Austin Bliss

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Austin. I’m from the US and wanted to do a university programme in China. I actually picked CUHK because of the CCS programme. I thought it was the perfect combination of essentially being in China and a good Western-Eastern education system. I’m really happy with my choice to study in Hong Kong. I think that it’s probably the single best choice I’ve made in my life so far. Hopefully there’ll be more in the future, but so far it has been going to CUHK for China Studies. This year has been a disaster though.

How are you doing? How have you been dealing with the ongoing situation?

Obviously last semester was very frustrating. Especially because it was so sudden – I mean, it wasn’t sudden, there was a build-up. But I was actually scared. I live in Morningside, so we were right there. I had tear gas in my room. I had to close my windows and turn off the AC. I went with some of my mainland friends to Shenzhen for a little bit of a break. I didn’t know what was going to happen, then I had to come back two days later to get all my stuff because I realized I wasn’t going to be back for a while.

I was really excited for this semester. Then I got back and the coronavirus arrived. So I guess this year is a disaster, but everything that’s happened is related with what we’re studying. I think the professors in the CCS have been really good by not overreacting and panicking. I don’t feel like I’ve only been studying these issues this year, but they do come into the classroom and are discussed. When you have events that are really emotional and directly impact our lives and people around us, it’s good to be in a place where you feel you can talk about it from a rational, academic perspective.

How have you adjusted to online classes?

I think my philosophy is to treat it as much as possible as a “real” class. It’s not the same as a real class of course, where you can kind of feel when it’s appropriate to ask a certain question or just raise your hand. But I think what is really important is that I always keep my video on. I wish more people would do that. I think having those faces there is really important. [At this point Austin’s face froze and it took a minute to re-establish our connection.] I also think it must be good for professors to see listening faces. It must be hard to sit there and look at a camera with a bunch of names and no one reacting. If you’re willing to talk to people and get into it, it can almost be as good as a real class.

Something I’ve been doing that I don’t do in the classroom, because I think it’s kind of rude, is to go on Wikipedia or just go online and search things during class. It also helps to keep you engaged, because it can be easy when you’re listening to not think. So I’ll look up a political leader, his background, or the name of something in Chinese. If you keep yourself engaged, it helps. You have to work harder, at least for me. I have to work harder in an online class to keep myself engaged.

How have you dealt with the time difference?

Luckily, I only have a few classes because it’s my last semester. I made a tough decision to drop every class that I absolutely didn’t need to graduate. I’m kind of sad about it, but it would have been terrible because I would have been up at crazy times.

The only class I absolutely have to listen to live is Dr. Summers’ class. The timing is not great [as Austin went back to the U.S., the class runs from 9.30pm -12.15am local time], but it’s not terribly late. I just get a little tired at the end. I had a class that would have been at 4.45 in the morning. Now [after Daylight Saving Time] it would be at 5.45. But I spoke with the professor and basically said I didn’t think it was a good idea. She was completely in agreement. It’s not a CCS class, but she was accommodating and I just listen to a recording of that.

I have the capstone class, and Professor Kiely has been great. He lets me do individual meetings with him in the evening, my time. The official time would be 2.30am here, which would be awful. So it works out fine. And it’s because people are being reasonable.

What’s your favourite memory of the CCS?

My favourite memory is getting a bunch of people, mostly from the CCS, and going to Shenzhen and having hot pot or barbeque. It took a lot to get people to go, but when we did it was just very enjoyable. We would just go have a nice dinner and talk about China a lot. I mean, you’re there. I walked around a shopping mall once with a CCS classmate, just looking at the stores and talking about the propaganda. You can have those experiences in Hong Kong as well, which I definitely have. Just seeing something interesting and cool with your classmates is fun. That’s the reason I chose CUHK. I loved having this opportunity.

Can you tell us about a class or teacher that was particularly significant or meaningful to you?

There are a lot. That’s a hard question because I don’t think I’ve ever had a CCS professor who I didn’t like. I have to talk about several, because they have all done something special for me.

Obviously, Professor Kiely has been my academic advisor. He’s been very influential in my decision-making about my future plans. China under Mao is great. It was a special experience to interview people about their life in that era. I went to the mainland and interviewed people in a public place. There were a bunch of old guys complaining about the Mao era. I was nervous, but nothing fazes him. He was very supportive in pushing us to do that, even though I hated it at the time. It’s a challenging class – a huge amount of work.  One of my classmates said it should be six credits. But it’s a rewarding class. The experience of taking that class is essential. As long as he does it, people should take it.

Professor Li Chen was really influential for me, especially in my first year. He thinks about these things – finance, the economy, business – in ways I wouldn’t think on my own, but when I hear him I’m fascinated and want to think more myself. His classes taught me how to analyse the decisions of policymakers and economic actors – and the regulators. He’s great because he ties the political and government aspect with the economy, which is essential when discussing China. I really liked every class he taught.

