Media

HKU weekly notice (from June 6 to June 13, 2015)

05 Jun 2015

 

Fung Global Institute and HKU to hold

Public Seminar on China’s Financial Future

China may be the world's second largest economy today, but has its financial system caught up?

Jointly organized by the Fung Global Institute (FGI) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU), this public seminar seeks to discuss possible ways forward for China's powerful currency, the Renminbi, and to address issues and potential concerns triggered by China's Shadow Banking sector.

Welcome remarks will be delivered by HKU President and Vice-Chancellor Peter Mathieson and FGI Chairman Victor K Fung.

Speakers include FGI Academic Council Chairman and Nobel Laureate Michael Spence, FGI Distinguished Fellow Liu Mingkang; as well as Group Manager of HSBC Group and Chief Executive for Greater China Helen Wong, former Bank of Japan Assistant Governor Akinari Horii, Primavera Capital Chairman Fred Hu, The University of Chicago Professor Emeritus of International Economics Robert Aliber; and FGI President William Overholt.

Members of the Press are cordially invited to this event.

Date: June 8, 2015 (Monday)

Time: 0830-1230

Venue: Grand Hall, Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, Centennial Campus, the University of Hong Kong

For media registration and enquiries, please contact:

Ms Hope Ngo, Fung Global Institute, Tel: (852) 2300 2748 Email: HopeNgo@FGInstitute.org; or

Ms Trinni Choy, Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office, HKU, tel: 2859 2606 email: pychoy@hku.hk or Ms Rhea Leung, Manager (Media), tel: 2857 8555 email: rhea.leung@hku.hk.

HKU University Museum and Art Gallery to present the world’s largest collection of “Nestorian Crosses of the Yuan Dynasty”

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has the world's largest collection of 979 pieces of Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) Nestorian Crosses. Over 700 of them will be exhibited at the University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG) from June 10, 2015 onwards. A series of events will be in place which includes a three-day international conference on the Jing Jiao Nestorianism, to be held at HKU and the Chinese University of Hong Kong from June 10 to 12, and public talks. (Details of the International Conference on Jing Jao in a separate press release)

An opening ceremony of the exhibition will be held at UMAG on June 10 (Wednesday). Officiating guests include Representative of the Church of the East Rev Ephraim Alkhas; Patron of the HKU Museum Society (HKUMS) Christina Mathieson; HKUMS Chairperson Mrs Yvonne Choi. The ceremony will be hosted by UMAG Director Dr Florian Knothe.

A lecture on “What does the Jing Jiao, or Church of the East in China, Means for Us Today?” will be given by Rev Ephraim Alkhas after the opening ceremony. Details as follows:

Date: June 10, 2015

Time:

5pm: Opening Ceremony

5:45pm Lecture by Rev Ephraim Alkhas

Venue: 1/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU

HKU’s Nestorian crosses were assembled by Mr. F. A. Nixon who served as a British postal commissioner in Beijing in the 1930s and 1940s. Subsequently the collection was acquired by the Lee Hysan Foundation and donated to the University in 1961.

Nestorian Christianity was introduced to China in the Tang dynasty from Persia (today’s Silk Road). The religion, known as Jing Jiao in China, went into decline after the Tang dynasty, and was once again revived in 1289 in the Yuan Dynasty. The F. A. Nixon Collection of Nestorian Crosses is the archaeological discovery of this period from the Mongolian steppes.

Stylistically, all crosses fall into four different categories, many with mixed Christian and Buddhist motifs in the same artefact. The majority are executed in crucifix form. Other ‘crosses’ in fact take the shape of animals, predominantly birds, but also hares and fish, as well as geometrical patterns, such as sun-like designs and miscellaneous Chinese seal-like forms.

Nestorian bronze crosses were cast in the Ordos region in north-west China (Inner Mongolia) during the Yuan dynasty (1272–1368). They measure between 3 and 8 cm in height. The crosses all seem to be unique and are, in fact, characteristic for their individual designs, suggesting that each design may have represented an individual owner, family or group.

A joint HKUMS-UMAG public lecture will be held on June 12 (Saturday). Dr. Glen L. Thompson, Academic Dean and Prof. of New Testament and Historical Theology at the Asia Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong, will give a speech on “Journey to the East: Christianity in China in the Tang and Yuan Dynasties”. Details as follows:

Date: June 13, 2015 (Saturday)

Time: 3 to 4:30pm

Venue: 1/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU

Free admission. All are welcome.

Abstract

When Marco Polo described his travels across China in the late 13th century, he wrote of seeing “Nestorian” Christians in many towns, some of whom were high government officials.  Scholars now know that this eastern form of Christianity was to be found in China already in AD 635. Besides the enigmatic crosses in the museum exhibit, other archaeological finds have slowly enlarged our knowledge of this movement.  This illustrated lecture will trace the origins of this first appearance of Christianity in China, and describe what is known – and what remains unknown—about it. 

Speaker

Dr. Glen L. Thompson is the Academic Dean and Prof. of New Testament and Historical Theology at the Asia Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong. He has lectured internationally on the history and spread of Christianity, and the cultural exchanges resulting from it. He is an expert on the Church of the East (Jing Jiao- Nestorianism).

Media enquiries:

UMAG Communication Officer Miss Elena Cheung, Tel: (852) 2241 5512, Email: elenac@hku.hk. 

