Co-organized by LEWI, Wing Lung Bank International Institute for Business Development (IIBD), Xiamen University and the University of Amsterdam, an international conference on "Migrations between East and West: Normalising the Periphery", was held on 2 - 6 April. The five-day conference was divided into two parts. The first part, which was an academic workshop, took place at Xiamen University on 2 - 5 April 2006.

Open Forum: Migrants in Hong Kong: Experiences, Problems and Respones

The executive committee meeting of LEWI and IIBD was held on 7 April, the day after the Open Forum, at Hong Kong Baptist University. At the meeting, members discussed recent activities and future development of the two institutes. The 2008 conference on Chinatown and membership of LEWI and IIBD were some of the items that were discussed.

Professor Xiao Ying's visit to Hong Kong Baptist University

Professor Xiao Ying from Tsinghua University was LEWI's visiting scholar in January. He is an expert in aesthetics and contemporary culture.

During his visit to LEWI, Professor Xiao delivered a seminar on "Art and Culture in the Modern Age" on 20 January . In his talk, he discussed the importan ce of historic al events , such as Reformation and Renaissance , in the emergence of the modern world an d modern art. Drawing on masterpieces from the era of Neo-classicism, Romanticism and Pop art, Professor Xiao demonstrated how artistic vision changes overtime and its cultural significance.

Professor Chen Ling, Head of Department of Communication Studies, visited Ohio University in February under LEWI's Visitorship Programme. During her visit, she explored possibilities for faculty collaboration in research and teaching in communication studies. She also introduced LEWI's Resident Graduate Scholarship Programme and Visitorship Programme to faculty and graduate students at Ohio University. She hopes there will be more exchange activities between the two universities in the future.

East West Talk

"Religion, Social Movements and Power in Post-Mao China"
(26 January)

The Europe-China Programme (organised by LEWI and the Department of Government and International Studies) joins hands with six other departments of the Faculty of Social Sciences (History, Geography, Sociology, Education, Social Work and Physical Education) in organising the 2006 East-West Talks. Dr. David Palmer gave the first talk, "Religion, Social Movements and Power in Post-Mao China", on 26 January 2006.

Dr. David Palmer is a Research Fellow of the French School of Asian Studies (EFEO, École Française d'Extrême Orient) and coordinator of the Hong Kong EFEO Centre based at the The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His field of research is religious movements in the 20th century China.

In his lecture, Dr. Palmer reported on the development of traditional Chinese religion and its modern reinventions. Over the past 20 years, mainland China has experienced a revival of traditional religious activities and organisations, the emergence of new forms of religiosity, and the growth of globalized religious networks. In many years, religious communities are the largest and most influential non-governmental social organizations in China. Dr. Palmer claimed that in a tense political environment, these groups have adopted a wide range of strategies as they attempt to claim a social space of their own, ranging from interpenetration with the same state to confrontational polarization. He also discussed the extent to which the agonistic relationships of religious groups with the Chinese state constitute "social movements" and contribute to a Chinese "civil society".

Dr. David Palmer gave the first lecture in the 2006 East-West Talks

Professor Richard Balme (left) chaired the talk by Dr. David Palmer (right)

"Raising the Perfect Child: Parental Values in China and the United States" (2 March)

The second seminar was delivered by Dr. Xiao Hong on 2 March. Dr. Xiao Hong is Associate Professor of Sociology at Central Washington University. She is also Visiting Scholar with the Department of Sociology at Hong Kong Baptist University from 2005-2006. Her areas of interest are social stratification, cultural values, families, social ecology, and gender.

Seminars organised by the Europe-China Programme (9 and 13 February)

The Europe-China Programme and the Hong Kong and Macau Association for European Studies organised two seminars in February. Professor Dr. Gerd Schwandner, Professor of International Management and Marketing Strategies Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany, gave a talk entitled "Tourism Marketing in Europe - Strategies to Capture China Outbound Travel" on 9 February. Another seminar on 13 February was delivered by Prof. Dr. B. De Schutter, President of the Institute for European Studies Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. He spoke on "Freedom, Security and Justice in the European Union after 11 September".

