Media

The History of Quarrying in Hong Kong (石頭記 – 礦故 · 識今)
Ir Dr. S.W. Poon, Adjunct Professor

Organiser:
Department of Real Estate and Construction, The University of Hong Kong

Co-organisers:
Civil Engineering and Development Department, HKSAR
Building Division, The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers

Abstract
Stone quarrying had been in existence long before the British came. The census carried out in 1841 revealed that six out of twenty villages and 22% of the population on the Hong Kong Island were involved in quarrying. Good quality in abundant quantities had led to the extensive quarrying of granite for construction purposes. The rise and fall of the quarrying industry in the subsequent 150 years was found closely linked to the infrastructure development in Hong Kong. The talk will cover the commencing of owning the right to quarry on the Island in 1844, the later inclusion of numerous separate quarries in Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, and the recent rehabilitation of just several major quarries. Also will be presented are topics on the quarry owners, the conditions laid down in the license as well as the development of the regulations governing the practice of quarrying.

Date: 28 July, 2018 (Saturday)
Time: 3:00 – 5:00pm

Venue: Room KB419, 4th Floor, Knowles Building, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.

Free of charge. Seats are limited. First come, first served.

For enquiries and seats reservation, please send an email to swpoon@hku.hk

A 2-Year Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Half-Day versus Whole-Day Kindergarten Programmes on Hong Kong Children’s Development
The question of whether a longer kindergarten day can improve child outcomes has been debated in the West since the 1970s, yet the research findings on this issue are still inconclusive. The mixed findings caused the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (the HKSARG) reluctant to promote the whole-day kindergarten programme, albeit the public pressure to fully subsidise the whole-day kindergarten programme since 2012. Despite the growing demand for the whole-day programme due to women’s increasing involvement in the workforce and evolving family and societal dynamics, the HKSARG still insisted that the half-day programme was more appropriate for young children and launched the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme for half-day programmes in 2017. This policy, however, has left the whole-day programme under-subsidised and has been challenged by local stakeholders, policymakers, and scholars, who believe that an additional dosage of daily kindergarten instruction will have a greater positive impact on children’s development.

To address this complicated social-educational problem and the urgent need to scientifically examine the whole-day versus half-day kindergarten impact, starting from 2015, a research team lead by Dr Hui Li at the Faculty of Education of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has conducted a 2-year territory-wide longitudinal study of The Effects of Half-Day versus Whole-Day Kindergarten Programmes on Hong Kong Children’s Development. The study is funded by the Research Grants Council under the General Research Fund. Media representatives are cordially invited to attend a press conference on the study at the HKU. The details are as follows:

Date: August 1, 2018 (Wednesday)
Time: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: Rooms 401 – 402, 4/F, Meng Wah Complex, HKU (click here for map)
Speaker: Dr Hui Li, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, HKU

At the press conference, Dr Li and his team will share the research findings on the following questions:
1. Which programme (whole-day or half-day) would produce greater outcomes in children’s language, cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development?
2. What are the benefits and disadvantages of the whole-day kindergarten programme as perceived by parents in Hong Kong?
3. What are the benefits and disadvantages of the whole-day kindergarten programme as perceived by kindergarten educators in Hong Kong?
4. In the opinion of Hong Kong educators, what type of families should send their children to the whole-day and half-day programmes?

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Emily Cheung, Senior Manager (Development and Communications), Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 3917 4270 / email: emchy@hku.hk).

UMAG exhibitions
1. Bosshard in China: Documenting Social Change in the 1930s captures the tumult of the 1930s through historical photographs and films

Period: Now till August 5, 2018 (Sunday)

The exhibition is organised into thematic sections that give insight into the photographer’s mind as he traversed myriad landscapes and social conditions, from Beijing to Lake Qinghai in western China; from the bombing of Hankou to Mongolian shepherds on the steppe. Apart from filming daily life, Bosshard also photographed and interviewed key political figures, including Mao Zedong in Yan’an, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling, Madame Chiang Kai-shek.

Following earlier exhibitions at UMAG of Magnum photographers and their oeuvres in the West, Bosshard in China documents China’s landscape and its people during a time when China was undergoing significant sociopolitical upheaval. During this same era, photojournalism was developing into a serious mass medium of information, and Bosshard’s work in the 1930s was one of the primary means by which the Far East came to life across living rooms in Europe and America.

As Bosshard’s journeys through China are well documented, his imagery offers valuable contextual information. He provides views into a society—and now past—that benefits from the objective view of the camera lens. Bosshard’s work is of historical significance, as most Western photographers only went to China for individual assignments, but did not live there for extended periods. Many of the Chinese photographers were politically engaged or had been commissioned, which resulted in a more selective subject matter and consistent narrative.

Bosshard’s documentary photography and film are neither colonialist nor otherwise politically motivated. Though he lived alongside the Chinese people during the Japanese invasion, he did not take sides but rather let his images—both still and moving—capture the scenes unfolding around him. This phenomenon is remarkable, as traditional reports of political and military campaigns, and especially images of warfare, often aimed to communicate either nationalist or anti-nationalist sentiments. Bosshard documented urban centres and rural regions, peaceful everyday as well as wartime activities, and throughout all of these moments he strived to remain a neutral observer. His oeuvre presents a more holistic view of a country that was perceived internationally as highly important but altogether remained little known.

