HKIAPS 30th Anniversary Conference: Mobilizing Regional Collaboration in Policy Research

4-5 November 2020   |   Zoom

Speakers

Welcome Speech

Prof. Anthony Fung
Director, HKIAPS, CUHK

Keynote Session 1:
Great Power Geostrategic Rivalry and
Its Implications for Global Policy Research in the Asia-Pacific

Prof. Danny Quah
Dean and Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics,
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

Prof. Chi-yue Chiu (Moderator)
Dean of Social Science, CUHK

Panel Session 1:
Economics, International Relations, and Policy Formulation

Prof. Michael Z. Song
Professor, Department of Economics, CUHK

Prof. Peter Beattie
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Science, CUHK

Prof. Calvin Chung
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Resource Management, CUHK

Keynote Session 2:
Demographic Changes in the Asia-Pacific Region and its Implications for Policy

Prof. Jane Falkingham
Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southampton,
United Kingdom

Prof. Ying-yi Hong (Moderator)
Associate Director, HKIAPS, CUHK

Panel Session 2:
Population and Cultural Diversity

Prof. Tai-lok Lui
Vice President (Research and Development),
The Education University of Hong Kong

Prof. Yuying Tong
Professor, Department of Sociology, CUHK

Prof. Sealing Cheng
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, CUHK

Keynote Session 3:
Policy Research in China: From an Interdisciplinary Perspective

Prof. Fang Cai
Vice President, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Prof. Fanny M. Cheung (Moderator)
Senior Advisor, Faculty of Social Science and HKIAPS, CUHK

Roundtable Session:
Bridging Policy and Research in Future Collaborations

Prof. Esther S. C. Ho
Director, Hong Kong Centre for International Student Assessment, CUHK

Prof. Mei-po Kwan
Choh-Ming Li Professor of Geography and Resource Management, CUHK

Prof. Tim Summers
Lecturer, Centre for China Studies, CUHK

Prof. Annie K. L. Tam
Honorary Senior Research Fellow, HKIAPS, CUHK

Prof. Chack-kie Wong
Honorary Senior Research Fellow, HKIAPS, CUHK

Mr Stephen Y. S. Wong
Deputy Executive Director and Head of Public Policy Institute,
Our Hong Kong Foundation

Dr Victor Zheng
Associate Director (Executive), HKIAPS, CUHK

Prof. Fanny M. Cheung (Moderator)
Senior Advisor, Faculty of Social Science and HKIAPS, CUHK

Prof. Anthony Fung (Moderator)
Director, HKIAPS, CUHK

Organizer
Policy Research @ HKIAPS

Evidence-based policy sheds light on directions to finding solutions to current problems and avenues for future development. Governments around the world face similar social issues; therefore, important knowledge can be shared and understanding enhanced through comparative studies and regional collaboration.

HKIAPS celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020. This conference brought attention to the institute’s unremitting efforts over the past three decades to link up different parts of society in intellectual and scholarly exchanges. The conference also emphasized efforts to bridge academic research and policymaking and make contributions to society.

The conference included three keynote sessions, three panel sessions, and a roundtable discussion session. In the first keynote session, Prof. Danny Quah focused on three main questions: How can research remain open and international, what are the tradeoff coefficients between scientific openness and national security, and how does economic competitiveness change the calculus of research? This was followed by the first panel session, where Prof. Michael Z. Song explained the relationships between friends and enemies from the view of domestic and international trade; Prof. Peter Beattie illustrated how psychological traits are essential to attaining widespread public acceptance and participation; and Prof. Calvin Chung showed that the politics of scale shapes the construction of global city-regions.

The second keynote session was delivered by Prof. Jane Falkingham. She drew out the policy implications of family structure, migration, and ageing trends. In the following panel session, Prof. Tai-lok Lui argued that it is imperative to look at the socio-economic, political, and cultural bases of generational differences; Prof. Yuying Tong discussed the significant period and cohort effects on the transition to homeownership among young adults in Hong Kong. This was followed by Prof. Sealing Cheng’s discussion on the social and cultural impacts of making music, and on how the experiences of asylum-seekers and refugees in Hong Kong could contribute to global dialogues about refugee-related interventions.

The last keynote session was delivered by Prof. Fang Cai. He focused on how the interdisciplinary research of Chinese scholars has contributed to policymaking in the economic arena. First, the process of economic reform and the opening up in China is a multifaceted process that created a demand for interdisciplinary research. For example, in the early years of the reform process, Deng Xiaoping, the general architect of China’s reforms, simultaneously initiated a wide range of reforms. Second, Prof. Cai showed how Chinese policy researchers have met such a demand by cooperating to combine advice from different scientific areas. Third, Prof. Cai offered cases in which crossing disciplinary boundaries has helped policy researchers to better identify issues, find real causes, reveal the significance of actions and events, and enhance the effectiveness of their research to influence policymaking.

A total of seven discussants participated in the roundtable session. Prof. Esther S. C. Ho shared her views about an international longitudinal studies of adolescents in Hong Kong (HKLSA); Prof. Mei-po Kwan analyzed the relationship between sustainable cities and policy research. Prof. Tim Summers examined the relationship between international politics and policy research; Prof. Annie K. L. Tam discussed welfare policies in Hong Kong; Prof. Chack-kie Wong shared some research notes on poverty alleviation and social protection; Mr Stephen Y. S. Wong indicated the role of think tanks in policy design; and Dr Victor Zheng illustrated the use of surveys in tracking public opinions to inform policies.

About 100 participants attended the conference. ■