One year after its postponement due to Olympic jitters, the global congress of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) is being held in Kunming from today through Friday, July 31.

This week more than 4,000 academics from more than 100 countries will be in Kunming to discuss developments in anthropology and ethnology. The five-day event will cover topics including cultural diversity, the environment, social change, immigration, language, education, the family, women and children's issues, architecture and corporate social responsibility.

The Kunming congress is the fourth global congress organized by the IUAES, which is headquartered at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Previous editions have been held in Kolkata, India; Pardubice, Czech Republic and Cape Town, South Africa.

The congress was originally scheduled to take place in July 2008, but it was postponed by the China Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences in May, with no official reason given during a time when cultural events were being canceled nationwide in the runup to the Beijing Olympics.

In the wake of recent riots in Xinjiang, the Kunming government seems determined to minimize the chance of anything not going according to plan at the congress this week.

Yunnan University, which is hosting the congress, is off limits to the general public – entry is only granted to registered participants who must display passes. Additionally, the university's perimeter is under heavy police watch.

No official explanation for barring the general public from Yunnan University's main campus has been given, there are several possible reasons, including the attendance of Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu at this morning's opening ceremony.

In his address to the congress, Hui said that "pushing forward dialogues and cooperation among different civilizations is a joint responsibility of individuals and governments."

Despite Hui's upbeat statement, the recent ethnic violence in Xinjiang that left hundreds dead is likely a cause for ramped up security. Another potential reason for government uneasiness may be the occasional overlap between anthropology and intelligence gathering operations.

IUAES Secretary General Peter JM Nas has published a statement against the mixing of anthropological research and spying, summed up by his last sentence: "The values of openness and honesty ultimately trump those of deception."

With the Olympics around the corner, it appears to be becoming increasingly difficult to hold large events in China, especially events with an international flavor.

Beijing's popular Midi Festival, originally scheduled to be held May 1-4, was canceled in late April by the city's Public Security Bureau and is reportedly trying to reschedule a time after the Olympics. The music festival was to feature some international acts as well as attract an international audience.

Music festivals aren't the only events getting shut down – even anthropologists are being prevented from holding a conference in Kunming that was originally scheduled to take place in July.

The International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES), based at Leiden University in the Netherlands, has been notified by the Chinese organizers of the 16th IUAES World Congress that the event, originally scheduled to be held July 15-23, had been postponed.

A letter from the China Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (CUAES) posted on the IUAES website gives the official explanation for the decision to postpone the IUAES Congress in Kunming:

"…it is very regretful that CUAES has encountered complex difficulties hard to resolve in its preparation work recently, which makes impossible for us to hold the Congress at the time originally planned.

"Therefore, we propose to postpone the Congress to a later time, where details are undergoing close discussions and negotiations with IUAES. It is advised that all participants interested in the Congress suspend such efforts as processing visas, reserving hotels or booking tickets, and the like."

The Associated Press spoke with Zhang Jijiao, organizer and professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, who gave no reason for the postponement.

"We have postponed the July conference, but I am not at liberty to tell you the reason why," he said, adding that more than 6,500 people had registered to attend the event.

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