Conference on 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong SAR cum  Hong Kong Political Science Association Annual Conference 2017

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Over 100 participants gathered today (25 May) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) for an event entitled the 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong SAR & Hong Kong Political Science Association Annual Conference 2017. Distinguished academics, policy makers, social leaders, postgraduate students and members of the public discussed and reviewed various aspects of the HKSAR’s overall development, taking into account political, social and legal developments between 1997 and 2017.

Jointly organised by the Department of Social Sciences and the Resource Centre for Interdisciplinary and Liberal Studies at EdUHK and the Hong Kong Political Science Association (HKPSA), the conference helped to envisage the road ahead for the city.

Professor Lui Tai-lok, Vice President (Research and Development) of EdUHK and Dr Gregory Paul Fairbrother, Head of the Department of Social Sciences, welcomed the opportunity to host the conference. Professor Lui said that “the conference, aiming to poll inputs from experts and academics with different areas of focus, will certainly stimulate discussion and provide solutions pertaining to the challenges and opportunities facing Hong Kong”. Dr Fairbrother concurred that “today’s conference on Hong Kong is similarly designed to probe continuities with the past, analyse how then-new opportunities and challenges faced by the HKSAR were handled, and discuss implications of all these for Hong Kong’s future development.”

Among the speakers was Mr Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, former President of the HKSAR Legislative Council, who delivered a keynote speech on the implementation of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ in the past 20 years. Other keynote speakers included Professor Sonny Lo Shiu-hing, President of the HKPSA, and Mr Au Nok-Hin, HKPSA best thesis awardee.

Divided into four sessions, the conference covered topics related to the development of Hong Kong over the past two decades in terms of politics and public administration, social change, legal change and international relations and status. Professor Alvin So from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Professor Wilson Wong Wai-ho from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Dr Kenneth Chan Ka-lok of the Baptist University of Hong Kong, Dr Yeung Sum from the University of Hong Kong, and Ms Linda Wong S.H., a barrister, were among the speakers. The experts held in-depth discussions and generated recommendations for Hong Kong’s future.