Media

HKU weekly notice (from September 20 to September 27, 2013)

19 Sep 2013

 

Public Lecture on What, if Anything, is New in Policy Studies?
Speaker: Professor B. Guy Peters
Maurice Falk Professor of Amercian Government, University of Pittsburgh
Professor of Comparative Governance, Zeppelin University

Some scholars, such as Peter John, have argued that there was some golden age of policy studies in the past, but that this age has passed. The argument is that little that is innovative and important is now being done in policy studies (especially in political science). This lecture examines that assertion, agreeing in part and disagreeing in part. It also examines reasons for some decreased emphasis in policy studies.

Date: September 23, 2013 (Monday)
Time: 4:30pm
Venue: Social Sciences Chamber, 11/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: English

Registration required. For enquiries, please contact Mr. Ren Au by email at renau@hku.hk or by phone at 39171226.

Public lecture: The Political Neutrality of the Korean Police: What Happened on the 16th of December?
The Korean War of the 1950s divided the Korean peninsula in two, leaving a legacy of trauma and fear. Fear of the North continues to affect the democratic process in the South; if a politician is suspected to be ‘North Korea friendly’ his or her political career is over. In the 2012 presidential election, rumors circulated accusing the opposition party candidate of being ‘North Korea friendly’. One week before the election, an officer of the National Intelligence Agency was accused of being a source of the rumors. The Seoul police raided her apartment and confiscated her computers. Then, three days before the election, the Seoul Metropolitan Police called an emergency press conference to announce that the accusation was unfounded, no evidence of propaganda was found on the seized computers. Based in part on this exoneration, the ruling party went on to win the election. However, subsequent investigations by the Prosecution Service revealed that the police were lying. Their raid had actually recovered erased files containing 40 different IDs and tens of thousands records of ‘log-in’ to internet communities for politically motivated and election related internet postings. Not only was the accused officer involved in spreading propaganda, but other NIA officers and civilian aids were as well. This talk will explore the issue of political neutrality of police in democratic countries. Are the Korean police politically neutral? If not why and how have they become politicized? What can be done to regain the political neutrality of the police in Korea?

The speaker Dr. PYO Changwon holds a Ph.D. in Police Studies from Exeter University and is a former professor at Korea National Police University. He is one of the founding members of the Association of Asian Police Studies, and was for many years the executive secretary of that organization. He has also served as president of the Korean Association of Police Studies. He is an advisor to the Korean parliament and various executive agencies on policing related matters, and has authored eleven books.

Date: September 25, 2013 (Wednesday)
Time: 3pm
Venue: Room 813, Jockey Club Tower, HKU
Language: English

For enquiries, please contact Ms Connie Ko by email at connieko@hku.hk or by phone at 39172309.

William Mong Distinguished Lecture: Meeting the Energy Challenge
Speaker:
Professor M. Mercedes Maroto-Valer
Professor, School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, Heriot Watt University

The quest for sustainable energy to meet the demands of a rising global population is one of the main challenges for humanity this century, with global energy needs set to double by 2050. This is set against the backdrop of increasing CO2 emissions and associated climate change, and targets set out worldwide to cut CO2 emissions. Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technologies are considered an essential bridge between our present fossil energy and a future renewable based energy, as they have the potential to reduce overall mitigation costs and increase flexibility in achieving the sought after reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This presentation will describe a number of our research programmes, including novel sorbents for more efficient capture; modelling and experimental studies of geological carbon storage and ecosystem responses to releases of CO2 Our research activities also include the conversion of CO2 into valuable chemicals and solar fuels.

Prof M. Mercedes Maroto-Valer is the first Robert Buchan Chair in Sustainable Energy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University. This is a joint appointment between the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the Institute of Petroleum Engineering. At Heriot-Watt she is the Head of the Institute for Mechanical, Processing and Energy Engineering (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences) and leads the pan-University Energy Academy. She is also Director of the EPSRC funded Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage (CICCS). She is a member of the Directorate of the Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS)

Date: September 26, 2013 (Thursday)
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Venue: Wang Gungwu Theatre, Graduate House, HKU
Language: English

Registration required. For enquiries, please contact Faculty of Engineering by email at enggfac@hkucc.hku.hk or by phone at 2859-2803.

Taoist Art of Professor Jao Tsung-i
Taoist Art of Professor Jao Tsung-i held by Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole of the University of Hong Kong is Professor Jao's first exhibition of Taoist painting and calligraphy.

Professor Jao's Taoist artworks can be classified into several categories-- portraits of Taoist masters and deities, such as Lao Zi, Zhang Sanfeng, and the Eight Immortals; paintings and calligraphy on the topics of Taoist quotations; Taoist poetry or articles by emperors and scholars, such as Poem on Autumn Flowers by Emperor Hui Zong and Essay on Regimen by Emperor Gao Zong of the Song Dynasty, and poetry by Song and Yuan Taoists; his studies of the Mawangdui Silk Manuscripts also influence his creation of calligraphy in that script.

Although the exhibits are not abundant, they reveal his insightful and pioneering perception in Taoism. In addition, his Taoist artworks undoubtedly achieve the realm of purity and stillness.

Taoist Art of Professor Jao Tsung-i
Date: 23 August – 30 September 2013
Time: Mon to Fri 9:00am – 6:00pm
(closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays)
Venue: Jao Tung-I Petite Ecole, The University of Hong Kong
(2/F, 2 University Drive, adjacent to Graduate House)
Telephone: 2241 5598