Newsletter No. 194

CUHK Newsletter No. 194 19th December 2001 3 Li &Fung 95th Anniversary L e c t u re on Commerce and I n d u s t r y T he L i &Fun g 95t h Anniversar y Lecture, organize d b y th e M B A Programmes o f the Facult y o f Busines s Adm i n i s t r a t i o n, wa s he l d o n 30t h November 200 1 i n the Ho n g K o n g Convention an d Exhibition Centre . Prof. Pau l Krugman , professo r o f economics an d internationa l affair s o f Princeton University, spok e on the topi c of 'Retur n o f th e Retur n o f Depressio n Economics', citin g the cases of Argentina, Japan, and USA . The talk was well attende d by mor e than 500 participants, includin g government officials, businessmen, MBA alumn i and students. After the lecture, a reception was held to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Li & Fung Group . Prof. Pau l Krugman als o delivere d a lecture earlier that day in Li Koon Chu n Hall o n CUHK campus . Entitle d 'Lesson s fro m Japanes e Depression' , hi s lectur e stimulate d insightfu l discussion o n Hong Kong' s econom y whic h some believe i s on the brink o f a recession. Prof. Krugman received his BA fro m Yale University an d his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institut e o f Technology. Havin g serve d as chief international economis t o f the US Counci l o f Economic Advisers , hi s professional reputatio n rests largely o n work i n international trade and finance . Prof. Krugman is the author of more than 20 books and 200 papers. He is also known internationally fo r his column s i n The New York Times, Fortune Magazine, an d Slate. (From left) Prof. Andrew Chan, director of the MBA Programmes, Dr. WilliamFung ,managing director of the Li & Fung Group, Mrs. Arthur K.C. Li, Prof. Arthur K.C. Li, Prof. PaulKrugman,Dr. VictorFung, chairman of theAirport Authority, and Dr. C.K. Law, administrative director ofgraduate programmes of the Faculty ofBusiness Administration Nobel Laureat e in Economic s Discusses Asymmetri c Informatio n P rof. Jame s A . Mirrlees , 199 6 Nobel laureat e in economics an d professor o f political economy a t the University o f Cambridge , gave a lecture entitle d 'Economi c Polic y w i t h Imperfec t Consumers' o n 23rd November 200 1 i n the Sin o Building . Prof. Mirrlee s ha s made fundamenta l contribution s t o th e economic theor y o f incentive s unde r asymmetri c information . Situations wher e decision-maker s hav e differen t informatio n may occu r i n man y contexts . Incomplet e an d asymmetricall y distributed informatio n ca n ofte n lea d t o a n informationa l advantage bein g exploite d strategically . Researc h o n th e economics o f informatio n therefor e focuse s o n how contract s and institutions ca n be designe d to handl e differen t incentiv e and control problems. Thi s has generated substantial impact o n insurance markets , credi t markets , auctions , an d politica l institutions. Prof. Mirrlees's theory on optimal income taxes is importan t to th e moder n analysi s o f comple x informatio n an d incentiv e problems, i n particular where it is impossible to observe anothe r agent's actions . He ha s analysed the structur e o f consumptio n taxes in a world where tax wedges give rise to social inefficiency. Medical Education Assessment in Focu s at Conference O ver 16 0 delegate s f r o m th e mainland, Taiwan , an d Hon g Kong attende d th e F i f t h Med i ca l Education Conferenc e fo r Chin a Mainland, Taiwan , an d th e Hon g Kong Region held from 18t h to 22n d November 200 1 a t th e Facult y o f Medicine. Hoste d this yea r by the Faculty of Medicine of the University , the annua l conferenc e i s th e mos t important functio n o f th e Medica l Education Associatio n fo r Chin a Mainland, Taiwan , an d th e Hon g Kong Region , firs t se t up in 199 7 b y the med i ca l facultie s o f Peking University, Yan g M i n g University , and The Chines e University . The ai m o f the conferenc e wa s to promote experience sharing among the educationa l professional s i n th e medical field . Th e them e o f thi s year's conferenc e wa s 'Assessmen t on Medica l Students , Teachers , an d Colleges'. Speeche s were delivere d by 3 0 speaker s from universities o f the three regions. Issues discusse d included setting assessment objectives an d criteria, total quality management i n the assessment process, and continuous improvemen t i n assessment . (From left) Prof. Sydney Chung, dean of medicine, CUHK; Prof. Wang Debing,chairman, University Council of Peking University; Prof. Arthur K.C. Li, vice-chancellor of the University; Dr. Lin Huiqing, deputy director, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, PRC; Prof. Chang Mausong,vice-president of Yang Ming University; Prof. Rita Y. T. Sung, and Ms. Janet ChowofCUHK Conferenc e Examine s Ho w H K Can Mee t Challenge s o fGlobalizatio (From left) Prof. LiuPak-wai,pro- vice-chancellor, Prof. S. W. Tam, president of the Open University of HongKong ,Prof. Rance Lee, head of Chung Chi College, and Dr. VictorFung S ocial leaders and renowned scholars explored Hong Kong' s future developmen t a t 'Reinventin g Hong Kong i n the Age of Globalization', a public conferenc e organize d by Chun g Ch i College an d the Faculty o f Socia l Scienc e i n celebration of the college's 50t h anniversary . Th e conferenc e wa s hel d o n 17t h November a t the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre . A keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Victor Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong Airport Authority. Th e conference comprise d three panels, on education, economics, and culture respectively . Recognition Given to CUHK Research Associate and Graduate Student T he Ph.D. thesis of Dr . Che n Wei Qing, currentl y a research associate at the Department o f Community and Family Medicine , won the Occupationa l Safety and Health Best Project Award for 2000-1. The awar d was conferre d by th e Occupationa l Safety and Health Council to the three best research projects o n occupationa l healt h i n Hon g Kong , among a list of 1 4 this year. The council held a prize presentation o n 18t h November a t the Hong Kon g Convention an d Exhibition Centre . Entitled 'Occupationa l Stres s and Its Influenc e on Workers ' Healt h i n Off-shor e O i l Industr y i n China', Dr . Chen' s project was nominated by Prof . T.W. Wong , hi s superviso r whe n pursuin g Ph.D . studies a t the University . The web-sit e ( h t t p : / / i home . cuhk . edu . hk / ~b400559/array.html) o f Mr. Y.F. Leung, a graduate student a t the Departmen t o f Ophthalmolog y an d Visual Sciences, was described by Science Magazine as a 'divers e collectio n o f annotate d links ' tha t i s useful t o 'novice s kee n to lear n th e basics o f gen e chips' and 'seasoned pros' alike. The site, which covers life scienc e researc h fields , includin g functiona l genomics, microarray , proteomics , bioinformatics , and complex diseas e trai t mapping , ha s been use d widely by the international scientific community, and is linke d u p t o institute s suc h a s the US Nationa l Institute o f Health, MI T, th e Johns Hopkins Schoo l of Medicine, the European Bioinformatics Institute , and Peking University .