Orientations for New Students

On August 30 and September 1, CCS held orientations for first-year undergraduate and MA students. Centre Director Professor David Faure and Associate Director Professor Jan Kiely encouraged the new students to use their time at CCS to explore Hong Kong and to avail themselves of the abundant China Studies resources available at CUHK. Afterwards, teaching assistants, students and faculty mingled over food and drinks.

Visit to Hong Kong Film Archive

On the evening of September 27, CCS students from CCSS3440 China on Screen and CHES5002A Chinese Studies Field Trip embarked on a trip to the Hong Kong Film Archive in Sai Wan Ho, to watch a pioneering martial arts film, A Touch of Zen (1971), by famed director King Hu. Professor Kristof Van Den Troost not only wanted students to have an authentic cinematic experience, but also to introduce them to the fantastic resources that the Hong Kong Film Archive provides. After seeing an exhibit on the history of Hong Kong comedy at the archive, students watched the 3-hour martial arts masterpiece, and engaged in further discussion about the film's techniques and cultural significance.

Job Talk

For students anxious to get advice on finding jobs, October 6 was a good day because CCS and its Alumni Association jointly organised a Job Talk. Our undergraduates and postgraduate students heard from Mr Armstrong Lee, the managing director at Worldwide Consulting Group, who shared insights on how to capture employers' attention with a smart CV and cover letter. Students then met four CCS alumni from different professions and got useful information on career planning and job hunting. The day concluded with a snack break and a CV workshop, in which interested students received individual and detailed advice on how to refine their CVs from invited human resources professionals, Mr. Maxine Danjox, Ms. Hua Chaochao and Mr Jackee Wong (CCS alumnus).

CCS Barbeque

On October 28, the Student Association for China Studies and the CCS Alumni Association co-organised the annual BBQ party. Returning to Whitehead, Ma On Shan, once again, around 30 students, both undergraduates and postgraduates, alumni and faculty members gathered to enjoy a good time with one another. The laughter, good food and even better company relieved the mid-semester stress for all participants.

Tracey Screening

On November 19, CCS hosted a screening of Tracey, a new, path-breaking Hong Kong film on transgender issues. Tracey was produced by veteran filmmakers Shu Kei and Jacqueline Liu, and directed by CUHK alumnus Jun Li, the winner of the Grand Prix and Best Director Award at the 11^th Fresh Wave Short Film Competition. More than 170 students, as well as members of the public, registered for this event. After the screening, the audience had a lively discussion with Shu Kei. The discussion session lasted for over an hour as many spectators were eager to share their thoughts and ask questions. The event ended with warm applause.

CCS Visiting Speaker Series

On October 24, Professor Qian Licheng from Zhejiang University gave a talk titled "Consumption and Contested Memory: Chairman Mao as Commodity". He analyzed the meaning of the consumption of Chairman Mao imagery in a post-Mao context and the role that mnemonic consumption plays in commemorating a difficult past not fully acknowledge by the state. A few weeks later, on November 14, Professor Toby Lincoln from the University of Leicester visited CCS and gave a talk titled "Postwar Urban Reconstruction in China, 1938-1958". Taking a comparative approach, his research explores how cities in China experienced different trajectories of reconstruction throughout the wartime and post-war period. Professor Lincoln reviewed the extent of wartime destruction in Chinese cities, the ideas about cities that influenced postwar reconstruction, the role that successive governments played and the ways that urban populations rebuilt their lives after war.

CCS China Research Colloquia

Mr. Li Kailong, the founder and CEO of Kalpa Tach, a digital technology institution, visited CCS on October 24 and talked about the development of digital finance in China. He predicted that because of the digital revolution, people's productive activities and lifestyle will be transformed. In the financial industry in particular, the digitization of cooperation and credit relations will bring about disruptive changes. His talk introduced the substantial progress that China is making in this regard. On November 30, Ms. Zhang Xiaoye from the City University of Hong Kong talked about her research on drama workshops in a Chinese prison. Based on ethnographic research in a Chinese male adult prison, her study conceptualizes performance-making in Chinese prisons as an organizational process of social control. As accessing Chinese prisons is no easy feat, a plethora of questions from the audience followed the talk.

CCS Film Screening Series

The Fall 2018 CCS Film Screening Series focused on female agency embodied in three different genres. Set in a turbulent time leading to the Northern Expedition (1926-27), Four Loves (Lee Hsing, 1965) was the first screen adaptation of a story by popular romance novelist Qiong Yao. This romantic melodrama places the female protagonist Wanjun, an orphan, in the center of attention of her three "cousins." Vengeance of the Phoenix Sisters (Chen Hung-Min, 1968), a Taiwanese-language martial arts film, follows three orphaned sisters who seek revenge separately. The two younger sisters fall in love with the eldest sister whom they have never met and who is disguised as a handsome warrior. My Fancy High Heels (Ho Chao-ti, 2010), the seventh documentary in director Ho's globalization series, scrutinizes the cruel fate of animals and women workers in the production process of fancy high heels. It reflects on Taiwan's past glory as the world's largest exporter of shoes between 1976 and 1987.