Newsletter No. 248

Cantonese Cancer Hotline Launched T he Hong Kong public can now obtain updated and comprehensive evidence-based information about cancer and its development in Hong Kong by calling the new Cancer Information Hotline at 2637 1122. The Cantonese hotline was established by the Department of Clinical Oncology as a core service of the Cancer Patient Resource Centre to provide the latest cancer information in the language of the masses. The hotline's contents comprise three kinds of cancer information: that on the disease, that on services, and that on cancer-related drugs. Doing the voice recording are Prof. Tony Mok, associate professor in the Department of Clinical Oncology, and celebrities Ms. Liza Wang and Mr. James Wong. Professional support is given by the teaching staff of the department, Dr. C.K. Law of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Dr. Rebecca Yeung of the Eastern Nethersole Hospital, and doctors of the Prince of Wales Hospital. Prof. Anthony Chan, chairman of the Department of Clinical Oncology, said at the launch of the hotline on 12th October that it was set up 'with a determination to enrich the public's knowledge about cancer, eventually reducing the public's unnecessary fear towards the disease'. (From left) Prof. Tony Mok, Dr. Fung Hong, cluster chief executive (New Territories East) of the Hospital Authority, and Prof. Anthony Chan launching the hotline CUHK Staff Designs Ecological School for Gansu P rof. Edward Ng of the Department of Architecture has designed an experimental ecological school jointly with Xian Jiaotong University. The school w i ll be built in Gansu. Funded by the Kadoorie Farm Charity Trust, the aim of the project is to build an ecologically sustainable school that is environment friendly and comfortable to occupy. The school should also demonstrate good design principles to the regional government. Under the motto 'High Science and Low Technology', the design utilizes traditional construction methods and local materials but in modem and scientific ways. Solar and thermal mass technologies are used together with a sophisticated passive ventilation system. Despite the region's severe weather conditions, simulation results have shown that the indoor temperature of a classroom remains within 16 to 22 degrees Celsius. This is a marked improvement from ordinary schools whose indoor temperatures range from -2 to 30 degrees Celcius. A well integrated landscape design links spaces together providing a mixture of indoor, semi-outdoor, and outdoor spaces conducive to learning. When completed, the school w i ll accommodate 400 students and w i ll form a base for further research. Construction work has just begun on site and is expected to finish in June 2005. Servic e t oth eCommunit y an d Internationa l Organization s • Prof. Ching Pak Chung, head of Shaw College, has been re-appointed by the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology as the chairman of the Accreditation Advisory Board on an ad personam basis for two years from 1 St November 2004. • Prof. Thomas Y.K. Chan, professor in the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, has been re-appointed by the Director of Health as a member of the Department of Health Drug Selection Committee for two years from 1st October 2004. • Prof. Lee Tak Shing, professor in the Department of Psychiatry, has been voted into the executive committee of the Marc é Society. 李德誠教授亦於二零零四年五 月，獲中國醫師協會聘請為「我國精神科專科醫師 培養標準」起草小組專家。 • Prof. Wang Chi Chiu Ronald, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, has been admitted as a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. • Prof. Leung Po Sing, professor in the Department of Physiology, was invited to serve on the editorial board by the Journal of Molecular Endocrinology in 2000, by the Journal of the Pancreas in 2001, by Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology from 2002 to 2005, and to serve as an associate editor for Pancreas in 2000. (Information in this section is provided by the Information and Public Relations Office. Contributions should be sent direct to that office for registration and verification before publication.) Letter to the Editor What is Worth Defending? —Reflections on the Public Lecture 'Are We Alone in the Universe?' by Y.L Yung, professor of planetary science I would like to thank United College for inviting Prof. Y.L. Yung, professor of planetary science from the California Institute of Technology, to give CUHK students a chance to listen to the latest scientific views on the topic 'Are We Alone in the Universe?' It is a fine example of liberal studies and a manifestation of general education at its best. I would like to offer a few observations and personal reflections on the public lecture. T.Y. Wong Hall was packed with over 400 students and staff on 21st October. To some the lecture was deep, exciting and thought provoking. To others it was boring and incomprehensible. I t i s interesting to see why audience responses turn out to be so different. What are the missing links between specialist knowledge and common sense? It seems that the tenuous links between academia and the real world on the subject are not entirely evident. To help bridge our gap of understanding, the speaker quoted Fermi Paradox (1943), 'Absence of evidence is not evidence o f absence' when he referred to the subject of man's search for extraterrestrial life. I n t e l l e c t u a l l y, the t a lk i s i n t r i g u i ng and fascinating. But its l i nk to the real wo r ld is not immediately obvious or relevant to students. A n accounting student asked the speaker, 'Why should so much money and manpower be allocated to cosmological studies often without answers? Why not spend it on something more down to earth and related to the well-being of human societies?' The professor replied that what was not regarded as important today might become very important in the future. He cited the discoveries of Newtonian laws of physics, and the applications of space science in weather forecast and telecommunications by satellites. A brilliant professor of physics supported him by telling the audience a story from the American Congress. A space scientist asked Congress for an astronomical sum of money for space research. A Congressman asked him, 'Does i t help defend the country?' He said, 'No, but it w i ll help to make this country worth defending.' The quick amusing answer reminds me of the 'defensive' Star Wars project during the Cold War. Many leading scientists believe that stars are there for our wonder and admiration, and not for defensive or offensive war games. The question in my mind is: What's worth defending? Love of war like that of President George W. Bush and his Iraqi war? Love of power like that of Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or the first emperor of China? Defending what? Love of money like that of unscrupulous CEOs in corporate accounting scandals? Money is not evil. But love of money is. Power is important and one needs power to change things. But absolute power corrupts absolutely. Power without control is nothing but aggression against others and self-destruction. Why are most o f the world's top scientists engaged in weaponry-related research and in military ambitions of governments? How does space science help man defend himself against the love of power and self-destruction? Can space science help improve human nature or make it worth defending? Does i t justify or, rather, magnify the consequences of the darker side o f human nature? Do we need more bombs and missiles, or do we more education and reflection? Is space science value free? Science is a noble intellectual pursuit, but it cannot fix the problems of human values. What is the bottom-line of man's scientific enterprise? Profits, power, or peace and social justice? Our quest for unlimited economic growth is not sustainable, especially when it is driven by greed and war, r e i n f o r ced by science and technology at the expense of the environment and the poor. Why must the rich get richer and the poor, poorer? When scientists ask how the universe began and whether there is life elsewhere in the universe, it seems more critical for us to ask ourselves, 'Who are we? Why are we here on earth? Why can't we learn to live in peace instead of living in anxiety and fear? What are the fates of human societies? What values should we learn t o defend? Mahatma Gandhi suggested a few when he said, 'Our earth has enough resources to meet everyone's need, but not enough to meet everyone's greed.' In the age of globalization, let's search our souls, ask, and think for ourselves, 'What is worth defending?' By George Jor, senior instructor, ELTU 3 No. 248 4th November 2004