Probably one of the most important professors I ever had was Professor Ling Minhua. A lot of people may not like her at first because she can be harsh when she critiques your work. She challenged me to challenge my own thinking. When I wrote essays for her, I felt I needed to support every claim I made – otherwise she would rip it apart. She’s very critical when it’s necessary, and she’s always spot on. She teaches you to set a higher standard for yourself. She helps you improve, which is great.

Dr. Summers, obviously. I actually just started reading his book. I haven’t told him because I haven’t gotten very far. I’m really enjoying it. I think the way he analyses and processes things is similar to my own – his is obviously more refined and learned. Listening to him and being in his class, you learn how to look at political issues in a way that is not politically charged. That’s one of his strengths as a former diplomat. People can be very emotional about politics and government in China. He’s able to – I don’t want to say take the emotion out of it, but he kind of does, and approaches it with more logic and rational thinking. Being in his class was perhaps more enjoyable than any other.

As a final-year student, is there anything you wish you had known in your first year?

Yeah, that the Hong Kong protests and coronavirus were coming. No. [laughs] I would advise any first year student to try to be more diverse. I was pretty diverse, but try to be better than I was. I think my biggest regret is that, in my effort to be friends with a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds, I left out Hong Kong. I really did. So I do not have a lot of local friends. I made an effort with Cantonese – it wasn’t enough, but I really did. Over time, though, I focused on Mandarin and drifted away from Cantonese. Most of my Hong Kong friends have a more international background. Although there were lots of local classmates in other classes, not so much in CCS, I didn’t really have many connections with local Hong Kong students. When the protests started, it was hard to understand at first without that connection. I really regret that. I guess my advice would be: When you come to CUHK and you’re really excited about all the diverse people you can meet, don’t forget where you are – in Hong Kong.

What’s next for you?

Hopefully, I’m going to the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. I have an offer, but at this point… Things will have to have calmed down quite a bit, and I do not see how that’s going to happen by September. If it does, I will be very happy. If it doesn’t, I will ask them if I can defer a year. If that’s the case, I want to go back to Hong Kong and find a job, which may be very hard. If I can’t find an internship, which will probably be difficult, I’ll try to find a job as a waiter – if any restaurants are open.

Any parting words for the students and faculty of the CCS?

The professors are what make this a really good programme. And the TAs too – there are some great TAs. The teaching staff is fantastic. They’re dedicated to their fields of study, but that’s only part of it. They actually care about their students and care about teaching. They’re not just there to do research and are forced to teach on the side and hate it. Well, maybe they do, but I’ve never felt that about any CCS professor! I’ve improved so much – my writing, my thinking, my knowledge of China. That’s the most important thing about the experience. I hope they know that. The reason it has been so good is because of these people. I took a big risk coming to CUHK. It could have been terrible. But it wasn’t, because these people made it a good experience. I will always remember that.

One more thing is really important: people need to go to mainland China if they’re going to do this programme. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. You need to go there and spend time there. You’re in CUHK – it’s 20 minutes away! Take advantage of that. I learned something new every time I went to Shenzhen.

If you want one more quote from me. One thing I say to myself when I think everything is a mess, a disaster – I love to use that word – is: at least it’s not boring. Yes, it certainly hasn’t been a boring year!

Lee Dayoung

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a final year student in CCS from South Korea, but I have spent more than half my life outside of Korea and have lived in Australia, the Philippines, and mainland China since I was 11. I originally enrolled for the Bachelor of Social Science degree of our Centre, but later decided to change to the Bachelor of Arts. The change happened because of a professor who is not with us at the moment, Professor Igor Chabrowski. I took his Modern China class. He thought I fit better in the Arts. My concern at the time was, “Oh, I think social science is more practical than arts.” But he gave me some advice: Do something that you like, something you can enjoy. So I switched, which was a big change in my college life.

Do you think he was right?

Yeah! I am thankful that he gave me this advice. There are so many courses that I like in the Arts programme. There are more history and culture classes – and less economics [laughs]. What I really like about our Centre is that we can kind of be in the middle. For example, I still can take Dr. Tim Summers’ classes on politics after switching to the Arts programme. It allows me to find a balance – be in the middle of Arts and Social Sciences.

How are you doing now? Where are you and how have you been dealing with the ongoing situation?

So, I’m here on campus because I didn’t go back to Korea for the Lunar New Year Vacation. But I think I’m doing well here. I feel secure. I live in Morningside, and Morningside has done an excellent job in trying to make us feel secure. We went to the College Master’s place and they made dinner for us. They also invited our Dean of Students. He works in the hospital, so he was in a good position to talk to us about the Covid-19 situation. He told us there are things we can do, like wash our hands, but we don’t need to panic.

