Newsletter No. 110

CUHK Newsletter No. 110 19th June 1997 3 O n the C a m p us Between 28th June and 2nd July With the reversion of the sovereignty of Hong Kong to China just around the comer, the city abounds with functions which mark the historical moment The majority of these will take place on the public holidays (28th June to 2nd July) flanking the handover at midnight, 30th June. The University campus, too, will be bustling during that time with activities, including the 20th anniversary reunion of the International Asian Studies Programme (IASP), the Chung Chi College alumni gathering, the CUHK alumni homecoming, as well as a telemedicine conference and a symposium on oesophageal cancer organized by the Faculty of Medicine. International Asian Studies Programme 20 th Anniversary Reunion The IASP was introduced in September 1977 for foreign students, academics, and teachers who are interested in taking China- and Asia- related courses at the University, i nc l ud i ng the Chinese language courses offered by the New Asia—Yale-in-China Chinese Language Centre. In these 20 years, the programme has produced over 1,700 alumni. After an opening ceremony on 28th June, 20th anniversary festivities w i ll begin with a moment of reflection — a talk on IASP's evolvement entitled 'Reflections from the Past, Present, and Future'. This will be followed by four seminars spread over three days with key community figures, specialists, and academics as lead speakers. Themes include 'Hong Kong's Transition in Historical Perspective', 'Greater China: Hong Kong, China and Taiwan', 'Political and Social Development of Hong Kong', and 'Future of Hong Kong, SAR within China and the Asian Region'. To round things off, there will be a closing banquet at the Royal Park Hotel in Sha Tin on 2nd July. Some 100 IASP alumni are flying in for the occasion upon invitation. Accommodation will be provided for them in the University Guest Houses and student hostels. The reunion is expected to strengthen the link between IASP alumni and the University, and in doing so, give impetus to the programme's development. The consulate-generals of different countries attending the events will have a chance to familiarize themselves with the programme's objectives and contents. This facilities exchange and paves the way for future collaboration. There are also plans to set up an IASP alumni association as well as to invite outstanding alumni to the University as visiting professors or to give talks. ' 97 CU A l umni Homecomi ng and Chung Chi College 1997 Alumni Gathering Large-scale cosmetic works on the lily pond at Chung Chi College are expected to finish by the end of June, in time for the college to organize a 45th anniversary alumni gathering on campus from 28th June to 2nd July. Over 170 Chung Chi alumni from overseas have indicated that they will return with family for the occasion. To make their trip doubly worthwhile, the Office of A l umni A f f a i rs and the Federation of A l umni Associations of CUHK have scheduled the '97 CU Alumni Homecoming for 28th June. The programme for that day will begin with lunch at the four colleges and a tree-planting ceremony. A l l college alumni will then gather at the Lingnan Stadium for the o f f i c i al opening of the '97 CU A l umni Homecoming. The afternoon w i ll usher in fun-filled activities including an intercollegiate games contest and a fun fare. Chung Chi alumni staying on will be treated to a tour of Hong Kong and a banquet at Chung Chi Tang on 29th, and visits to faculties, the Art Museum, and the Chinese Medicinal Material Research Centre. They will also be invited to a telemedicine conference at the Prince of Wales Hospital on the 30th. On the same night, they will witness the handover of Hong Kong on a large screen as they enjoy their barbecue dinner outside Chung Chi Tang. Then with the dawning of a new era, there will be more dinners, more visits, and more reminiscing for the alumni of Chung Chi College. Mov i ng w i t h the Sun: A Global Telemedicine Conference Sponsored by the Hospital Au t ho r i ty and the Hong Kong Telemedicine Association, this 24- hour global conference is convened and chaired by Prof. N. M. Hjelm, chairman of the Department of Chemical Pathology. The objective is to promote telemedicine globally, and in particular link China, through Hong Kong, to the rest of the world. Participants will include medical centres from Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia. Starting on the afternoon of 30th June, the first linkage will be established with Eastern Europe, and then in successive 1-1.5-hour periods the linkage will change to other European, perhaps South American, and then North American, Australian, and Asian centres. This order takes into consideration time zone differences, and enables each centre to come on-line during local working hours and at approximately the same period of the day. Conference topics w i ll include the use of telemedicine in collaborative medical education exchanges, visits to local sites of interest, interviews with local health policy makers and administrators, discussions of mutually interesting aspects of professional and academic life, local examples of clinical applications using telemedicine technology, and comments from patients who have experienced clinical service by it. Three to four leading medical centres in mainland China will offer views on the role of telemedicine in the delivery of care in China's future health care system. The CUHK programme will include various clinical demonstrations, video-recordings illustrating important aspects of telemedicine, a brief sightseeing tour of the University and of Hong Kong, interviews with local medical and non-medical VIPs regarding the reversion of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China, and its implications for the future development of China's health care delivery system. The programme will be telecast from the lecture theatre at the Prince of Wales Hospital, where some invited guests will constitute a 'live' audience. A l l the participating centres will organize their own programme, and the content across sites will vary. There will also be short periods of worldwide television broadcasting every hour from the conference, and as the day proceeds, conference highlights will be recorded on the Internet ( http://www.csu.med.cuhk.cdu.hk/~telemed) so as to facilitate access by the widest possible audience. Clinical Symposium on Oesophageal Cancer Jointly organized by CUHK and the Hong Kong Society of Digestive Endoscopy, the symposium is a one- day meeting focusing on the multi- modality treatment of oesophageal cancer. Starting at 8.45 a.m. on 30th June, it will end at 5.30 p.m. and be followed by a farewell dinner at the ballroom of Hotel Nikko that will continue till midnight, thus ushering in the new era in Hong Kong's history. Internationally renowned experts from Italy, Japan, and Ireland w i l l j o i n CUHK faculty members in conducting lectures that deal with a wide range of topics: the epidemiology and causation of oesophageal cancer, endoscopic techniques f or its early detection, mucosectomy for early oesophageal cancer, the extent of surgical excision, and endoscopic palliation for its advanced stage. In-depth discussion on the practical issues of management w i ll be interspersed by live demonstrations: Prof. Sydney Chung of the Department of Surgery, who is organizing the symposium, and Prof. Joseph Sung of the Department of Medicine w i l l demonstrate the skills of stenting and alcohol injection as well as the use of laser; Japanese experts will demonstrate staining and mucosectomy procedures. These demonstrations w i ll be transmitted by closed circuit television from the Endoscopy Centre to the lecture theatre at the Prince of Wales Hospital where the symposium will be conducted. Amidst the invitees are also experts from Australia, Germany, China, the Philippines, Singapore, Korea, and other local hospitals. O