Media

HKU weekly notice (from September 2 to September 9)

02 Sep 2011

 

The Centenary of China's 1911 Revolution: Paintings and Woodcut Prints by Fong So
The exhibition will be held from September 5 to October 15, 2011 at G/F, Main Library, HKU.  

Opening Ceremony
Sep 5 (Mon), 12noon, Main Library, HKU  

Open for Public Viewing
Sep 17 (Sat), 1pm - 6pm, Main Library, HKU  

MEET THE ARTIST!
Guided Tour
Sep 17 (Sat), 2pm - 3pm, Main Library, HKU  

Master Class
Sep 17 (Sat), 3:30pm - 5:30pm, Convocation Room, 2/F, Main Building, HKU
(*There will be an opportunity for participants to take part in the process of making woodcut prints.)
 
About Mr Fong So:
Mr Fong So is a journalist-turned-artist. He was an editor of a current affairs magazine for 18 years. His works have been exhibited in Hong Kong, Korea and the UK. With the traditional Chinese medium of brush and ink, the content and genre of his work obviously differ from those of traditional Chinese painting. He also works with woodcut prints.

Enquiries: Ms Brenda Lau (2219 4726 / bhwl@hku.hk )
Jointly presented by HKU Libraries and HKU Centenary Celebrations Secretariat

‘Dunhuang Culture and Preservation Study Series'
To celebrate the Centenary, the General Education Unit of The University of Hong Kong will present the ‘Dunhuang Culture and Preservation Study Series' which aims to promote students' understanding of the Dunhuang culture and the history of cultural exchange between the East and West.  The programme consists of public lectures and a study tour to the historic grottoes of Dunhuang by 30 HKU students. A Kick-off ceremony will be held on September 5 (Monday).

Date: September 5, 2011 (Monday)
Time: 3:15pm
Venue: 70/F, Bank of China Tower, 1 Garden Road, Hong Kong

For media enquiry, please contact Ms. Beatrice Liu, the General Education Unit, HKU (Tel: 2219 4458 / email: bliu@hku.hk)

"Bankruptcy Reform, Mortgage Default and the Financial Crisis" Lunch Talk by Professor Michelle White, Professor of Economics, University of California San Diego

Date : September 7, 2011 (Wednesday)
Time : 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Talk only)
Venue : Conrad Hotel (Kennedy, Level 7), 88 Queensway, Hong Kong
Medium : English
Contact : Ms. Angelina Hung (atmhung@hku.hk; Tel: 25478472)

The U.S. bankruptcy reform of 2005 played an important role in the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent recession.  When debtors file for bankruptcy, credit card debt and other types of debt are discharged-thus loosening debtors' budget constraints.  Homeowners in financial distress can therefore use bankruptcy to avoid losing their homes, since filing allows them to shift funds from paying other debts to paying their mortgages.   But a major reform of U.S. bankruptcy law in 2005 raised the cost of filing and reduced the amount of debt that can be discharged in bankruptcy.   An unintended consequence of the reform was to raise mortgage default rates.   The paper calculates that bankruptcy reform caused prime and subprime mortgage default rates to rise by 23% and 14%, respectively.   This meant that the overall mortgage default rate rose by one percentage point even before the start of the financial crisis, suggesting that the reform greatly increased the severity of the crisis.

Michelle J. White is Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego, Research Associate at NBER, and Visiting Professor at CK Graduate School of Business in Beijing. She received her Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University and has held faculty positions at the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, and the University of Michigan. During the past several years, her research has focused on the personal bankruptcy system in the U.S. and the effects of the U.S. bankruptcy reform adopted in 2005. Other recent research projects include the interaction between bankruptcy and mortgage default, the effect of Proposition 13 in California on household mobility, and the effects of local sales taxes on employment in retailing versus manufacturing.

HKU weekly notice is sent to its subscribers on Friday afternoons. If you want to receive the event highlights, please regieter with Ms Helen Ho by email at hmsho@hku.hk.