The University in general doesn’t encourage students to stay on campus, but our college seems to understand the international students’ situation – it’s not easy to go back and forth. And we still have library access. It’s my final year, so I am glad that I am staying on campus. Otherwise I would be at home and it would be very meaningless.

How have you adjusted to online classes? What has your experience been like?

I think online classes are very convenient. I don’t have to go to class or get dressed up. But of course when we are sitting in front of a monitor, it’s really hard to focus. I get easily distracted.

To be honest, I really like the face-to-face classroom setting more. But I also heard some students say it’s easier for them to raise questions or give presentations. Some people don’t like to speak in public – they’re more comfortable raising questions and giving answers online.

Is there anything that you find yourself doing to fill the time?

I’m trying to make good use of the time I’m forced to stay indoors. So I’ve been reading a lot of books – mostly related to my final-year thesis. I’ve also enrolled in online classes. I left Korea when I was really young, so the more I study about China, the more I feel I have to know more about my roots. So I’ve been taking classes related to Korean history and Korea’s relationship to China and other countries.

What’s next for you?

I’m hoping to make use of the IANG visa – that’s a work visa for international students who graduate from a local university. I wish to stay in Hong Kong. I came to Hong Kong for career development in the first place. I know it’s a really bad time to look for a job, but I hope I can stay.

I really like research in general, so I want to find a job that allows me to make use of my research and language skills. I think I’m interested in research because it’s a slower process – it doesn’t require a fast pace. I’m not saying that I don’t like the fast pace, but I still need some time to figure out what I want. A job that would give me some time after work to study and think about the next step – a career or preparation for grad school – would be good too.

As a final year student, what do you wish you had known in your first year?

What I wish I knew back then is that the name of my major doesn’t really matter. I thought graduating in the Arts faculty would make it hard to get a job, especially in a financial centre like Hong Kong. That’s the stereotypical thinking I used to have. But I think that if I do something well now, it will show my ability to do well in other things.

Many freshmen have so many concerns about how hard it is to find an internship or whether they should add a minor. I had similar concerns. I tried to do a minor in business. But trying to juggle so many things and not doing well is a complete failure, I think. I wish I could have been more relaxed about what I studied and focused on enjoying the journey more instead.

Do you have any parting words for the student or faculty of the centre?

I think the only thing I want to say is that I’m thankful to all the professors. I think they’re all really amazing. Many professors [in other departments], have a large number of students and don’t really have a chance to talk to students personally. But our Centre has a small number of students. In terms of content, the requirements of our professors are quite high. Although some courses are tough, we learn a lot. I think the design of the whole programme is excellent.

As I began to wrap up our conversation, Helen stopped me and said she wanted to say a few more words about some of her professors.

Professor Lagerwey. His classes are quite difficult. I consider him to be someone who changed my life. It’s a shame that many people just walk away after his first or second class because it’s difficult. But he’s really generous with the grading if he knows we are trying hard. If freshmen or other students have a chance to take his class, I encourage them to take it. I like that he talks about his own life experience and his experience in China. His anecdotes enlightened me and changed how I reflect on my own life. His one-year class – Critical History of Early China and Modern China – made me want to explore anthropology. And I joined him in field work. It was only supposed to be for graduate students, but I asked him and he was very welcoming and said, “You can join us.” That’s also a good thing about our Centre. It’s very flexible and so many good sources are available to us.

And Professor Kiely. Although many students are scared to take his class due to the workload, he is a really nice professor. He has high expectations for students, which means he really wants us to learn. If students take China under Mao, they can learn a lot. I’m always amazed by how much he knows about history – not just about China, but in general. Doing his assignments and trying to meet his requirements improved my analytical and critical thinking skills. One memorable exercise I did in his class was analysing a poster from the Mao era. It was really fun. The assessment was not based on how much I knew about Chinese history, but how I could see the material in my own unique way that might contribute new insights or perspectives.

And Professor Ling. She’s been really helpful. Whenever I talked to her about concerns such as graduate school or career development, she gave me practical advice. There were many occasions when she found and shared something she thought I would find useful or meaningful, such as internship opportunities or conferences. She seems to take our concerns to heart and keep them in mind to offer help if she can.

Professor Gao. I didn’t take her class, but I went on the field trip with her. I think that was one of the best memories I have of CCS. The students were able to talk about themselves, not just coursework. It was a good chance to get to know the professors as people. I didn’t take Professor Gao’s courses, but after going on the field trip with her, I felt more comfortable talking to her and asking for help.

And Dr. Tim Summers. I didn’t really get to talk with him personally, but he’s a really good lecturer. After taking his class, I became interested in International Relations.

I think they’re all amazing. I hope all students in our Centre can make good use of the resources our Centre provides.

