Bulletin No. 1, 2015

10   Chinese University Bulletin No. 1, 2015 A t the lecture theatre entrance of the CUHK School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCS) Centre in the Bank of America Tower, a line is formed almost every month on a Friday evening. Some of the people in the line are in suit and tie, carrying briefcases, apparently just off work. They are waiting to attend the Book Club co-organized by the CUHK Office of University General Education (OUGE), the SCS, and the Second Bookstore. There was a small book store called the Second Bookstore in the Li Wai Chun Building on Chung Chi campus. The Book Club was the brainchild of the bookstore. Mr. Leung Cheuk-yan , a CUHK alumnus, was one of the proprietors of the bookstore. He says, ‘We opened the bookstore not just for selling books. We also wanted to promote reading. That’s why we started the Book Club. At first it took place on Saturdays around 2:30 pm at the coffee shop next to our bookstore.’ Later the bookstore teamed up with the University. Prof. Leung Mei-yee , Director of University General Education, recalls how the partnership began: ‘Prof. Cheung Chan- fai , the then Director of University General Education, and Ms. Tsuei So-shan Susanna , the then assistant registrar of the OUGE went to the bookstore to browse. We struck up a conversation with Tse On , the shopkeeper. The conversation gradually shifted to the Book Club. Professor Cheung was greatly impressed. He believed that promoting general education in classrooms was not enough. At that time the community didn’t know much about general education and failed to appreciate its importance. Liberal studies were not yet taught as a mandatory subject in local secondary schools. We had promoted general education with the aims of providing students with a broad intellectual perspective, motivating them to be lifelong learners, and encouraging them to remain curious and inquisitive. The Book Club is a good means to achieve these objectives. Professor Cheung suggested a partnership between the OUGE and the Second Bookstore to organize the Book Club.’ In 2003 when the Second Bookstore stopped its operation on CUHK campus, finding a new place to hold the Book Club became an issue. At this moment, the SCS gave a helping hand by providing its lecture theatre in Central as a venue for it. Professor Leung says, ‘When the Book Club moved to Central, it gradually attracted many people from outside academia, including lawyers, accountants, bankers and other professionals.’ Mr. Leung compares the difference between the two venues: ‘The venue in Central is a lecture theatre. At first we thought that the atmosphere would not be as heated as in the coffee shop, because when the Book Club was held at the coffee shop, many participants stood to listen, and the speakers stood to talk. The atmosphere was very lively. In Central everyone is seated. The interaction seems not An Oasis for Book Lovers: City Centre Book Club Prof. Leung Mei-yee Mr. Leung Cheuk-yan