Last week I attended the vigil for Stanley Ho. For those who do not know Stanley Ho was a very rich man, the person who established the casino industry in Macao. He was also an alumnus of the Faculty, enrolled in 1939. He died in May. The vigil was a traditional Chinese affair, with literally…
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The results of the applications to the Research Grants Council were released a few days ago. The Faculty has done genuinely well with almost 70 funded projects this year with a success rate of somewhat over 50%. As usual there will be some who feel disappointed that they have not been funded, but overall this…
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Today is a public holiday – the 23rd anniversary of the hand-over of Hong Kong to China by the UK. It also happens to be the day after the new National Security Law came into force. I have been asked many times about how this law will affect the Faculty. The honest answer is how…
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Now we have finally reached the end of the academic year there are a few activities left to finalise. One of these was the long service award ceremony which took place this week as we celebrate the contributions of those who have worked at the university for many years. We also had to say good…
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On Tuesday of last week I received an invitation to have tea with the Deputy Director of the Liaison Office (where the representatives of the Mainland Chinese Government are based). So on Friday afternoon I went along, fantastic views from the 38th floor. Very wide ranging conversation initially about out mutual research interests. But quite…
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The security level on campus has increased by a notch this week. We are concerned that the decision by the National People’s Congress to pass a National Security Bill for Hong Kong will increase the chances of protest activity on campus. This is made more likely following the election of a Student Union Executive Committee…
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We made it! Honestly at times I have wondered whether we would get to the end of this semester. But we have done it, and examinations are underway now. the small amount of teaching that we were able to put on has been finished and we look towards the summer vacation and then looming on…
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There was no post last weekend because my old computer, which I had been using for about six years, died on Saturday morning. I have been using Apple computers since I bought myself an Apple Mac Plus in 1988, and this is the first time one has just died on me. A trip to the…
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Hong Kong has public holidays for all sorts of events. Yesterday was Buddha’s birthday, today is Labour day. The coronavirus pandemic has eased back in Hong Kong – no new cases for five days as of today but how long this will last I don’t know given that it is still rife in many parts…
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We have just finished the second week of small scale face to face teaching. I realise this hasn’t happened much elsewhere as universities have locked down and all teaching has gone online. However, I struggle to see how a science education can be regarded as complete without some hands-on practice of the skills that a…
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