Zhou Ruoshi

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a Year 4 student studying Contemporary China Studies. I’m now living in Shenzhen with my family. I’ve been here since our holiday began about two months ago. I never thought it would be so long. I’m now working on my capstone research project, and have three classes this semester: a French class, War and Revolution, and Governing China. So I hope everything works out and I can graduate on time.

How are you doing? How have you been dealing with the situation?

I just stay home. And do my readings. As long as I have Wi-Fi, everything is fine. Usually the Lunar New Year holiday is a week or a bit longer, so I didn’t bring many readings or texts I need for my capstone project because I was supposed to be back at school. So I had to go out once to buy some books, but after that I haven’t gone out. I just stay at home and read my books.

How have you adjusted to online classes?

It didn’t work out very well in the beginning. I don’t know why but sometimes Zoom works and sometimes it doesn’t. So there are some technical problems. I actually missed two French classes. In Shenzhen, sometimes you cannot use a VPN, and you may not be able to open Blackboard to check announcements about classes. So I missed two classes and had to catch up. That’s a bit hard because I think French is difficult. Otherwise I think it works fine.

The most serious problem for me is that I often get distracted when I stay home. For example, my little sister – she might come to find me and force me to play with her. Sometimes I can’t put away my phone and study as I would in the dormitory. I was most distracted in the first two weeks, but as time goes on, I think we are getting used to it.

What’s your favourite memory of the CCS?

I’ve met so many different people. They are very inspiring. I met lots of friends in our department. Whenever I have a problem or need help, our teachers are always there. This semester especially, when I can’t get access to Google Scholar or the CUHK library – I don’t know why it doesn’t work – the teachers and teaching assistants are willing to help find readings. That really helps a lot, because if we can’t get access to reading, basically we can’t do anything.

I also really liked the graduation ceremony last year. It was the first time I attended. I helped my friends Jiawang and Xinran set up a room for a photo day. Usually after class, our classmates won’t gather in the department. Sometimes you can’t get together because everyone has their own schedule and is really busy. So that was a good chance to meet up.

Can you tell us about a class or teacher that was particularly significant or meaningful to you?

I think Professor Ling is very important to me – and also Professor Gao. When I first joined in Year 1, I didn’t know much about our department or China Studies. But I had a friend – a senior student from high school, Cao Shang – who I asked to learn about CUHK.

Professor Ling taught me a lot. Sometimes she suggests books and resources, and she encourages you when you are not feeling well. When I was in Year 2, one of my best friends committed suicide. That semester my GPA suddenly dropped to two-point-something. It was a really hard time for me. When I met with Professor Ling, she asked me why my GPA suddenly dropped to two, and after hearing the news about my friend, shared some ways to work through it. That was really helpful.

Professor Gao also gave me a lot of advice. The capstone project is not like anything we’ve done before. Before we just studied and did a term paper. Even if you needed to write an outline, it’s quite different from what you’re doing for the capstone. Professor Gao is always willing to reply to my emails, even when I think my questions are childish – she is really patient and gives lots of helpful advice.

What’s next for you?

I am now applying for an MA degree in our department.

Oh!

Oh! I hope I can get an offer. I don’t know [laughs]. I also applied to some other programmes. So the next step for me, if everything works out, is getting an MA degree.

What are you interested in studying?

I chose the Arts and Culture stream. I want to study more about contemporary Chinese literature and its relationship with society. In the undergraduate programme, we studied may different topics but literature is the most interesting part for me. I tried to explore it a bit in Year 2 or Year 3 in a class with Professor Van den Troost. It was just a rough study – I think it’s very preliminary research. But Professor Van den Troost gave me lots of encouragement. I would probably like to study internet literature and fandom culture. The MA course on HK and Taiwan literature is particularly attractive.

Can you tell me about internet literature?

In mainland China, there are websites like 晋江 and 长佩. Many people write their own novels on the internet. When I was at Peking University on exchange, I took a class on the subject that inspired me – I never thought internet literature was really important before.

Have you written any online novels yourself?

No, I haven’t tried. It’s so hard. Reading novels and being a critic is so much easier than writing something yourself. Every time I read novels – even long and boring ones – I find some scenes where you can tell the author put in a lot of effort, even if the result is not that good [laughs].

That’s very generous of you. Any parting words for the students or faculty of the CCS?

I wish our department well. I hope in the future we can make closer connections between different cohorts. When I was in Year 1, we didn’t have much to do with the senior students. It was hard to get help from senior students when you had problems with choosing classes or organizing your study schedule.

I also love the Universities Service Centre for China Studies (USC) library. I really love it! But I didn’t know it existed until last semester. I hope students in our department can make more use of it. Whenever you can’t find a seat in the university library, you can find a seat in that library. And it has so many books and resources. You can find things like comics – probably older than you parents, and old newspapers. It’s very interesting to look at those documents. When you really get access to them – it’s different from seeing or reading them online. The feeling is different. It’s moments like these that make you enjoy studying in our department.