Venue: 1/F T.T. Tsui Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

2. Bringing the Best of Italian Art to Hong Kong Shaping the Human Body: Florentine Sculpture of the Italian Renaissance A Remarkable Exhibition of Renaissance Sculptures from the Renowned Bellini Collection

Period: Now till August 12, 2018 (Sunday)

The 10 masterpieces featured in the exhibition exemplify stylistic developments from the 14th to the 16th century. The Exhibition includes works by remarkable Renaissance artists Donatello, Francesco di Valdambrini, Luca della Robbia, Giovanni della Robbia, Gregorio di Lorenzo and Giovanni Francesco Rustici. The sculptures beautifully represent how the artistic representation of the human body changed during this period, influenced by scientific study and a move towards life-like depiction.

The Exhibition represents Principal Sponsor Marco Polo Society’s commitment to providing meaningful Italian artistic and cultural exchanges in Hong Kong, China and Macau. In cooperation with the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong and Macau, the Society is proud to support this memorable Exhibition and affiliated education programme in Hong Kong.

The Exhibition’s Major Sponsor is Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, a charitable organisation established in 2010 in memory of the late Mr Ng Teng Fong, founder of Sino Group. The Foundation is a steadfast advocate of education, youth development and community services. It has supported over 200 local non-government organisations and social enterprises. In addition to supporting good causes such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the National Gallery of Singapore and restoration of the Great Wall, the Foundation places great emphasis on education. It provides financial assistance for students from underprivileged families in Hong Kong and China through the Ng Teng Fong Scholarships. It also supports scholastic initiatives of Peking University, Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University in China as well as the National University of Singapore, Singapore University of Technology and Design and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

The event’s Community Outreach Sponsor is the First Initiative Foundation (FIF) that is committed to supporting art, culture and educational outreach in the Hong Kong Community. FIF works to uplift Hong Kong by providing global cultural connections and opportunities for local cultural advancement.

The exhibition’s Supporting Sponsor is the Hong Kong University Museum Society, a charitable organisation that supports cultural and educational events and has been UMAG’s principal supporter for 30 years.

Venue: 1/F Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

3. Continuing the Iznik Tradition Contemporary Blue-and-White: Turkish Ceramics by Mehmet Gürsoy and Nida Olçar

Period: Now till August 19, 2018 (Sunday)

İznik pottery is named after the town of İznik, where these finely decorated ceramics have been manufactured since the last quarter of the 15th century. Local craftsmen developed simple earthenware pottery into a more sophisticated manufacture of high-quality ceramics painted with cobalt blue patterns and coated with a colourless glaze.

This modern form of production developed under the patronage of the Ottoman court in Istanbul, which traded with China and greatly valued Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. Consequently, the iconography of İznik ceramics combined traditional Ottoman arabesque patterns with Chinese motifs. Today, contemporary artists remain true to traditional design sources by creating objects that relate to cultural exchanges from the time of the Ming dynasty.

Venue: 2/F Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam

Opening Hours:
09:30 – 18:00 (Monday to Saturday)
13:00 – 18:00 (Sunday)
Closed on University and Public Holidays
Tel/Email: (852) 2241 5500 (General Enquiry) / museum@hku.hk
Admission: Free
Website: www.umag.hku.hk/en/

Connect with UMAG on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/umag.hku
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UMAG_HKU

Media enquiries:
UMAG Senior Communications Officer Ms Elena Cheung, Tel: (852) 2241 5512, Email: elenac@hku.hk
UMAG Programme Assistant Miss Chelsea Choi, Tel: (852) 2241 5509, Email: cchelsea@hku.hk

HKU Stephen Hui Geological Museum exhibition to launch on Endangered Species Day 2018 “Hong Kong’s Living Fossils” – the evolution of horseshoe crabs

Period: Now till November 4, 2018

This special exhibition will showcase horseshoe crab as old as 475 million years, together with other living fossils to understand their evolution and lifestyle, including their body plan, life cycle and habitats in the geological past and in Hong Kong today. Visitors will have the valuable opportunity to see up-close live juvenile horseshoe crabs and observe the body part functions and lifestyle in action which have helped them to successfully cope with environmental changes for hundreds of millions of years.

While horseshoe crabs were once common in Hong Kong and evenly distributed over all intertidal beaches and mudflats, their wild population has dropped significantly by 90% between 2000 and 2009, caused by human activities such as coastal development, clam digging and fishing. Horseshoe crabs will face the threat of extinction in Hong Kong and the legend of the “Living Fossil” will not be sustained if no urgent protection measures are implemented.

Apart from the horseshoe crab, fossils of two other living fossils living largely unnoticed in the coastal environments of Hong Kong, namely the primitive brachiopod Lingula and the small eel-like Amphioxus (also known as Lancelet), will also be shown in the exhibition.

Venue: G/F, Stephen Hui Geological Museum, James Hsioung Lee Science Building, Main Campus, the University of Hong Kong Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Saturdays and Sundays, University and Public Holidays
Free Admission
Special Weekend Openings from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on: August 11/12, September 8/9, October 6/7 and November 3/4, 2018.
Guided Tours: Venue: The Stephen Hui Geological Museum, Main Campus, HKU, Pokfulam, Hong Kong (Map) Free guided tours during the special weekend openings will be arranged at 2p.m. Free of charge. No registration required.

General Enquiries: Tel: (852) 22415472 / Email: shmuseum@hku.hk

Website: Stephen Hui Geological Museum website: http://www.earthsciences.hku.hk/shmuseum/

Media Enquiries: Ms Rashida Suffiad, Senior Manager (Media)
Tel: (852) 2857 8555 Fax: (852) 2858 4986 Email: rsuffiad@hku.hk
Communications and Public Affairs Office, The University of Hong Kong