Newsletter No. 18

CUHK Newsletter No.18 May 1991 and Social Sciences Panel; Prof. K. Young, on the Physical Sciences and Engineering Panel; Prof. S. T. Chang and Dr. Julian Critchley, on the Biology and Medicine Panel. They will all serve for a term of two years from 1st January 1991. Professor of Information Engineering Gives Inaugural Lecture Prof. George J. Fan, professor of information engineering, gave his professorial inaugural lecture on ‘Information, Communication and Computers' on 19th April. In his lecture Prof. Fan pointed out that the development o f the computer has had a profound impact on the generation and categorization of information and facilitated its dissemination. He reviewed the overall development of the computer, focusing on its use in supporting human endeavors and its impact on society. He also discussed related issues such as privacy, application evolution, artificial intelligence and artificial environment. Li and Fung Lecture on Commerce and Industry ‘The Reintegration of Hong Kong and the Guangdong Economy' P rof. Ezra Vogel, Henry Ford I I Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University, was invited by the University's MBA Programmes as the speaker of the fifth L i and Fung Lecture on Commerce and Industry, which took place on 4th April in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Prof. Vogel spoke on ‘The Reintegration of Hong Kong and the Guangdong Economy'. He believes that the political barriers to open markets between Guangdong and Hong Ko ng w i l l continue to fall, and that Hong Kong 's knowledge of international markets, trading and management skills and capital resources w i l l combine with Guangdong's supply of labour to present a formidable force in world markets. He also highlighted the issues facing the region: how to negotiate with Beijing on important issues, how to upgrade skills, how to phase down state enterprises, and how to finance imported materials and capital works. Prof. Vogel is a specialist on modem China and Japan. At Harvard, he is director of the East Asian Research Center and director of the Program on US-Japan Relations at the Center for International Affairs. The L i and Fung Lecture Programme was established in 1981 under the auspices of the MBA Programmes and has been financed by an endowment fund set up by the L i and Fung Group of Companies. HKIB/Syntex Ltd. Established T h e Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology (HKIB) recently signed an agreement with the Syntex Pharmaceuticals I n t e r na t i onal Limited to establish a joint company to conduct pharmaceutical research. The new company, HKIB/ Syntex Limited, will set up a research facility in Hong Kong to screen synthetic and natural compounds for their potential as novel pharmaceutical products. Two research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences are also key participants in this programme. The project represents the first tripartite collaboration on pharma- ceutical research between Hong Kong, mainland China and the USA, and is a significant step in the development of a pharmaceutical industry in Hong Kong. Syntex is one of the world's major pharmaceutical companies, with more than 40 years of experience in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of novel pharmaceuticals. 2

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