Henry C.K. Liu

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Henry C.K. Liu is an independent commentator on culture, economics and politics. He was born in Hong Kong and educated at Harvard University in architecture and urban design. Liu developed an interest in economics and international relations while working as a professor at UCLA, Harvard and Columbia University on interdisciplinary work on urban and regional development. Liu is currently the chairperson of a New York-based private investment group and a contributor to Asia Times Online.

The term "dollar hegemony" was coined by Liu in an extensively quoted April 2002 article: US Dollar Hegemony has to go in Asia Times Online to describe how he sees the dollar, a fiat currency since 1971 that yet continues to play the role of the major reserve currency distorts global trade and finance. Liu is a critic of the United States and the policies of its government and also a critic of central banking. Liu calls for the use of sovereign credit in lieu of foreign capital for financing domestic development in developing countries. In a series of articles titled The Abduction of Modernity, Liu has developed his idea that modernity is not synonymous with Westernization. Liu's critics contend that he turns a blind eye to the failings of China compared to his critique of the United States. Others observe that Liu's criticism is focused on US policies that are disconnected to values and ideology set out by the Constitution, and not on US values as such. Liu has also been vocal in his critique of Chinese economic policy, particular on China's excessive dependence of export, developmental imbalances that result in severe income disparity and environmental neglect. Liu is openly unsympathetic to Western liberal criticism of China that he considers as cultural imperialism in disguise.

In February 2006, in a series of articles in Asia Times On Line, Liu proposes the establishement of an international cartel for labor to be known as Organization of Labor-Intensive Exporting Countries (OLEC) to restore balance of market power between capital and labor in the globalized economy.

His father is Liao Chengzhi, one of the Chinese Communist Party revolutionary leaders. His grandfather is Liao Zhongkai, one of the Kuomintang early leaders.