Peter Harris

Position

Senior Fellow

Profile

Peter Harris has a BA (Hons) in Chinese and an MPhil in International Relations, both from the University of Oxford. His past assignments include being leader writer on Asia for The Times of London, writer on Asian affairs for the BBC World Service, head of Asia research at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, and head of the Chinese section of the BBC World Service (all in the 1980s). In the 1990s he was Representative of the Ford Foundation in China (1990-1994), founding Director of the Asia 2000 Foundation of New Zealand, now Asia New Zealand Foundation (1994-95), and founding Director of the Asian Studies Institute at VUW (1997-99). Since 1999 he has served under contract as the Chief of Party (head) of USAID democracy and governance projects in three countries, Indonesia, Cambodia and Kazakhstan . He has published extensively on human rights, politics and history, with particular reference to China. His latest publications include: Zhou Daguan’s Record of Cambodia (2007), named a Choice journal Outstanding Academic Title for 2009; and a new edition of the Travels of Marco Polo for the Random House Everyman’s Library (2009). 

Contact

Peterharris@asia-mail.com
Phone: (04) 473-0807

Papers and publications

Commissioned by Everyman's Library (Random House, New York and London) to produce a new edition, including a new translation, of Sun Tzu's Art of War.

Also working on another book project on citizenship in modern China.