroon. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Ambassador to Poland, Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, and Special Envoy to Kosovo.
CORRECTION FEBRUARY 14, 2007: The Web version of this article has been corrected to state that Hill served as a Peace Corps member in Cameroon. We regret the error.