Resident Graduate Scholarship Seminars (23 February)

Hu Anjiang, a RGS student in Fall 2005, delivered a seminar on 23 February 2006.

Hu An-jiang is a PhD candidate from Faculty of Foreign Languages, Zhongshan University. The topic of his dissertation is "Textual Travel and Translational Deviation: Towards the Creative Misreading of Cold Mountain Poems by Gary Snyder".

In the presentation, Hu An-jiang argued that upon the basis of the mainstream ideology and poetic tradition of his native country, Gary Snyder creatively misread Cold Mountain Poems , which enable the latter to win its legal identity and a canonical position in the target literature system after its travel to the host country and which, in the meantime, strengthens the cultural identity of the translator in question.

Distinguished Lecture Series on Communication and Culture Studies, 15 March
(Co-organised with Centre for Media and Communication Research)

LEWI and Centre for Media and Communication Research (CMCR) co-organized the second lecture in the CMCR distinguished lecture series on communication and culture studies at Hong Kong Baptist University on 15 March. The lecture was given by Professor William L. Benoit, Professor of Communication at the University of Missouri and University Fellow at Hong Kong Baptist University. Professor Benoit just completed a term as Editor of Journal of Communication (2003-2005) and will be the Editor of Communication Studies from 2007-2009. He is currently ranked as the tenth most productive scholar in communication and he has been ranked second during 1996-2001.

In this lecture, entitled "Research and Publication in Communication Journals - Factors Towards Knowledge Contributions", Professor Benoit discussed the key process of research and publication in journals. The talk began with a discussion of the basics of the journal submission and review process. He addressed several factors (e.g., important topic, interesting questions, suitable method, theoretical implications) which can influence the probability for a manuscript to be accepted for publication in a communication journal. He claimed that time for research competes with other important faculty responsibilities, but there are strategies which can enhance research productivity. He ended the lecture by offering some valuable suggestions for increasing a scholar's research productivity.

HKBU Fellow, Professor William L. Benoit discussed key processes of research and publications in communication journals

- - Select other topics - - International Conference 2006 -- Open Forum: Migrants in Hong Kong Meeting of Executive Committee LEWI Visitorship Recent Activities East-West Talks -- Europe China Programme's seminar -- Resident Graduate Scholarship Seminars -- Co-organized lecture by Professor Benoit LEWI Fellows Resident Graduate Scholarship Programme Recent Visit by Member Institutions LEWI Publications Staff Corner

The aim of the LEWI Fellow programme is to create an academic community of like-minded scholars inside and outside of Hong Kong Baptist University. It is hoped that through exchange of ideas and collaborative research that crosses academic borders, LEWI's mission of promoting inter-disciplinary and inter-cultural studies, especially in areas such as hybridisation, globalisation, translation, and inter-culturalisation, could be further promoted.

Forty HKBU faculty and ten scholars outside of HKBU have been appointed LEWI Fellows.

- - Select other topics - - International Conference 2006 -- Open Forum: Migrants in Hong Kong Meeting of Executive Committee LEWI Visitorship Recent Activities East-West Talks -- Europe China Programme's seminar -- Resident Graduate Scholarship Seminars -- Co-organized lecture by Professor Benoit LEWI Fellows Resident Graduate Scholarship Programme Recent Visit by Member Institutions LEWI Publications Staff Corner

- New Students in Spring 2006

In Spring 2006, we welcome five new participants in the Resident Graduate Scholarship (RGS) Programme:

Chen Fanfan, PhD Candidate, Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) University. Thesis topic: "The Role of Typological Markedness in Interference Phenomena of Language Contact: A Study on Acquisition of Both Mandarin and English as Second language in Hong Kong ". Field supervisor at HKBU: Dr. Yang Suying, Department of English Language and Literature.

