Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2006

News in Brief 39 Shakespeare Festival Research Grants Totalling HK$105 Million for 35 Projects G rants totalling some HK$105 million from various local and overseas sponsors for projects undertaken by CUHK researchers were recorded during the period January to June 2006: Sponsors Amount Involved (HK$) Number of Projects Supported AIDS Trust Fund 1,394,718 2 Association Internationale pour US$25,000 1 L’Ostéosynthèse Dynamique (AIOD) Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute RMB$1,500,000 1 Department of Health, HKSAR 612,260 1 Education and Manpower Bureau, HKSAR 1,702,324 2 Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Macau SAR 229,770 1 End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation 136,735 1 Fulbright Hong Kong Scholar Programme 2006–07 223,000 1 Germany/Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme 26,600 1 Health Care and Promotion Fund 299,104 1 Hong Kong Arts Development Council 84,000 1 Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of 4,868,525 1 Chinese Medicine Limited Innovation and Technology Fund 81,030,900 6 Innovation and Technology Commission and 2,047,000 1 ASM Assembly Automation Ltd. Innovation and Technology Fund and 2,600,000 1 CK Life Sciences Development Ltd. The Language Fund 140,640 1 Microsoft Research Asia 240,000 2 National Institutes of Health, USA US$429,830.06 2 Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board 500,000 1 Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases 3,750,911 5 The Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society 250,000 2 O n 22, 23 and 24 May, 12 teams from universities in mainland China, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong took part in the performance finals of the Second Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival held in Sir Run Run Shaw Hall. Each team, consisting of three actors and a director, was given up to 20 minutes on stage to perform a short scene from a Shakespeare play. The aim was to impress the panel of international judges with the quality of their understanding of Shakespeare’s dramatic art, their acting and English ability, as well as the creativity of their interpretation. The performances were watched by almost 3,000 Hong Kong secondary students, who were thrilled to see Shakespeare’s plays on stage, most of them for the first time. The winning team was from the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing, which gave a striking performance of the tragedy Julius Caesar . The scene was memorable for its incorporation of stylized movements and sound effects from Peking opera and Chinese martial arts. Members of the UIBE team enjoyed their first prize in August — a week watching Shakespeare performances in London and Stratford. Other prize-winners included Nanjing University ( Measure for Measure ), Wuhan University ( King Lear ) and the University of Macau ( The Tempest ).