Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1978

China. From this point of view, most non-pure science research projects undertaken at the Institutes and Centres are actually also related to Chinese studies in varying degrees. And it is quite natural that a large fraction of these research projects, particularly in social and professional studies, deals with subjects directly relating to the society of Hong Kong, where the interactions between the Chinese and Western traditions are best illustrated, while other research projects involve comparative studies taking Hong Kong as an important point of reference. Under these circumstances, the research interests of the graduate students have also naturally been directed along these lines. From the standpoint of The Chinese University, this is a very healthy development and the University is determined to push it further in the future. It is encouraging to note that the balanced growth of our graduate programmes and the Research Institutes and Centres/Units, particularly along the above described lines, has increasingly gained recogni tion by the international academic community. This is clearly testified by the fact that cooperative arrangements between overseas institutions of higher learning and this University in both graduate studies and research have been steadily expanding. Finance-wise, apart from the support of Hong Kong Government and local business leaders, our Research Institutes and Centres/Units have, over the years, received generous assistance from well-known international foundations including The Ford Foundation, The Asia Founda tion, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Harvard-Yenching Institute. Of particular significance is that the Harvard-Yenching Institute has not only provided financial assistance to our research projects but awarded special grants for publication of worthy master theses written by our graduate students in the field of Chinese studies. Looking back at the progress of our Graduate School and Research Institutes and Centres/Units during the past decade, which is short indeed from the long-range educational point of view, we are confident about their further development towards maturity and richness now that the University has entered a new era of steady growth. Sui-Loong Pao Building, which accommodates the Graduate School and various research units 24