Chen Fanfan: I began my university life as a student majoring in Chinese at Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) University. After receiving my B.A. in Chinese Language and Literature in 2003, I went on to pursue a master's degree in applied linguistics, and was admitted to a doctoral program in 2005. My studies focus on applied linguistics, particularly universal grammar, typological linguistics, second language acquisition and sociolinguistics. Currently, I am working on second language acquisition, with a focus on linguistic contact between East and West. Under the supervision of Dr. Yang Suying, my LEWI project will study the interference phenomena in the acquisition of both Mandarin (spoken modern Chinese) and English Double Object (DO) construction by Hong Kong children from a contact linguistic perspective.

Fang Fei, PhD Candidate, Fudan University. Thesis topic: "The Future of Federalism in Iraq". Field supervisor at HKBU: Prof. Ting Wai, Department of Government and International Studies.

Fang Fei: I am doing my degree in International Politics at Fudan University. My supervisor at Fudan is Professor Ni Shixiong, Director of the Center for American Studies. My study focuses on the region of Middle East, especially Iraq. There are three reasons contributing to my interest in this subject. First of all, I am interested in the Arabic language. I majored in Arabic when I was an undergraduate student at Beijing University. Secondly, I like Islamic and Arabic Culture. Last but not least, I have been to Qatar, a pocket country on the Arabia Peninsula. I met the people and observed their life there and I found that I would like to know more about their unique culture. By virtue of all these three reasons, I feel that I am destined to conduct Middle East studies.

NGO Sheau Shi, PhD candidate, School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry, La Trobe University. Thesis topic: "Sexual Representations in Hong Kong Wuxia Genre: A Western Analysis". Field supervisor at HKBU: Dr Cheuk Pak Tong, Department of Cinema and Television.

Ngo Sheau Shi: I received my B. Communication (Hons.) and M. Arts degrees from University Sains Malaysia, Penang. I was previously researching on a contemporary Malay director in Malaysia, U-Wei Haji Shaari, from a feminist psychoanalytic point of view. I am currently enrolled as a Ph.D. candidate in Cinema Studies at La Trobe University in Australia, working on Hong Kong Wuxia genre from a feminist perspective.

Su JunXia, PhD Candidate, Tsinghua University. Thesis topic: "Issues of Social Securities of Rural Migrant Workers in the Process of Urbanization in China". Field supervisor at HKBU: Dr. Cheng Yuk Shing, Department of Economics.

Su Junxia: I am a postgraduate student from the Institute of Economics, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tsinghua University. My research focuses on the issues of agriculture, countryside and farmers (San Nong). During the period of my study at Hong Kong Baptist University, I will examine the social security system of the farmers in Hong Kong. By comparing the policies in mainland China and Hong Kong, my research will provide both theoretical and practical support for the establishment of the social security system of farmers in mainland China. My field supervisor at Hong Kong Baptist University is Dr. Cheng Yuk Shing.

Xiong Xiyuan, PhD Candidate, Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) University . Thesis topic: " Trends of 21 st Century Translation Criticism in China and in the West: A Functionalist Perspective ". Field supervisor at HKBU: Dr. Tan Zaixi, Department of English Language and Literature.

Xiong Xiyuan: I am a PhD student from Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) University. My major is translation studies and I am interested in how translation criticism is carried out in China and in the west. I am very glad to have this opportunity to study at LEWI, Hong Kong Baptist University, as I know I can experience how East meets West in Hong Kong. I come from Hunan, China, and I have lived in Guangzhou for about ten years. I find Guangdong cuisine wonderful. I think if we have an open mind and we are willing to accept new ideas, we can greatly enrich our life, can't we?