HKU’s WAY Project --- “Stories of Aberdeen Fishing Folks” Exhibition to showcase the changing lifestyles and culture of fishing folks

Hong Kong grew from being a fishing village into a metropolis, but few of us know much about this early episode of Hong Kong’s history.  To explore the way lifestyles and the culture of fishing have changed, the University of Hong Kong’s We Are With You Project (the WAY Project) has recorded the oral histories of fishermen in Aberdeen. 

In this “Stories of Aberdeen Fishing Folks” exhibition, the lived experiences of the fishing community in Aberdeen will be showcased through oral histories, old photos, comics and innovative visual design.  This free exhibition is organized by the WAY Project, sponsored by the Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation and supported by the HKU Graduate House.

The Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS) will hold a press briefing to introduce the “Stories of Aberdeen Fishing Folks” Exhibition and more upcoming summer activities related to the lifestyles and culture of the fishing community in Hong Kong. Members of the media are cordially invited to cover the press briefing.  Details are as follows:

Date: June 9, 2015 (next Tuesday)

Time: 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm

Venue: Postgraduate Hub (Rome Café), Level P3, Graduate House, 3 University Drive, HKU (Map)

Speaker: Dr Albert Ko, Head of the Student Development Programme, CEDARS

About the WAY Project

In 2012, the Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation donated $10M to the University of Hong Kong to implement the WAY Project, which was launched in the academic year of 2013-14.  The WAY Project is a four-year community-based social capital development project in the Southern District.  Its objective is to build a district-based community network to empower the community to accumulate social capital and improve social mobility.  The project emphasizes on the mobilization and exchange of resources among different social groups in the Southern District to achieve mutual benefit.  HKU students and staff will contribute to improve the condition of the less privileged and empower them to improve their own conditions in the long run.  The ultimate goal is to develop a replicable model for social capital development, particularly with the involvement of staff and students of tertiary institutions.

Media enquiries

Communications & Public Affairs Office:

Ms Rhea Leung (Tel: 2857 8555 / 9022 7446; Email: rhea.leung@hku.hk) 

Ms Julie Chu (Tel: 2859 2437 / 9354 3898; Email: juliechu@hku.hk) or

Centre of Development and Resources for Students:

Ms Carol Yuen (Tel: 2219 4861; Email: carolyky@hku.hk)

UMAG exhibition: "Alberto Reguera: Blue Expansive Landscape"

The University Museum and Art Gallery is presenting an exhibition of renowned Spanish artist Alberto Reguera from June 5 to August 23, 2015. The exhibition highlights a borderless space that is woven together by the artist’s paintings, sculptures and installations. Reguera’s work across various media shares a similar visual structure formed through an expansive use of the colour blue. Diverse stylistic elements are then linked to create a single aesthetic and conceptual unit.

Born in Segovia, Spain, in 1961, Alberto Reguera now divides his time between Paris and Madrid. His work originates in his admiration for the French lyrical abstract artists; in his evocation of the Romantic landscape painters; and in the spectacular vistas of his native Castile. Reguera's abstract landscapes represent fragmented elements of nature that he constitutes via a discrete series of shapes and colours. Tones and textures multiply as he experiments with the colour blue's position in space. Depending upon the play of light, greater nuances and ranges appear.

The museum’s outreach programme includes guided visits, lectures and workshops.

Details of the Exhibitions
Period: June 5, 2015 (Friday) to August 23, 2015 (Sunday)
Opening Hours:
09:30 – 18:00 (Mon to Sat)
13:00 – 18:00 (Sun)
Closed on University and Public Holidays

Venue: 1/F & 2/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, University Museum and Art Gallery, the University of Hong Kong, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

General Enquiry: Tel: (852) 2241 5500 / Email:  museum@hku.hk
Fees: Free Admission
Website: http://www.hkumag.hku.hk/

Media enquiries:
UMAG Communication Officer Miss Elena Cheung, Tel: (852) 2241 5512, Email: elenac@hku.hk

HKU Centre for the Humanities and Medicine presents an exhibition on the History of Malaria in Hong Kong

The HKU Centre for the Humanities and Medicine is co-presenting an insightful exhibition into the presence and significant impact of malaria on Hong Kong’s history. "Fever: The History of Malaria in Hong Kong" will run until July 26, 2015 at the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences. The exhibition encourages multi-sensory engagement with local historical information and artefacts and promotes understanding of the importance of the disease in the development of the territory. Visitors will learn how malaria was eradicated from Hong Kong, as well as the seriousness of the contemporary malaria situation in other regions of the world.

The launch of the exhibition was timed to coincide with World Malaria Day 2015 which aims to raise awareness of malaria as a disease that is preventable and treatable and mobilize action to end the ravages of malaria.

Exhibition - Fever: The History of Malaria in Hong Kong
Period: 25 April – 26 July 2015
Time: 10:00am - 5:00pm (Tuesday - Saturday); 1:00pm - 5:00pm (Sunday & Public Holidays); Closed on Mondays
Venue: Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences, No. 2 Caine Lane, Mid-Levels

Further information: http://www.chm.hku.hk/history_of_malaria.html.

For media enquiries or individual interview requests, please contact Mr Cyrus Chan, Events Coordinator, Faculty of Arts (tel: 3917 4984 email: cyrusc@hku.hk).