Newsletter No. 53

CUHK NEWSLETTER Concept of State Sovereignty Needs Modification The sovereig n stat e syste m need s t o adapt itsel f t o th e emergenc e o f divided nation s afte r th e Secon d World War , say s Prof . Byro n S . J . Weng, professo r o f governmen t an d public administration . In hi s professoria l inaugura l lecture delivere d o n 11t h March , Prof. Wen g pointe d ou t tha t th e generally-held concep t tha t sovereig n states ar e 'absolut e an d indivisble ' had cause d a lo t o f strai n i n international relations, particularl y thos e involving 'divide d nations ' suc h as Korea , Germany , Vietnam , an d China. Whe n sovereignt y i s spli t for a significant perio d o f tim e an d divide d nations continu e t o exist , h e believe s that adjustment s i n internationa l la w and organizatio n mus t b e mad e s o that th e internationa l communit y ca n come t o grip s wit h suc h a politica l reality. H e use d Chin a a s a n exampl e to examin e th e characteristic s o f divided nations , thei r evolutio n towards reintegratio n o r separation , and th e variable s involve d i n th e process. Entitled 'Sovereignt y Spli t - A Pre-Theory o f Divide d Nations' , th e lecture wa s hel d a t th e lectur e theatr e of th e H o Sin-han g Engineerin g Building. Dumping Site at Pak Shek Kok Causes Concern The governmen t ha s identifie d Pa k Shek Ko k a s a suitable sit e for the disposal of surplu s constructio n materia l suitable fo r reclamation . Th e proposed reclamation projec t will soon b e gazetted. The projec t sit e i s som e 6 7 hectares o f marin e are a betwee n Ta i Po an d Sh a Ti n o n th e wester n borde r CUHK to Coordinate Inter-institutional Broadband Communications Network The Universit y recentl y receive d HK$1.78 millio n fro m th e Researc h Grants Counci l (RGC ) o f th e University and Polytechni c Grant s Committee to se t u p a n Inter-institutiona l Broadband Communication s Networ k Testbed. The networ k wil l b e base d o n ATM (Asynchronou s Transfe r Mode ) technology, whic h ha s bee n adopte d worldwide t o transpor t dat a an d switch informatio n traffi c o n th e Broadband Integrate d Servic e Digita l Network (B-ISDN) . I t wil l greatl y facilitate researc h i n networ k contro l and management , an d th e development of networ k service s an d applications. Its hig h spee d an d multimedia transport abilitie s wil l als o open u p ne w way s o f conductin g collaborative research . The proposa l t o instal l suc h a network wa s mad e b y Th e Chines e University an d supporte d b y th e University o f Hon g Kon g an d th e Hong Kon g Universit y o f Scienc e and Technology . Th e syste m wil l consist o f thre e switches , on e t o b e installed a t each university . The y wil l be linke d b y optica l fibre s an d th e NO.53 APRIL 199 4 2