Left to right: NGO Sheau Shi (La Trobe University); Su Junxia ( Tsinghua University) ; Xiong Xiyuan ( Zhongshan University); Fang Fei ( Fudan University )and Chen Fanfan ( Zhongshan University)

- - Select other topics - - International Conference 2006 -- Open Forum: Migrants in Hong Kong Meeting of Executive Committee LEWI Visitorship Recent Activities East-West Talks -- Europe China Programme's seminar -- Resident Graduate Scholarship Seminars -- Co-organized lecture by Professor Benoit LEWI Fellows Resident Graduate Scholarship Programme Recent Visit by Member Institutions LEWI Publications Staff Corner

Visit by Ohio University (8 December 2005)

Dr. Thomas A. Shotstak, Dean of Lifelong Learning and Dr. Charles Bird, Vice President of Regional Higher Education, Ohio University , visited LEWI in early December. They had a meeting with Professor Chan Kwok-bun, Director and Dr. Emilie Yeh, Associate Director, LEWI. They discussed ways that Ohio University and LEWI can enhance collaboration on organizing activities, faculty exchanges and research.

Visit by University of Leeds (28 December 2005)

Mrs. Ziff, University of Leeds, visited Hong Kong Baptist University on 28 December during her trip to Hong Kong. Her husband, Dr. Arnold Ziff, who passed away two years ago, was one of the best-known and most respected figures in Yorkshire business. He was also a benefactor of University of Leeds. Mrs. Ziff visited the Leeds office at LEWI, which is also named the Ziff's room. She met with Professor Chan Kwok-bun, Director, LEWI and Dr. Mok Man-hung, former Vice-President (Administration), HKBU. Professor Chan briefed her on the recent developments of LEWI and introduced to her our coming conference and workshop.

Right to left: Professor Chan Kwok-bun, Director, LEWI; Mrs. Ziff, University of Leeds; Dr. Mok Man-hung, former Vice-President (Administration), HKBU and Mr. Mok Ngai Yi (Dr. Mok's son)

Visit by Simon Fraser University (14 February)

Miss Ada Christopher, Manager, International Recruitment Student Services , Simon Fraser University, visited LEWI during her trip to Hong Kong in mid-February. She met with Dr. Emilie Yeh, Associate Director and Hidy Ng, Executive Officer, LEWI. We introduced her to various programmes of the institute such as the conference on migration. She would like to explore possibilities for enhancing academic collaboration between Simon Fraser University and LEWI.

Visit by University of Leeds (14 February)

Ms Ottolie Evers, International Liaison Officer, University of Leeds, visited us on 14 February. She met with Dr. Emilie Yeh, Associate Director and Hidy Ng, Executive Officer, LEWI. The main objective of her visit was to discuss ways for closer academic collaboration. This visit is mutually beneficial as LEWI and University of Leeds are keen on seeing more concrete collaboration plan and exchange in the next two years.

- - Select other topics - - International Conference 2006 -- Open Forum: Migrants in Hong Kong Meeting of Executive Committee LEWI Visitorship Recent Activities East-West Talks -- Europe China Programme's seminar -- Resident Graduate Scholarship Seminars -- Co-organized lecture by Professor Benoit LEWI Fellows Resident Graduate Scholarship Programme Recent Visit by Member Institutions LEWI Publications Staff Corner

Working Paper Series

The LEWI Working Paper Series is an endeavour of LEWI to foster dialogues among institutions and scholars in the field of East-West studies. It was launched in April 2002 and serves as a forum for the speedy and informal exchange of ideas as scholars and academic institutions attempt to grapple with issues of an inter-cultural and global nature. Forty-three papers have been published so far and we welcome papers in any academic field related to East-West studies and from authors within and outside of our LEWI consortium. For further information, please contact Miss Erica Poon at erica@hkbu.edu.hk or visit http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~lewi/publications.html#4 for details about ordering and submitting a manuscript.

Recent Publications in the Series (abstracts are available on our website ):

43.   CHAN Kwok Bun (Hong Kong Baptist University) Cosmopolitan, Translated Man, or Stranger? Experimenting with Sociological Autobiography, English/33pages, September 2005.

