Media

HKU weekly notice (from March 8 to March 15, 2013)

08 Mar 2013

 

Second Jao Tsung-I Lecture in Chinese Culture
Historical Fragments of Lha btsun, Master of Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism in the 13th -14th Century - Another Life of Emperor Gongdi of the Southern Song Dynasty
How Zhao Xian, the second last Emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty ended up had remained a myth for centuries.  As there were hardly any historical records clearly documented when, where and how he did, controversies and even legendary talks were generated around this topic among scholars of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties.  The most peculiar one claimed him the biological father of the Mongolian Ukhaantu Khan, Emperor Shundi of the Yuan Dynasty.

This lecture looks into the historical documents in both Chinese and Tibetan to recover the whole story in which a child emperor of the Song firstly became the Duke Yingguo of the Yuan and later the monk Lha btsun of the Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism.  Relevant legends are also discussed in terms of their origin, development and authenticity. The speaker Professor Wang Yao is currently Honorary Dean of the Institute of Tibetology of Minzu University of China, Director of Minor Languages Committee of China Association of Dunhuang and Turfan Studies, and Member of CPC Central Research Institute of Culture and History.

Date: March 9, 2013 (Saturday)
Time: 2:30pm to 5pm
Venue: Kwan Fong Lecture Theatre (Rm 223, 2/F, Knowles Building), HKU
Language: Putonghua

Registration required:
http://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=21908

For enquiries, please call tel: 2241 5809.

HKU to Confer Honorary Degrees upon Six Outstanding Individuals at the 188th Congregation
The Pro-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Dr the Honourable David Li Kwok Po will confer honorary degrees upon six outstanding individuals at the 188th Congregation on March 14, 2013 (Thursday).

The honorary degree recipients to be conferred at the Congregation are:

Doctor of Laws honoris causa
Patrick YU Shuk Siu

Doctor of Science honoris causa
Alec John JEFFREYS
MAI Yiu Wing

Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa
FAN Jinshi
WANG Shenghong
Rocco YIM Sen Kee

Honorary Degrees are awarded to individuals in recognition of their distinguished service and commitment to the University, the community, and to academia. They are also conferred to those who have made valuable intellectual, social and cultural contributions to society and the world.

Details of the 188th Congregation
Date: March 14, 2013 (Thursday)
Time: 5:30pm
Venue: Loke Yew Hall, HKU

For media enquiries, please contact: Ms Trinni Choy (Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2606 / email: pychoy@hku.hk or Ms Melanie Wan (Manager (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2600 / email: melwkwan@hku.hk.

HKU Honorary Graduand Professor Mai Yiu Wing to give public lecture on
“Understanding Composite Interfaces and Improving Delamination Resistance of Composite Structures”
The University of Hong Kong Honorary Graduand Professor Mai Yiu Wing will give a lecture entitled “Understanding Composite Interfaces and Improving Delamination Resistance of Composite Structures” on March 15 (Friday).

Professor Mai Yiu Wing will receive a Doctor of Science honoris causa at the University’s 188th Congregation on March 14 (Thursday). He is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and University Chair at the University of Sydney, and an internationally recognised pioneer in fracture mechanics and materials science.

Details of the lecture are as follows:
Date: March 15, 2013 (Friday)
Time: 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Venue: T6, Meng Wah Complex, HKU

For media enquiry, please contact Miss Kelly Lam, Senior Manager (Marketing and Communication), Faculty of Engineering at 2859 2435 or email: lamkelly@hku.hk; or Ms Trinni Choy (Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2606 / email: pychoy@hku.hk; or Ms Melanie Wan (Senior Manager (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2600 / email: melwkwan@hku.hk.

HKU Honorary Graduand Professor Fan Jinshi to give public lecture on
Perspectives of East-West trade and cultural exchanges from Dunhuang artifacts
The University of Hong Kong Honorary Graduand Professor Fan Jinshi will give a lecture entitled “Perspectives of East-West trade and cultural exchanges from Dunhuang artifacts” on March 15 (Friday).

Professor Fan will be conferred a Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa at the University’s 188th Congregation on March 14 (Thursday), in recognition of her contributions to archaeological research and society. She is currently the Director of the Dunhuang Academy in Gansu Province, and has dedicated herself to the archaeological study, conservation and management of the Dunhuang Grottoes for over five decades.

The lecture is organized by the Institute of Dunhuang & Turfan Studies of Hong Kong, and co-organised by HKU Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole and Friends of Dunhuang (HK). Prof. C.F. Lee, Director of Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole, HKU will be the moderator at the talk.

Details are as follows:
Date: March 15, 2013 (Friday)
Time: 7:30pm to 9:30pm
Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU
Language: Putonghua

For registration by the public, please visit:
http://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=21847

For enquiries about the talk, please contact at 2241 5599.

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Trinni Choy (Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2606 / email: pychoy@hku.hk; or Ms Melanie Wan (Senior Manager (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2600 / email: melwkwan@hku.hk.

Capitalist Tools in Socialist Hands?
China Mobile in the Global Financial Network
The paper investigates the evolution and structure of China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile phone operator, as a case study that sheds light on the role of the global financial network in the transformation of the Chinese economy. The case study of Mobile China offers important lessons. First, while the rise of advanced business services is expected to be one of the drivers of the next phase of Chinese economic development, leading foreign firms from this sector have already been shaping the Chinese economic geography, assisting the Chinese government in the ‘national champions’ policy. Second, while officially criticizing offshore financial centres, the Chinese government uses them to manage the corporate sector and its interaction with global capital markets. Finally, a corporation can be plugged into the global financial network, even if it hardly participates in global production networks.

Dr Dariusz Wójcik is Lecturer at the School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford University, and Fellow of St. Peter’s College Oxford.

Date: March 15, 2013 (Friday)
Time: 2:30pm to 4pm
Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU

For registration, please email Flora Leung at fkleung@hku.hk. For enquiries, please contact Ms Leung at email fkleung@hku.hk or by phone at 3917 2941.