Newsletter No. 92

CUHK Newsletter No. 92 4th September 1996 3 Chung Chi Hosts Student Delegations f rom Taiwan and Shanghai C hung Chi College hosted two student visitation programmes in August to give students more cross-cultural experience. The theme of the first programme, which took place from 13th to 20th August, was environmental protection. Ten Chung Chi students played host to a delegation from the National Taiwan University and organized visits to electricity stations, sewage treatment plants, and reclamation sites. Prof. Man Chu-lee was the programme adviser. Then from 18th to 27th August, 11 Chung Chi students received a student delegation from Shanghai's Fudan University under a programme entitled ' Women and the Family'. The students visited centres providing services to women and families in need, including Po Leung Kuk, the Family Life Education Resource Centre and Harmony House. Prof. Lam Mong-chow was the programme adviser. Prof. Ran c e P. L Lee, head of Chung Chi College, welcomes delegates from National Taiwan University at a dinner party. New Books The Chinese University Press The following books will be sold at a 20 per cent discount to staff members at the University Bookshop, John Fulton Centre. China-Yellow 'China' and 'Yellow' are the names of two great seas that brought explorers, traders, soldiers, bankers, investors, missionaries, and the best and worst of humankind to the shores of the Orient. For China, they also brought suffering, pain, and humiliation. But China has emerged from that experience with renewed power and vision to take its place in the modern world. Writer and journalist Robin Hutcheon tells his version of this 2,000-year story of China in China-Yellow. 470 pages, paperback, HK$165, ISBN 962-201-725-8 Education Journal Edited by TsangWing-kwong and published biannually by the Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research at CUHK, Education Jou rnal (Vol. 23, No. 2 Winter 1995) is a collection of articles on empirical and theoretical studies, research reports, commentaries and book reviews that attempt a systematic analysis or synthesis of educational processes and systems from different viewpoints and approaches. It promotes the exchange of ideas between practising educators and educational reseachers in Hong Kong and abroad. HK$50, ISSN 1025-1936 For information on CU Press latest publications, please visit their web site at http ://www. cuhk/cupress/wl. htm Born in Chungking, China, 58-year-old Prof. Joseph C. K. Lee received his MB BS from the University of Hong Kong in 1964 and his Ph.D. in pathology from the University of Rochester, New York, in 1970. Prof. Lee joined the Faculty of Medicine in 1982 as founding chair of the Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology. He was faculty dean from 1986 to 1989 and associate dean from 1992 to June 1996, when he was elected dean of medicine again to succeed Prof. Arthur K. C. Li. His three- year term started from 1 st July. Prof. Lee is also vice-president (Asia) of the International Academy of Pathology, and honorary professor of Beijing Medical University, the People's Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing, the Sun Yat Sen University of Medical Sciences, and Shantou University. He is well-known for his contribution to research on precancerous changes in the human nasopharynx, ferritin in transplantable hepatomas, and the structure of chromosomes and cytogenetics. New Dean of Medicine Shares Vision for the Faculty: Its Students, Teaching , and Future N ew dean of medicine Prof. Joseph C. K. Lee knows what he is in for as he is not really new to the position. Not surprisingly, his first reaction to the election result was 'Oh, there's a lot of work for me to do. I'd better se how I can do it.' The nature of the work that Prof. Lee faces now is different however. Ten years ago when the faculty was only five years old, Prof. Lee's job was centred around foundation-building. Now at 15, with three more departments under its wing in addition to the original 18, the faculty is well-established. Prof. Lee's agenda is to develop education and research. He points out that since Hong Kong is in need of expertise on disease prevention, public health, health administration, and health policy economics, the faculty will consolidate and expand existing programmes in these areas in the years to come. Over the past decade, the Department of Community and Family Medicine has launched aseries of diploma programmes on epidemiology, family medicine, and occupational health and hygiene. In January this year a Master of Public Health programme was introduced for the first time in Hong Kong. Commenting on the trend towards integrated teaching — a disease-based approach to medical teaching— Prof. Lee says that although integrated teaching has its merits, such as its success in kindling interest in learning, it cannot replace the teaching of basic medical knowledge. One problem of teaching only the facts and techniques that pertain to solving a particular problem in a fully integrated teaching programme is that gaps in the students' knowledge will show up when they encounter new or anomalous situations. Integrated teaching is also very demanding in terms of time and staffing, especially for Hong Kong where the teacher-student ratio is low compared to countries like the United States. As Prof. Lee puts it, 'Integrated teaching requires teachers of different specialities to be present at the same time. But with people's busy schedules, it's very difficult. I can't keep them for long 一 their beepers go off and they run o ff to do an operation.' Besides, being an 'old-time, rather conservative educationalist' as Prof. Lee describes himself, he favours 'education of the person' — a process he describes as teaching the whole body of knowledge behind each medical subject before applying it — as opposed to 'technocrat training'. An 'educated doctor', moreover, not only possesses the skills of treating the sick but also the right attitude. Prof. Lee firmly believes his first duty is to cultivate such doctors. In research, Prof. Lee says emphasis will be placed on the common diseases in Hong Kong, such as liver cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, hepatitis B infection, and heart diseases. The Medical Faculty is also pushing for major advances in telemedicine, which makes use of global telecommunications networks to pool medical expertise worldwide. Through this system, doctors can consult with one another and watch operations telecast live across the globe. Prof. Lee believes that telemedicine will have wide application: ' The frequent exchanges and close cooperation it engenders w i l l have significant impact on developments in the medical field.' For the Medical Faculty, 1997 means more contacts with the mainland. Prof. Lee points out that China has a lot of talent. It also offers great potential for research on diseases that are peculiar to China alone. The faculty has just concluded an agreement with Peking Union Medical College for medical personnel exchange. Academic exchange may be beneficial, but Prof. Lee advices positive discrimination: 'We need to be careful not to overextend ourselves because China is such a large place. We can easily get lost in there. Our aim is to establish relations with leading institutions in the field, so that we can improve.' Prof. Lee foresees that as dean he will have to cut down on his own professional work and this may mean duty over pleasure. 'I am a pathologist; that's also what I enjoy doing most. I hope I don't have to give it up entirely because that's what I've been doing for the last 30 years.' Piera Chen