44.   CHUNG Po Yin (Hong Kong Baptist University) Moguls of the Chinese Cinema - the Story of the Shaw Brothers in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore, 1924-2002, English/18 pages, October 2005.

45.   Vivian C. SHEER and CHEN Ling (Hong Kong Baptist University) The Construction of Fear Appeals in Chinese Print OTC Ads: Extending the Four-Component Message Structure , English/29 pages, November 2005.

46.   HE Ping (Sichuan University) and CHAN Kwok-bun (Hong Kong Baptist University) Hybridity: Concepts and Realites in China and the World, Chinese/25 pages, December 2005.

47.   Emilie Yueh-yu YEH (Hong Kong Baptist University) Innovation or Recycling? Mandarin Classics and the Return of the Wenyi Tradition, English/22 pages, January 2006.

48.   CHAN Kwok-bun (Hong Kong Baptist University) and Leo DOUW (University of Amsterdam) Differences, Conflicts and Innovations: An Emergent Transnational Management Culture in China , English/25 pages, February 2006.

49.   Eugene EOYANG (Lingnan University) Of "Invincible Spears and Impenetrable Shield": The Possibility of Impossible Translations , English/10 pages, March 2006.

50.   Thomas Y. T. LUK (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) Adaptations and Translations of Western Drama: A Socio-cultural Study of Hong Kong Repertory Company's Past Practices , English/14 pages, April 2006.

We are pleased to announce that some of the papers in our series have been published in academic journals.

- - Select other topics - - International Conference 2006 -- Open Forum: Migrants in Hong Kong Meeting of Executive Committee LEWI Visitorship Recent Activities East-West Talks -- Europe China Programme's seminar -- Resident Graduate Scholarship Seminars -- Co-organized lecture by Professor Benoit LEWI Fellows Resident Graduate Scholarship Programme Recent Visit by Member Institutions LEWI Publications Staff Corner

Outstanding Academic Title for 2005 by Choice magazine

Introduction of Chinese-Language Film : Historiography, Poetics, Politics

Please refer to the website: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0824828135/ref=ase_worldcat-20/103-3277438-6009407?n=283155W&tagActionCode=worldcat-20

Dr. Emilie Yeh , Associate Director of LEWI and Associate Professor of Department of Cinema and Television, Hong Kong Baptist University, has won the Outstanding Academic Title for 2005 by Choice magazine for her book, Chinese-Language Film , which was co-edited with Professor Sheldon Lu at University of California, Davis. Chinese-Language Film was among 682 books and electronic resources chosen from among the 6,964 titles reviewed during the past year. To quote from their announcement: "Outstanding titles are selected for their excellence in scholarship and presentation, the significance of their contribution to the field, and their values as important -and often the first- treatment of their subject. Comprising less than 10 percent of titles submitted to Choice during this same period, Outstanding Academic Titles are truly the 'best of the best'."

Conflict and Innovation: Joint Ventures in China

Professor Chan Kwok Bun delivered a keynote speech titled "Conflict and Innovation: Joint Ventures in China", also the title of his forthcoming book by Brill Acadmic Publishers (Leiden, The Netherlands), in the Third International Research Conference on Chinese Entrepreneurship and Asian Business Networks on Value Creation Through Knowledge Governance, at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (SMU), 20-21 March, 2006. The speech will be published in a special issue on innovation and knowledge governance in the Journal of Asian Business in 2006.

- - Select other topics - - International Conference 2006 -- Open Forum: Migrants in Hong Kong Meeting of Executive Committee LEWI Visitorship Recent Activities East-West Talks -- Europe China Programme's seminar -- Resident Graduate Scholarship Seminars -- Co-organized lecture by Professor Benoit LEWI Fellows Resident Graduate Scholarship Programme Recent Visit by Member Institutions LEWI Publications Staff Corner